Science of Martial Arts Training (Paperback)

~ Charles I. Staley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book includes discussions of such topics as skills training, strength development, flexibility, speed training, tournament strategy, motivation, nutrition, restoration and so on. A must for all serious martial artists, regardless of style.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Unique Publications (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892515016
• ISBN-13: 978-1892515018
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #439,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Have!", April 8, 2000

By	Tim Larkin, Former Master Trainer SCARS Inst... (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) - See all my reviews

"In my over twenty years of instructing martial arts and close quarters combat to some of the world's top military special operations personnel, I have seen countless ways very dedicated fighters waste time with useless drills and questionable training methods. Few have learned the true secrets of effective fighting. In the world of hand to hand combat there very few gurus whom I would ever send any of my people to train under; Charles Staley is definitely on that short list.

Charles' training methods not only rapidly accelerate your skills, dramatically increase your striking power, and keep you in incredible shape, but more importantly he'll actually cut your training time significantly while achieving these spectacular results. I found by working with Charles that my old methods of combining strength training and mat time produced limited results for the time spent. I have now cut my training time by almost 50%, yet I get more quality results using his training methods.

The Science Of Martial Arts Training is a must have for today's combat fighter. Reading this book you'll see why some of the top competitive fighters train under Charles Staley. Use the straightforward principles and methods in this book and you'll see why his clients REMAIN top competitive fighters."

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb addition to personal and professional collections., June 5, 2000

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

In The Science Of Martial Arts Training, sports science expert and accomplished martial artist Charles Staley draws upon his decades spent studying the training techniques of successful athletes and martial artists to present a competent, insightful, effective, "reader friendly" text covering such issues as strength development, flexibility, speed and quickness, tournament strategy, mental preparation, avoidance of injuries, and proper nutrition for the student of martial arts, regardless of which form or branch is being learned and practiced. The Science Of Martial Arts Training is a superb addition to any personal, dojo, or community library martial arts reference collection.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to modern training ideas, August 11, 2003

By	R. McCall (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a forty year old man who has lifted weights and trained for sports since high school, I thought that I knew how to design my own training program. This book showed me that I had been wasting my time and achieving sub-optimal results all those years. I took up karate at 37, and quickly realized that I needed to improve my conditioning to be able to safely practice the martial arts. I picked this up two years ago and found it to be a valuable resource. I am as strong or stronger today than I have ever been (including my time on a college varsity team), and feel like it as improved my ability to effectively and safely study and practice the martial arts.

The negative reviewers have a point, this book does have an emphasis on strength training. That is mostly because it is the easiest thing for most people to improve, and makes the biggest difference in your performance. If you understand the principles of modern strength training, you will get less out of this book than I did. However, most weight lifting books that I have seen are focused on the bodybuilding community, and will not teach you how to train to improve your strenth while maintaining your fighting weight, or how to train to improve your speed, the way this book will. (Some of the weight training books that are focused on training for athletic performance are referenced in the book.) The discussions of endurance training, stretching, and nutrition are shorter, but were still very useful to me, and provide a good basis for designing a training program to improve your performance in your martial art.

This book is definitely designed for someone who wants to be a more competitive athlete, not a body builder. I use the ideas from this book to guide my conditioning training, I use my sensei to guide my karate-specific training, and I have been very happy with my results.