Good morning!
I haven’t written for a while,
I’m finishing up a REALLy cool book.
It’s a complete matrixing of traditional karate.
Hope to open some eyes.
So I’ll let you know when it is ready…
The proper mental attitude.
Well,
that’s an interesting pickle.
First,
there’s humility.
But under the humility you want to be
the most arrogant sucker
this side of suckerville!
Simply, you have to believe in yourself.
You have to believe in the arts,
and in the magnitude of your own soul.
Can’t get where you’re going without that mental attitude.
But,
the proper mental attitude I am speaking of
is actually a frame of mind,
a discipline,
a place where your head goes when you do martial arts.
When you read a really good book
time passes without notice.
You are just engrossed in another universe
to the exclusion of this universe.
That’s how you should be when you practice the martial arts.
When I go work out
I judge the value of my work out
by how well I adhere to this attitude.
Am I sunk into the form,
so engrossed in checking angles,
imagining techniques,
extending my sphere of energy,
or am I…thinking.
Distracted by thoughts,
tossing myself out of the form
by letting my mind wander.
Now,
the funny thing is
you have to control your life,
get rid of distractions
or it’s hard to find this place.
If you are thinking about work,
or a relationship,
or something else,
then you aren’t doing karate,
you aren’t developing the correct mental attitude.
So before I work out
I try to make sure my life is calm and content.
No problems.
Everything either solved,
or on a list to be solved at an appropriate time
(the next day as soon as possible)
It’s funny,
because sometimes you need the martial arts
to attain this mental attitude,
but sometimes you need to handle life
before you can handle your mental attitude
and really sink into the pure bliss
that is the state of real martial arts.
A catch 22, you know?
Well, that’s it.
Simple, eh?
Yet one of the more difficult things you will ever do.
It’s really worth it.
Now…
have a great work out!
Al
And don’t forget to check out the interview
BTW
I’m always pushing my novels,
did you know I write other stuff?
If you want to know the truth about government,
why we have riots and why idiots keep getting into office,
why the government seems to do the exact wrong thing
almost ALL the time…
then check out:
Good morning to you!
A work out morning!
A morning where you get stronger,
smarter, quicker, faster…
More aware.
Because that’s what a martial arts workout does.
The Secret of All motion is…No Motion.
The secret of meditation, and life, is to clear the mind of distractions.
Distractions are the bushwah probs and dialogues
and such that you carry around with you.
What did so and so say about me?
Guy in the next department pisses me off.
I need a drink.
And so on.
The martial arts clears the mind of distractions through one simple method:
You learn to focus your awareness on one thing.
I’ve suggested that you hold up your index finger and look at it,
Until you understand what I mean,
but that’s sort of mean.
it’s frustrating because it is the truth, and it is advanced,
and one should really have a proper build up
before they do the single finger meditation.
So here’s the proper build up.
Mind you, i went through this stuff for years,
one piece at a time,
before I figured it out and experienced an empty mind,
but I didn’t have the instructions you are about to get.
When you stand in the room, stand squarely,
that means you don’t lean in any direction.
When you have finally found your balance,
don’t lean (or sway or anything),
just ask yourself the question,
how do I unbalance myself
so that I can move.
It’s true,
the secret of motion from a balanced position is to unbalance yourself.
Walking is the process of learning how to fall in a direction,
and catch yourself on a leg just enough
that you keep falling and catching yourself.
The problem here is that we are not walking.
We are falling to a stance.
And we must fall as fast as we can
to a balanced (front stance) position.
So look at your options.
Do you bend and push with the legs?
What part of the body do you unbalance first?
How do you unbalance it?
Do you move muscles inside the body?
Do you push your body with a hand of energy from outside the body?
Do you pull your body towards an object/direction?
It’s an interesting question,
and one that will drive you half mad
before you finally figure out
how you actually move your body.
Let’s say you move the body with a contraction of a leg muscle
which lowers the body so you can push with a (set of) muscle on the other leg.
What mental command are you giving that first muscle?
Where is that command coming from?
Your mind?
Who told your mind what to do?
Do you understand?
It’s frustrating, and it tends to really mess you up.
But, when you finally work your way through this,
and figure out how, exactly,
you are moving your body,
It will change you as a martial artist.
Heck, it will change you as a human being.
Big time.
And this is just learning how to unbalance the body to fall into a front stance.
Now you get into which muscles are you actually catching yourself with?
What are you doing with the arm?
What torques your body as you fall?
What muscles do you use to align the arm with the action?
Does the arm resist motion to make motion?
Are you using the planet to push yourself?
Or just moving the leg over the surface without sinking your weight?
I used to do my forms for hours,
one move at a time,
looping that move,
grinding that move,
searching for the answers of body motion.
And let me make a point here.
You may think it is silly,
all this frustration for…for what?
But I came across one of my own neutronic quotes this morning,
one of the Master Instructors puts it as a signature at the bottom of his emails. Here is the quote…
“Man learns by his mistakes. Without a mistake a man never learns. Stop a man’s mistakes and you stop a man. Watch a man’s mistakes and he’ll learn every day of his life.”
Now,
consider that when you lose balance it is a mistake.
Of course it is a mistake (grin).
You were perfectly balanced,
and then you went and ruined it!
But that is the process of life.
You are fine,
then you mess it up,
then you find fine again,
then you mess it up,
and so on.
So the procedure of doing a form
is a constant method of finding balance in your form,
messing it up to get to a new point of balance,
then messing it up again to find a new point of balance,
and so on.
And if you don’t ask the questions I have posed in this newsletter,
if you don’t find out how to mess it up…to unbalance…to make yourself make a mistake and fall forward as efficiently as possible. then you are doing the martial arts like a monkey.
Monkey see monkey do, with never a thought as to what causes motion…and what causes life.
You simply must ask the question, else you will never be aware.
Now,
if you want to look at your finger until you are enlightened,
it is possible.
Very possible.
But you simply must go through this concept of unbalancing to find new balance,
of making mistakes to find awareness.
You must.
You must…workout.
A lot.
With these questions in your mind…until there is no question in your mind.
Until your mind is freed from distractions.
Now,
let me add one thing,
the Master Instructor Course is the result of what happens
when you ask yourself these questions
for thirty or forty years.
It IS the perfection of human form,
and it IS the perfection of martial arts technique.
And it has never been done before.
Period.
The stuff in the Master Instructor course has simply never been written about,
and if it was ever stumbled over in a conversation,
there was no point to it all,
no way to relate all the parts
of what I tell you on this course.
So let me ask you a question…
do you want to go through the frustration of asking yourself questions for decades?
Or do you want to get the truth about how to use your body
and how to make your martial arts perfect…right now?
Look, I’m not the first person in history to ask these questions,
but I am one of the few to come up with the right answers,
and I am the only one to ever put down the answers on paper.
Plain English.
Understandable.
Not only no mysticism,
but the death of mysticism.
Because mysticism dies when you replace it with knowledge.
So,
heres the URL,
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/4-master-instructor-course/
And have yourself the BEST workout you can!
Al
PS ~ you can subscribe to the Monkeyland Gazette and find out about the Church of Martial Arts at the top of the right sidebar at Churchofmartialarts.com.
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!