The Science of Martial Arts Training with Charles Staley
Book Review by Alain Burrese
This book is written with the premise that proper training
methodologies should be adhered to in the interest of safety and to optimize the
satisfaction and enjoyment available from athletic training.
As a martial artist and personal trainer, I found this book
to be a very good addition to my training library. Staley has laid out principles of training that will enable
any martial artist to design a better training program. However, I do feel this book will best serve those martial
artists that train for competition, especially those who compete at the higher
levels.
The book covers the basics of sport training, and how it
adapts to the martial artist, and I specifically liked the information on
periodization, since I am also a firm believer of this important training
principle.
This book does not have an exhaustive catalog of exercises,
but rather a few specific exercises for each body part.
Staley points out the martial art applications of each of these muscle
groups as well. The exercises that
are included are those that every martial artist would be advised to incorporate
into their strength program. Staley
also covers the basics of nutrition, prevention and management of injuries,
technical and tactical preparation and psychological preparation on competition
day in subsequent chapters. Staley
points out that some of the different philosophies on some of these topics while
presenting sound information for the reader.
While not a comprehensive treatise on these subjects, Staley has achieved
his goal of presenting a primer with the most important issues addressed.
I especially liked that Staley pointed out that every
athlete is different, and not everyone will respond to the same program.
Additionally, an athlete might not respond to the same program the same
way as he or she progresses though the years.
With this in mind, Staley encourages the reader to become competent in
the principles of designing a training program so that the individual can use
the information presented in their own individual training.
For the recreational martial artist, this book can help
integrate training principles to enable the reader to gain more from their
martial art activities. For the
martial artist that is concerned with self-betterment, this book can help you
maximize your training effectiveness, training that also will benefit an
individual in a self-defense situation. For
the competitive martial artist, or coach of such athletes, this book is a must
read. It will help devise a
training regimen that integrates the components of:
skill training, strength development, flexibility, speed and quickness
training, tournament strategy, motivation, nutrition, restoration and others.
If you want to compete among today’s elite athletes, Charles Staley,
and “The Science of Martial Arts Training” will help you get there.
Reviewed by Alain Burrese, 1999