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!
Happy New Year! And a dirty word to you. A dirty word? But…which dirty word?
The word is… ATARAXIA.
I will explain why it is a dirty word later. Right now, let me say that, dirty or not, it is the one word you should know, especially if you wish to be a real martial artist.
I do want to warn you, that if you’re not prepared for a little concentration, a bit of hard thought, and the willingness to look your face right in the mirror, you better skip this newsletter.
Here we go.
Ataraxia is derived from Greek. it means… ‘not disturbed.’ It is freedom from distress and worry.
Or, A state of serene calmness.
This is not just a philosophical word. Philosophy, as in dry old men who sit around and talk about life.
This is freedom from worrying about whether some fellow is going to attack you, whether your car is going to make it to work, or even where your next meal is coming from. Heck, it is even freedom from the fellows in Washington, who do their best to disturb any tranquil state of the soul.
And here’s the real definition.
Ataraxia is an untroubled and tranquil condition of the soul… THE IDEAL STATE FOR SOLDIERS ENTERING BATTLE! (Caps mine.)
But, we have just scratched the surface of the word.
Dig in a little deeper and we have… ‘live life modestly, gain a knowledge of the world, and limit one’s desires.’
Yikes! That means you don’t need a Ferrari, a cheap junker will do, if it will get you from here to there, which is the point of it all.
If you live modestly and seek knowledge, you will become free from fear… you will be happy.
But, it gets even juicier. A person who takes no position as to what is good or bad attains a state of ataraxia. Good or bad, you see, is a judgment. A person who judges others has removed himself from humanity.
And, yet more. A person who pursues virtue will achieve ataraxia.
So, to become a warrior, a real warrior, possessed of virtues and honor, you have to give up desires, you have to stop judging others, then you can become balanced, and that balance will manifest as a peaceful state of the soul.
Now do you understand why this simple word is so important? Do you understand why a year spent delving into it will result in yourself as a higher caliber martial artist?
And, of course, a few work outs a day. Work outs like in Monkey Boxing. Every week you get more data, old training drills that are now forgotten. New training drills to fill in the pieces. And an inspiration to work out. To not stop. To explore the martial arts to delve into what makes you you.
Think about it like this, think about this different way of looking at things: if something bad happens, you don’t get upset or emotional, for it has already happened. You don’t react, but merely move to calm the situation.
And, if you can do this, then you start to see ‘disturbances’ coming, and you start to act BEFORE the deed, thus preventing a disturbance to your ataraxia, and helping others to achieve this ideal state of spirituality.
That’s how it all works.
So why is Ataraxia a dirty word?
Because saying ‘dirty word’ makes people look. I got you to look. Hopefully, you will forgive my terrible deed, and consider a life filled with ataraxia.
And here’s something really sneaky about this, if i can inject a final word.
You saw the term ‘dirty word,’ your mind reacted, and you were compelled. Not very ataraxic, eh?
And the solution is to pursue ataraxia if you wish to overcome being a victim to ‘anti-ataraxia.’
It’s Xmas,
Merry Xmas!
And,
of course,
HanaKwanMass!
Got three new vids out for you.
Two of them on working out.
Look,
it is very important to get the teacher’s viewpoint.
You will see this in these videos.
Hey,
you’re teaching yourself,
right?
So it’s important.
But the logic here goes a bit further.
If you are the dummy (the receiver)
in training,
you learn how to take a punch,
how to see a punch,
how to analyze a punch from the viewpoint of one getting struck.
This is valuable data.
If you are the person doing the hitting,
you get to learn how to implement a technique,
how to drive through a block,
how to make it work in spite of anything
an opponent might do.
VERY valuable data.
But when you teach,
you get both viewpoints,
and you get outside the technique.
You start to understand it in a way
that a student,
be he attacker or defender,
will NEVER understand.
Never.
That is the MOST VALUABLE data of all.
So figure out these warm ups,
get your family members to warm up with you,
start to appreciate
how little people understand their bodies
and how to make them work.
Guaranteed,
see it from a teacher’s viewpoint
and you’ll suddenly understand things
like you NEVER understood them before.
Here’s the Christmas vids.
‘MB 30 Moon Form Variations’
Different way of doing the Moon form.
Look,
low level students repeat the form
until they can repeat it like robots.
Yes,
they blow through circuits,
and will eventually make the moves intuitive.
BUT…
they don’t understand
all the different ways
of looking at and doing a form.
‘MB 31 Warm Ups kids’
Perfect for teaching kids,
for getting them to make the transition
from play to work.
But you have to be patient.
These Warm Ups are also excellent for people
getting back into the martial arts after lengthy time off,
or rehabilitating.
If you want some real fun,
I suggest you bolster these warm up routines
with exercises from Yogata.
‘MB 32 Warm Ups Adults’
These are the Monkey Boxing warm ups.
A little more vigorous,
they focus on making the body empty
at the same time you warm it up.
Not muscles,
but mind,
emptying the body so it can move faster
and with more sureness.
Okey doggone oakley
time to eat, drink,
and celebrate a couple of thousand years
of attempted peace.
With Monkey Boxing
maybe we can get there a little faster.
HANAKWANMASS to all,
and to all…
here is my famous Christmas ditty,
designed to put joy in your hearts,
and bells on your swords.
Click on Cover for The Secret of the One Year Black Belt!
BUT,
before we go with my yearly rendition
of the Night Before Xmas,
let me say something.
First,
please forgive.
If I have offended you,
been late on an order,
said something you didn’t like,
please extend your forgiveness to me.
I’m trying hard,
but I make mistakes.
A little forgiveness
will go a long way.
Thanks.
AND,
before we start
on that bit of eternal poetry,
let me say something.
Did you know
more people have canceled their subscription
to this newsletter
after reading this poem
than…than…
I don’t know.
I just know that a lot of people cancel.
EXCELLENT!
I only want the serious martial artists.
And how can you be a serious martial artist
if you don’t know how to laugh?
Or at least groan at my poem?
So to you,
the grumps,
the misogynists,
the bank robbers and dog kickers,
the fellows (and gals) who don’t work out
and will live a dry,
mundane,
boring,
empty of excitement
life…
this poem is designed
to get rid of you.
TAKE THAT!
Heh heh!
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!
Twas the night before Christmas
I was in my shack
primed and ready
for the red fat attack.
my weapons were loaded
the windows were barred
all would be safe
while I was on guard
The chimney was decked
with concertina wire
I crouched by the couch
ready to fire.
I had an M60
with ammo to feed
I didn’t care
if the red fat did bleed.
A loaded shotgun
and grenades to spare
when red fat came down
I’d blow him out of there.
Throwing stars and knives
and a really long sword
and if that didn’t work
I knew a bad word.
Sitting there late
my eyes started to close
when suddenly I heard
a bunch of ho hos.
Off with the lights
safety off, too
I watched the fire close
and heard a sound from the flu.
‘Ouch and gosh darn it
who put the wire here
those are my undies
starting to tear!’
Then a shower of soot
and a grunt and a groan
he landed in the fire
and gave out a moan.
He was rubbing the place
where the wire did tear
so I held down the trigger
and lead filled the air.
belt after belt
did I deal the red fat
he danced and he jumped
I knew he felt that!
then quicker than spit
I ran out of lead
but enough was enough
he had to be dead.
Boy was I shocked
to see him stand tall
stepping out of the fireplace
not bothered at all.
So I grabbed up the 16
to mow him down
he had to be hurting
cause I saw his big frown.
Then I was empty
and he came straight for me
I pulled out my knives
and sliced him with glee
He jumped to the side
moving real quick
disarmed my knives
with a well placed kick
then he dropped the big bag
he had on his shoulder
reached forth his arms
and his anger did smolder
He grabbed hard my neck
and held me up high
I tried kicks and punches
but I was like a fly
Not karate nor judo
no art did work
and he grinned a mean grin
and called me a jerk
‘Don’t you know
you stupid little man
Christmas is forever
in spite of your plan.’
Then he threw me aside
and proceeded to work
giving presents to all
and to me a great smirk
And when he left
the great big red fat
he left me a lump of coal
the big red fat rat!
Got lots of things today,
including a PHEEEnominal win from a Monkey Boxer.
So…
LET’S START!
First,
it is the month of HanaKwanMass,
and I should explain that to all you newbies
who only joined the newsletter in the last year.
HanaKwanMass stands for…
Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Christmas.
Political correctness is for idiots,
if somebody says Happy Kwanza to me,
I say Happy Kwanza back.
Skin color, religion,
those are just distinctions for the ignorant.
We all bleed red,
and I don’t care what you call your viewpoint
of the Supreme Power.
So
HanaKwanMass,
I reach everybody,
or offend everybody,
and the heck with political correctness.
Second,
the path of the martial arts
involves making a person intuitive.
So they don’t have to think,
but do the right thing,
without thinking about it,
automatically.
What matrixing does is do this FAST.
Look,
there’s a lot to matrixing,
and that’s because the martial arts have had a lot done to them.
People,
well meaning instructors,
have obscured the real arts.
They have hidden the path to intuition.
Matrixing merely cleans up the field,
derails mysticism
with scientific observation,
and heaping helpings of logic.
One of the first things I ever wrote about Matrixing…
If you want to teach somebody how to count,
you wouldn’t say…
4, 7, green, 5 elephant…and so on.
You would say…
1…2…3…4…
and so on.
The martial arts, because of politics,
religion, nationalism, personal interest,
and so on,
are a mixed mesh up of…
4, 7, green, 5 elephant…and so on.
Matrixing returns the art to the logic of 1…2…3…4…and so on.
But there’s so much more,
there is the intense scrutiny of basics,
the rearranging of form,
the alignment of techniques,
and the presentation of a scientific philosophy
so that people no longer get lost in the mysticism.
Unfortunately,
people who aren’t too smart,
can’t let go of the mysticism,
and they resist matrixing.
Invariably,
they haven’t studied it,
but they sure know how to badmouth it.
So,
third,
here’s a win.
It is a spectacular win,
comes from a Monkey Boxing student.
And I should say something about this.
Matrixing presents the logic,
can be applied to any art.
Monkey Boxing is me teaching.
I use matrixing,
and all the tools at my disposal.
You might see a drill I learned in the Kang Duk Won
45 years ago.
You might see a translation from Wing Chun to Aikido,
that I worked on 40 years ago.
You might see something I made up yesterday
to help one student make the leap
from the hard grind of repetition
to the joy of intuition.
It goes this way and that,
an intuition of teaching,
and I have no way of judging
whether my instincts are correct.
So to get a win like this
really makes my day.
Here’s the win…
Al,
I don’t have room here to say this big enough or joyfully enough— but if I did, I’d put a HUGE big “Whoopee!!”
I’ve finally been through the first few videos of the Monkey Boxing course. I have a habit of watching all I have- this from a learning technique I picked up years ago called “super-learning” and it basically says to learn anything- first skim over the material, which creates a ‘sense of familiarity’ to the information. I’ve done that. I have been left on CLOUD 9.
I was injured in an accident in 99– got mashed between two HUGE trucks– my 16 ton tow truck and a 9,000 pound Ford Excursion SUV…. and after that, I took almost 3 years to learn just to walk semi-normally again and I still limp. Lately, I’ve had more “arthritic” effects and stiffening as a result. The other effect it had on me is, for some reason, and no doctors have been able to tell me why- I’ve lost a LOT of memories of my life. I can put all my past memories probably in a two or three hour video if I could transfer my thoughts to video. My 5th degree black belt in Kenpo- for instance– is GONE. I know it did it, and every so often get a little “glimpse” of things but doesn’t stay with me. My bodyguard years- I have a few memories of that- and even the last few years since the accident, most of the past part is just not there.
I’m telling you this because I wanted to get back into a martial art- more for self- defense than the “art” part. I’m 60, not in good health at all, but want to learn to take care of myself.
What I found, just watching the first 14 videos (for some reason I missed 13- which I’ll get when my internet is back on- my data limit ran out).. was that it IS exactly as you said– SO INTUITIVE!! It’s a truly NATURAL grouping of actions and motions- and I easily flow with it. I’m So excited, I could scream– probably will a bit later!! 🙂
I have begun, and will have to work consistently and SLOWLY, and let it build on its own. I can see myself doing it all- very slowly- and with dynamic tension to get the motions correct and build the muscles for that particular move as the same time- then over time the drills will build the motion back into my muscle memory (which hopefully will stay with me since they ARE natural- logical motions). I don’t know how long it will take me to learn and get really good at this- and don’t really CARE– because I KNOW it works- my “spirit” says it WORKS… and my mind KNOWS it works- because it is NATURAL/LOGICAL and REAL. I’ve already put my Kenpo books, cds., and other stuff I was looking at BACK in storage– and won’t be needing them. I’m not interested in spending another 5+ years just learning something that is NOT right for me anyway. And I love that just doing the Forms is the only realy “workout” I need. I DO a workout- have begun recently- called 7 miracle tiger moves.. which is dynamic tension in motion.. and LOVE them- they are very effective and are working. I can just AD this system to my routine and learn Monkey boxing while “working out” at the same time!! I LOVE this.
You can’t possibly KNOW just how happy this has made me. I have no one to work out with–and the forms will take care of that. Later, once I’m settled where ever I go- I want to get a dummy and stuff to work out on. I’ll probably teach it to someone close by once I get settled too.
I DO have a lousy internet right now, though– it’s wirless through Net Zero– which is a good service– but the “hotspot” I got from them is crappy. It’s a pad that I use for hotspot- and most of the time it kicks out right in the middle of whatever I”m doing- and I have to shut everything down and start over… and the signal strength is weak- so it doesn’t pick up well at all when it’s cloudy. I’m ordering a better “hotspot” later- like Jan. (my check this time is already spent on my truck).. Until then- I’m hoping all the videos you post are ARCHIVED– because I will miss from now to about the 5th… That is why I want to DOWNLOAD them all to my hard drive– because I use up “data” limit time watching them directly and can’t do them over and over like here at home.
I thought I would have loads of questions– but don’t- because it IS so “intuitive” and natural (or maybe the kenpo and tai chi is still in there helping with that somewhere- just unconsciously).. and I just LOVE this.. I was seriously looking at JKD online, and Wing chun online– etc.– but not now– I’m Doing MONKEYBOXING totally!! Forget all that other long time stuff!! 🙂
Anyway- hope this wasn’t too long- but just wanted you to know- I have FOUND my “niche” in this!!! THANK YOU.
David C
pS– There’s NO WAY I can possibly do the Monkey in a Box for a bit– I have trouble getting up and down out of a regular chair lately… but I’m working on it.. and I’ve always had this “feeling” in me that there was “an answer” or a “secret” to ALL martial arts– and this is it!!
David,
thank you very much for the win.
Thank you for allowing me to share this,
I know it will inspire people.
And,
for all you guys and gals.
David’s points are very simple…
anybody can learn it,
it is intuitive,
it can be learned fast…
or slow.
Depends on what you need and want.
And,
I don’t wish to replace anybody’s arts,
but that sometimes happens.
I actually prefer that you take my material
and revitalize your own art of choice.
Here’s the key,
matrixing breaks apart and rebuilds,
it makes logic, and logic becomes intuitive.
Monkey Boxing is me teaching.
I teach matrixed art,
and I draw on ALL my experiences
to get the student to experience ALL of his abilities.
Now,
those of you who have signed up for Monkey Boxing,
you’ll get a Monkey Boxing newsletter shortly
giving you the heads up on the new videos,
and other things that are happening on the site.
Here’s two links…
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-karate/
starts the matrixing path…
and…
http://monkeyboxingnow.com/internet/
a page I’m trying out
to gear to ads on the internet.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I give thanks that I am able
to do Martial Arts.
Click here to go to: MonkeyBoxingNow.com!
I just had a rather interesting conversation.
It took place in the comments section
of the blog site,
alcase.wordpress.com
I don’t usually talk in comments,
I much prefer email,
but this fellow wrote in on an article
that mentioned blinking.
In the article I had described natural methods of blinking,
which is to cleanse the eye,
the body takes care of it,
you don’t do much.
And then there was unnatural blinking,
which is when you blink as part of a flinch,
or the product of some distraction.
This fellow had a really tough time with this concept.
I guess he blinks a lot,
and he suddenly realized all his blinking was unnatural,
but what the heck can he do about it?
He got frustrated,
irritated,
and kept demanding straight answers.
So I gave him the answers,
but he just had more and more tough times.
He wasn’t,
you see,
a martial artist.
No wonder he was having a tough time!
He didn’t have any discipline!
He had no reality,
no way of understanding from experience,
and he was stuck,
blinking and blinking,
and chewing on himself for blinking unnaturally.
And,
of course,
he reached the stage
where he told me I was basically wrong.
No such thing as unnatural blinking.
After the communication ran its course,
I decided I should tell you guys.
Maybe there’s a couple of unnatural blinkers
that I can mess with.
Yes?
So here’s the straight goods.
Blinking is to cleanse the eye.
It moistens it,
washes debris,
and is something the body does naturally.
You don’t have to worry about it,
think about it,
or anything.
Unnatural blinking is not to cleanse the eyes,
but is a reaction to a distraction.
Somebody punches at your face,
you blink.
Heck,
you might flinch and duck.
Instead of cooly and calmly handling the punch.
As you do martial arts
you learn to handle the distraction of the punch,
of the fellow jumping out and screaming boo,
of the mugger who suddenly threatens you.
You don’t blink,
at least not unnaturally,
but rather open your eyes and watch,
assessing the potential impact of the situation.
You don’t turn away,
you become more aware,
and this is what the martial arts does.
It makes you more aware.
All that time staring at an opponent,
waiting for him to make a wrong move,
to blink,
to do something that indicates…
that he has gone unconscious.
Unconscious.
When somebody blinks they are stopping looking out,
and, no matter how momentarily,
looking inwards.
Not facing the situation,
but turning inward,
away,
and therefore unconscious, to a degree,
and potentially running.
Here is the key:
If you are watching, aware,
FOCUSING YOUR ATTENTION OUTWARD,
you will end up blinking naturally.
Hard to fool somebody who is aware like this.
If you blink,
then you are
FOCUSING YOUR ATTENTION INWARD,
and this results in things like unnatural blinks,
or flinches or and so on.
If you are a hunter
you want to watch your prey,
never a blink,
or he gets away.
And if you are not a hunter,
then you are hunted.
That is all there is to it,
are you looking outward?
Watching the world for potential distractions?
Undoing them as they come close to you?
Or are you distracted,
looking inward,
away from the threat,
as if that could make it disappear.
Now,
maybe you understand why this fellow
was having such a rough time.
He was face to face with his unconsciousness,
and had no discipline
to help him handle it.
You,
on the other hand,
should be able to handle it.
You stand in freestyle,
locked gaze,
waiting for the flinch,
the blink,
the momentary unfocusing of the eyes
to indicate that your prey has stopped looking outward,
and is no longer capable of seeing you incoming,
and no way of handling you.
The discipline of the martial arts.
Yes.
A way to be a hunter in a universe.
A way to be more aware.
A way to be in charge,
when everybody else is distracted,
running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
Want a great art to help you focus?
Try Blinding Steel.
It is the weapons portion of Monkey Boxing.
There is lots of motion,
and you have to stay focused
to handle the swing of the weapon.
It will really help you stop blinking unnaturally,
and remain focused and aware
in a universe that is so full of mindless distractions.
Why I Wrote About Martial Arts and Indian Stealth Skills!
Happy Friday! Time for a great weekend! Time to work out!
Recently, I finished a five part series on Indians and their stealth techniques. I thought you might be interested in why I wrote that series. Not much martial arts in this newsletter, but an interesting story.
Members of my family lived in Arizona last century, during the time of Geronimo. One summer Geronimo went on the warpath. White people left their ranches, headed for town, and waited for the military to come.
On my family’s ranch there were two hands. These fellows were named, and you will chuckle when you understand the relevance of this, ‘Red’ and ‘Baldy.’ Seriously. Red had a full head of hair, Baldy had only a bit of hair.
One night the family heard the Indians in the distance. They decided to turn out the lights, and travel to town the next day. Red and Baldy, minimum wage workers, decided the heck with that, ‘We’re gettin’ out of here now!’ and the heck with the family, which included a couple of young girls.
So the family put out the lanterns, and acted like the ranch was deserted. Red and Baldy saddled and skedaddled.
All through the night the family huddled in fear, listening to the sounds of marauding Indians. Somehow, they survived, and the next day they got in the wagon and headed for town.
Who should they find, just a couple of miles down the road, but Red and Baldy. Red was no longer red, and Baldy was much more bald.
Anyway, it was being told this story, as a young child, that encouraged me to write the series on Indian stealth. That, and the fact that the Indian warrior truly was the finest light infantry and light cavalry in the entire world.
If you want to be the best, learn from the best, so I’ve always had an eye and ear on American Indians, and especially the Apaches.
You can find five articles for Indian skills here… https://alcase.wordpress.com
The word Apache, incidentally, means ‘enemy.’
The word was apparently coined by a neighboring Indian tribe and stuck.
Apaches used weapons, and here’s the Matrix way of using weapons.
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!
