Category Archives: martial arts

How to Kill People by Just Touching Them!

…but you’ll be protected by the invisible force field around your body!

The one thing that gets me concerning the Martial Arts, and it shouldn’t, but it does, are ads like the one right below.

I Couldn’t Believe I Froze Up … What’s Really Ridiculous Is That I’ve Been Trained In 13 Martial Arts Since I Was Only Four Years Old, So I, Of All People Should Have Been Able To Do Something, But I Couldn’t – I Didn’t Know What To Do In This Exact Situation, Even Though I Practiced Many Similar Situations. This Was A False Sense Of Security.

kung fu training manualdynamic tension hard punch martial artsThis ad is off the internet, it’s part of a big pitch designed to empower people with ‘invisible force fields’ that enable them to handle multiple attackers with their bare hands, to tear apart whole mobs, and without any martial arts training.

Or, as in the case above, the guy had studied lots of fighting disciplines, but they didn’t work.

Okay, so let’s look at the real facts here.

Fact Number One: I doubt if the guy studied Karate, or Kenpo, or Aikido, or even a smidgeon of Shaolin. But if he did, he better ask for his money back because…They weren’t the real thing, they weren’t real fighting disciplines.

Fact Number Two: In spite of the hype of ads like this, ads which actually degrade the real martial arts in favor of making money for some bum who studied no martial arts, or martial arts that weren’t real, there is no substitute for learning a real martial art.

A fake, comic book, internet scam martial art is a handful of tricks that look neat, but have little relation to each other.

A real self defense method is a LOT of tricks, tied together with effective theory so that everything relates, and which then can work on you to change your mindset and make you a better human being.

Consider this: a real art, like Karate or Gung Fu or Krav Maga develops intuition. It develops a sixth sense. Let me tell you this: if I was that guy I wouldn’t have awakened when the bad guys so much as stepped on my property. The hairs would have stood on my neck, I would have been wired, I would have been more alert than Defcon Five! Because THAT is what a real fighting discipline does to you. It wakes you up, it makes you intuitive, it gives you that sixth sense. 

Consider this: when you study a real discipline, like Jujitsu or Wing Chun or good, old Karate, when somebody holds a gun on you…you instantly wake up! You are more alert than you have ever been, and you can’t stop the scenarios from enfolding in your mind. I can do this, I can do that, and you sort through them and wait, because you know, when the time comes, that you won’t be thinking, you will be doing.

Concerning the above two considerations, the above two chapters, I speak from personal experience. This is not a hype, or a war story, or some whimsical comic book supposition.

So the conclusion is this: if you don’t know a real form of self defense, a classical method that’s been formed through the centuries, then you are a sitting duck. You have no discipline for emergencies, you have no plan, and you likely don’t even have the conditioning.

Yes, sometimes a form of self defense like Karate or Kung Fu might have some mistakes in it, maybe defenses against weapons that are no more, maybe a poser technique, but even these problems tend to make you think, condition your body, give you alternatives in the extreme. Everything is an education, and it really all depends on what you do with it, whether you make it real enough to save your life.

And, here is the truth: don’t bother with the hype, don’t bother with comic book ads. Only seek out real martial arts, real forms of self defense. Learn them fast, and learn more than one, because what one doesn’t teach another one will.

To do less is to stand on the street in the middle of the mob holding hundred dollar bills and scream ‘Don’t take my money!’

You’ll end up in the gutter faster than fast, and it’s your own fault for not being prepared, for not getting in shape, for not giving yourself a real Martial Arts education when you could have.

About the Author: Al Case has studied Martial Arts since 1967. He is the originator of Matrixing Technology, which is the only science of the martial arts in the world. People who learn Matrixing can absorb classical martial arts three times faster, and make them work three times better.

If you want to learn a real method of Self Defense, the best place to start is Matrix Karate

Make a Hard Punch with Old Time Training Method

Old Muscle Building Method Makes for a Super Hard Punch!

I mean that literally, you can have a hard punch in days. The old body building method is called Dynamic Tension, and it was used by the old comic book guys like Charles Atlas and Joe Weider. It is actually still sold today.

kung fu training manual

Start developing your kung fu super powers! Click on the cover!

dynamic tension hard punch martial artsInterestingly, Chuck Atlas made his millions in the pages of comic books. He had ads that ran for years, and he even beat the Great Depression. His most famous ad, a bully kicking sand in a lads face at the beach, actually happened to him when he was a youth, and inspired him to create his world famous method for building muscles.

I was acutely aware of the comic book ads, liking comics and being a skinny weakling when I was young. I suppose, in some way, I answered the comic book ad when I took up the study of the martial arts. And, serendipity, amongst the forms I learned was one which dealt with Mr. Atlas’ form of shaping the body.

The pattern was supposedly a variation of a Wing Chun form. I don’t recall what we called it, but I do recall the hours spent on one specific movement in the form. That one movement made my punch get stronger and stronger and stronger.

When you do the move, take a back stance and cross the wrists in front of you. Press wrist against wrist, and slowly slide the wrists past each other. Let the power build, then let the hands snap off each other and execute a punch.

It’s best to punch with the rear hand, and let the front hand come back across the chest. It is also good to simultaneously press your feet against one another in the back stance. Then, when you release the hands, you can release the stance and really cover ground.

The muscles tend to build fast, and you’ll notice an increase in strength I would say within seven days. Over time you will notice the working parts of your arms and legs are getting denser and better shaped. And, in conjunction with the thrusting forward of the whole body, you are going to have some kind of powerful strike.

Obviously, you can tailor this exercise for other body parts, other types of strikes and blocks, and your body should get in fantastic shape. I’ll tell you this, one look at your chiseled physique and nobody is going to try to kick sand in your face. And that is how an old body building method can give you a hard punch in literally days.

About the Author: Al Case began martial arts in 1967. He studied such arts as Kenpo, Karate, Wing Chun, Aikido, Norther Shaolin Kung Fu, Southern Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan, Pa Ku Chang and various weapons. He became a writer for the martial arts magazines in 1981, and had his own column in Inside Karate. Check out his course on increasing Chi Power.

If you liked this martial arts article then you should subscribe in the sidebar. There’s more a comin’.

How Bad is Outlaw Karate?

Is Outlaw Karate Really a Kick Ass Martial Art?

I get the question, every once in a while, as to how tough Outlaw Karate really is. Let me answer that question once and for all.

4 outlaw karate cover orig

Here is the cover of the Outlaw Karate book which is for sale on Amazon.

First, I did study with the Hell’s Angels, which is to say that there were quite a few Hell’s Angels in my Karate class. They were tough, they were not the reason for the naming of this art, but they did tend to focus in on what worked on the street, and backed up their observations with real experience.

Second, I did name it Outlaw because it was going outside the realm of normal, or classical, Karate. I was combining two very hard styles of Karate, and this was looked down on back in the day.

Third, I’m not going to tell you it was a tough class, I am going to give you a  list of things that happened during that class that made it very tough. Then you can make up your mind as to whether it is a tough style or not.

I taught the class over a year long period. I chose the forms and techniques that I did because I was teaching my son; I wanted him to have the best, the things that worked the most. During the course we cracked his breast bone, actually put a dent in it. When the doctor said ‘No more Karate,’ Aaron refused, told me I would have to beat him up to stop him, and then walked into class that night. His attitude was not singular.

Mike had broken fingers for nearly the whole year.

Some of the guys, grown men, broke into tears during class.

All throws were taken to the max, which is to say we didn’t have mats, and we threw each other on the floor, full force, and laughed.

One night Josh found himself at a party, and a fight broke out. He stepped into a corner and faced outward and waited. Man after man ran up to fight him, took one look at the look in his eyes, then turned and ran looking for another fight. He just wasn’t a victim, and it was plain to see.

One day Aaron was walking down the street and was jumped by two much larger fellows. He rendered them both unconscious within ten seconds.

And so the stories go. It was tough and it was brutal. I can honestly say it was the toughest class I ever taught.

And I still think that the art was the toughest, and that solely for the attitude of the students. They laughed when they broke their bones, they persisted through tears and blood.

And they made Outlaw Karate a legend.

So, was it tough?

Heck, you can get a copy of the book, or the book and a video of some of the forms and techniques, and decide for yourself.

No matter what you decide, it will be a healthy addition to your martial arts; it will be something that  will work, and it will certainly enhance your other martial arts.

Book and video Outlaw Karate Course.

Just the  Outlaw Karate book (from Amazon).

 

 

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/outlaw-karate/

Karate Kicks that will Knock an Elephant Down!

Four Steps to Strong Karate Kicks!

Kicks are one of the best and most powerful martial arts weapons you can ever develop. Not only are kicks extremely good for the cardio, giving an instant sweat during a work out, but they are one of the most powerful weapons you can have if you are ever in a fight. After all, most people in the world don’t don’t have the faintest idea as to how to use their legs, and if you do have an idea…you’ve got an instant advantage.

 

american kenpo instruction book karate kicks

Jack up your kenpo now!

Of course, kicks take a little extra hard work if they are going to develop into something you can be proud of. But if you take your time, train properly and regularly, and do learn the types of kicks in a certain pattern…you can have power busting kicks of the most magnificent order. That said, let’s go over the proper order of how to develop these kicks.

The first kick is to merely stand in one place and do the kick. You don’t have to have a stance, you can do them at a moderate and easy on the body speed, and you can even put your hand on the wall. The idea here is to look at your body andlearn how to make it move to generate efficient and effective and totally destructive kicks.

The second kick is going to be done from stationary stances. Take a kick like a simple front snap kick, low level to begin, higher as you get better, and learn how to apply it from the rear leg while standing in a front stance. Go through all the stances you know, one by one, kicking with the foot you are not standing on.

The third kick is to use the leg which holds the most weight in your stance. This means you kick with the leg supporting the most weight. Again, go through your stances, do them one at a time, but this time figure out how to hop so that the leg you are standing on executes the kick, and the leg you do not have weight on replaces the leg you are standing on.

The fourth kick is to go through and analyze the various directions you can kick in. This is going to require some quick weight shifts and turns of the body, and the ability to think of your body as very light. Simply do the third kick, as described in the last paragraph, but this time execute the kick first to the south, then go back to your stance and do the kick to the east, then the west, then the north.

Now, there are a few things you should remember as you develop your kicks through these four stages. Don’t be one of these people who do a few kicks per side and then quit. Do a couple of hundred kicks, three hundred, maybe even five hundred kicks per kick per leg.

The idea is to develop your legs so that they are as light and easy to use as your hands. So concentrate on learning how to relax while you do your kicks. Soon your kicks will be second nature, light and easy, marvelous little things of quick flick, and yet able to instantly end any fight.

Check out Matrix Karate, you get a free kicking course, complete with form and techniques and drills, with it.

It is Possible to Learn Aikido in a Couple of Hours

Learn Aikido by Going to the Concept

People think I’m scamming them when they read this learn Aikido at home in 2 hours thing, but let me tell you exactly what I’m doing.

First, I don’t teach you a thousand aiki techniques in a couple of hours, I teach you the One Concept behind it all.

aikidoNo, I am not talking about ‘harmony.’ That’s a concept, but it’s a philosophy.

I teach the actual physical ‘One Thing’ that people are doing when they do this incredible martial art.

I show you how to do this one thing not by dry classroom talk, but by teaching four guys and letting you watch. During the course of one 90 minute video you will see these four guys learn. You will see them progress from move to move. You will see them going, ‘Oh! That works!” And then moving on to more and more moves. Intuitively, naturally.

That’s the power of The One Concept.

Now, the dry classroom stuff comes in the form of one simple learn aikido PDF. It’s about 40 pages, and it tells you how to break down the body, how to do the one thing to every part of the body. And it has illustrations detailing exactly what has been done.

The end result is that these four guys know enough aikido to practice on their own, to plug into any other martial art that happen to know.
<p style=”text-align:center;”>

</p>
Furthermore, and most important, it is workable in combat. It is EXTREMELY easy to apply this One Concept.

Whether you’re into the martial arts or not, I want you to remember this simple datum: if it is easy to understand, and easy to apply, it will be easy to learn, easy to use, and HARD to forget.

That is simple truth. It is behind Matrix Aikido and all the other martial arts courses I teach; it is a truth of this world.

Okay, hope to see you on the video, and have a great work out,

Al

&nbsp;

How Kenpo Karate Pioneer was Killed

The Sad Death of a Kenpo Founder

James Mitose was the fellow who brought Kenpo Karate from Japan to Hawaii, and thence to the rest of the world.

And, who, you might ask, could ‘kill’ a fellow who had studied martial arts for decades? Who introduced Kenpo Karate to the world?

James mitose kenpo karate book

Click on the cover

The story is right below, and it is a corker, with one of the most bizarre endings you will EVER read.

James Mitose ~ The Founder of Kenpo Karate

James Mitose was born in Hawaii in 1916. At the age of four years old his family returned to Japan that he might receive a good eduction.

One of the important elements of his education was the study of the martial arts.

The martial arts he studied included Okinawan Karate and Japanese Jujitsu. The training was done at the Mt. Akenkai Shaka-In temple.

In 1935, at the age of 21, James returned to Hawaii, and it wasn’t long before he began teaching Martial Arts. He called his art by the traditional names of Shorinji Kempo, and Kempo Jujitsu. Eventually, he settled on the name Kosho Shorei-ryu Kenpo.

Sensei Mitose taught martial arts for over ten years, but eventually stopped teaching and moved to Southern California, and here is where he met the man who would later ‘kill’ him.

Terry Lee (Nimr Hassan) ~ The Man Who Killed James Mitose

In Southern California James Mitose would teach only a few students, and one of these was a young man named Terry Lee. Mr. Lee changed his name to Nimr Hassan.

In the 70s Nimr Hassan was arrested for the murder of a Mr. Namimatsu. Mr. Namimatsu was stabbed multiple times, had a completely collapsed eye, and was strangled.

The evidence was clear cut. Not only was a footprint of Nimr Hassan on the victim’s chest, but he admitted his guilt in court by saying that he had done the stabbing and strangling, but he wasn’t guilty because when he left Mr. Namimatsu was still breathing.

At this point, the story takes a vicious turn: Terry Lee claimed that James Mitose gave him the weapons, which included a rope and an ice pick, and told him how to commit the crime.

James Mitose was arrested and taken to trial, and the result of that trial was a terrible miscarriage of justice.

Japanese translators were used, and even the court would admit, at a later date, that the translations were inadequate.

James denied inciting Terry Lee to murder, but stated that as his martial arts instructor he was responsible for the crime. On that flimsy ‘evidence,’ nothing more than a pointing finger and ‘he said,’ James Mitose was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

And Terry Lee? Nimr Hassan? For turning state evidence, for accusing the man who had taught him martial arts, he spent three years in prison.

After he was released from prison Terry would claim to be the legitimate inheritor of James Mitose’s martial arts system; he claimed to be the Hanshi of the Mitose family martial arts.

James Mitose would die in prison, while the man who effectively killed him would continue teaching martial arts for many years.

About the Author: Al Case began Kenpo in 1967. Check out his three book series on ‘How to Create Kenpo Karate.’

Using the body as one unit in karate and other martial arts

Newsletter 706
Ligaments and how I figured out CBM

Good morning from Monkeyland!
Anther perfect day for working out!
What?
Working out seven days after surgery?
How can that be?
You simply use visualization,
do your forms in your mind,
and you still get 80% of the benefit!

And, the surgery…
The exact procedure involved a four inch slit in my shoulder
and some very delicate handiwork.
Two screws to hold the shoulder bone down,
a coil around the bones to help keep everything in place,
and a brand new ligament.

My new ligament is VERY happy to have joined my body.
Instead of the fade to black of death
which usually happens to the parts of a cadaver,
it is now part of CBM machine,
where every muscle and cell is expected to
contribute to the work of the whole organism.
Not one muscle doing everything,
but all muscles doing something.

this was the original concept of CBM depressed, incidentally.
I don’t think I’ve talked about this before, So let me explain right now.
The original concept of Coordinated body motion was
One muscle doesn’t do all the work,
All muscles do a little work.
One arm doesn’t do all the work,
all the parts of the body do a little work

This thought was a drastic departure from how I was being trained.
I was being trained to use force, even in the kang duk won.
Eventually, as you get older, you get tired of doing all the work
And you start looking for easier ways to get the work done.
But this doesn’t lead to CBM.
It leads to chi power, it leads to better martial arts,
but inefficiently.
And it doesn’t lead to coordinated body motion.
And, to tell you the truth, I was going outside my art,
And I was coming across concepts where people talked about
Using the body as one unit.
But what I couldn’t find was a way to describe this method
Of using the body is one unit,
And still be true to the concept
Of one muscle doesn’t do all the work.

So I thunk it up in my head,
Move the hand at the same speed you move the foot.
Then, instead of stepping forward and punching
I was stepping forward while punching.
And the whole ‘use the body is one unit’ thing resolved,
And coordinated body motion was born.
Yeah, just thunk it up.
Figured it out.
Made it up.
But it worked.

And I got into all sorts of computations
The weight of the leg over the arc of the foot times the speed of the kick,
The muscle of the arm Times the speed of the fist from point a to point B,
The mass of the hips rotated between the distance of the legs times the speed of…
And so on and so on.
But I gave up the computations because the world is simple
And it has to be solved simple, And kept simple, if it is going to work.
So you can take my description of CBM, and you can run with it.
You can use it and tweak your art, And fix your forms,
And make your techniques work.
Not complex.
It’s simple.

So I explain this to my ligament and it was happy,
But I didn’t have to explain it,
I just had to use CBM,
To walk with the body as one unit,
and the ligament loved it.
And the whole body Loved it.
The body Loves to work,
But the body love to work simple more.

Anyway, that is the story of CBM,
Done right, keep it simple,
And your art becomes simple,
And everything changes.

oinkey Doggie
If you want to see what goes on after CBM,
If you want to check into the real truth of such things as
Correct body alignment,
Perfect body structure,
How to make any technique perfect,
And so on,
Check out this page…

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/4-master-instructor-course/

Now have yourself a great workout,
And I’ll talk to you later.
Al

Three Kenpo Books!

I’ve finally put Matrixing to Kenpo Karate!

And, speaking of which, here is a new website…

http://kenponow.wordpress.com

I know you all know of my problems with the copyright infringement thing on the Matrixing Kenpo books.

I’ve just about got it fixed, people are happy, and it’s time to start getting the revamped books out.

The purpose of this new website is to give you an offer, all three books, in instant download, for only $15.

Normally the books are $15 a piece! So this is a REAL deal.

Doing this enables me to make sure things work, to get feedback, and to start the publishing process anew.

BUT, this will only last a short while. I hope to have the books up on the market within a few days. And if I don’t take this offer down then, it will be down shortly after, because when I publish on Kindle they won’t allow me to sell books that they are carrying in this format.

So you might have as little as a week to take advantage of this offer.

So head for the website…

http://kenponow.wordpress.com

and check it out.

Let me know if there are any problems.

And if you want to wait for the physical books, it won’t be long, but this offer is here for right now…

have a great work out!

Al

How to Do a Shoulder Roll the Right Way

Aikido Rolling Done the Right Way

I was following a martial arts forum the other day, and the subject was ‘Aikido Rolling.’
Call it Aikido, but these same rolls are found in Karate, kenpo, even the kicking art of Taekwondo.

aikido rolling  technique

Learn to fall, grasshopper!


 
The forum in question was attempting to solicit advice on how to teach these particular martial arts moves.
And, there was good advice, and some bad advice.
I learned how to roll, forward and backward, and break fall, and other sorts of these moves, in Kenpo Karate.
It wasn’t done much, actually presented as a technique, and not given any serious drilling.
When I began Kang Duk Won we did no rolls or breakfalls. The message was clear: don’t go to the ground. And, to those who disagree with such advice, if you learn to ground your weight properly, you cannot be taken to the ground.
But, that fact aside, it is useful to learn to do shoulder rolls aikido style. You learn to appreciate what another body might do, and there may come a time when a roll is the best defense.
I am reminded, in this latter point, of the time I was in Oakland and witnessed a motorcycle accident. The motorcyclist was cut off, struck the other car, and the rider catapulted through the air and did a perfect shoulder roll to a standing position.
So, that said, there is one theory you must understand and implement no matter what the method being used to teach you. And, there is one superior method for teaching how to roll.
The theory is this: a perfect circle has no corner. Whenever you roll and hear a sound, or feel a pain, that is an example of a corner. You must do the roll again, looking for the source of that sound or pain, and smooth it out until the roll becomes true.
For instance, the you hear the foot flop at the end of the move. Figure out how not to flop the foot.
Or, you get a sore head after rolling, so look for the point at which your head is hitting something.
Those are the corners, figure out how to smooth them out.
As for the one method, you simple give a person a basketball, show him how to wrap his body around it, then tell him to roll the ball.
You will be surprised at how easy this device, this real visualization works. people doing it suddenly have an example of a circle to adhere to. I use to curve a coat hanger in a circle and hand it to people. And you can use other things.
And that is the secret, and that’s all there is, to ‘aikido rolling’ in the martial arts.

There is a great course which shows you how to do Aikido quickly and effortlessly. it is called Matrix Aikido, and it is available at monsterMartialArts.com.

Make sure you subscribe to this blog at the top of the sidebar.

The Three Secrets of Pan Gai Noon Karate/Kung Fu

How Karate was Born, Destroyed, and Can Be Resurrected

I had no idea what Pan Gai Noon was when I began my studies of karate.
I had begun with Kenpo karate, and then moved onto classical karate such as presented by okinawan or Japanese systems.
As the years and then decades rolled past, I delved deeper and deeper into the martial arts, and always in the back of my mind was a question where did it all come from.
okinawan karate history
The Japanese karate system comes from Okinawa, and Okinawan karate is derived from a broad variety of martial arts and Asia.
One of the most important influences in the matter karate comes from Pan Gai Noon.
PGN was talking the Fukien province of China. It was taught by a street seller name Shu Shi Wa who may have learned it as a style of Temple boxing taught by Shaolin monks.
Mind you, there are no real hard facts here, so you will have to make up your own mind as to the originals of karate and even kung fu.
That said, If you analyze PGN using matrixing, you will find a wealth of specific self-defense structures in the first three forms of this martial arts system.
In the first form, Sanchin, you will find straight thrusts that will override incoming punches. You will also find very useful and street applicable basic blocks. You will learn this in conjunction with learning how to fasten the body to the ground.
Fastening the body to the ground, or grounding, is the secret of making PGN work. It is also the secret of making all martial arts work. It is the secret of the art.
Most important, at the end of first form you will find a block called wa-uke. This is a circular block, not talking other martial arts, but possibly the most useful block ever talking karate.
The essence of wa-uke is to slap with the first hand, then grab with the second hand.
Thus, using grounding, you train yourself to stand and face. You slapping grab any strike coming in, and counter.
This concept of stand face is found in no other martial art in existence.
Other arts teach you to fight, PGN teaches you to stand and face. As simple as this concept is, the whole system is based upon it, And students would spend literally decades learning it.
The second form of pan gai noon takes this concept of stand and face using only the block of wa-uke and expands it through a variety of strikes.
Matrixing, at this point, can speed up your study of the art. By using a simple matrix graph, one can understand all of the possible permutations of motion inherent in wa-uke.
Without matrixing it can take decades to learn the art; with matrixing one can learn to stand and face in a matter of months.
The third form, Sanseirui, expands upon the theory of fighting and presents whole methods of combat.
The last one is not limited to the method of wa-uke, but is able to expand his fighting concepts in many other directions.
These three secrets of pan gai noon are inside the three basic forms. Unfortunately, they have not been passed down, but rather altered to fit Okinawan and Japanese martial arts concepts.
That’s the real truth of PGN has been obscured by people who didn’t understand them, And who translated the art into such concepts as dynamic tension, excessive breathing patterns, and basic techniques that are not tied together and any cohesive theory or concept.

If you wish to see the truth of the matter, I recommend the pan gai noon book available at Amazon. With this course you will see the truth of the beginning of karate, how it was corrupted, and how it can be made great again. An extra bonus, there are three complete systems on this book and video course.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog, top of the sidebar.