Across the various martial arts, basic principles about the body in combat lead to different, often contradictory philosophies and techniques. A practitioner of Judo might advocate grappling, whereas an advocate of Tae Kwon Do would argue that one should strive to maintain distance from an opponent to allow the use of the legs. Here, Steven Pearlman aims to consolidate a compilation of fundamental principles that can guide the individual martial artist to the ideal action.