We train because we are human and we become human because we train.

This is the surprising and original conclusion of Anatomy of Performance Training, in which John Matthews shows how training is a very human response to the problems of having a body and living in the world.

Using illustrative case-studies of professional practice, each chapter addresses a specific body part, offering a self-contained discussion of its symbolic and practical significance in the artistic, and commercial, activities of training. These anatomical case-studies are cross-referenced with...