The following is a guest editorial from Alaric Dailey
Being a student of traditional Karate-Do, when I make mention to a school owner or martial artist or parent of a child taking classes somewhere that “martial arts is more than punching and kicking, there is more to being a martial artist than simply being a fighter” I get a blank stare. At this point, I have to explain the following.
The Wudan Assassin, on kindle or paperback…click on the cover!
These days, tradition is often poo-pooed with some comment like “if it doesn’t make me a better fighter than I don’t care”. But being a fighter doesn’t make you a good person, in fact, simply knowing how to fight can make you arrogant, or worse, a bully.
This is often evidenced in “fighter” gyms, people walking around with bad attitudes, all about testosterone and ego, injuries abound because people are always trying to prove they are the king of the mountain.
The way of the warrior, Bushido, is about being a gentle soul, learning not only to punch and kick, but to help others, to be calm and humble.
In other words, learning all those “useless” things, like the language, the manners, the meditation, the discipline, reciting Dojo-kun are not useless, they are about expanding your mind, and making you more than a fighter.
In my original dojo, my sensei not only give us the meditation and such, but would also tell us stories of the Samurai, and give us pieces of Bushido that most westerners never hear. “Ikebana (flower arranging) is a great way to clear your mind”, and “self-defense is not just about punching and kicking, it is about avoiding and defusing danger in the first place” were words of wisdom that we often heard from sensei.
When the Japanese would teach an art, they would distinguish whether or not it included only fighting techniques, or would give you “the way”. If you have “the way” it is a Do, Karate-Do, Ju-Do, Aiki-Do, etc. If it is purely fighting techniques it was Jitsu, Karate-jitsu, Ju-jitsu, Aiki-jitsu, and Nin-jitsu.
As a side note here, you will notice there is no such thing as a “Do” for Ninja fighting techniques. This is because the ninja weren’t fighters, they were assassins, their skills included, poisons, escape, evasion, not being seen, killing techniques etc. Being a hired killer, and being a better person have nothing to do with each other.
and 3 more associated virtues
Filial piety (孝 kō)
Wisdom (智 chi)
Care for the aged (悌 tei)
I see it as a great loss that so many have thrown away history and tradition, the Do, in favor of the more testosterone fueled (and MMA fanned) jitsu. It is a sad state of affairs that our children grow up idolizing real and fictional people who push the ideas “might makes right” and “the ends justifies the means”, never once mentioning justice and mercy.
Right from the first block you ever learned…
the low block.
First off,
people are trained to block kicks with it.
Not a great idea.
Yes,
it is for kicks,
but you have to be careful in how you use it.
It is actually better for low punches.
It fits,
it makes sense.
And if you use it on a kick,
before you are ready,
you can hurt yourself.
Like…
break a bone hurt.
So here’s the deal,
Kicking is a certain range.
Punching is a certain range.
And so on.
If somebody kicks at you,
you should step back.
They are at their longest range,
a simple step back
keeps the range extended,
makes them reach,
makes them have to overcommit
if they want to get anywhere.
So you step back,
side step,
and just watch.
Calm your mind,
take your time,
and observe.
Finally, they will over commit,
and here’s the trick.
When you do the low block
DO NOT
block a fully extended limb.
Full extension means full power.
So you have to block their kick before it reaches extension.
This means sliding in to punching distance,
blocking,
and launching your counter.
If you counter a kick with a kick,
you will both have bruised shins,
and the fight will go on.
But if you counter a kick with a punch,
you are closing the distance,
and making him blink,
jamming his space and threatening him.
He now has to recalibrate.
He has to reset his thinking.
Set his body up for a whole new potential of motions.
A simple change in range will do that do an attacker.
I remember really messing with people’s minds,
simply shifting my weight an inch forward,
or an inch back,
right in the middle of their kick.
If they kept kicking,
they would be jammed, or overextended.
A kick is that slow,
that you can do that.
Especially if you calm yourself,
sit back,
and watch.
I would do this,
jamm or back back up,
just a little bit,
and people would stumble,
almost fall,
from trying to keep up with such a small motion.
So here’s the key,
for leg attacks,
which are further away,
and slower in coming,
you simply change the range.
Shift forward or back,
lift the leg as if preparing to kick,
but not kicking,
and just throwing the guy’s general sense of timing
into the dumpster.
When he closes,
a low block is what you do for a punch.
Don’t block a bigger bone with a smaller bone,
until you have enough experience.
Instead,
mess up his distance,
which will mess up his timing,
(Time is a measurement of distance),
and save the low block for the lower level punch.
NOW,
let’s say you’ve got the experience,
and it is time to use the block on the leg.
Remember,
time is distance,
and if you practice your forms and techniques
you will reach a stage,
where your sense of time is different from his sense of time.
He kicks,
and you will feel time slow down,
and you will be able to slip your arms forward
and block the kick
in the middle of it all.
You won’t block bone to bone,
but rather move in on his slow and predictable motion
and block as if apart from his sense of time.
By your own sense of time.
That’s when your low block will start to work for blocking kicks.
This is really a zen thing,
a mushin no shin thing
(Mind of no mind),
and the way to get it is not by fighting,
but by doing your forms and techniques,
endlessly,
and analyzing fighting.
Examining fighting,
looking at it,
until it stops being fighting
and starts being a science of motion.
Okey dokey,
you guys and gals practice.
The Matrixing Karate series
has four volumes published,
white belt, green belt, brown belt, and black belt,
and you can find them on Amazon.
I am currently living atop a mountain, caretaking a ranch, and putting together a ‘dojo in the sky.’
If you have lived on a ranch you know how rough it can be. The wildlife is hard at work surviving, and even the tame livestock can be pretty fierce.
The ultimate warrior in ALL the martial arts!
The mice, for instance, will crawl atop your warm motor and chew on the wires. Thus, we need cats, fierce cats, to control them.
But the cats are risk from coyotes, so we need fierce dogs to protect them.
My dog happens to be ‘city stupid.’ He wants to hide in the cabin all night and snooze. And even if he did go out and patrol the property, Mrs. Coyote is liable to give a yodel and lure him out…a fresh plate of coyote food.
So I talked to my partner about the situation, and he said, “Al, I’ve got just the dog for you,” and a couple of weeks later he brought out a pregnant Malenois.
A malenois is a small version of a German Shepherd, it has smaller jaws so it won’t break bones and cause lawsuits.
This particular Malenois earned a quick reputation as ‘The Hell Bitch.’
First, it rolled my Labrador over, introduced the poor, loving smurf to the matriarchy.
Then it went after the cats.
Cats! But it was supposed to protect the cats.
My partner said, “I‘ll bring you a couple of feral cats.”
But we had feral cats! And The Hell Bitch had made short work of them!
My partner didn’t think about that; didn’t consider that he was just bringing up more ’dog food,’ and a couple of weeks later he brought a couple of feral cats to the ranch.
“These guys are extra vicious,” he promised, and he let the first one go.
ZING! The Hell Bitch was on that cat like a rocket, and the cat disappeared into the wilderness.
My partner just smiled. “She’ll show up later,” then he released the second feral cat, and that was when I met the ultimate martial arts warrior.
Before I tell you about this warrior, however, let me tell you an old story.
Two samurai decided to see which one was better. So they exchanged invitations and arranged a meeting.
One morning they both arrived at a clearing.
They circled, and then stepped towards each other.
They drew their swords, and they edged closer and closer. They arrived at striking distance, and became motionless.
Hour after hour they stood there, each waiting for the other to make a mistake, to leave an opening.
Finally, just before dusk, they backed away from each other, sheathed their swords, and bowed.
One of them had made a mistake, an internal flinch, a moment of lost concentration, and the other had seen it. They never acknowledged who was the better, but they both knew who had won and who had lost.
So my partner released the second feral cat.
“Mew.”
He was white and orange, and he crossed the yard, coming straight for The Hell Bitch.
The Hell Bitch. whose name was Bel, gathered her legs, prepared to leap upon the cat.
“Mew.”
The cat walked right past her.
Bel growled and barked.
The cat ignored her, came to my wife and rubbed up against her leg.
Bel circled, snarling and snapping, waiting for the moment of weakness so she could charge in and tear the tabby apart.
“Mew.” The cat walked past me, up the steps to the house, and went in.
Bel followed her, looming over her, drooling and moaning with the desire to fight.
The cat jumped up on a chair and curled up.
Arrrooo! Grrrr! Bark!
Drool and slobber foaming out of her mouth, Bell snapped her jaws over the hair of the cat.
The cat rolled over and went to sleep.
Two days later, totally defeated, her whole DNA betrayed, her pregnant bitchery stymied, Bel took sick. She nearly died before my partner could come get her, hook her to an IV and drive her to an animal hospital.
The cat, you see, never showed a weakness. Did not hesitate or falter, and entertained no thought of resisting, of cringing, of shrinking, of reacting to the mad, foaming, insanely rabid hound.
The cat manifested, exactly, the attitude of Daniel in the lion’s den.
My question is this: how many of you have this concept in your martial art? How many of you can claim to have ever demonstrated even a fraction of this kind of behavior?
And, can you see this type of attitude emanating as a result of your training?
I have people asking me, every once in a while, for an example of Matrixing in the Martial Arts. This is something I don’t want to give, and there is an exact reason for me refusing. Let me explain this reason.
The mind is a bunch of memory. That’s all it is. An animal mind has very short span. A goldfish forgets within three seconds. That’s it. Simply, the goldfish is a being that lives within three seconds, and then moves on.
Bound by your own logic, matrixing sets you free.
Man is a rather longer memoried beast. It would be nice to go into this more, but this is not the time and place. So let it suffice to say that you can remember virtually anything. This lifetime alone, you can recall the most minute memories.
Now, mental abilities are something else, and they have absolutely nothing to do with the mind. Mental abilities, such as the ability to create problems, intuition, telepathy and telekinesis and all that sort of thing, that are not born of memory…they are what the awareness of the individual can do.
Separate them: mind is memory, and mental ability has nothing to do with the mind. Mental ability is what you, the human being, can do in your wildest dreams.
When you do the martial arts you memorize patterns. You memorize techniques. You memorize muscle motion.
You put all this into your mind.
But what can you do?
Well, you can do whatever is in your mind, but that has nothing to do with what you, the human being, can do in your wildest dreams.
You see, all this stuff you memorize into your mind is nothing more than…circuits. Just like an electrical circuit, bound by nodes and boards and such…everything is on a set path.
But you can only trap a human being so long. Eventually, be it a few seconds or a million years, the human being is going to say, ‘wait a minute! I recognize this place! I see what I’ve been doing! I see this memory!’
At that second the circuit is blown, the pattern disappears, and you become free.
Now freedom is relative, and that’s an absolute, and this is another one of those things I should skirt during the course of this essay.
So the point is this, when you blow a circuit you enter into mushin no shin. Mind of no mind. Or…a place where there are no memories telling you what to do.
Here’s a couple of things that go along with that phenomenon.
Mushin no shin can be achieved through the necessity of the moment…because of the need for survival. A fellow on the battlefield may experience it. Time slows down, he develops other perceptions rather instantly.
I remember reading of one fellow who survived Viet Nam because he could ‘smell’ Viet Namese. We could argue whether he actually detected by odor, or whether the human being sensed and attributed this ability to his nose, but the fact remains, he survived through an ability ‘grown’ for the moment.
Mushin no shin might last for a brief instant…then the memories come flooding back in. Still, that experience, that ‘aha’ moment, will open up a human being and let him or her know that there is a lot more to him, and life, than is ever written in a book, any book, in western society…or eastern.
Indeed, it is near impossible to describe this moment except in general and almost cartoonish terms.
The world glows. You understand God. You can see forever. These are descriptions of something that cannot be described.
And there are other phenomena connected with mushin no shin, or as I have segued into…enlightenment.
The difference between mushin no shin and enlightenment may be merely one of degree, or perhaps depth of understanding. Or perhaps the type and size of circuits blown.
But let’s return to the martial arts and why I don’t give examples of matrixing.
The martial arts are a series of memories. They are patterns. They are circuits implanted in the mind through hard work. And here is the bugaboo.
If the martial art is sufficiently illogical, there will be no mushin no shin, except by the severest accident. There will be no enlightenment.
One example of this is boxing. There are no examples that I can think of where a boxer suddenly threw off his gloves and said, ‘I understand that the essential nature of the universe is a golden vibe which we call God.’
There are a few boxers who have been pounded into believing in God, but this is not enlightenment, this is worship by the beaten.
Another example would be kenpo.
To be plain, I love Kenpo, I have loved it since I encountered in 1967, but I was not able to matrix it for a variety of reasons.
It doesn’t create a connection with the earth through serious stance work. It is a put together, a real conglomeration, of everything Ed Parker encountered and thought about: it is the memories, jumbled and reconstructed in a desperate effort to make sense, of one man. It is five evolutions of thought as one man went through life without ever encountering mushin no shin, or an ‘aha’ moment.
Nothing against kenpo, it just best exemplifies illogic in the martial arts.
And what it specifically exemplifies is the basic training method, which is memorization, or implantation of training sequences in the mind.
When I developed matrixing it seemed like an accident, but it was really my search for logic in a universe that is rather slipshod and haphazard and put together by whim and shamble.
Why me, why the martial arts, why the million and one experiences that set me free, I don’t know. Call me a cosmic accident.
But the fact remains, I tripped over a form of logic, described briefly in Boolean algebra, that puts order to ALL the jumbled up strings of random motions that we have been memorizing and calling the martial arts for a zillion years.
Now, if I could, in one word, or simple sentence, describe matrixing, I would, but you wouldn’t understand it.
Here is that sentence:
For something to be true the opposite must also be true.
Doesn’t make much sense, does it?
But it will if you do a few hundred hours of logical work in the martial arts.
Mind you, you could do a few thousand hours of work, a few million hours of work, and get nowhere. You would merely be trying to make sense of the insensible, the stored up memories in your mind.
You see, without the logic, without matrixing…the mindless mass of memorized circuits that are the martial arts just won’t make sense.
And, without the martial arts, with only the logic, you are left with:
For something to be true the opposite must also be true.
A simple phrase that means everything, and nothing, and is sort of like a zen koan, and doesn’t describe any sort of logic you have ever experienced.
So, it is impossible for me to give you an example, your jumbled up memory of a mind just won’t accept it. You will translate it into gibberish.
And, here is a cruel trick, when somebody gets close to understanding they say, ‘Oh, we’ve got that in our system.’
Simply, they have latched on to some simple point, and they do have it in their system, but their mind has slid right off of Matrixing the way teflon slides off bacon and eggs.
So you are caught. You are trapped in your own hard work, trying desperately to justify it, and refusing any example of real logic I could give you.
And your only real solution is to dig into the martial arts, and dig into matrixing that you might hope to understand the martial arts.
And, nobody really understands the martial arts.
True. Sad, but true.
They think they do, and they explain the martial arts by saying something like, ‘a punch is just a punch,’ or, ‘a kick is just a kick.’ Or some other pithy saying after a few decades in the martial arts.
Nope.
That’s just more teflon sliding off the pan.
The real martial arts are a thought.
Not meat, not mind circuits, not even freedom.
They are a simple thought.
And the only way you will ever understand the thought that is the martial arts is through matrixing. I say this because the martial arts have never been understood in the history of mankind. Ever. Not on any planet, not on any plane of existence.
If they had been understood they would have, like one of those circuits, disappeared, and we would have a civilization without war and disease and the general corruption of mankind.
This essay has been written by Al Case, the discoverer of Matrixing. You can read more concerning matrixing and martial arts at Monster Martial Arts. If you are more interested in the type of thought process described in this essay, you should go to the Church of Martial Arts.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter, download any free books, press the FB like button, and donate (order matrixing materials).
This has been a page about why there are no examples of Matrixing in the Martial Arts.
Happy work out!
That’s not dangerous,
that’s probably the best blessing in the world.
An actual time when you can dedicate yourself
to making the body strong, the mind quick and sharp,
and the pure enhancement of you,
and NOBODY can get in your way
All of which leads us to the most dangerous words in the universe.,
and what you can do to defeat them.
A man guilty of these two words is in an eternal box of limited potential.
Before I tell you what these dangerous words are,
and what you can do to undo them,
let me ask you a question.
Would you like to do one thing for the rest of your life?
Maybe build outhouses.
Let’s say you discovered that you’re a fair carpenter,
and that you build outhouses that are far better
than the outhouses built by anyone in the world.
You become famous for building outhouses,
and the government discovers that you are a natural treasure,
so they pass a law dictating that you will be
the sole and only national outhouse builder.
And they even give you lots of money for doing this.
So you go to work,
and,
at first you are happy.
Such luxurious outhouses.
Brass rails and furry seats,
endless supplies of the softest paper.
Believe me,
you are making a world happy.
And it’s good…for the first few years.
Then,
you wish you could do something else.
I mean,
as good as your outhouses are,
it’s all you do,
and it’s getting boring.
Polish the handrails,
glue the velvet on the seat,
put the paper on the roll.
Man,
maybe you’re the best,
but it feels like you could train a chimp to do it.
But,
there’s that darned law,
people expect you to make outhouses,
and the money is so good…
so you keep going.
A few more years pass,
and you are going out of your mind!
Same old same old
dat after day,
the goldurn railing,
the Frigging velvet glued down,
you even hate gluing the half moon to the door!
So you try to quit,
but nobody will give you a job because,
darn it,
you’re the supplier of America’s bottoms!
People wouldn’t be able to,
uh,
do their business…
without you!
You are more important than a national treasure!
You are the sole industry and you are the only one who is allowed to do it it and…
and you start buying drugs to escape the pain of the same old same old.
but you can’t escape,
you are doomed to building outhouses until the day you die,
which can happen none too soon,
if it was up to you.
but it can’t happen because of Obamacare,
you are taken care of,
not allowed to die,
doomed to polish handrails and glue velvet,
and,
hate to say it,
but congress is considering another bill,
they are considering making you the sole outhouse builder of the nation
next lifetime.
That’s right,
reincarnation.
Karma…
ain’t it a be-yotch?
Now,
pay attention here,
because I will tell you how to undo the effects
of the most dangerous words in the universe
in just a few sentences…
don’t just break the mouse and smash the computer because of these words,
but the two most dangerous words in the whole, entire universe are…
normalcy bias.
Normalcy bias is when you are happy that everything is normal.
The reason these words are so dangerous is because,
in the extreme,
you will be doomed to be the world’s best outhouse builder.
in the un-extreme,
these words are dangerous because
they make you content to just wallow your way through life.
Imagine being happy with minimum wage…
that’s normalcy bias.
Imagine being happy with a wife that cheats…
that’s normalcy bias.
Imagine being happy with a child that is a bone brain
who burns cats for fun…
that’s normalcy bias.
Now,
I know it all seems sort of…funny,
maybe quaint,
and maybe you’re not all that alarmed,
that’s normalcy bias.
But I’m not going to tell you the really scary thing about it
until I tell you what to do about it.
I want you to finish this page
before you go cry and hide in a corner.
It is very neutronic to say…
there are only three directions in this universe.
There is towards, away from, or with.
That’s it.
Every other direction in this universe
is just a shade of those three things.
A car is careening towards you,
you can run away from it,
you can run towards it,
or you can figure out how to hop on and take a ride.
If you choose any angle that is going away,
that is still away.
If you choose any angle that goes towards,
that is still towards.
If you can get the driver to slow down
so you can get in the door,
or hop on the hood,
or whatever,
that is with.
And this applies to a fist.
Let’s say somebody tries to hit you.
You can run away from him,
you could tackle him,
or you could guide his fist harmlessly past.
An aikido master has mastered this concept of going with.
But the master of ANY martial art (but not sport like MMA)
has mastered this.
Simply,
he has mastered the motions of the universe
so that he can do what he wants with them.
He is not the victim of a fist that smashes into his face,
he is the receiver of a blessing
that he can manipulate to his own enjoyment and satisfaction.
Joe Blow,
not knowing any martial arts,
is an accident waiting to happen.
When the fist flies,
he is going to eat knuckles.
Simply,
he is going to wallow around,
and has no knowledge
of how make the fist work for him.
How to slip it like in Pa Kua
or guide it in wing chun,
or absorb it in Tai Chi,
or harmonize with it in aikido.
Joe’s older brother,
Rollo,
has been studying karate for ten years,
so he can block and strike.
Their father,
Louis,
is matrixing,
so when the mugger flies out of the alley
with a knife in one hand and a club in the other,
screaming dirty words and exposing himself,
which of these three people is going to die because of normalcy bias?
Joe is dead meat.
He was so lame that he didn’t study anything.
He was happy to be a doofus,
going through life without working at anything.
This is the worst case of Normalcy Bias.
Rollo has a chance,
but not much of one.
After all,
the mugger is high on drugs and can’t feel anything,
and he is insane,
and even if Rollo manages to block,
his decisions are limited,
he only has a couple of choices,
and they are based on going towards.
You see,
he had normalcy bias, too.
He was happy to study one art for ten years,
not speeding up,
not looking into other potentials of motion.
Pap Louis will survive because he didn’t have normalcy bias.
He wasn’t satisfied with not knowing the martial arts,
and he didn’t limit himself to one martial art,
but he dedicated his life to learning ALL martial arts.
So the moral is this:
people who don’t accept normal as the rule
will live to fight another day.
Think about it like this:
you are the first person in America,
and you need to walk across the country.
You reach the first river,
and you are stopped.
But the guy who spent his life not just walking,
but learning to swim and climb and jump and…
he’s the one who’s going to make it across the country.
And if you are satisfied with one little corner of the country,
of living in one neighborhood,
and knowing only fifty or sixty people during your lifetime,
than…you go it…NB.
Normalcy Bias.
So go to Monster,
pick the course you don’t know anything about,
and get out of Normalcy Bias.
See to your survival
for ALL potentials of motion.
Not just the one dictated to
by one martial art,
or two.
Here’s the URL…
http://monstermartialarts.com
Al
Decided to make a separate newsletter for Monkeyland.
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Wins are pouring in on the Best Internet Karate Course in the World, and you can see them on the right side of the page at KangDukWon.com. Here’s one…
Hi sensei , I love it, hone it day by day. I am reading all the manuals you gave me…its fascinating, all the bonus stuff. I’ve learned more in a minute from watching and reading (you) than in whole live classes, seriously. You really changed my mind about Karate, that’s most unusual. Thru your system and instruction it takes now about 1-3 days to understand and memorize a kata, deeply ingrained. That’s high speed! I see the light… Will Continue reading →
One of the most fun things you can do, be it martial arts, kickboxing, or just plain on your own conditioning, is a heavy bag workout.
There is nothing like setting, and whomping that sucker with all your might! Whether you do a heavy bag workout for beginners, women, for weight loss or whatever, there is a satisfaction that comes with watching that bad boy fly to the ceiling!
Heavy Bag workouts build real power!
Now, the trick is to have the best bag you can. You have to select a weight that is right for you, and a texture, and so on.
Hard core martial artists will claim that you have to kick something as heavy as an attacker, maybe a couple hundred pounds. The problem is that the bag doesn’t have enough give for you, especially in the beginning. Simply, you kick it, and it doesn’t move that much, and you don’t get satisfaction, and the muscles don’t get that feeling of having pushed something.
Now, we don’t want a speed bag, like boxers use. That’s too light, and the muscles don’t get the feel of resistance necessary for weightlifting.
And it is weightlifting, be it fast and violent, and you need to find the exact weight that will work for you.
A 70 pound bag is perfect. It has give, and it weighs enough that it will fly away, but still last you for a while as your muscles get stronger and stronger.
The next step would be a hundred pound kicking bag. After that, you play it by ear, but a 20 to 25 pound increase is about all you want at one time.
No, it doesn’t weigh as much as an opponent, but you need to raise the level of resistance in accordance with how your body grows, not form an unworkable ideal right off the bat.
Now, a couple of interesting facts, and then I will tell you where I get my kicking bags.
Before he died, Bruce Lee ordered a bag that was 300 or 400 pounds. He weighed 135 pounds, and I have no idea how much fly he was expecting to get out of that bag, but…man! If anybody could do it, it was Bruce.
And, did you know that kicking bags are stuffed with clothes? True. I think a lot of them have furniture filling, but it was clothes for years for many.
And, the way they fill heavy bags is with baseball bats. They just have a couple of guys pile drive the end of the bat into the top of the bag until everything is squooshed down, weighs the right amount, and doesn’t have any…edges.
Anyway, think about what I said here, before you buy anything for your heavy bag workout.
And, if you want to know how I pack my personal bags – yes, I do it all myself – then go to cheap punching bag. The story of how I discovered my method, and the things I went through…it’s quite interesting, and it will help you on your journey to the best heavy bag workout you can have. Pick up some free martial arts books while you’re there.
I’m always fascinated by martial art weapons.
It’s so nice to think that you can stand back and defend yourself
without ever getting your hands dirty.
The problem is that I don’t like many of the martial art weapons out there.
I like the Chinese sword.
It is delicate and quick,
like a knitting needle.
Great martial art weapons
I like blow guns,
they are silent,
foldable,
you can make poison darts.
I like two sticks,
they are fantastic for training.
And I like a few others,
but most martial art weapons are too heavy,
or confined in their motion.
Now,
that said,
I probably never told anybody this,
but my father was an engineer.
Actually,
he made prototypes.
At first he worked for a small company named Ampex.
He was responsible for materials and machining
for the original tape recorders
back in the fifties.
In the sixties he went to Memorex,
became the prototype engineer,
again,
responsible for machining exotic materials.
Now,
let me bridge this to the martial arts.
In his spare time
he used to play golf,
and he started putting together weird golf clubs.
By weird,
I mean that he had access to space age materials.
And he started making golf clubs
with titanium shafts,
fibre glass shafts,
heads made out of…whatever,
and so on.
He probably invented a couple of things,
but he never bothered with patenting,
the companies he worked for
were pretty obsessive about patents,
so he didn’t bother.
He knew if he patented a golf club
one of those companies
would claim it was theirs.
Seriously.
Anyway,
the reason I bring this all up
is that I don’t see any martial art weapons
using space age materials.
There’s a couple of things out there,
especially knives,
and there’s some other oddities,
but when is the last time
you saw a sword made out of some exotic material,
kept a better edge,
even if you used it to pound in spikes?
I know there have a been a few things made,
but not a lot.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have a staff
as light as fiberglass,
but virtually unbreakable?
A sword that actually bends?
Now,
I can see problems with some of these things,
for instance,
something might not have the weight,
and you do often need weight in a weapon,
but if you put an exotic metal blade on the end,
it would be as quick as a knitting needle,
but longer than a Chinese sword,
and it might put a whole new slant
on fighting with weapons.
Man,
I can think of all sorts of problems,
but it would be fun to make something like that,
see what the probs are,
then reinvent it again,
and eventually focus
on something better.
The whole thrust of war
has been for better machines.
The machine gun revolutionized warfare.
Then along came the tank.
The submarine,
the blimp…and the plane.
So why not the martial arts weapons?
Think about it,
a heat seeking nine section chain dart.
Or,
a laser guided samurai sword…
Well,
perhaps I’m going a little too far,
but if necessity if the mother of invention,
imagination is the father of invention.
All right,
let me share a win…
Al,
I just wanted to say that I think that your Blinding Steel program is a great addition to my students escrima training. I have been teaching them the Heaven Six patterns and found that your concept of the Circle of Blocks is a great way to enter into these patterns. The ability to flow from the circle to the heaven patterns is a great way for the students to learn movement, striking and blocking with ease. The nine square concept made it very easy for them to see the angle of attacks that can be delivered at any given time. It also is a great way to remove the fear of being struck during the disarm section of Blinding Steel. Excellent info once again. Well done Al, well done. I just want to say thank you and keep up the great work.
Michael G
Thanks Michael!
And for everybody,
my programs,
and especially the Blinding Steel,
are martial arts by themselves,
but their real purpose
is to clarify all martial arts,
and you can use them
with your martial art
no matter what martial art it is.
Anybody who teaches martial art weapons,
should consider implementing blinding steel.
Anybody who teaches Karate,
should start of with Matrix Karate.
And the Shaolin Butterfly
should be taught before traditional Shaolin.
Don’t you understand?
These are unique and whole martial arts by themselves,
but they expose and clarify
and give a big, whomping, huge,
kick in the butt
to all the traditional martial arts.
I haven’t re-invented the martial arts,
I have just figured out better ways to teach them,
how to make them work together,
how to figure out the lost (concealed) pieces,
and so on.
It’s like putting space age material,
on ancient weapons,
and getting something better.
You guys may think that this is a tongue in check article on getting the best martial arts equipment, but it isn’t. I have personally tried the methods here, and they are top notch body calisthenic methods.
First, I tried cinderblocks. I didn’t want to dig holes and sink poles for the Plum Flower Fist, which is a form of Praying Mantis Gung Fu. This was great. Jumping up down gave me strength, as well improving my balance.
Yeah, baby!
From there I look for other things to use for martial arts equipment.
Tires were great. I learned to use tires originally for swinging a wooden sword. Took a lot of strength and control to make the tire turn and bounce the way you wanted it to. So I grabbed nine of them, arranged them in a simple grid of three by three, and started walking the circle, Pa Kua Chang style. This was odd, hard to ground through the springiness of the tires. but, you often learn more from what doesnt’ work than what does, so I moved on.
My my next experiment in Martial Arts Training Equipment.I put four by fours on edge and practiced forms on them. This was interesting, and taken directly from Ton Toi Northern Shaolin Gung Fu. Ton Toi means springy legs, and I learned all sorts of things about balance while springing from beam to beam.
And, I tried doing forms on top of fences. It was wild. Trying to spin and move, six feet above the ground, without falling al-l-l the way down! I don’t know how much I got out of this martial arts equipment, but if was fun!
And, in between these things I tried hanging balls from the rafters, punching tennis balls at a wall, and other sorts of things. But my next big foray into martial arts equipment was at the old Los Angeles Zoo.
The old zoo, now sort of gone, or at least redone into a picnic area, was a mess of cages and bounders strewn about in the cages to give the animals some sort of sense of nature. So I worked out in cages…lions and tiger and me…oh my!
And I learned a lot! I especially grew in arm strength. Having to hang on to the side of a cage, or going across the top monkey style, built up a lot of strength in the arms. Trying to do kicks while so perched was especially educated. You get a whole new appreciation for how the hip joints work.
Now, last in my martial arts equipment were trees. At the Los Angeles zoo there were all sorts of low hanging trees. I could walk on the trunks of some of them, climb to joints, and generally swing around and do all sorts of stuff. The interesting thing about this was that I could practice sinking my weight.
One of the places I got this idea from, aside from my experiences in the cages, was a fellow wrote an article where he had to hang from a tree limb for an hour a day for a few months before the master would teach him.
Well, having done a little hanging myself, I can definitely attest to the benefits in the arms and shoulders. It stretches them out and gives truth to the old saying, ‘A long muscle is a strong muscle.’
Now, that about does it except for one thing…all of the equipment I used cost nothing. That’s right, I didn’t have to spend any money at my martial arts equipment suppliers, and I got a better work out than some big nautilus machine could ever give!
Martial Arts Survival Training Replaces Ammunition!
This thing, of martial arts survival training replacing rifles and handguns, is a real thing.
You see, I just read another instance of a gunshop running out of ammunition. So, they limited their customers to one box of ammo apiece.
My fists are my real weapons…heh!
I’ll never run out of fists!
Isn’t that interesting, we are having a shortage of ammo because the United States government is apparently buying it all up.
Sheesh! What are they expecting a war? A revolution? An uprising of citizens because of the things that the government is…don’t get me started!
Anyway, the point is that real self defense starts with the fists. Or with broken bottles and clubs and whatever else might make a quick weapon.
You see, the mugger isn’t going to tap you on the shoulder and challenge you to a karate kumite match.
He’s going to jump out of some dark corner and conk your noggin with a rusty engine block!
Yes! I’m serious!
The guy in your house while you are all sleeping upstairs will probably have some sort of weapon, and he will be willing to use it to get away with your stuff. You know, things like your car and your wife or daughter.
And, it is fun to fantasize that you will just pull out your pistolo and give him an extra rectum.
And, I am not discounting that happy possibility.
But, fighting starts with the fists, when you don’t have anything else. And what is your gaurantee that you won’t be pushing a shopping cart across the parking lot when a bash mob comes along and decides you’re the wrong color?
What are going to do? Defend yourself with frozen peas?
What are the chances that you will not be able to get to your Smith and Wesson brain popper…or just that you are a bad shot under pressure and miss the sucker?
What are you going to do if you can’t get to your weapon because it is in a lock box…at the bank! Or has a childproof trigger guard! Or you just plain run out of ammo!
So, now you are down to it. Fists. That lampshade over there. Hit him with a sofa cushion!
And he’s got a knife!
Okay. Made my point, didn’t I?
So you need martial arts training. And not that internet crap where they promise you ten moves that will kill anybody.
You ask any trained martial artist and he will laugh in your face at that.
You are going to suddenly remember a trick, when the guy trained in the prison yard, outweighing you by a hundred pounds, trying to stick a knife in your ribs?
No. It takes focus and discipline to remember stuff in the middle of combat. That’s why people train for years…because the quick fix courses don’t work, never have worked, and if they did…we wouldn’t have martial arts!
So, my advice to you is get to a martial arts school. Start learning something. Don’t be the next George Zimmerman…or Trayvon Martin. Don’t be the victim of bash mobs.
Look, there are probs with the country. There are going to be riots! There are going to be hungry people roaming the street!
So get yourself some real martial arts survival training…it’s worked for thousands of years, and it’ll work now. But you have to do it!
Go to the Testimonials in the menu and do a search for your martial art!
Hi Sensei Al!
(On the Black Belt Course) Everything is working great! Thank you for the quick responses. I am enjoying the one on one videos. It may be cliche, but I do feel like I'm there. I also like the conversational style and the way you explain how you're teaching and why. You've got a new student for life. Thank you. ~ Daniel
What's interesting about Al Case's writings and teachings is there isn't any emphasis on 'the unknown' or 'mystery' behind martial arts. Al will slam this information in your face! Quite frankly the data isn't hidden, you'll find you're blind. ~ WG
Al Case is a powerful presence to be around, but if you can confront it, then you will not be sorry, for there is no one like him, and it is an extreme privilege and honor.
I used to read your articles in Inside Karate and was excited when I found your web site. ~ RV
As an old timer with thirty-five years of experience I was really bored, but your works have peaked my interest and shown me that there is much more to learn. I Thank You Again, Sincerely ~ CC
Where was this information 24 years ago? This course is one of the best things to ever happen to me. Thank you Al Case for the gift of knowledge!
Be blessed my teacher, ~ Rev. Ernest R
I bought the Infinite Fist tape YEARS ago and you know? I Keep going back to it! ~ KS
You are a master. You have opened me up to things that I have never thought of before. ~ KFM
I purchased your course on "Create Your Own Martial Art" and absolutely love it. I believe that your matrixing system is very unique. ~ DW
In my entire experience twenty years as a student and an instructor since, no one has contributed more to my martial arts education than you have. I started following your works twenty years ago and although I was young then I knew you had the True Art it was obvious to me even then. ~ Charles C
Students will know longer be slaves of poor instructors and practitioners. ~ Lonnie M
Win from Master Instructor Course
Let me start out by saying thank you. Thanks from all the martial artists who asked why. Al, I'm in the Security and Law enforcement field and carry Instructor credentials, so effective methods in combat and teaching them is what I constantly look for.
Win from Matrix Aikido
I just had to write to you to say WOW. Your INSTANT AIKIDO is great!!! ~ SD
My students have started coming up to me after class telling me how much more they are enjoying it, and that the classes have stopped being so ridged and now flow in a kind of give and take between me and them. I have stopped being a task master and started having fun and letting them teach me as well.
I did the Master Instructor Course and it hit me. The Basics that are so concisely communicated in this course including the Matrix principle IS the solution. It doesn’t matter what “style” I call my art, because all styles follow these same principles. It doesn’t matter how hard I train or how many repetitions I do if I don’t train the right way. And I would never become a master if I didn’t know how it all fits together. Now I do! I can honestly say that I am now on the path that I have always sought as a martial artist. Thank you Al!
I conducted a Matrix Aikido training class for a Security Team at a local manufacturing plant. I tailored the training according to their Use Of Force policy. As you know they need control and takedown skills. I knew Matrix Aikido would be the answer. The training plan you shared was boss. The class went so smoothly. The participants learned very quickly. By the end of the class you could see techniques of Monkey Boxing coming through. They were also able to create their own techniques. There was one female officer in the class who asked to become my private student. She was throwing, locking and taking down guys twice her size. The Security Supervisor wants me to come back and with more participants! I'll keep you posted. ~ L M
Have found your books and dvds excellent. My background is mainly in medical qigong but I practice Sun Style Tai CHi, BaGua and HsingI as well as Eagle Claw, Snake Style Kung Fu and several Wudang weapon styles. This is the first time I have had the underlying principles so clearly explained and in a way that they are immediately workable and demonstratable. I have worked through the Master Instructors Course, Aikido and Butterfly Bagua and have started to breakdown the Sun Hsing I using your matrix method. I was even able to teach a 70 year old friend of mine with no martial arts background your instant aikido where she was able to do some very accomplished locks and throws after the first lesson
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