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Martial Arts Reading Minds

Reading Minds in the Martial Arts!

Newsletter 1121

Reading minds is pretty easy with the martial arts,
but it takes some time to cultivate the ability.
First, dedicate yourself to doing the forms.
Do the forms until they become automatic
and you are halfway there.

Automatic is where most people stop,
and these people end up mouthing
about such things as muscle memory.
But they have only gone halfway.

You must continue to do the forms
until they become intuitive.
Intuitive is quite a bit different than automatic.
Automatic is memory,
it is working off patterns of the past.
Intuitive means you saw it coming,
you are creating spontaneously
as you enter the future.

Because people think they have reached the end
when they are only halfway
they tend to slack off.
They teach,
and think that is a work out.
No.
You must dedicate yourself to exploring the forms
until there is no nook or cranny unexplored.

To sum:
you must do the forms until they are automatic,
then work harder
and undo the automaticity until awareness takes over.

I remember a time,
not the first,
but definitely a memorable time,
when I blew it.

A fellow walked into my school.
Asked a few questions,
watched the students working through the forms,
and he came up with that silliness
which visitors often entertain.

“So you can use this stuff to defeat somebody.”
I saw the challenge in his words.
Oh, he was curious and anxious and…silly.
Would you go up to a carpenter
and challenge him to pound a nail in
just so you could be sure?

But I was just as silly.
“Go ahead, take a punch at me.”

A moment while he considered me.
We were standing side by side
and I suddenly saw how he was going to have to twist
to throw a punch at me.
Then reality changed.
I saw a cartoon reality over imposed on reality.
I saw a cartoon of him twisting and striking,
and I moved.
But I didn’t move far,
because he had not punched.
He had just thought it.
I had picked up the thought and moved too soon.
I should have waited until his punch was almost to my face
before I moved.

I saw sadness in him, and a slump of the shoulder.
He was defeated and didn’t understand how I had beaten him.
I had beaten him in his thoughts.
I had overwhelmed him so thoroughly
he would never become a student.

Thoughts are where actions come from,
so practice the actions of the forms
until you see the thoughts.

Practice the forms until you are in a space that is silent of thoughts,
silent of the rattle and chatter of what goes for
‘human thinking.’

Practice until you are on top of a mountain,
no sounds, mental or otherwise, around you,
and the herd of humanity swirls and chatters below you.

And…you know what I’m going to say,
you can learn ten times faster
if your forms are aligned and make sense.
If they are…matrixed.
Check out the video courses at:

MonsterMartialArts.com

I’ve got matrixing applied to karate, kung fu, aikido, weapons,
and lots of other arts.
Matrix Karate is the start,
but start with what interests you.

Thanks to those who have been buying my books.
A few of them are listed at the bottom of this newsletter.

Have a great work out!
Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

CHECK OUT
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS I HAVE REPUBLISHED!

The Last Martial Arts Book

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

Five Martial Arts!

Martial Arts Philosophy!

Newsletter 1119

Two New Martial Arts Books!

Yep!
Two, count ‘em two…
martial arts books.
But, let me give you a couple of cautions.
I like to sell stuff,
but I detest misrepresenting,
or selling stuff that people will be sorry they bought.
SO…

The books are about Neutronics,
which is my science as it developed from matrixing.
I think it is crucial to understand the science
behind the science of the martial arts.
People who understand why end up being better martial artists.
But if you disagree and just want to roll.
That’s okay by me.

And,
a second caution…
I wrote the first book,
titled ‘Insanica,’ and didn’t like it.
The structure was wrong,
came off a little twitchy.
So I rewrote it as ‘Neutronica.’
Better structure,
but there were things left out,
things which were in the first book.
Hmm.
The heck with it.
I published both books.
Let the reader figure it out.
The same book written twice,
but from different points of view.
I recommend reading Neutronica first,
then, if you’re still with me,
dig into Insanica.

So what’s in these books?
Complete description of the universe,
where it came from, how it was made.
Complete description of you.
What you are and where you came from.
Complete instructions on how to use Neutronics
to manipulate the universe and everything in it.
Not just the martial arts, but…
EVERYTHING!

This stuff makes you think,
it’s not for the dumb at heart,
but I tried to write it for people who
just want the working facts.

Some of this stuff will upset people.
They’ll say I’m crazy,
and even want to burn the book.
But what these books are is like life…matrixed.
If you agree with how I matrixed the martial arts,
you might like how I’ve matrixed life.
If you don’t like matrixing,
or even like it but disagree with it,
you might not like Insanica and Neutronica.

But,
like it or not,
I’ve done my best.
Future plans include further books in this line,
maybe a rewrite if I can figure out how to combine
and keep everything silly.
Here they are…

Neutronica

Insanica

Want the video instruction?
Go to MonsterMartialArts.com.

Have a great work out!
Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

CHECK OUT
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS I HAVE REPUBLISHED!

The Last Martial Arts Book

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

Five Martial Arts!

Martial Arts Firestorm!

Kung Fu Firestorm!

Hearts to California.
I lived there for over 70 years
and I loved it.

You know how to defeat the firestorm
that engulfed California?
Or similar tragedies that infect our country?
Elect competent politicians.
Where do we get competent politicians?
From competent people.
Where do we get competent people?
The martial arts.

Martial Arts provides a discipline
that makes people competent.
Over the last almost 60 years
I have met thousands of martial artists.
Every one of them has been competent
and even understanding and patient.
They invariably own their own business,
or occupy positions of management.

And,
not to spread the doom and gloom,
but when people start roaming the streets
and crime is rampant,
it’s martial arts that will enable you to survive.
Regulations in California
will screw up the rebuilding.
The result will be mansions
and homeless communities.
A perfect storm of rich people
and the people who want to rob them.

And,
if that isn’t bad enough,
people will be moving out of California,
more than ever,
and they will bring a certain degree of
incompetence
and even criminality,
to a town near you.

I’m not kidding.
I grew up in California
and watched this happen.
With this current tragedy
I can see it happening countrywide.

If you know martial arts,
learn some more.

The Last Martial Arts Book!

If you just want to learn them,
try this course…

Matrix Karate

So,
in the interests of strengthening good people
and the country at large,
let’s have a firestorm sale
to combat the firestorm in California.
I’ll continue the BOGO
(Buy One Get One free)
I had in December.

All you have to do is order a course,
then email me at aganzul.gmail.com,
and let me know what you want
your second course to be.

My best wishes to California, and…
Have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

CHECK OUT
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS I HAVE REPUBLISHED!

The Last Martial Arts Book

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

Five Martial Arts!

Three for One Martial Arts!

Big Martial Arts Presents!

It’s almost Christmas!
Or,
as I like to call it,
HANAKWANMASS!
Normal people celebrate one holiday,
I celebrate three!
That means everybody has to send me three times the gifts!
Yippee!
But,
I guess I have to give you guys three times the value.

So until January,
if you order one course,
I’ll give you a second course FREE!
Just order a course,
then email me at aganzul@gmail.com
and tell me what you wish your second course.
(Please make it of equal value)
Then,
I will include
The Master Text FREE!
That’s three items for the price of one.

Take a look at the Master Text here…

MASTER TEXT

Let me just say something about Christmas presents.
Presents express how you feel about some.
So how do you feel about yourself?
Doing the martial arts is the best present
you can give yourself.
You get stronger,
mentally sharper,
you’re able to protect your loved ones,
you stay healthy and live longer.

That’s about the best present you can give yourself.
It benefits you
and your loved ones
and improves the quality of your life tenfold!

Okay,
guys and gals,
Head on over to Monster Martial Arts,
an…

Have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

CHECK OUT
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS I HAVE REPUBLISHED!

The Last Martial Arts Book

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

Five Martial Arts!

Martial Arts Two for One Special!

Two for One Martial Arts!

Newsletter 1117

It’s time!
It’s been a year, and…
HANAKWANMASS!
I don’t care what your religion is
I want to celebrate it!
Something to be learned from everything,
you know?

In that spirit,
my present to you is
TWO FOR ONE!
Order a course at Monster Martial Arts
then write me at aganzul@gmail.com
and tell me what you want your second course to be.
I’ll send you the links if you are downloading,
or the physical disks if that’s your wish.
Oh, and try to make them of similar value.
please.

Now,
I remember reading a yoga treatise,
and the fellow said,
a year in yogic meditation
was like ten years of spiritual growth.
I like that.
It sure applies to martial arts.

And,
I remember reading
way back when
that it took three lifetimes to master the martial arts.
Hmmm.
I don’t like that.
I understand that,
but that only applies if you have a bad art
or maybe a bad teacher.
If you have even a halfway decent teacher
you can master the martial arts
in a couple of decades.
That’s a black belt in three to four years
and mastery in a couple of decades.
Of course
it only takes about a year to get a black belt
if you study a matrixed art
And maybe three to four years to mastery of the martial arts.

Why?
I’ll tell you what I said in my first advertisement
which was in the pages of Inside Karate
back when they had magazines.

If you have 3, 6, apple, 1, 9, 7, 3 and a zither,
it will take you a lo-o-ong time to get to black belt.
The mind just doesn’t want to remember things
if they are out of order,
there are missing pieces,
and just don’t make sense.
But if you have
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0…
the mind loves logic
and everything is easy to remember,
and it’s easy to make everything work.

When I first introduced that concept,
and presented my method,
I had amazing wins.
I had people starting self defense classes
and opening schools
all because they had the blinders off,
and were set free from the illogical construction
of the martial arts.
I remember one teacher
who used Matrxing in his math class,
and the grades went up 10% in a month.

So,
the point here is that if you’re not doing Matrixing,
if you’re not studying a matrixed art,
you are taking the long and twisty road
that goes over the mountains,
along the river,
under the ocean,
and you could have taken a jet plane on a straight line!

Okay,
end of my rant,
but think about it,
and think about getting two courses
at Monster Martial Arts
for the price of one.
Also,
think about this…

HANAKWANMASS!

Matrixing Kenjutsu!

That’s classical sword and stick fighting
done the easy way that makes sense!

Have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS I HAVE REPUBLISHED!
You will probably have to do a search for them,
but they’re out there.

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!
Black Belt Yoga
Five Martial Arts!
Hidden Techniques of Karate
How to Fix Karate (book one)
How to Fix Karate (book two)
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: Creating a New Kenpo
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: The Real History
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: The Secret of Forms
Neutropia ~ Surrealistic Poetry
The Book of Matrixing
The Book of Neutronics
The Last Martial Arts Book
Pan Gai Noon: Kung Fu to Karate
Kang Duk Won: The Korean Contribution
Kwon Bup: American Power
Outlaw Karate: The One Year Black Belt
Buddha Crane Karate; The First Matrixed Art

Did Ed Parker Really Do This?

The Terrible Truth About Ed Parker

I’ve heard many stories of many arts that were, shall we say, less than honorable. The one I heard about Kenpo Karate, however, is one of the worst I have heard. Unfortunately, I don’t know how true it is, but with the data I present in this article perhaps some one could let me know if they have any light to shed on the truth or falsity of it.

Ed Parker is credited with being the founder of modern Kenpo, putting on the biggest tournament in the world for years, the Internationals, teaching movie stars, including Elvis, and all manner of other deeds. His prowess is quite well known, and his students are legion. Unfortunately, when he first began teaching, while he seemed to demonstrate a talent as a teacher, he was only a brown belt.

In those days he was actually teaching the Heian forms from Shotokan karate, this as illustrated by one of his earliest books. Running out of material to teach his students, he returned to Hawaii and was told to go take a hike, the founder of the system apparently had lost interest in him as a student. I’m not sure, exactly, what the fall out was, but it was perhaps that Ed was teaching without permission.

Ed then ran into a fellow in San Francisco named Jimmy Woo, whose name might have been Jimmy Wu, who knew tremendous and authentic gung fu, but who spoke almost no English. Ed brought Jimmy to Los Angeles, where they lived together, and where Jimmy created the Kenpo forms, the techniques, and so on. Ed took these forms and techniques and began teaching them as his own.

To complicate matters, Ed asked Jimmy to write a book with him on what they were doing, and Jimmy spent his days writing kenpo, teaching Ed and some of his students, all while still being deficient in the English language. One day Jimmy saw a rough translation/draft of the book that Ed was planning on turning over to a publisher, and he was surprised to see that his name was not on the cover, or anywhere in the book. This was surprising, because even though Ed was half the team, Jimmy was doing all the work.

Why not my name on book, is what he was supposed to have said. Ed said he would explain, but he had an errand to run, could they take a drive, and Ed would explain on the way. Jimmy hopped into the car, and Ed drove into Hollywood, but Ed didn’t say a word about the book the whole time he was driving. On Hollywood Blvd, there is an Armenian pastry shop there now, Ed let Jimmy out of the car, and drove off.

Jimmy had one single quarter in his pocket, the clothes on his back, and nothing else. With that last quarter he called one of Ed’s students, who he had been teaching. In his broken English he explained what Ed had done, that he didn’t know where he was, or why it had all happened.

He had been teaching, writing, and suddenly, he had been betrayed. Now, is this story true, or is it a pack of lies? If anybody has definite facts, I sure would like to know.

About the author: Al Case has been studying the martial arts since 1967. He studied Kenpo from ’67 to ’69. He offers instructional books and videos at Monster Martial Arts. He has written a three volume set on Kenpo Karate.

Hard Hands and a Real Martial Arts Punch!

Conditioning and Protecting Your Hands in the Martial Arts!

Thanks for asking, Kumar.

When I began the martial arts
we were hitting trees,
sticking our hands into boxes of sand,
and generally thinking we were conditioning our fists.
Actually,
we didn’t know what we were doing.

When I went to my first real school,
the Kang Duk Won,
there were two planter boxes at the head of the class.
One had sand and the other had pebbles.
We dug our spear hands into those.

Over the years I played with rug samples on tall trees,
makiwara and bags and balls
and all sorts of things.
The best conditioning device,
the one that worked for me,
was to do push ups on fingertips.
I was able to do push ups on two fingers (each hand).
The glory of that was not in the conditioning,
but in the mental focus it required.

Now,
after all that,
one would think that I would be suffering from arthritis.
Nope.
And I didn’t use dit da jow
or any secret potion.
What I did to make sure I didn’t get arthritis
was to…stay active.

I’m 76 now,
and I still practice the forms,
especially Tai Chi.
I do light work outs on striking,
and, here’s the key:
whenever I feel sore
in any part of my body,
I focus my work out on that area.
My hip hurts?
I stretch in a manner that opens the hip up.
I do stances that use that hip.
My fist hurts?
I practice focus,
snapping loose tight,
and the pain goes away.

I know other people who suffer from arthritis.
Some just aren’t active.
A lot of Jujitsu/MMA fellows
seem to suffer injuries,
arthritis and other things,
But they don’t practice forms,
or do Tai Chi,
or put awareness via work out
into an afflicted area.

Want to hear something funny?
My family all decided a certain Chiropracter/nutritionist
was the real deal.
Everybody went to see him.
My wife dragged me along.

Now,
I work out every day,
but my diet is junk.
I eat what I want.
McDonald’s, ice cream,
pizza and other fast food.
Any thing I want.

Everybody expected the doctor
to find all sorts of things wrong with me.
So he did a kind of body testing,
holding various substances,
minerals and vitamins and things,
up against my body
and tested my muscle reaction.
If my muscles were weak
that wold indicate some organ was malfunctioning.

He couldn’t find anything wrong with me.
Everything worked.
And here’s the funny thing,
my family was so sure the doctor would reveal my problems,
they got mad when he couldn’t.
They were so pissed off they stopped seeing him.
He couldn’t find anything wrong with Al,
so he was obviously a quack.

This is absolutely true,
and the real secret,
of good health,
avoiding things like arthritis
and whatever,
is this:

Don’t take anything serious.
Laugh at everything.
Ignore idiots.
Work out every day.

I especially laugh
when people try to think I’ve got problems.
After a lifetime of martial arts
I have no problems,
and that’s my secret of good health and long life.

Here’s the book I wrote on

The Punch!

You should also consider my courses on Tai Chi Chuan.

Have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS I HAVE REPUBLISHED!
You will probably have to do a search for them,
but they’re out there.

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!
Black Belt Yoga
Five Martial Arts!
Hidden Techniques of Karate
How to Fix Karate (book one)
How to Fix Karate (book two)
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: Creating a New Kenpo
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: The Real History
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: The Secret of Forms
Neutropia ~ Surrealistic Poetry
The Book of Matrixing
The Book of Neutronics
The Last Martial Arts Book
Pan Gai Noon: Kung Fu to Karate
Kang Duk Won: The Korean Contribution
Kwon Bup: American Power
Outlaw Karate: The One Year Black Belt
Buddha Crane Karate; The First Matrixed Art

Martial Art Forms, Techniques and History

The Martial Arts Encyclopedia!

As you may know
I have republished the five books
I refer to as the Martial Arts Encyclopedia.
I wrote them over a twenty year period.
I wrote them out of order,
though they are in the correct order as published.

PAN GAI NOON
I wanted to know where Karate came from
A fellow once told me
if you don’t know sanchin you don’t know karate.
I describe the two essential forms
Sanchin and Seisan
and describe the theory of technique
so that one understands how to evolve technique
out of the forms,
This was the introduction of X, Y and Z
in circular form to the techniques.

KANG DUK WON
That was the art I was trained in.
I wrote a book on it because
it was closer to the Okinawan karate,
having gone through the Korean route
instead of the Japanese.
The Japanese added several things
which are questionable.
Lower stances, higher kicks,
stylized forms and freestyle.
The art engendered intuition in me
and enlightened me.

KWON BUP
I wanted to know the truth of Kang Duk Won,
and saw that it was built of two arts,
the original KDW,
and my instructor’s art of Kwon Bup.
Was Kang Duk Won what had worked most in me?
Or Kwon Bup?
I separated the two arts to better understand this.
I discovered a linearity in the Kwon Bup
that was not in KDW.
I found the techniques more direct,
and more powerful.
If KDW was a hammer,
Kwon Bup was a point on the hammer.

OUTLAW KARATE
I wanted to combine KDW and KB.
I wanted a superior art that could be learned faster.
I also knew that Kenpo had lengthened
the time of training to black belt
to four and more years.
In the KDW people were learning in two years,
why should it take longer?
And there were stories of people
learning Karate in one year.
I wanted to make a black belt in one year.
I was able to take five out of six original students
to black belt in one year.
There was total power and in depth intuition.
I was beginning to use different training methods on the freestyle
to bring them along faster.
I began to appreciate how trust makes for faster learning.
I also saw that one doesn’t need contracts to keep a student.
If you give them the right data
at an adequate speed…it works better than a contract.

BUDDHA CRANE KARATE
I broke down what I had been teaching,
I aligned the methods with the ten lines of Ton Toi
I made a form that could be changed
to accommodate each line
similar to the Hsing i method.
This was my initial breakdown of the art
into a logic that was easy to remember
and therefore easier to learn.
It retained the workability of my earlier arts.
It was my first attempt at arranging the moves
in logical order.
This was a precursor
to the Boolean Truth Table I was eventually to use
to matrix any art.

Those are the five books that make up my ‘encyclopedia.
There is a little history,
but more important is that arrangement of techniques.
Which techniques were the same from art to art,
which were different?
How does theory morph into practical technique.
How does (did) the art change with the various evolutions.
What were the effects of various countries,
how do they blend together,
when do they overlap.

There is also the added bonus of seeing the mistakes I made.
A person who sees mistakes learns faster
than somebody who ‘does it right’ every time.

You can find these books on Amazon
simply type in the title,
(for instance, ‘Pan Gai Noon.’)
or type in the title and my name (al case)
(for instance ‘Kwon Bup Al Case.’
You can also find them on Barnes and Noble
and other sites.

You don’t have to spend five years on each art,
simply do the forms,
do the techniques,
then move on to the next art.
Specialize in what interests you
and put the rest aside.
Most important,
apply the lessons to whatever art you study.

No single art is totally right…
it is up to you to make your own art,
and to make that art right.

Now,
thanks for being students of the arts, and…
have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

FOLLOWING IS A CATALOGUE OF
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOK I HAVE REPUBLISHED!

THE LAST MARTIAL ARTS BOOK
Amazon

Barnes and Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-martial-arts-book-al-case/1146217369?ean=9798227617200

ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
Amazon

ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
Thriftbooks
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/advanced-tai-chi-chuan-for-real-self-defense/53758888/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJyWkLdO18y0RFUxGoTb3CDXCgAXTk-VB_hvu2NHQwKZOqPBmK#edition=71844464&idiq=72002772

FIVE MARTIAL ARTS!

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
Amazon

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
Thriftbooks
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/how-to-fix-karate-book-one/53863237/?srsltid=AfmBOooDYRdXJmWmsSkzxxtHX9PDU2c6L1kFl2cSe0tH0MWpwhjvqBk5#edition=71905055&idiq=72156439

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
amazon

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
bookshop
https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-fix-karate-book-two-al-case/21839401

BLACK BELT YOGA
amazon

BLACK BELT YOGA
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-belt-yoga-al-case/1121852191

THE BOOK OF MATRIXING
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=THE+BOOK+OF+MATRIXING&crid=306WX8EKZIXJE&sprefix=the+book+of+matrixing%2Caps%2C167&ref=nb_sb_noss

THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS

THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS
BooksaMillion
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Book-Neutronics/Al-Case/9798227766922?id=9287395896456

HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hidden-techniques-of-karate-al-case/1146377079

HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
Amazon

Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate Problems!

Kenpo Karate is Broken!

That Kenpo is broken is obvious. Actually, not to hurt anybody’s feelings, it has been broken from the get go. One simple proof is that the founder himself, Edmund Parker, presented five different versions of the art during his lifetime.

Five different versions, starting with a shotokan karate based version, and progressing through a variety of made up kung fu. Yet, before you decide I am nothing but a detractor, all the martial arts can be found in Parker’s Kenpo. It is a massive system, and the potential is unlimited.

Now, the problem is that most kung fu systems have been passed along for generations. They have had hundreds, even thousands, of years to become developed, polished and evolved. Chinese Kenpo, on the other hand, has not been benefitted by this process.

The first version, the classical karate version, was extremely workable. Parker ran into difficulties with his instructor, however, and ran out of material to teach. Thus, he hired a kung fu artist from the San Francisco area, Jimmy Wu, to help him put together more material.

The next four versions of Chinese Kenpo, then, are they Parker? Or are they Wu? To be honest, they are probably a mix, but of what percentage?

And, to be fair, one must realize that Parker, through his lineage, and Wu, through his, did bring a certain amount of tried and tested material to the board. And, one must realize that the times were rich with material. There were all sorts of systems of karate and kung fu making their appearance, and Parker had front seat through these times.

That brings us to the intent promised by the title of this article, how to fix Kenpo. The best way to fix Parker’s Kenpo is to throw away the rankings, categorize the techniques by attack, and arrange them in order of difficulty. While this has been done somewhat, in doing it anew one will find all sorts of things that were left out, over emphasized, and so on.

The point is that all the martial arts are there, but they need to be arranged in a more workable manner, and only by a more scientific analysis is one going to come to grips with the truth of Kenpo.

About the Author: Al Case just finished revising and republishing his three volume ‘Matrixing Kenpo Karate’ series. In that series he fulfills the promise made by this article. Look for ‘Matrixing Kenpo Karate‘ on the net.

Five Versions of Kenpo Karate!

The Five Kenpos of Ed Parker

The first Kenpo of Ed Parker was actually Okinawan Karate. One can see the forms in the string of techniques in his first book. Forms were actually not taught, except, I believe, for Naihanchi and maybe one or two others.

The second version was a blend of Karate and jujitsu. This version was originally taught in a small temple in Japan.

The third Kenpo of Mr. Parker was actually created by James Wing Woo, a kung Fu stylist who taught Ed’s class, and helped him write a book while he lived in Pasadena. This was the version of kenpo from which many of the forms were originated.

The fourth kenpo was a reworking and renaming of the 3rd version.

The fifth and final Kenpo was created by Ed Parker to replace the earlier styles of Kenpo. He was proud of the fact that it actually wasn’t kenpo anymore.

Now, this all stated, one has to ask why there were so many styles. The answer is simple, Ed was trying to simplify and make sense out of the mess.

The fact of the matter is that the martial arts are random sequences of motions. This causes the art to be hard to learn, and hard to apply. It is simply hard to memorize to the point of intuition so much data.

Ed was trying to simplify and make sense out of the thing so that students could learn faster (among other reasons).

Unfortunately, he failed.

He came close, but his efforts were still comprised of random sequences of motion.

Each method he designed or compiled or whatever was built upon the ashes of the previous, tried to include new concepts and theories he had come across, and does not make summation of kenpo, or the martial arts.

Was he wrong for doing what he did? Not at all. His work was ground breaking and innovative, he just lacked the logic and perspective to bring it all together.

Does it mean that the kenpo you are studying is wrong?

Nope.

For Kenpo is a manifestation of knowledge, and each person contains the knowledge in his own unique way.

Though Ed failed to make the art a science, it is still an art, and it is still whatever people make it.

The author, Al Case, picked up the skeins of this mess and used his matrixing process to order and align Kenpo. He has just republished his three part series on that art. It is a thorough analysis as to why some techniques work, and some don’t. It makes Kenpo simple and easy to learn and succeeds where Mr. Parker failed. You can find ‘Matrixing Kenpo Karate’ on the internet, or order through your bookstore.