# Book Review: “Martial Power” by Steven J. Pearlman

- Link: https://brianejohns.com/2008/05/28/blog-book-review-martial-power-by-steven-j-pearlman/
- Published: 2008-05-28T11:07:00-04:00
- Author: Brian Johns

## I just finished reading 󠀁[“The Book of Martial Power”](https://www.amazon.ca/Book-Martial-Power-Steven-Pearlman/dp/1585679445/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1JHNIBCV8P9DF&dchild=1&keywords=the+book+of+martial+power&qid=1593703596&sprefix=the+book+of+mart%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-1)󠁿 by the aforementioned author, published this year. A synopsis of this book, located on the back binder, states:

> “Different styles of martial arts offer contradictory information, philosophies,
> and techniques for the body in combat. A practitioner of Judo might advocate grappling.
> reasoning that most fights converge into close range after a short time, while
> an advocate of Tae Kwon Do might argue that one should strive to maintain one’s
> distance in an encounter that would allow one to use the legs, the most powerful
> weapon on the human body.
> A lifelong student and teacher of multiple styles of martial arts, Steven Pearlman
> has sought to distill from these disciplines not a fusion of techniques, but rather
> a compilation of fundamental principles that can guide the individual martial 
> artist to the ideal action. Through his exploration of a set of basic principles
> that range from the physical (spinal alignment, the triangular guard, breathing)
> to the spiritual (the void, the body-mind, the character, Pearlman arrives at 
> a system open to all martial artists without bastardizing the techniques of the
> original disciplines.”

![The cover of the book.](https://i0.wp.com/brianejohns.com//wp-content/uploads/
2020/07/Screen-Shot-2020-07-02-at-11.25.42-AM.png?resize=618%2C876&ssl=1)

The cover.

Some thought-provoking topics covered in this book include:

 *  breathing, posture;
 * the triangle guard;
 * the centerline;
 * the primary gate;
 * spinal alignment;
 * axis;
 * minor axes;
 * structure;
 * heaviness;
 * relaxation;
 * wave energy;
 * convergence;
 * triangulation point;
 * centrifugal force;
 * centripetal force;
 * live energy;
 * dead energy;
 * natural and unnatural motion;
 * weak link and many other martial topics.

The author has done considerable thinking on these topics and a terrific job explaining
the concepts.

This book does not tout any particular martial style/system. But the author explores
what makes martial techniques effective. Nice graphics accompanying the text enable
the reader to comprehend the principles which apply to [Filipino Martial Arts](https://brianejohns.com/2008/06/11/blog-fma-books/).

Stay tuned for [additional book reviews](https://brianejohns.com/2008/01/09/blog-book-review-the-straight-lead-teri-tom/)!

## In short, this is a terrific book, and I highly recommend it. Get it!

## Additional Reading

 * [“It Has To Be Done This Way!”](https://brianejohns.com/2015/05/17/blog-it-has-to-be-done-this-way/)
 * [A Surefire Counter!](https://brianejohns.com/2015/12/10/blog-a-surefire-counter/)
 * [Four Easy Ways to Teach Relaxation!](https://brianejohns.com/2016/07/25/blog-four-easy-ways-to-teach-relaxation/)
 * [FMA Books](https://brianejohns.com/2008/06/11/blog-fma-books/)
 * [The Power of Incremental Gains](https://brianejohns.com/2023/11/29/the-power-of-incremental-gains/)

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