William Treviņo examines martial arts from the perspective of theatre anthropology by demonstrating the principles of extra-daily performance techniques present in the Korean art of Soo Bahk Do. Because it employs training choreographies from Southern China, Northern China, Japan, and its native Korea, the technique contains a variety of movement qualities including hard/soft, quick/slow, light/heavy, linear/circular, and active/passive dichotomies. Consequently, broader generalizations are made about the striking arts of East Asia in respect to posture, balance, changes in speed/weight, physical oppositions, breath control, and stillness in motion.
William then analyzes martial arts as a training technique to prepare the actor's body for performance. Topics include focus, grounding/centering, precision, tension/relaxation, commitment, and presence. Non-combat related dramatic scenes serve as examples.
