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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Martial Arts, Bad Physics, June 23, 2009
This review is from: Martial Mechanics: Maximum Results with Minimum Effort in the Practice of the Martial Arts (Paperback)
As a long time martial artist and physicist I can offer two reviews of this book.
The martial arts suggestions in the book are sound and practical. There are a few particulars of the execution of certain techniques that I take exception to, but that is more from a stylistic difference than anything else. The martial fundamentals are solid and one could learn these from any qualified instructor who has put the effort into studying their particular discipline.
The physics presented in the book however are inconsistent, and, in many cases, wrong. In the beginning, when Sifu Starr lays the groundwork for the physics he wishes to present, he confuses weight, mass, and force. He also mixes up the use of energy and momentum. While this doesn't take away from the fundamentals that he presents later it does produce a convoluted and incorrect analysis of the actual mechanics involved in executing techniques.
He also doesn't adequately define what the term "shock" refers to, and his definition changes throughout the book sometimes referring to force, pressure, momentum, or power. Each of which are separate physical quantities.
The physics mistakes that he makes are very elementary and could have been picked up by most of my high school physics students. The book needed a better technical editor to catch these errors.
Overall the book has solid basics and acts as a good outline of what to look for when executing techniques, but don't let a book substitute for qualified instruction.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Works great in theory, but..., March 9, 2009
This review is from: Martial Mechanics: Maximum Results with Minimum Effort in the Practice of the Martial Arts (Paperback)
For years, martial artist have needed a source of information that shed some light on the practical use of body mechanics.
This is not that source.
It wouldn't take much to convince me that, if followed to the letter, the methods presented here would be more biomechanically efficient than other methods out there. However, that doesn't make them practical. The fundamental flaw with this book is that it has taken the common-sense saying, "Train how you fight", and has inverted it to, "Fight how you train". In Mr. Starr's world, a high-and-tight boxing-style guard somehow leaves you more vulnerable to punches than having your fists at your waist, and kicks are meant to be blocked by dropping your hands. Most of my training lately has been centered around JKD, boxing, and MMA training, but for the sake of argument I abandoned those systems for a few weeks and after some experimentation, tried to fight in the perscribed manner Mr. Starr presented. I experimented with both match-sparring situations and common street attacks. The bottom line is that trying to use the "Martial Mechanics" method, by rote, to defend yourself will get you punched in the face. A lot. The stance is everything it shouldn't be for a practical fight. The chin is up, the hands are down, and the weight is on the heels. I get the impression that there is no sparring at Mr. Starr's school, and I can't imagine a system like this being developed by anyone who's had practical fighting experience.
To add to the maddening impracticallity of it all, the tone is somewhat condecending. Mr. Starr treats the reader as if they were the dunce student in class. He also lectures about boxing without having any real knowledge of it, grappling is eschewed as something that will get your "cute little tush" looked at, and MMA, while not refered to by name, is implicitly referred to as "professional wrestling on amphetamines".
That does not mean this is a throw-away text. Mr. Starr offers useful advice on kicking, punching, stance, and body movement. This may be the most complete collection of universal "good ideas" that I've seen. The problem, and the reason he only gets three stars, is that for every good piece of advice, there's at least one bad piece of advice. I will leave it up to the reader to discern the difference.
I would only recommend this book to someone who spars or does reality-based drills on a regular basis. If you have enough practical experience to look at this book and pick up the good without the bad, it can be very helpful in subtly improving your techniques. It's important not to throw the baby out with the bath water. But under no circumstances would I advise anyone to follow the letter of this text when it comes to practical self-defense. I've already done some of that work for you. All it cost me were a few bruises. If you try using it in a hostile environment, it will cost you much more.
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding!, March 25, 2008
This review is from: Martial Mechanics: Maximum Results with Minimum Effort in the Practice of the Martial Arts (Paperback)
A practitioner with more than 50 continuous years of martial arts training, Sifu Starr is the founder of Yiliquan kung-fu, an art that seamlessly merges China's three classical internal systems. He has trained not only in the Chinese arts of baixingquan, taijiquan, xingyiquan, and baguazhang, but also in Japanese judo and karate, and Filipino arnis. And, he's a member of Inside Kung-Fu magazine's prestigious Hall of Fame. Clearly Sifu Starr has the knowledge, skills, and ability to articulate this important information very effectively. His book, Martial Mechanics, is a very well-written, interesting, and informative tome, one that I believe is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to hit faster and more powerfully. Contents include principles of power, impact, speed, force, shock, stance, footwork, body rotation, body shift, breathing, spinal alignment, consolidation, overcoming inertia, combinations, density, and a whole lot more. Both hard (external) and soft (internal) dimensions are covered. The supplemental drills, such as learning how to use a candle, balloon, forging post, and heavy bag to augment your training, are a nice bonus as well. Starr's writing is absolutely stellar, highly articulate yet pithy and unpretentious. There are no fancy foreign words to memorize or pointless pontificating to wade through. In fact, the tone is fantastic, with subtle and not-so-subtle humor throughout. The photos and illustrations are very clear, augmenting the text effectively. The book really is that good. In fact my only complaint is that there is no index to help me refer back to important topics quickly and easily. Consequently my copy is already crammed full of sticky notes, dog-eared, scribbled-on, and filled with highlighting. Martial Mechanics really is a must read for any serious martial artist, particularly those who study predominantly striking arts such as kung fu, karate, taekwondo, muay Thai, or kickboxing. Lawrence Kane
Author of Blinded by the Night, among other titles
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