I’m a big fan of MMA.
I am a critic,
however,
of those who believe that MMA is the only way,
who would speak ill of karate, kung fu, or any other art.
MMA is just a piece of the bigger pie,
a piece of the bigger martial arts
which includes all martial arts.
Which bigger art,
thanks to matrixing,
makes sense and is easily learned.
So,
I was teaching the other night,
got a kid who was a wild hair.
Now,
the kid is actually not bad.
He can freestyle,
and he can grapple,
but he can’t control his body.
Isn’t that interesting?
He’s actually a black belt.
Not a bad one,
but he can’t control his body,
and here is where we come to the limits of MMA,
and the tragedy of this particular martial artist.
When he learned jujitsu
his teaching stopped at the techniques of jujitsu.
So he learned how to freestyle,
to fill the gap.
To be competent both in fisticuffs and grappling.
So I asked him to do a simple move.
Something like a block and punch.
He mouthed off,
sulked,
laughed,
and looked like garbage when he finally tried the simple move.
His attitude was:
I know how to fight
so I don’t need to know that stuff.
So his art stops at flesh contact.
That was the art he learned,
jujitsu,
and when there is no flesh contact,
no wrestling,
he doesn’t know what to do.
What about his ability to fight?
All he can do is kick and punch,
destroy,
and while there is an art to destruction,
it is not the true art.
The true art lies in control.
To the degree that you can control your body…
AND OTHER BODIES
to that degree you have the true art.
To the degree that you canNOT control your body…
AND OTHER BODIES
to that degree you do not have the true art.
He can control his own body in the limits of wrestling.
He can control his body if it comes to kick and punch.
He CANNOT control another person’s body.
And here is a subtle but determining factor.
If you practice MMA,
without recourse to classical arts,
you practice beating people,
not controlling them.
And that puts a severe limit
on what you know
and what you can learn.
MMA is great,
but you have to know how to get beyond that one limit.
So I asked the kid to punch me.
He couldn’t.
Every time he tried to punch me I would simply shift,
slap his hand aside,
and control his body.
Then,
I applied a grab art,
tied him up,
took him down,
and said:
‘Would you like to be able to control other people like that?
Would you like to know the simple tricks I use?
It’s easy,
but you’ll have to work hard,
and you’ll have to think.’
He mouthed off,
sulked,
laughed,
and made himself scarce.
His attitude was:
I know how to fight
so I don’t need to know that stuff.
In spite of the fact that I had just proved it worked.
And here is the tragedy,
in a nutshell,
the whole thing of what was wrong with the kid,
He was scared of what he didn’t know.
He was scared of learning something.
Heck,
if he learned something,
it would prove that he didn’t know everything.
Can’t have that, eh?
And that’s true,
to a degree,
of almost every child,
and even of every adult.
I don’t want to learn
because it will prove I don’t know something.
I CAN’T HAVE MY IGNORANCE SEEN!
So,
the kid hangs around the dojo,
marginally useful,
as long as the task is simple,
but you can’t trust him to do any teaching,
as teaching is merely a way
for him to be dominant (read bully),
and prove to the world
that he knows something,
even though he doesn’t.
He only knows shadows,
and the light eludes him.
How to have PERFECT form in seven simple steps.
How to have PERFECT techniques in six simple steps.
This knowledge is so powerful that people read it
and are totally changed.
Have you ever experienced something that was so true
it simply changed you?
A blink,
and you were different.
That’s what this stuff is.
School’s started for many,
so,
you students,
are you going to get a Matrix course,
have it done by summer?
Or even Christmas?
I have a LOT of good letters.
Just got the following,
and it really made my day.
Kurt has been a long time student of matrixing,
taken his time and done it right.
Here go…
Al,
Its been a while since I texted last. Back in January of this year I received the Create Your Own Art package. I finally completed it this week. The reason for spending so much time on it wasn’t one of laziness, I actually spent several hours on it every week. Once I received the package and viewed the Intercepting Fist segment I became intrigued and practiced and viewed it over and over again. Then when I viewed the Pa Kua disc, it really hit home how Matrixing came into play. As a result of this, I had to dig out the Butterfly Pa Kua disc and of course saw how the Ten Hands mimicked the Matrixing of the Intercepting Fist, it really hit home to me. I have been circle walking utilizing the 8 Animal Pa Kua for at least 2 years now and have found all the applications of my core art of Kenpo, in the Butterfly applications as well as the Intercepting Fist Circle walking. Of course this led me to take apart 5 Army Tai Chi and Matrix Tai Chi and find the same applications.
So I’ve spent the last 10 months practicing, experimenting, and rediscovering in the name of Creating My Own Art. And after all this I decided that I cannot create what has already been created. The best I could do is re-organize what already is. The Taoist Arts(Tai Chi, Bagua, Hsing I) have been around for a long time, and in the case of Tai Chi, (possibly the Mother of all Martial Arts), over 1500 years.
While Practicing with a friend, who has limited use of his left shoulder as result of an injury, I saw that he could not do the Intercepting Fist, or a simple Hi block or inverted block with that arm. Utilizing Pa Kua(Bagua) I was able to show him how to execute a circle walking direction turn and do a hi block with his good arm. he was elated and I was very full of myself! It was then that I decided to not create my own art but instead to re-task what I have learned as to fit the needs of people with limitations due to injury or handy-cap. I mean Dr. Paul Lam has done very well teaching Tai Chi to ease the pain of Arthritis. And many others teach Tai Chi to improve balance and range of motion in seniors. So this is my new calling and I attribute it to the Create Your Own Art Program. For this I thank you. It has really improved my skills and ability and hopefully I can help others as a result.
Finally, I would like to add that the only thing missing from my practice of the Internal Arts is Hsing I Chuan. I have had some exposure to that art but have found (at my age) that learning the 5 element forms as well as the 12 Animal forms would be a bit much. However, I do see a need for more linier attack and defense. So, taking inspiration from Matrix Tai Chi, I developed 8 short “lines”, by which I walk
a straight line, performing each of the Pa Kua animals 8 times forward, starting turning slightly left, step turn slightly right and so forth for 8 steps, them kick and pivot 180 degrees and do the same stepping back to the starting point, kick and pivot the perform the next animal(start with Butterfly Palm. Step the line changing palm left the, right etc.). It can also be done as a two man form, one advancing the other retreating. One attacking the other defending. This kind of rounded things out for me(if you’ll pardon the pun).
In closing, I apologize for the length of this email but after 9 months of this course of study I am very enthusiastic! But basically it boils down to me saying thanks!
Respectfully, Kurt A. Nelle’
Thank you, Kurt.
And for everybody,
Matrixing is quick,
you have realizations like crazy,
but it sets the stage for
some really long term learning.
At the end you understand
how the arts fit together.
You become able to shift from art to art,
create art as you need it.
There are just so-o-o many things you can do,
once you jump the fence,
put aside your limits,
and realize that there is nothing stopping you,
except your own self.
Matrixing opens the door.
Thanks Kurt,
and well done on your desire to help others.
That is the REAL art.
Happy Labor Day!
I think I’ll labor at the martial arts today.
A quick word,
I had inadvertently taken my list of courses off the site.
This is the full list,
so examine the left sidebar on the Monster,
everything is there.
Now,
came across these little gems,
thought I would share…
You’re not outnumbered,
you’re target rich.
When people ask me what I do for a living:
‘I teach people how to maim and kill.’
Bruises are really just temporary tattoos.
Kung Fu has been curing ADHD
since 500 AD
For my birthday
I want pound cake and punch.
violence isn’t always the answer,
but it sure is an option
the best part of a joke is the punch line.
Okay.
Nuff frivolity.
Let’s get serious.
It is true,
a picture is worth a thousand words.
and,
that being true,
a video is worth a thousand thousand words.
But,
here’s the cruel truth…
you still have to understand what the words mean.
I remember when Karate first hit the shores,
the Japanese said:
‘it will take an American three lifetimes to understand the martial arts.’
And,
that’s true,
if you don’t understand the words.
For me,
chi was the big mysterious.
Thought about it,
tried to figure it out,
made no sense.
Then I started looking up words like:
energy,
force,
spirit,
intention,
will power,
and so on.
And,
suddenly,
it all made sense.
Tell me I don’t understand chi.
Heck,
I can project it outside my body.
You know the funny thing?
I wish somebody had told me
the power of understanding words
back when I was 19.
I would be moving cars,
not just putting out candles.
All my training would have changed,
gone in a different direction.
How I came up with matrixing,
the evolution,
arts studied,
and so on.
All you have to do is understand the words.
But don’t worry,
I’ve included a few pictures to help you out.
Grin.
Okay,
have a great bunch of work outs this labor day.
And,
BTW
GO TEXAS!
To the degree that people rally round,
to the degree that government sits on the sidelines,
to that degree Texas comes back.
I came across some AMAZING statistics!
You’ve got a gun,
you think you’re safe.
Maybe you even laugh at those pajama clad Karate fools.
‘I’ know Ching Ching Pow!’
(You make the sound of chambering a shotgun.)
Ha ha.
Or,
‘I know Smith and Wesson!’
Or some other silly joke
designed to make you the laugh of the party,
and fun of those people who sweat their buns off
learning martial arts.
Well,
stupid,
I have news for you.
And I do mean stupid.
The FBI compiled statistics on officer involved shootings.
Officer involved means a professional gun wielder
with at least SOME training.
Here go…
• 86% officers were killed within 21 feet of their attackers
• 73% officers were killed within 10 feet or less
• And a whopping 52% (over HALF!) were killed from 5 FEET AWAY OR LESS.
And,
a high percentage of officers
were shot with their own guns!
And a high percentage of officers never even had a chance to align their sights.
So these professionals,
many of whom had training,
even military training,
died because they got up close and personal
and didn’t know what to do.
Didn’t know what to do,
as in didn’t know a martial art.
So,
if you’re one of these stupid yocks
who make jokes about
martial arts being like
taking a knife to a gunfight,
be aware that the knife
has a BETTER THAN 50% CHANCE OF WINNING!
All right.
This is a newsletter.
I’m selling something.
In this case I’m selling
THE MOST EFFICIENT METHOD
for dealing with weapons,
which means knife fighting,
taking away knives,
and scrunching armed idiots into the ground.
Happy Santa Anas!
The Santa Ana’s are the big winds here in LA,
it’s fun to work out with them whistling through you.
Ok-a-ley dok-a-ley,
it’s time to find out what perfection in the martial arts is.
Had a great talk with a bunch of students the other day,
and I mentioned finding perfection in the martial arts.
So what is perfection in the martial arts?
It’s an interesting question,
one that nobody ever really asks,
they just talk about it,
and assume they know what they‘re talking about.
It’s when you can ‘one punch/one kill’ somebody.
It’s when your form is perfect.
It’s when you understand the secret of the universe.
But nobody knows what perfection really is.
I do.
I defined it in The Master Instructor Course,
and tell you how to get it.
But here,
let’s talk about the short version.
Let’s talk about one of the things that I learned
way back when
that put me on the path to,
or at least understanding
what perfection is.
I was in an aikido class,
and the instructor said,
‘The perfect art cannot be felt.’
Man,
that was zen.
you know?
And it started me thinking.
He was talking about blending your defense
with the attack.
He was talking about moving your body
totally in synch with the incoming attack,
so that the opponent didn’t actually feel you
even when you took control of his body.
And he was talking about a high level of energy,
profound spiritual awareness,
etc.
But,
there’s more to it.
I took what he said
and applied it too ground rolling.
A perfect circle has no corners.
Because if you have a corner,
something will thump on the mat,
and then there is no perfection.
I spent a lot of time
figuring out how to roll without making any noise.
And it translated as:
the perfect art has no sound.
And I took that and applied it to karate.
I learned to move
without being heard.
My feet didn’t slap the mat,
not even my gi rustled,
and the only sound
was the smack of my fist hitting flesh.
Interesting.
The other night I came across the 1935 video of Morihei Ueshiba.
There was no sound.
He threw people,
and the only sound was them hitting the mat.
But of him,
there was no sound,
no foot fall,
no grunt,
no whisper of motion.
The perfect art can’t be heard,
or felt,
or,
for that matter,
even seen.
And that is the sort of thing I endured
to figure out the seven principles of the body,
and the six secrets of how to make ANY technique work,
which are all on The Master Instructor Course,
along with a lot of other nifty stuff.
A Simple Exercise for Sinking the Weight in the Martial Arts
Happy after Easter! Hope you don’t run over any eggs when you mow your lawn. Yuck!
Okay, here is one of the exercises I use, especially for kids, but great for anybody who wishes to find the true foundation of karate or any other martial art.
Grounding. It is when you sink your weight into the ground. Simply, you have to sink your weight, to attach the machine that is your body so that you can use that machine. This is basic mechanics.
I am always, when I teach forms, telling people to sink their weight. They have to bend both legs, feel the weight, let the weight reach the ground, so that the tan tien will create energy.
You don’t reach the ground, you have no energy. You have no real energy building inside your legs.
It’s funny, people doing boxing, kick boxing, modern tournament type freestyle, they bounce. They want to look like Bruce Lee. But before Bruce, everybody sank their weight, shifted their weight between their feet as they edged towards the opponent. It was the gunfighter mentality. Sink, edge forward, spring.
Nowadays, unfortunately, everybody has forgotten this. Everybody wants to bounce. Bouncing uses up muscles. Sinking the weight creates…endless energy. Energy that can be used to spring like a cat.
Okay, the best stance for teaching this is the horse stance. The horse stance can be used in freestyle, quite easily, but the true glory of the horse stance is simply for the creation of energy.
So you have the kids face in a direction. You say back, they pop their horse stance to the rear. You say right, they pop it to the right side, left is the other side, front is back to the front.
When I say ‘POP,’ that is key. Here’s the secret, you must NOT let the body raise in the air. The head must not bob up and down.
You must ‘swap’ your feet so fast that you don’t have time to fall, and you must do so without popping up. This is not an exercise in falling, it is an exercise in moving so fast you don’t have time to fall.
The secret here is that you have to use the tan tien. To properly pop your stance, to move both feet so they start at the same time, and land at the same time, you must explode from the tan tien to make this happen.
simple exercise, eh? And, when teaching a class, it’s sort of fun. Kids love it. They’ll bob up and down all over the place, but you just go around and hold a hand over their head, and tell them not to touch it.
Works every time. Here’s a link to the actual forms and exercises that I use to build Chi.
Happy spring work out! It is so beautiful today…PERFECT for a work out!
I once said, I don’t know if anybody recalls this, that if you want information there is a definite sequence of material to consider.
A newspaper provides a headline a few facts that might or might not have anything to do with anything. Because a newspaper sells tragedy by screaming it out.
If you want more information, a magazine works well. People buy magazines because the articles are more in depth.
If you want to learn a lot, read a book.
This is actually pretty obvious stuff.
BUT…have you converted it to the internet? That sort of media?
Most people watch the TV to get mad. They listen to the news and walk away pissed off. The news is just bad gossip, no real information, just inflame you so you’ll tune in tomorrow.
Then there’s the internet. Blogs and newsletters, oh my.
But the internet is written by boneheads, for the most part. People who want to get rich, or who are easily titillated.
There are a few good sites, mine foremost, but…lots of crap out there.
But, it is a good way to find out about…videos. You can order videos, the equivalent of a book, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million.
That said, let me pick on one bad guy on the internet, the one bad guy that we all (me included) latch on to.
Youtube.
Here’s the problem with youtube. People end up not looking for information, they don’t want to learn, they want titillation. They want entertainment.
Here’s the comparison. When there was no internet, and people commonly read magazines, we would pour over those mags. We would borrow them from friends, read every word in them, including the ads, and even the publication notices on the front page.
It was our only source of information! We were starved for information!
Now, with the glut of everybody and their cat showing off their poorly imagined kata, and techniques that could get you killed, the replacement for magazines does more harm than good.
People don’t look for information, they click from vid to vid, looking for…the latest knock out. The guy getting hit by the car. The two girls catfighting.
People, entertained by the net, have become seduced by the salacious. They don’t want to learn.
I can’t tell you how many times I have people who think they know karate, but really are only enraptured by the joy of combat. They fight, without thought of learning. They spend too much time on the net, bruising their brains with people who don’t know anything, bloody headlines, and gimmicks.
Now, why do I tell you about this? Merely so you’ll think about it. I don’t suppose to change the world, only a few people who get it.
That’s just the way it is.
So the next time you start searching for the latest nose-flattening, eyeball bleeding, kidney squashing knockout…
remember to finish up the night by coming to a site like MonsterMartialArts.com. Think about getting videos that are a couple of hours in content, with accompanying books, filled with illustrations, and the exact method of how to do the martial arts.
You’ll be glad you did.
Real knowledge will make you feel a lot better than salacious, titillating knock outs. It will make you a better person, and last your whole life.
Do you remember when you were in the fifth grade? You were smarter than the fourth graders, you could, let’s be honest, kick their little butts. But those sixth graders… man, they were big and mean!
And, you realize that I have honestly depicted the martial arts. This is the way the belt structure works, just like grades in school.
Those purple belts, they’ll never toughen up. Little dweebs. But those brown belts, man! They are mean!
But they aren’t bigger. The sixth graders are bigger, but the brown belts…they’re about the same size.
If you take a black belt and a green belt, and you give them a bunch of tests, push ups, sit ups, that sort of thing, there usually isn’t a great difference.
So what is the difference between belts?
The simple answer is: the upper belts have better kicks and punches and stuff.
But there is a more important answer that most people miss out on.
Knowledge.
The upper belt has more knowledge.
But what is knowledge?
There’s car mechanic knowledge, and farmer knowledge, and mathematical knowledge. All sorts of fields of knowledge, but martial arts knowledge is different.
What I am talking about is the experiential knowledge.
For upper, upper belts, it is simply referred to as ‘polishing.’ A guy doesn’t learn something new, he ‘polishes’ his technique.
In other words, he does something with more and more attention to detail, and in that minutiae, in that painstaking examination of motion, is more knowledge.
Sometimes, the differences of knowledge, on that level, seem inconsequential. But, let me tell you, the differences, the smaller they are, are ginormous.
How do you know when somebody is going to do something before they do it?
Today’s modern black belts often can’t do this. Yet this ability, to tell what somebody was going to do before they did it, was considered normal for a good black belt a few decades ago.
But today’s modern black belts are usually interested in running a school, or somehow translating their activity into money.
Today’s black belts don’t actually work out much.
They teach, and there is knowledge there, but it is not the same thing as creating silence around a technique until you can see the technique before it comes.
This is the knowledge of which I speak.
You do a technique looking at it harder and harder until you see some difference, some odd thing you never saw before, and then you have a bit more knowledge.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you teaching is wrong, just that there is a field of knowledge which teaching doesn’t plumb into, and which isolating yourself into endless repetitions of a technique does.
Teaching provides a database of knowledge, but you still have to build a high mountain on that database.
Okay, so what does it feel like? What does this higher knowledge look like?
I’m 68, I teach a couple of hours a day, but I work out intensely. Sometimes not as much as I want, but I still try to work out EVERY DAY! To look at an inch, and slice it into finer lengths. To look at a kick and find some awareness of body in it of which I was not aware.
Let’s say I am doing a replacement kick. Specifically, stand in a front stance facing a bag or wall. Now…
replace your front foot with your rear foot and strike the wall with your front foot.
Both feet move at the same time, fear to front at the same as front to wall. The rear foot plants on the floor at the same time as the front foot impacts upon the wall.
And you reverse the motion to the beginning and original posture.
Okay, you do this, and you do this, you begin to appreciate how the angles of the feet, the muscles of the leg, and all the minutiae must come together in an instant. And, if you keep doing this and doing this, maybe for years, one day you will be watching your feet from above, just watching, sort of marveling, and thinking, ‘Huh, that’s good, that’s working.’
No joy or pride, just deeper appreciation, a satisfaction for the days work that nobody, unless they do the martial arts for decades will ever understand.
But here’s what I didn’t mention. You watch your feet, without taking your eyes off your target.
HUH? HOW CAN THAT BE? HOW CAN YOU WATCH BOTH THE FEET AND THE WALL YOU ARE HITTING? DON’T YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE WALL TO SEE THE LEGS?
Here’s where it gets tricky, but pay attention to what I’m about to say.
The eyes are a bio-mechanical device through which you look. They eyes don’t look. They are the ‘binoculars,’ the ‘glasses,’ the ‘microscope’ and you have to ask this one important question… who is looking through the microscope?
Who?
Who is doing the technique?
Who is operating your body?
If you are watching it from above, without eyes, then who are you? What are you?
This is the knowledge of which I speak, this is the higher levels of the martial arts, lost in calisthenics and tournament training, never seen by people obsessed with bullying groups of students.
So I kick, and, outside my body, outside my eyes, I watch the kick, and in the watching comes a power unlike anything an earthling has ever imagined.
It makes me want to do martial arts every single waking moment of every single day for the length of my life.
And, when you finally get that removed viewpoint, I call it a ‘Neutronic Viewpoint,’ all sorts of things can happen. Things that have nothing to do with the body.
You can fill a room with energy, you can put it in a student to help him understand, you can shoot it at an opponent to overwhelm him.
And yet this energy, too, can be sliced into infinity, made to create a whole new and different body of knowledge.
As getting a black belt opens the door to new experiences and knowledge, so does this achieving of a new viewpoint.
Now, how do you get this knowledge and ability?
First, you study, and you DON’T STOP!
And, you teach. And you gather bits of knowledge, whole arts if you wish and you put them together as a whole.
Think, what kind of a car would we have, if the makers of tires believed that steering wheels weren’t important because they weren’t tires?
You can’t toss out any part of the art for any other part of the art, you have to make everything come together in one picture.
So you study, and you put the arts together through matrixing, and you search for that unique outer viewpoint.
Seek, as in… ‘he who seeks will find.’ You have to be that religious about it.
Okay,
Here’s a little birthday gift to you. I don’t care if it’s not your birthday, you were born sometime, and if I missed your birthday, then I’m making up for it, here’s the gift.
I don’t think the PayPal buttons work on it, but maybe the links do, have no idea. If a button or link doesn’t work, sorry, nothing I can do about it. But if you find something that works, on this old website, good for you. I’ll honor it.
AND… take a look at the last graphic in the mag. It is an image of how the arts develop, and it actually shows how people can be distracted and fall off, even with the best of intentions.
So enjoy, and remember what I said about… ‘work out, teach, and never hold yourself back.’
Have a great work out! Al
PS, any trouble with courses, any questions about anything, drop me an email at:
Hey! An EXCELLENT morning to you! And a great work out!
Gonna talk about Closed Combat Systems, or…CCS. But first…
You may have noticed that the site was down for a couple of days. My host server moved me to a newer computer, and lost my site. Couldn’t believe it. I kept calling them, even getting nasty, which is something I don’t do. They finally got it back up, but, man, I was actually irritated.
I don’t usually get angry, or even irritated because when things happen, that’s life. You solve it. You don’t let emotions get in the way. Anyway, it’s back up, so let’s talk about CCS, or ‘Closed Combat Systems.’
There used to be nothing but CCS in the martial arts. That’s because martial artists tended to be paranoid. Didn’t want to talk to the competition. So the growth of the arts was slow, and things tended to…here comes the word… ‘circuitize.’
To understand this word consider: a move in the martial arts is a series of small steps. A simple punch, for instance, consists of:
sink the foot, push with the leg turn the hip rotate the shoulder extend the arm
And, aside from these five basic points, there are ALL sorts of minor points, minor points that are ABSOLUTELY crucial to a good punch, to a REAL martial arts punch.
breathing to the tan tien, breathing as if into the strike, turning the wrist or not, focusing the eyes, focusing the energy, turning the limbs so that proper alignment is achieved, coursing energy the right way, and on and on for everybody part every motion every notion.
A good martial artist will be aware of ALL these things, and conduct them, just like an orchestra conductor conducts a 100 piece orchestra, and all in a split second.
To make this all happen the martial artist visualizes, and causes to come into being, a ‘circuit.’ That is, a sequence of awareness impulses that drive the nerves, muscles and bones of the body machine. And there is a lot more to it than that.
Now, some people think it is all ‘muscle memory.’ Muscle memory is a small part of it, and the term isn’t even accurate. For it is not the muscles that remember, it is the spirit setting up a circuit of awareness.
Setting up a ‘robot action,’ as it were.
The point behind all this silliness and significance is that one practices a move until it becomes intuitive. Until he doesn’t have to be aware of all the little pieces.
And one practices these moves until the individual aware pieces disappear and one is left with… intuition.
So one establishes a circuit just to make it disappear. One piece at a time, through endless practice, the circuit becomes an intuitive move. The circuit disappears. The student is left with himself, and is now n expert, on the way to becoming a master.
Now, the point of this is that… old arts, because they didn’t change, became heavily circuited. Changes occurred in small increments, and the whole art could absorb them.
Fast forward to the twentieth century. Books, magazines, internet. Tournaments every week, Dojos on every corner. The appearance of LARGE corporations! Heck, these corporations would even enlist people from OTHER schools to fill the demand as they expanded.
And… systems changed. Ed Parker went through multiple organizations, five different systems, hundreds and hundreds of schools, and he was just one of the thousands of people causing havoc to the CCS.
The CCS method broke down. The art changed. The age old method that caused intuition ceased functioning. And… the quality of black belt went down.
I know because I was there. I started martial arts in 1967, studied MANY different arts, wrote for the mags and saw TREMENDOUS evolution.
Now, let’s be honest, there were a few problems with the CCS. It wasn’t efficient, but it did work. But it was replaced by something less efficient.
People who put aside forms entirely and taught fighting. People who put tournaments above individual awareness. Vested interest aimed at slanting the art for making money. A nationalistic bent that caused SEVERE tweaking of styles. And, of course, the utterly despicable rise of politics. And so on.
So the CCS died. And that brings us to me.
Interestingly, I had a fellow who wrote me the other day, asked me what my purpose was. Purpose is an interesting thing. I am speaking, of course, of the purpose of one’s life. Why a person exists. Why one would choose to have boringness in this universe on this planet in this geography at this time.
We all have purpose.
I laughed when I was asked the question, and I responded.
‘To make a science of the martial arts.’ And, I further said, ‘I accomplished my purpose, now I’m just playing.’
And it’s true.
Look, let me give you a little perspective on me.
My father was an engineer. I grew up reading such mags as popular mechanics, popular science, all sorts of ‘how to do’ mags, and, a little bonus, my father was a golfer. So I read all these mags with the most fascinating pics. Pics of men with planes placed over the body to show how the hips moved to swing the club to drive the energy the analysis of the blade of the club on the dimple of the ball.
I applied this to the martial arts.
In fact, when I picked up my first martial arts book, (Super Karate Made Easy!) I was stunned at the lack of clarity. hundreds of drawings, showing moves and techniques, self defense situations, AND NOT ONE PIC SHOWED HOW IT WAS DONE! No planes through the body, no analysis of how the hips joined to the legs to the feet to sink the weight to provide torque to the shoulders, so the wrist could snap at the right time, and… the moment of impact.
THERE WAS NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL, WRITTEN ABOUT HOW THE ART WORKED.
So there came my purpose, to put the ‘how to,’ the REAL, PHYSICS INSPIRED how to.
And, as my life passed I realized that I was obsessed with putting science into the martial arts. Something NOBODY had ever done.
Now, I succeeded. Got over 600 pages of testimonials letting me know that I succeeded. And I didn’t pursue these testimonials, they came out of the blue.
So I succeeded. I’m not famous, not rich, don’t care. Because money and fame is not the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to become competent in something, and to share that competence.
So I succeeded when I sold my first matrixing course. I succeeded because that fellow, whether he bought into my scheme of arts or not, was putting science into HIS OWN art.
And he was going to pass that science down for one simple reason: it was true. It worked, and you can’t argue with the universe. Only a fool would want to.
And, heck, people can disagree with me all they want about art. Art is subjective, it is the expression of the person, and every person is different, but… NOBODY has ever disagreed with matrixing. Matrixing is the logic, and it is an analysis of, and is based upon, cold, hard science.
Not the limited science of the colleges and western influence.
A science that includes such things as chi power, and all manner of ‘sixth sense’ phenomena.
So, now you know what CCS is, and, for what it’s worth, you understand what drove me, what inspired this obsession of mine, and how it all worked out.
But, of course, there are a few loose ends here.
The main being… what do you do to reinstate CCS. And that, interestingly enough, is where we come to matrixing.
With matrixing you go through certain evolutions.
First, you realize how to make your system work. You apply the principles, start to streamline your art, and therefore create your own CCS.
Be sure, you will learn 10Xs faster and more efficiently, heck, 1000Xs faster and more efficiently, if you create your art.
When you take apart the art you learned, be it Taekwondo, Aikido, or whatever form of Kung Fu… and put it back together, you are involved in a form of creation. You are the artist. You are no longer ‘monkey see monkey do.’ You are the one making something that is unique to you. Even though it is based upon other arts, it is unique to you.
Second, you start to create your own art. You finish aligning the systems you learned, and you start expressing yourself, creating an entirely different martial art than anything you’ve ever learned.
This is the ultimate stage of CCS.
Yet… you never close your mind to others. Matrixing won’t allow you to. You learn a system, you IMMEDIATELY start figuring out how to make that system mesh with everything else you know.
Matrixing IS a CCS. Matrixing allows you to put ALL arts, all the pieces, into one ‘picture.’
But, of course, it requires you to obsess. Just as it required me to obsess. But, just as I said the purpose of my life was to put science to art, and as I said the purpose of life itself is to become competent, the purpose underneath it all is… to put order to everything.
You put order to the tools in your garage. You tune your car so it is in order and can run. You talk to people at work to make sure you are on the same page, thus putting order to your work. Everything… EVERYTHING… requires order, and it is the obsession of every right thinking human being to make that order happen. On that scale it becomes almost religious.
And, let me say one…last…thing.
As I said, I have achieved the purpose of my life. I achieved it when I sold my first matrixing course. And I achieve it when you buy my course. And, at the end, when you have achieved your purpose… you play.
That’s what is at the end of Matrixing.
Not fame and riches, not dominance and subjugation, not corporate ownership and king for a day, but the single and sole ability…
TO PLAY.
So get a course, start the journey, and come play with me.
Have a great work out! Al
PS, any trouble with courses, any questions about anything, drop me an email at:
Man! This is a freaking great year! So many things to do! Have you made a list of things to do? I hope your list starts with doing martial arts every day, and learning a new art every month!
Every month? But Al! Nobody can do that!
Oh… Bullstuff! You can do ANYTHING you want to do!
You think not? You just set your goal, take one step at a time and watch the goal grow closer. It’s that easy.
But… twelve arts in a year? NOBODY can do that!
Oh… BULLSTUFF!
You could if you wanted.
Look, each art builds on the one before it. Let’s say it takes you three months to learn Matrix Karate. It’s only going to take a couple of months to learn Shaolin Butterfly after that, because you have a LOGICAL database. Matrix Karate is so logical, so intuitive, and each matrixed art you study after that gets easier and easier.
You could towards the end, learn a couple of arts a month. Easy. You just need the true and accurate data on what the martial arts really are.
The work outs get to be fun.
You get done with Matrix Karate, then you look at Shaolin Butterfly, or whatever art you choose, and the thought blasts through your head… THIS IS EASY!
Yeah, this is just a second step, oh, this relates to that, oh, that’s how it fits.
Your mind gets excited, you start ABSORBING the martial arts. Not grinding at them, but ABSORBING them. In fact, it’s almost like they are eating you.
It’s like getting drunk, each drink getting easier to toss down the old gullet, except it is knowledge you are tossing down. And the work outs are not boring grinds, they are exciting times with your mind leaping through the material, your body not even knowing it is working.
I’m not kidding.
Or, you could sit there and say, NAH! Nobody can do that. That’s impossible. I’M NOT EVEN GOING TO TRY!
You guys and gals want to know something?
I’m a beginner. I was a beginner in 1967, and I’m a beginner now.
Do you remember what it was like to be a beginner? To be swamped with new concepts? To travel through each work out with your brain going…OMG!
With matrixing, every work out is like that.
At least for me it is. But then…I don’t think anything is impossible.
Okay, here’s the skinny. I’ve written over two million words on the martial arts. More than anybody else in history. I didn’t even think about it, just did it, because it was FUN!
So here’s a little blast from the past. I was trying to put order in my files and I came across the six journals.
They start small, the first one is only four pages, and grow larger and larger, and cover all sorts of things, some original articles, some original artwork, some original thinking. AND I HAD FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT THEM!
Well, heck, with over 2,000,000 words, of course I’ve forgotten some stuff, forgotten I’ve written some stuff. So here is the link to the first journal. No charge, just something to get you thinking, something to help you come to the conclusion… NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
And, of course, let me know if the link doesn’t work. I don’t know if any links inside the mag work, you can let me know, but I probably won’t do anything. After all, I wrote the mags ten years ago, and have gone through several websites, softwares, etc.
BUT… here’s my screwup, and you can take advantage of it.
I never deleted one of my old websites. Oh, yeah, it’s there. In fact, it is so old that I can no longer fix it. I made it with an old Mac program. No longer works. So you MIGHT be able to find links to old prices. Now, if the link doesn’t work… if a Paypal button doesn’t work… I won’t honor it. Sorry. It’s broke, I can’t fix it, tough luck. BUT if it works, you can order what you want. I have to honor it, right?
Now, to tell the truth, I don’t know what works. Maybe everything, maybe nothing, probably something in between.
I don’t know, and I don’t care to look because, darn it, I can’t fix it.
So, a New Years blessing. Something to get you going. If the links work, take advantage. If they don’t, if a product is no longer there, I probably won’t honor it. (Though I will refund, if that issue comes up. I always guarantee everything, even if I don’t know what it is.)
Okay, welcome to the new year, have a great work out, and remember… ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
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!
