What’s with All the Bowing Stuff in the Martial Arts?
“Politeness is the greatest strategy.” Al Case
The most polite man i have ever met was my instructor in the Kang Duk Won. He was also the best martial artist I ever saw, which leads to an interesting possibility:
Politeness goes hand in hand with competence.
Think about it, if you are polite, honestly polite, then you won’t be scared, you won’t have hidden demons driving you, the martial arts will have expunged you of all that. You will be honestly competent.
So practice politeness as well as seek competence.
Now, with that in mind, what is the purpose of bowing in the martial arts? Aside from my little diatribe on politeness, why should people keep bowing and bowing all the time?
On one level, it is a sign of respect. I respect the work you’ve done, the level you’ve reached. And under that is the implied question: will you teach me. And the teacher bows to show respect to those who have come seeking his instruction.
On another level, it is merely saying hi. hi to everybody in the school. Hi to everybody who contributed to the school, even if they are passed on, a simple greeting to your friends.
With those two viewpoints in mind, here are the times you would bow.
Bow when entering the school. Bow to senior classmates. Bow to junior classmates. Bow when stepping onto the mat. Bow to the instructor, especially when asking a question. Bow after receiving instruction. Bow at the beginning of class. Bow at the end of class. Bow before you engage in any drill, be it sparring, form, etc. Immediately disengage and bow if an injury has occurred as a result of something you’ve done.
AND, bow to a classmate outside of school, or, if not considered appropriate, give him/her some sign of greeting.
AND, whenever entering another school, always bow, show that you have studied the martial arts, and that you are aware of martial etiquette.
Sounds like a lot of bowing, yes? Well, it is, but let me offer an insight. I can’t imagine not bowing, I strive to bow the most, to set the best example of being polite. I am constantly running into students who are surprised when I bow to them. But, it encourages them to bow. And, it makes you feel good.
Imagine walking into a school gymnasium, or an auditorium, with 500 people present. Imagine yelling out… HI EVERYBODY! And having them all yell to you… HI, AL!
After near 50 years in the arts, that’s what it feels like to me when I bow.
And I like to think that maybe I’m as competent as I am polite. One can hope.
Here’s a link to the martial arts I have been studying for near 50 years. Take a look, and see if I’ve made any inroads, if the changes i have made from the classical have value.
Gonna be a 100 degrees this week!
It’s time to really sweat!
So turn off that air conditioner
and get ready to ROCK!
Release of final volume of Matrixing Karate Series! Click on the Cover!
Let’s talk about matrixing.
In fact,
let’s talk about the big bugaboo of the martial arts…
MISTAKES!
Mistakes are not actually mistakes.
If you block something wrong,
for instance,
it’s not because you made a mistake,
it’s because you made a calculation,
a computation,
based on your current data.
When all the input finished,
when you finished calculating
the trajectory of the fist,
the angle of the block,
and so on,
and got hit in the face,
it is because you did what you trained yourself to do.
You didn’t make a mistake,
you responded according to your training.
This is actually true of everything in life,
but since martial arts are a microcosm,
a small classroom,
let’s look at the martial arts potentials here.
A student is trained to do a block.
He practices and practices,
until it is ingrained.
Until it becomes the intuitive response.
Then an attack happens,
and it is the wrong intuitive response.
This,
incidentally,
is why so many arts fail.
Take Kenpo,
for instance,
two arts,
the art of the technique,
and the art of freestyle,
and they have nothing to do with each other.
The training,
you see,
has left reality.
Then it takes twenty years or so
to make the intuitive work.
Maybe.
So here is the question:
How do you create a correct intuitive response…
EVERY TIME!
And that brings us to matrixing.
In matrixing a mistake is never a mistake,
it is an opportunity to learn something.
So consider this.
A right fist to the face can be blocked four ways.
Use your right hand to push it to the right
Use your right hand to push it to the left
Use your left hand to push it to the right
Use your left hand to push it to the left
I know,
there are lots of potentials here,
lots of other blocks.
But we are keeping it simple.
You can apply what I am telling you here
to other techniques and arts later.
So you practice the first one:
Use your right hand to push it to the right
and you practice it because it is the right one.
It is the one that works best.
And you practice and practice,
and then,
one day,
you are attacked,
and it doesn’t work.
WTF!
The reason it didn’t work might be anything,
a slight curve on the punch,
a delay in timing,
a sneaky distraction,
who knows and who cares.
What we care is the solution.
Instead of practicing just one defense,
you have to practice all four.
And practice and practice.
Sometimes,
if one of the potentials almost works,
you have to practice it a lot.
Sometimes,
if the potential is a disaster,
you just have to practice a little,
every once in a while,
just enough so that you realize…
here it comes…
WHAT DOESN’T WORK!
You see
it’s not enough to know what works,
you have to know what doesn’t work.
Not to make what doesn’t work intuitive,
but so that you can see what doesn’t work in the middle of combat.
This is a different level we are talking about.
We are not talking about being cause and effect,
we are talking about causing the cause and effect.
We are talking about a ‘master viewpoint.’
When somebody punches you shouldn’t react,
you should move with them,
in tune with them,
developing the block or counter or whatever
in the middle of the moment.
This is mushin no shin,
or mind of no mind.
This is when your memories
memories that you might have implanted yourself,
don’t distract you.
This is when you do purely and truly.
And it is really amazing
when you find yourself in the middle of one of these moments.
I was working out with a couple of fellows the other day,
using sticks.
These two fellows had worked out for years,
knew each other well,
knew the material well,
but when it came time to demonstrate,
the teacher turned to me,
because he could feel that I was more ‘in the moment,’
and showed the technique on me.
Simply,
I didn’t hesitate,
or make mistakes,
I just stayed with him,
moving in time with him,
moving in tune,
and even when he started deviating the technique,
there I was,
sticking with him,
making it work.
So you see,
you can’t just practice the martial arts,
you have to understand them.
You can’t just practice a technique,
you have to practice ALL of the techniques,
all variations.
You can’t train yourself to just respond,
because then you are training yourself
to be effect to the other guy’s cause.
Instead,
you have to train all the potentials,
even the mistakes,
then mistakes won’t fool you,
or otherwise trip you up.
The best place to do
what I have told you about here
is the Matrix Karate Course.
The Matrix of Blocks,
which is just one small item on this course,
goes directly to the heart of this.
You will then understand how blocks work,
how they work together,
and how to define what mistakes are
so they never trip you up.
I feel so-o-o good!
And it is all because of a work out.
Have you done your work out today?
You have?
Then do another one!
And feel double great!
Click on the cover!
I was going through my wins
came across this one.
I meant to print it a month ago,
but things happened,
and I lost it in the basket.
So here it is now,
an absolutely GREAT win!
I’ve trained on two continents officially hold 1 black belt, and unofficially am that level in 2 others. I am currently working through the purple belt level in your Kang Duk Won course. I have to say that the workout is as tough as anything I did in Hapkido. The KDW material is filling in all the holes I had in my training. It’s really amazing how much stuff the instructors leave out or don’t even know. About a year ago I was at the place where you started in developing matrixing. I was looking for ways to bridge all my training into a logical system apart from the individual styles. I am lucky I found your site. I saved myself about 40 years of headaches! Just keep up the good work. ~ Jason W.
Thanks
Jason W.
I truly appreciate your win.
And,
for everybody,
as Jason indicates,
after you get the basics of Matrixing down,
what do you do?
You look for places to fill out your training,
ways to put matrixing up against the classic.
Those old guys knew things,
they are not to be discounted.
And,
the Kang Duk Won was my first real art,
and understanding it through Matrixing
really makes it work.
It’s true that a lot of people
just can’t get to black belt.
There are too many holes,
too much incorrect data,
things out of place,
all sorts of things that are gone wrong.
But if you’ve done some Matrixing,
and especially Matrix Karate
and the Master Instructor course,
then taking a look at classical karate
is more than just crucial,
it is the next breath of martial arts
demanding to be taken.
Now you can study Kang Duk Won
through Temple Karate.
It’s got several of the forms.
And you can find it in Evolution of an Art.
And I believe the book I wrote on KDW
might be available on those courses.
but you should check out the courses first.
BUT,
the absolutely BEST way
to study Kang Duk Won
is through the mail order course,
which is at:
http://kangdukwon.com
I included all the old drills,
all the theory and concepts,
absolutely everything I could remember
concerning the Kang Duk Won.
It’s inexpensive, too.
If you’re not interested in matrixing,
it is still an amazing poke in the eye.
But if you have some matrixing under your belt,
then you have the tools to REALLY understand
what those old guys were saying
when they taught this incredible art.
It is,
BTW,
one of the purest,
if not the purest,
example of True Karate in existence.
Anyway,
check it out.
http://kangdukwon.com
HAPPY WORK OUT!
Al
go to and subscribe to this newsletter:
https://alcase.wordpress.com
Remember,
Google doesn’t like newsletters,
so this is the best way to ensure you get them.
Man! Aren’t summer work outs the best? You cleanse yourself through the purity of plain, old-fashioned sweat. Glorious!
Click on the cover!
Okay, let’s talk about how Karate was messed up. I’ve talked about how Karate was mangled by people with vested interests, power hungry students, nationalism, religion, just about every thing under the sun. So let’s talk about one specific way Karate, and this is going to touch upon just every art there is, was truly messed up.
When Karate was developed people wore armor. They carried swords. And to use your fists, to get your fists dirty on the body of an enemy was downright disgusting. Think about it, this is simple: karate was developed to handle samurai, with their swords and armor. Karate was empty hand.
So, do you crack armor with an empty hand? Maybe, but while you’re doing that, the fellow is using his sword.
Do you block that sword with an arm? Nope.
Do you get the point? Now, here is where it truly gets messed. When the American servicemen were taught karate they were taught a random variety of throws, of defenses for weapons, of specific techniques for specific attacks.
And not many of those attacks were real for this modern age!
So some instructor taught a student how to disarm a sword. But when you look at the technique, there is no sword, and the fellow the karateka is defending against is punching the crud out of him.
Punches.
Here’s the funny thing, Karate rose to the occasion. All the arts rose to the occasion. They managed to make fast punches and kicks, and adapt to striking.
Even though striking was a small part of the whole art.
So Karate, and other arts, became skewed to meet the demands of a punch crazy society.
okay, summation: Karate was designed for complete combat, but then shrunken and warped to fit the precise punches of a different culture and time.
And that’s why Karate, and many other arts, just don’t work.
It’s like using metric wrenches on a 1950 Chevrolet.
So, Karate, and other martial arts, are broken. Mismatched. Outgrown. And here comes the funny part: what was the solution provided in America and in other parts of the world?
The solution was to teach boxing and call it Karate. Go on, visit a few schools.
You will find people doing boxing, or kick boxing, or some other thing, and calling it Karate.
I went to a school the other day, the instructor had the children hold their hands in boxing position. They were taught to bob and weave. It was not Karate. There were no stances, no blocks, a few kicks, including fancy ones that looked so cool, but would get a person killed on the street.
But it said ‘Karate’ on the front window! Big letters, too.
And there are other solutions, some pretty bizarre, some effective, but all deviating from what karate really is. And, deviating from kung fu, or other types of arts.
What was my solution? My solution was demanded by the fact that I could not box and call it Karate. I couldn’t leave behind the energy, the subtle throws, the powerful way of developing the mind and body, not to mention the spirit.
So what I did was rearrange everything, made it 1, 2, 3 logical, so that one step led to the next. So that one didn’t learn a punch, then a fancy hold, and let’s throw in a cartwheel kick here, cause people would really dig it!
I arranged the blocks so they made as much sense as 1, 2, 3… and everything is adapted for striking.
But I didn’t throw out the locks and throws. Instead, I teach the strikes, classical strikes using energy, and you end up in a specific position, and then I show how each position ends up in a lock or throw, if you just continue the motion…logically.
Everybody else is teaching the classical forms, trying to adapt them to strikes, when they were not meant to be adapted to strikes. Strikes were only a small part.
When you do Matrix Karate you learn everything logically, and that includes the throws which have been put at the end of the strike.
Think: in a fight distance closes. The kicks and punches are done, the bodies come together, and that is where the throw should be, when the distance collapses.
I don’t teach how to fight from six feet away with a lock or throw. I teach how to logically close the distance, using the punches and kicks logically, and then do whatever throw you are in position to do.
And this is an important point: after a strike or block, you will find yourself in a specific position, and there are only a couple of locks or throws possible. That is true for every position. So you don’t search through your mental database, ransack your memory, looking for a throw, or trying to figure out how to throw from an awkward and not appropriate position. Instead, you move forward logically, and the result is a flow.
Maybe you’ve read some wins people have sent me from doing some of my forms. People talk about there being a specific flow to the forms and techniques. This is the result of logic.
Anyway, I could talk forever, but it’s all written down, all video’d, in Matrix Karate. And if you don’t see the throw, you can find all the throws, logically, so they fit into specific positions of any art, in Matrix Kung Fu (Monkey boxing.
So, ‘nuff said. You guys have a great summer work out, three months working hard in the heat, sweating your b***s off.
Good Lard…it’s summer! And absolutely perfect for learning another art. So which art do you want to learn this summer? A hard art to go with the soft? Soft to go with the hard? Weapons? Tai Chi? I mean, why not? what else do you have to do? And there is nothing else that is better for you.
Click here to get the whole story on Matrixing the Martial Arts
Okay, every once in a while I like to go over what Matrixing is, and suggested methods of study.
Matrixing is a system of logic. It is based upon analyzing potential motion. It is applicable to any art, and to any system.
But here’s the thing… the martial arts are put togethers. As such they are conglomerations of what worked for individuals. But these are all based on what an individual prefers, or works for his body, or the culture he has grown up in, and so on.
The result has been a lot of mystery, which is hidden by calling it mysticism.
So if you apply matrixing to your martial art, it becomes logical, and thus easier to learn, and there won’t be hidden spots. No more mysticism. Just hard core science.
That is matrixing in a nutshell. You can find out a lot more about it by subscribing to the newsletter, (alcase.wordpress.com), and just thinking about how it can be applied to your art.
Okay, recommended ways of studying matrixing.
Each course looks at the martial arts from a specific viewpoint, from a specific art or concept. If you have a specific weakness in your system, say…no weapons, or too hard, or something like that, you can just study the art that will take care of that weakness. Guaranteed, the logic on the art you study will start to seep into the rest of your arts.
BUT, the best way to study is probably to just follow the arts as they are listed on the site (MonsterMartialArts).
For instance: Matrix Karate analyzes the hard arts and classical blocks. Matrix Kung Fu analyzes locks and throws Matrix Aikido analyzes learning by concept. The Master Instructor Course analyzes the body Shaolin Butterfly analyzes footwork Butterfly Pa Kua Chang analyzes the transition from soft to hard Five Army Tai Chi Chuan analyzes soft takedowns And so on.
But each art can be taken apart by a sequence of matrixing courses.
If somebody wanted to learn karate, for instance, and from the ground up, I would recommend the following courses: Outlaw Karate (inspiration) Buddha Crane Karate (modular studies) Matrix Karate Making the art pure) Temple Karate (what old forms actually mean) and so on.
So there are many ways to study matrixing. But the fun of it all is this: you learn multiple arts…fast. Which is why I said, at the beginning of this newsletter, what do you want to learn this summer? Heck, you could learn three or four whole martial arts all within a year. That would be a high state of mastery.
Anyway, Here’s the Matrix Karate page, because that is the one that started it all, that is the one with some pretty crucial matrixing data on it.
Man!
It is BEEYOUTIFUL out.
Time for a BEEYOUTIFUL workout!
A quick word:
Google is suppressing newsletter,
but you can find this newsletter blogged at alcase.wordpress.com.
Bruce Lee did a good job of analyzing the motion of combat.
He took apart when,
for instance,
during the opponent’s punch,
you should attack.
You can find out more about this if you dig around at
FreeBruceLee.com.
BUT,
nobody’s ever really tried to figure out
what happens at the moment of combat.
Not the moment of launch,
but the thought that must occur
before the launch.
And,
to be honest,
nobody’s ever had the neutronics data,
so it is no wonder that nobody has ever done this.
SO…
the one thing to remember is that you have a thought,
and energy, and body,
follow it.
The odd thing in all this
is that thoughts go in only two directions.
Thoughts go out.
Thoughts go in.
This can be made complex,
if you stick on analyzing emotion,
emotion disguises what you are doing,
and so on.
So,
the exact moment of attack,
should be when the opponent is,
for whatever reason,
not thinking out,
towards you,
but inwards,
towards himself.
If you understand this,
you understand the purpose of meditation:
sitting (or moving) and never allowing thoughts to invert,
to come back towards yourself.
In other words,
to watch the world
without having internal thoughts.
Here are the ways you can take advantage
of this momentary lapse of awareness.
The most important is distraction.
Distraction is when you point the opponent’s attention elsewhere.
He blinks because of a fly.
He looks because of a motion to the side.
He thinks when you tell him there is someone behind him.
He thinks because you trash talk.
He gets mad,
or otherwise falls to emotion.
And so on.
You can attack when any of these,
or other,
distractions occur.
You can attack after the thought of attack,
but that is not a good idea,
unless you are immaculate in your strategy and tactics.
The reason is attacks will collide,
mistakes can be made once you let him go into motion,
and so on.
BUT…
the best time to attack a person?
Before he has the thought.
Doesn’t matter when he makes a decision,
or for what reason,
you simply attack before his thought.
At that point he has become victim,
as he is going to be responding to your attack,
instead of creating an original one of his own.
Here’s the thing,
people think you can’t see a thought.
But you can.
It takes an immense amount of discipline in classical martial arts.
It takes less time in matrixed martial arts.
Logic just allows you to study,
and therefore learn,
faster.
Heck,
you see people thinking all the time.
You see the look in their eyes,
you read their bodies,
you feel their energy.
If you are good you actually perceive the thought.
But that level of good
depends upon how effective and sincere your training has been.
The lesson here?
Train hard,
train long,
matrix (make logical)
everything you do.
Make yourself a perceptive person
by looking out at the world,
and not inward to your own thoughts,
troubles,
emotions,
etc.
Newsletter 802
What’s Happening in the Martial Arts!
Good afternoon!
Think I’ll do a Tai Chi workout,
those always make me feel so large.
It’s funny…
large on a peaceful scale.
Got an email today,
asking where the newsletters have been.
Here, read for yourself…
Hey Al,
Haven’t heard from you in a while. Are you okay? I miss your newsletters. I’m sorry you’re catching flak from a bunch of little cowards spouting their worthless and unqualified opinions from the safety of their mother’s basement. I’ve been playing this game for a long time (since 1978), and I see you as nothing less than an innovator (if for no other reason than your unique ability to systemize that which has always been chaotic). We live in a unique time where the sharing of information is easier than ever. It’s easy to put people on a pedestal and idolized those who went before us as more than men. But the truth is, they only had a narrow perspective and worldview, and while they did the best they could with their extremely limited access to information, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are deserving of worship. Just like grade school, only about 5 people out of a hundred actually studied hard and put in the work. The rest either ostracized them, or agreed with them and parroted their phrases to appear more intelligent. I think this phenomenon is seen in the Bible, with William Shakespeare, & in the martial arts. Five percent actually understand what the hell they’re reading (or have read it at all). Most of us do not understand or have not read it, so we agree with those who have and praise the brilliance of the work. The rest think it’s just a bunch of bullshit. My friend, you are among the 5%… No, you are one of those that the 5% study. The difference, is that we have access to more tools than any of our predecessors have had. There will always be the few that create change, and the lazy masses that first violently oppose, and then blindly parrot. You can’t be extraordinary by being ordinary. Keep on pressing on. I value and appreciate your perspective.
-Sean
I thank you, Sean,
from the bottom of my heart.
So let me explain what,
exactly,
has been happening,
and why I am so slow these days.
When I came down from Monkeyland
I was pretty broke.
No place to live,
no job…
no prospects.
Well,
it’s against the law to whine,
so I took on a bunch of jobs.
I drive Uber in the morning,
tutor kids in the afternoon,
do the martial arts in the evening,
and have a janitorial business on the weekend.
And I make sure I work out every day,
and multiple times a day,
if I can.
So that’s what’s been happening.
Survival on the stupid level.
the need for petty, crass cash.
A couple of things happened because of this,
a person gets tired if he isn’t doing what he loves.
So I’m tired all the time.
Poor me.
Whine…whine.
But,
there will come a time when I can shift everything back around,
focus on the martial arts,
and keep going.
After all,
at the end of the road is Monkeyland.
A place where people can go to study martial arts.
Anyway,
it’s not the small people who whine about what I am doing.
There is one common factor in these people:
they have never read what I am doing,
never seen a tape.
They offer opinion without facts.
They think they know everything
based on their own experience,
and they don’t need no durn facts.
So how can I get upset about a bunch of fellows
who offer ignorance as their stock in trade?
It’s sort of like listening to fourth graders
whine about how tough math is,
when the truth is
they just just don’t want to do the work.
And,
the root of the matter,
I’m just stuck in a boring spot,
should be out of it one of these days,
and doing more martial arts.
Then my chi kicks in,
my energy swells,
and life is great.
So that is what is happening.
That is why I am slow in coming out with the newsletters.
It’s my own durn fault,
for putting myself in this situation,
and it continues to be my fault
until I figure out how to right the situation.
So I thank you Sean,
and all the others,
the fifty,
and even the passersby.
Thanks for writing me the email,
encouraging me,
and even chastising me.
I apologize for being a lazy…fellow,
and I guarantee it won’t last forever,
nor probably even long.
In the meantime,
it is up to you.
Work out every day.
Don’t make ignorance your comfort zone,
but delve in,
buy books and videos,
enlarge your cranium with the swell of martial arts.
Put them to work with your friends.
Understand that their is perfection of the spirit
in the study of martial arts,
and that it makes the world a better place.
It calms the spirit,
it undoes undue excitement,
it gives lazerlike insight into the problems of the world.
I’ve been around for a while,
and I will go away,
but the martial arts are your true teacher,
they are the liberator,
the educator,
the enlightenment.
They last forever.
Enjoy.
Now,
I’ll try to work a bit harder,
and stop being a lazy…fellow.
Newsletter 800
What is Actually Happening With Matrixing and the Martial Arts
Good morning!
The sun is shining,
and then it is raining,
and shining and raining,
and so on.
that makes it THE day for working out!
To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace.
I just received several emails.
Some fellow was bashing me on his blog.
He was a long time martial artist,
quoted me,
then proceeded to ‘dissect’ me.
And,
if anybody spoke up for me,
he bashed them.
Nice guy.
Anyway,
I thought this made for a wonderful opportunity
to explain about bad people in the martial arts,
what really makes them,
what you do about them,
and…what is really happening with matrixing.
So here we go.
Here is a scenario.
You are in the seventh grade,
and you are charged with teaching a fourth grader,
you have to teach him how to multiply.
You lay out the problems,
you show him,
and show and show him,
and he just doesn’t get it.
You get mad.
Stupid kid.
Teacher comes up,
she doesn’t get mad,
she just sort of straightens everything out.
Now,
here is what happened:
you had never taught anybody.
You didn’t know all the tricks.
The teacher has seen it all,
she knows all the tricks.
Now,
the people who attack me,
who attack matrixing,
they are like seventh graders.
They have done some martial arts,
but they don’t know all the tricks.
Or,
in this specific,
they don’t understand
how all the arts fit together.
They don’t understand the underlying principles,
the real philosophy behind it all.
So,
they get mad.
And,
think about it,
they have spent their lives doing martial arts,
and here I come along and say:
oh, that’s not right,
you should do it this way.
Man,
am I a threat.
So they strike back
against what is threatening them,
threatening their carefully cultivated view of themselves,
of their construct of how the world works.
And,
here is a proof for what i am saying:
If they knew the truth they wouldn’t get mad.
I don’t get mad…because I know the truth.
I know how the arts fit together,
I know all the tricks,
the gimmicks and methods,
the way it all works,
so I don’t get mad
when these fellows speak ill of me
on blogs and chatrooms and so on.
If you know the truth you don’t get mad,
you can look down to their level,
and see what it is they don’t understand.
The problem is…
you can’t make them understand
if they don’t want to understand,
that is to say,
if they are holding to the small bits of truth
they did manage to accumulate,
to the methods and things that they constructed
to try to make sense
out of the martial arts
which don’t always make sense.
Now,
the specific fellow who was attacking me,
was dissecting one of my Kenpo books.
And it gets very interesting.
For instance,
he claimed I wasn’t a serious student of Kenpo,
which,
in the book,
I explained that i wasn’t a serious student of Kenpo,
that I was applying matrixing principles
to what i had learned decades ago.
For instance,
he said my work needed more depth,
which,
in my book,
I set forth the idea that this was a beginning,
and that somebody should come along
and exploit my principles
to look deeper.
Do you get it?
He was saying things I had already pointed out in my book.
He was criticizing me
using points i had already used to criticize myself.
Not very creative,
especially for so called critical thinking.
But,
here’s the kicker.
in his attack he made an interesting statement, he said something to the effect that he had read my books,
and that at a certain point he came face to face with
a different way of seeing things.
This was the effect of matrixing.
And he immediately pushed it aside,
which is to say,
he held on to his carefully constructed world,
and was unable to evolve.
And,
I will say something else.
In my books I tell people, very plainly,
that they can’t just read the books,
they have to do the techniques,
then they will understand,
then they will get what I am talking about.
I gauran-forking-tee he did not do this.
He was a seventh grader,
thinking he was a teacher,
and he read the book without doing ANY of the techniques.
Without experiencing what I was really saying.
If he had done the book,
instead of reading it like a comic,
he would have been changed,
that different viewpoint would have popped out,
nice and neat and gently overwhelming,
and he would have evolved.
His art would have evolved.
He would have become a teacher,
a real teacher,
instead of a seventh grader thinking he was a teacher.
Now,
I know what I have just said
is the absolute truth,
because I have seen it work over the last ten years.
There are thousands of people who have DONE the material I have written.
Who have DONE the forms and techniques.
Who have DONE the drills.
And my wins book is packed with their stories.
Over six hundred pages of thanks yous.
Of ‘how did you ever figure this out?’
Of ‘OMG, I am making my own art,
and it all makes so much sense!’
So that is the point i want to make here.
You can read about,
or you can do.
But don’t bother criticizing what I’ve done
until you have done it for yourself.
Don’t be a seventh grader,
thinking you know it all,
when you only know what a seventh grader knows.
Don’t settle for that.
And,
that brings us to where this matrixing thing is going.
Let me make a few points.
I love the martial arts.
There is nothing i love more than doing the forms,
working out with people,
it is all a ball.
But,
I left the fighting part of the martial arts decades ago.
I lived in a time that has passed
where i was able to accumulate all the data,
and make sense of it,
and I was able to put fighting aside.
And,
the point of matrixing is to help you do this, too.
To learn how to fight so well,
that fighting stops being a game of chance,
and becomes a scientific endeavor,
where you analyze and handle people
like you are a teacher,
and they are seventh graders.
We are talking about actual evolution here.
If you lived fifty years,
you would have fifty years worth of knowledge.
But what if I could give you that knowledge in a year or two?
where would you be in fifty years then?
You would be at a hundred years,
because you would have my fifty,
plus your fifty.
And here is the interesting thing,
the martial arts accelerate beyond that,
once they are matrixed.
It is not just about getting my fifty years of knowledge,
it is about getting thousands of years of knowledge,
all the knowledge accumulated by the ancients
and passed down,
and finally made sense of.
Let me ask you a question:
what step of evolution is it
where you don’t get mad?
You watch the world
and everybody gets mad.
The politicians lie and get mad,
the corporate bosses,
for all their success,
cheat and steal,
and get awfully mad.
People on the street,
they get mad in their cars,
they flip each other off,
they have road rage,
they beat each other up with baseball bats.
Husbands and wives get mad,
they snipe at each other,
and the next thing you know
the man punches out the wife,
the wife does a Lorena Bobbit,
and…
do you get it?
From the playgrounds of our ‘educational’ institutions
to the prisons,
to the businesses and politicis,
we are a raging,
wild beast.
I don’t get mad.
And I am telling you exactly why,
because I have done the martial arts so much
that I have given up fighting.
Because I understand what frustrations
all those seventh graders are having out there.
Do you want to get ‘unmad?’
Do you want to give up anger?
Do you want to understand,
not like a seventh grader,
hopped up on GMO and vaccines and testosterone and all that,
but like a calm, patient teacher?
Do you like a world where you are out of control?
Where you travel from one conflict to the other,
and never partake of the chocolate cake in-between?
That’s what I am selling,
that’s the truth of what Matrixing does.
That’s where you would be,
if you could suddenly ‘evolve’ yourself.
If you could leap past all the minor frustrations
of a society that is dedicated to killing itself.
Now,
the interesting thing is this:
I have often thought about taking all the books off the market
that are attempts to apply matrixing to other arts.
It just seems to cause so much anger.
People think I am trying to destroy their construction,
instead of enhance it.
They think i am attacking their art,
when I am only trying to make it bigger,
better,
more logical.
When all I want is to take them to the end of one street,
and show them a thousand other streets.
When I just want to evolve them.
My consideration is simple.
Are my books causing anger among those unable to understand
because they cannot do more than read,
because they cannot do,
because they cannot understand the instructions?
Something to think about,
eh?
I’ve also thought about,
and even begun work
on setting up lines of endeavor
which can be closely watched.
I made an attempt at Monkeyland,
and still think about the mistakes made I made,
and how i could fix them.
I’ve thought about setting up a website
dedicated to taking people step by step,
but not allowing them to purchase the next step,
until they have completed the previous step.
And there are reasons I haven’t done this yet,
though I have made half starts.
Reasons like I don’t have the time and wherewithal.
Not very good reasons are these, I admit,
but…that is where I am.
Okay,
hope I didn’t bore you,
hope I actually made some sense with this ranting,
but let me just say this…
the most important course I’ve got
is the Master Instructor Course.
I push it more than any other,
because it lays out the way energy works in the martial arts,
it presents how techniques work.
And it tends to divest one of ALL the false reasons
behind the actual martial arts.
It tells you the information you need to instruct.
It opens the door
to the way of becoming
a calm, patient teacher,
and not a seventh grader.
Here go.
Newsletter 798 The Importance of a Black Belt in the Martial Arts
Good afternoon! Absolutely stunning day. Absolutely perfect for a work out.
Hey, I had somebody ask me, the other day, what belt I was. It’s a legitimate question.
I received my black belt in 1974. It was in a classical karate system, the Kang Duk Won.
And, a few years ago, a bunch of my black belts decided I should be an 8th black belt. I had some forty years training at the time. But it was sort of interesting. we had a wall, and everybody who made black belt got a plaque on the wall. We had a dozen or so plaques, and somebody noticed there wasn’t one for me. So they got together and got an 8th black plaque for me.
The funny thing is I didn’t notice it for quite some time.
Here’s the deal. I’m proud of my black belt. But, shortly after I received my belt, I lost all interest in belts and promotions and such. (Though I did appreciate what my black belts did)
Simply, I became addicted to the information, the the art, to the development of myself in a spiritual sense. But that’s me. For those who have just begun, you should be very concerned with earning a legitimate black belt.
A legitimate black belt carries with it the realization, the knowledge, that you have just begun to learn. If you earned a black belt, and you didn’t get that thought, then there is a good chance that you aren’t legitimate. You haven’t CBMed, made the art into yourself, inverted your viewpoint of the world, haven’t understood that reality is the illusion, and yourself is the projector.
Now, the real point of the martial arts is this: Does it work.
First, does it work as self defense. Can you defend yourself?
Second, does it make you grow spiritually? Do you understand your worth as an ‘I am,’ do you see yourself as a point of awareness, do you understand how your thoughts control the universe?
I suppose, analyzing my own preferences, that is why I prefer Karate first, and Tai Chi second.
Karate works. It makes my bones hard, puts snap in my muscles, and gives me long life.
Tai Chi works also. It makes me sensitive, removes me from illusion, and gives me long life.
And, interestingly, Tai Chi, learned effectively, is one of the most incredible self defense styled martial arts I have ever experienced.
And, they provide me with a ‘hard and soft’ progression of art. After you do a bit of matrixing, you can see how karate can become tai chi. And how tai chi enhances Karate.
All very interesting.
If you are experienced with the hard, I recommend the soft. If you are experienced with the soft, I recommend the hard.
It’s the only way to be sure that you really understand all aspects of the martial arts.
The trick, of course, is to make sure you matrix BOTH martial arts.
Newsletter 796
Sleight of Hand in the Martial Arts
Good morning!
It’s a balmy day out here in LA,
absolutely perfect for working out.
You just let the wind push you into the next move.
Hey,
here’s something interesting,
did you know that people don’t know how to use their bodies?
They do sports,
various gimmicks,
and they catch the ball cool,
but they are using the body at about 1/100 of its potential.
True.
And,
interesting enough,
I am not talking about instances of high adrenaline
as being the optimum.
In fact,
you should be using less energy
to create more effect.
Here’s the neutronic low down,very simple,
on this phenomenon.
If you study math,
the very first thing you learn to do is measure the universe.
After a couple of years of working with this fact,
which is used because it is undeniable,
you can’t argue with a ruler,
you learn to think in abstracts.
You learn to follow formula,
and you leave the necessity for measuring.
So,
two specific stages,
measure the universe,
follow formula.
The devising of new formula is considered the higher,
most creative mathematics.
That is what every professor shoots for.
Okay,
understanding this,
let’s discuss how it parallels the martial arts.
The beginner is taught to measure himself.
How fast he can run from point A to point B,
how much he can lift,
and so on.
This is the first stage,
the measurement stage,
the stage where you measure yourself in universal terms.
But you are not the universe,
you are awareness,
and to realize your true potential you have to find
the abstracts of motion.
Here is a very simple example of an abstract of motion.
The magician holds up the deck of cards,
you choose a card,
insert it back into the deck,
and the magician,
even though he doesn’t know what card it is,
pulls it out.
Whoa!
As Po would say.
But the magician has only used sleight of hand.
He has trained his hands to make a motion
that escapes the eye.
He doesn’t measure himself,
he grades himself according to how many people he can fool.
Can Joe Blow do this mystical faster than the eye can see motion?
With practice.
But here’s the point:
What if you trained your whole body to move
faster than the eye can see.
There are ways,
you know.
Here’s one.
Practice walking the circle out of Pa Kua for a few years,
until you feel the ‘lightening’ in your legs.
When somebody punches,
you move your hand in one direction,
and step down and under in the other direction.
It will be as if you disappeared.
I first heard of this disappearing act
when my instructor was being checked out by a high ranking Korean stylist.
The Korean did a series of stretches,
then,
noting that Bob was just standing and sipping a drink,
asked when Bob would be ready (for a proposed freestyle match).
Bob put his drink down and faced the Korean.
“I’m ready.”
The Korean jumped into the air with a perfect spinning kick.
When he came down Bob was nowhere to be seen.
In fact,
when the Korean turned his back Bob just walked behind him,
in conjunction with the spin.
The Korean was shocked to find Bob behind him.
I was not as fast as Bob,
I have a bigger body,
but I found that by moving my hand in one direction,
and my body in the other,
just as I described earlier,
that people would follow my hand and lose sight of me.
This is simple stuff,
but it takes immense practice.
And it takes a dedication to graduating from the simple measurement of self
into the abstract of measuring the other person.
It takes concentration,
focus of mind.
And,
in my case,
in addition to all the karate I did,
it took decades of Tai Chi and Pa Kua
to understand the enrages involved.
But,
with matrixing,
it doesn’t take that long.
It takes intense effort,
but if you understand what you are trying to do
before you do it,
then you can cut the time down by MUCH.
Mind you,
the path is different for everybody,
because everybody is different,
bodies are different,
and the mind and spirit is definitely different.
But,
if you understand what I have said here,
and are willing to dedicate yourself to the work,
then you can go beyond the measurement of the universe.
You can go into these things that,
before matrixing,
were considered mystical
and reserved for special people.
There is no reason why,
with understanding the matrixing concepts,
and a little hard work,
you can’t be special.
There is no reason why you can’t use your body
to its full 100% potential.
Here’s the Pa Kua page for any who wish
to choose that as a part of their journey.
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
Search the testimonials for your martial art!
Free Martial Arts Books
HERE'S SOME FREE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS, MY THANKS FOR DROPPING BY.
Includes books on Bruce Lee, the Truth About Matrixing, the first Martial Arts book sold in America (It's a real hoot!), and much more!