Tag Archives: mixed martial arts

The Method to My Martial Arts Madness!

Posted on January 17, 2023 | Leave a comment

When I was beginning my martial arts practice
my intent was to learn every single art I could.
These days I practice forgetting every martial art I can.

I can’t wait to see what people make of the above statement.
Without context,
it sounds stupid, idiotic, and can be used against me.
But with context it is a different story.
Here is the context…

To understand the Martial Arts you need a large data base.
You need to understand how different arts do their kicks,
how combat strategies differ.
And so on.
But once the database is large enough
you have to focus on the techniques that work for you,
and the number of techniques that work
is surprisingly small.

So you go through a thousand techniques,
you become able to do them,
but some of them you are able to do better.
Some of them work better,
and work better in combat,
and work better with your body.
So you pare down the thousand techniques
into ten or twelve.

My ten or twelve techniques are based on specific concepts.
For instance

First concept = control the distance
Second concept = move left or right
Third concept = up or down
Fourth concept = open or close
Fifth concept = right weapon for right distance
Sixth concept = collapsing the distance

Here’s the breakdown:
control the distance so you can be the one attacking.

Move left or right so you can disrupt his analysis of distance.

Up or down refers to whether he will kick or punch, although it can be constructed differently.

Open or close refers to whether you can trap his limb or not.
(are you working on the outside of his arm, or the inside?)

Right weapon refers to if he is at punching distance
can you beat him at that distance,
or shift to a distance (weapon)
you can beat him at.

Collapsing the distance refers from going from
kicking distance to punching distance
to knee distance to elbow distance
to grappling/takedown distance…

Ir shift to whatever distance is your strength and his weakness.

Pretty simple, eh?

So at first I practiced specific arts for specific concepts.
TKD for kicking
karate for punching
Wing chun for elbows,
aiki/jujitsu/etc
for grappling.
And so on.

I distilled all this from the breaking down of thousands of techniques,
And I broke everything down using matrixing.

And i found that individual arts are nothing but smaller modules,
and if you can study a half a dozen modules
you’ll have your dozen techniques or so.

Anyway,
that’s the way I did it.

Obligatory ad here…

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 11 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’
ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

Have a great work out!
Al

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

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

And volume two is at…

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Little Karate Thoughts…

Posted on March 31, 2022 | Leave a comment

KARATE PHILOSOPHY…

Good morning!
It really is.
I don’t have a central theme today,
so just let me give you a couple of things
that I have been thinking about
in the recent past.

Emptiness.
I first began to understand emptiness
when I realized that I had to relax totally,
being in one position,
then I had to be in another position.
I didn’t move from within the body,
I moved from without the body.
I realized this way back in Kenpo days (1967-68)

Who stops you.
Two people can stop you.
Either yourself,
or somebody else.
But for somebody else to stop you
you have to let them.

You do not move the hips
You move the legs,
and the legs move the hips.
This is the secret of ‘pulsing power.’
You push with the legs,
turn the hips,
strike.

When a sniper shoots
he relaxes,
and lets his breath out.
When the breath is totally gone,
everything will be still.
In that stillness
he should make the crook of the finger
the smallest thing in the universe.
This is the secret of the martial arts.

There is motion
easily seen,
there is emotion
easily felt.
The secret is to see the motion
and ignore the emotion.
To do this,
however,
you must negate emotion within yourself.

Anybody who approaches you wants something.
When you approach somebody you want something.

And,
let me give you a bigger slice of thought.
One of the most important things I ever read,
came out of a paper written on yoga (raja?)
back in the twenties.
The writer said a human being is encased in sheathes.
There is an emotional sheath.
There are cultural sheathes.
There are sheathes for beliefs,
for education and work and what people tell you…
and so on.
He mentioned several specific sheathes,
and I understood that these sheathes were the filters
through which I viewed the world.
I had understood something of the concept previously,
but this presentation was unique
made me look at the world differently,
and I started doing karate (and the martial arts)
with the idea of breaking sheathes,
of destroying those things which surrounded me
made me what I am
and imprisoned me.
I found this paper on Gutenburg,
but I sure don’t remember anything more about it.

Here’s the obligatory ad…

Matrix Kenjutsu

Matrixing Kenjutsu

When you fill the space around you with weapon,
you extend your awareness into that space
and become a bigger person.

A thanks to Kumar this newsletter.
Thanks for your help.
I’ll try not to be such a slackard after this.

And…everybody…
HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

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

BTW
I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on

The Science of Government.
It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

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13 Reasons People Degrade the Martial Arts

Posted on December 2, 2021 | Leave a comment

Why people speak ill of the martial arts

You survived Thanksgiving!
And now it’s almost time for Christmas,
or as I call it,
HanaKwanMass!
Happy HanaKwanMass!

Okay, let’s talk about people who degrade the martial arts.
I’m not talking about people outside the martial arts,
we all know they are idiots,
talking about something they know nothing about.
I’m talking about people inside the martial arts.
People who say things like,
or hold the opinion that…
My art is better than your art.
That art sucks cause it wouldn’t work in the ring.
and,
of course,
the dreaded…
IT’S A MCDOJO!

So I was just sitting around
and popped out 13 quick reasons
why these people say bad things about the arts,
or other martial arts.
Here they are:

people who have not studied it completely
people who have not been able to make it work
people who received inadequate training
people who received an incorrect form of the art
people listen to other people and aren’t able to think critically about what they hear
people of low character (negative people)
people who have been trained/influenced by negative people
people who think you have to beat somebody up (joy of combat)
people who have studied a little and think they know something
people who have a need to be ‘the’ authority
people who practice putting other people down to make themselves ‘bigger’
people who are general malcontents (disgruntled)
people who are ignorant and can’t think

Of course,
some of these reasons overlap,
and there are doubtless more reasons,
but they boil down to one basic thing.

People who speak ill
of others, of other arts,
are ignorant.
Go on,
read the list again
and you will find that common denominator.
Haven’t been trained enough so they ignorant…
haven’t gotten a true version of the art so they are ignorant…
can’t make it work so they are definitely ignorant.

Now,
what do you do about ignorant people?
What’s that old saying?
You can’t live with them but you can’t kill them.

So the choices you have are two,
and only two.

First,
if they can be educated
you can educate them.
Sit down, talk with them,
show them where they are wrong.
This one,
quite honestly,
doesn’t work.

First,
you are talking to somebody who is so ignorant
they are holding on to their ignorance like it was a banner.
Here’s the thinking behind that:

I’m right and if you try to educate me
then you are attacking my rightness and I will kill you.

Go on,
read that again.

If you try to smarten me I’ll hurt you.

That’s a mantra for idiots,
and yet it is prevalent in the world.
It is probably,
if you think about it,
political rule number one.
But don’t get me started on government.

So,
the first solution,
while it is the preferred,
is only rarely able to be applied.
And that leaves us with rule number two.

Now,
I’m going to speak French here,
just to let the easily offended know,
so they can plug up their ears.

But,
my personal solution,
the way I get through life while surrounded by idiots is

Stay away from assholes.

There it is,
I think this is the first time in over a thousand newsletters
that I have used bad language.
Sorry.

But we can transcribe that to English…

STAY AWAY FROM IDIOTS!

Simply,
if you rub elbows with idiots,
with the truly ignorant,
you risk getting their ignorance all over you.
You will get involved in all sorts of unpleasantness
as they hang on to their ignorant ‘rightness’
and try to hurt you.

Now,
why do I speak of this here?

First,
because people should learn how to survive
the stupidity of this world.
Second,
there might be an ignorant person reading this.
Right now.
And I am really hoping
that they scratch their head,
wonder if I could actually be talking about them,
and perhaps even start the arduous journey
to the land of critical thinking.

Okay,
obligatory ad here,
close your eyes and go nah nah nah
while reading…

So,
it’s HanaKwanMass
everybody deserves a present,
so here’s my present to you…

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I will give you
absolutely free
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Just buy one,
email me at aganzul@gmail.com
and tell me you want the rolling fists/blinding steel deal.

I will then email you the link for the second course.

Easy peasy.
And there you go…
HANAKWANMASS!

And have a great work out!
Al

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

BTW
I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on

The Science of Government.
It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

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How Do They Rank Black Belts in MMA?

Posted on October 6, 2019 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 986

The Interesting Thing About Black Belts

I’ve written often about
what a black belt is,
what the requirements should be,
and so on.
Let me say some unpleasant things here.

I volunteered my time
at a local martial arts school.
One night I was sitting with a half dozen MMA instructors,
and the talk turned to black belts.
One fellow had 22 years experience,
but was not a black belt.
Had no plans for testing.
Was quite happy to be a lower belt.
The other fellows accepted this as normal,
but it really made me think.

The fellow had the qualifications,
he knew what he was doing,
but there was some sort of mystique
concerning the longer you wait the better you are.

I asked one of the fellows later
about his promotion to black belt.
He said he had studied for some 20 years,
and suddenly realized that he wasn’t going to get any better.
Oh, he would get smarter,
pick up a few more sly tricks,
but he was now descending,
his body getting older
faster than he could learn.
So he went to the school owner
and told him that he wasn’t getting any better
so he better get his black belt while he was still any good.
He was given his black belt.

Now,
I’ve given you the data,
and maybe you’ve read some of my writing
about a black belt being ‘expert,’
so what does all this tell you?

To me it says that there is too much emphasis
placed on winning,
and not enough on structuring MMA
so that people can be properly evaluated.
That in the MMA (and this includes many brands of Jujitsu)
people are more concerned with who they can beat,
rather than mastering the distinct body of knowledge
that MMA is.
And this is what makes MMA a sport rather than an art.

Look,
being a sport is not bad.
It just sounds bad here because
it is coming through the filter of Al Case
who promotes art as best.

But,
really,
it is all up to you.

Interestingly,
I approached the head of the school I was volunteering at.
I suggested we categorize techniques,
make it easier to teach,
make the body of knowledge succinct and precise
so that we would better teach it.
He agreed,
and it actually fit into his plans for the school,
but every time we started to do something
he found an excuse,
disappeared,
changed the complexion of our meetings,
and so on.

As a sports man
he was unable to become an artist.
And here’s the funny thing,
he had trained in many of the classical arts,
he knew where I was coming from,
even agreed that I was right,
but at heart,
in the core of him,
he was a believer that might makes right,
that beating people up
was more important than teaching them methods
that would create distinct methods resulting in art,
the ability to classify ability,
and so on.

Simply,
it was more important to win a tournament,
than to do an art.

Well,
I’ll leave you fellows and gals
to figure out the worth of what I have said here.

In the meantime,
one of the most exact studies I have done
on what ranking and abililties are
was in the Outlaw Karate book.

Here is the Amazon page for it…

OUTLAW KARATE

There is a complete art in it,
complete with tests,
but see if you agree with how I analyze belt rankings.

Have a great work out!

Al

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Real Martial Arts are Easy to Find…

Posted on April 6, 2017 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 861

Where to Find Real Martial Arts Knowledge

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.

Here’s a link to make you think:

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/2f-matrixing-the-master-text/

It is the big record of matrix research,
it will tell you how I came up with the science of matrixing.

Now,
have a FANTASTIC work out!

Al

 

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/2f-matrixing-the-master-text/

http://www.amazon.com/Binary-Matrixing-Martial-Arts-Case/dp/1515149501/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437625109&sr=8-1&keywords=binary+matrixing

go to and subscribe to this newsletter:

https://alcase.wordpress.com

Remember,

Google doesn’t like newsletters,

so this is the best way to ensure you get them.

You can find all my books here!

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/

http://www.amazon.com/Matrixing-Tong-Bei-Internal-Gung/dp/1507869290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423678613&sr=8-1&keywords=tong+bei

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What is the Real Reality of Boxing and the Mixed Martial Arts?

Posted on March 23, 2016 | Leave a comment

Is there a Disconnect in Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts?

Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts? A disconnect? Something tells me I should stop right now, before people get mad at me.

The most important Martial Arts book ever written.

The most important Martial Arts book ever written.

Except, there might actually be something in the question.

When you box, or perform Mixed Martial Arts, you wear gloves. You don’t wear such gloves on the street.

When you do the ‘Sweet Science,’ or battle in the Octagon, there are ‘fences,’ which means a cage, or ropes, to enclose the fight. There are no such barriers in real life.

When you are down, there is a referred to save you. No ref on the streets, bro.

When you fight in a public venue, such as i have mentioned here, the rounds end and you have a chance to recoup in your corner. No end of round, no corner, no recoup on the street.

I know, this is all unfair, I’m picking on your favorite gladiatorial sports.

Except, I’m not.

Look, I’m not saying these things are bad, I’m just saying they are.

The real disconnect is when you train for things that are, and they might not be. If that makes sense.

The real disconnect, when you study boxing or the Mixed Martial Arts, is merely the ability to break away from your training when you have to.

Training is to enhance the martial artist, it is not to imprison him.

So don’t object to what I say, just consider it, and come up with plans for times when you have to defend yourself and you are not in the ring, in the Octagon, doing Mixed Martial Arts or Boxing.

If you want a real slice of reality, check out ‘Binary Matrixing in the Martial Arts.’

And, if you want real training for reality, check out ‘Blinding Steel.’

Al Case has been studying martial arts for 50 years.

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Posted in external martial art, internal martial art, kenpo, kung fu, mixed martial arts, self defense, ultimate fighting championships

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If You Want More than Just Martial Arts Fighting…

Posted on April 1, 2014 | Leave a comment

To Fight or not to Fight

The following is a guest editorial from Alaric Dailey

Being a student of traditional Karate-Do, when I make mention to a school owner or martial artist or parent of a child taking classes somewhere that “martial arts is more than punching and kicking, there is more to being a martial artist than simply being a fighter” I get a blank stare. At this point, I have to explain the following.

wudan assassin

The Wudan Assassin, on kindle or paperback…click on the cover!

These days, tradition is often poo-pooed with some comment like “if it doesn’t make me a better fighter than I don’t care”.   But being a fighter doesn’t make you a good person, in fact, simply knowing how to fight can make you arrogant, or worse, a bully.

This is often evidenced in “fighter” gyms, people walking around with bad attitudes, all about testosterone and ego, injuries abound because people are always trying to prove they are the king of the mountain.

The way of the warrior, Bushido, is about being a gentle soul, learning not only to punch and kick, but to help others, to be calm and humble.

In other words, learning all those “useless” things, like the language, the manners, the meditation, the discipline, reciting Dojo-kun are not useless, they are about expanding your mind, and making you more than a fighter.

In my original dojo, my sensei not only give us the meditation and such, but would also tell us stories of the Samurai, and give us pieces of Bushido that most westerners never hear.  “Ikebana (flower arranging) is a great way to clear your mind”, and “self-defense is not just about punching and kicking, it is about avoiding and defusing danger in the first place” were words of wisdom that we often heard from sensei.

When the Japanese would teach an art, they would distinguish whether or not it included only fighting techniques, or would give you “the way”.  If you have “the way” it is a Do, Karate-Do, Ju-Do, Aiki-Do, etc.  If it is purely fighting techniques it was Jitsu, Karate-jitsu, Ju-jitsu, Aiki-jitsu, and Nin-jitsu.

As a side note here, you will notice there is no such thing as a “Do” for Ninja fighting techniques.  This is because the ninja weren’t fighters, they were assassins, their skills included, poisons, escape, evasion, not being seen, killing techniques etc.   Being a hired killer, and being a better person have nothing to do with each other.

There are 7 virtues
Rectitude (義 gi)
Courage (勇 yū)
Benevolence (仁 jin)
Respect (禮 rei)
Honesty (誠 makoto)
Honour (名誉 meiyo)
Loyalty (忠義 chūgi)

and 3 more associated virtues
Filial piety (孝 kō)
Wisdom (智 chi)
Care for the aged (悌 tei)

I see it as a great loss that so many have thrown away history and tradition, the Do, in favor of the more testosterone fueled (and MMA fanned) jitsu.  It is a sad state of affairs that our children grow up idolizing real and fictional people who push the ideas “might makes right” and “the ends justifies the means”, never once mentioning justice and mercy.

I highly recommend “The Hagakure”.

Check out the Karate Katas that work.

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Posted in karate, kenpo, kung fu, martial arts, mixed martial arts, self defense, taekwondo, ultimate fighting championships, zen

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Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate Hate Each Other!

Posted on June 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Ronda Rousey and Miesha Prepare for UFC 18!

Actually Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate hating each other is old news. The two rivals have been at each others throats, literally, ever since women’s fighting at the UFC went big time.

Ronda Rousey, as everybody body a chicken farmer in the antarctic knows, is the gal who wins every match with an armbar. Got a mother who Judo-ed, and she judo-ed, and then she went into the fight game because it was a way to flaunt her charming personality.

Ronda Rousey

Ronda packs more than a punch!

 

Word has it that she pins by armbar because she is afraid of what is going to happen if she actually ever hits anybody. A humanitarian thing, you see.

Miesha Tate, a rough and tumble gal from the old school, is the girl Ronda armbarred back in 2012. Oops.

So it’s no wonder that these two titans of hair curling matches share no love.

The latest forum for their spit and claws is the training camp for UFC 18. That’s right, the Ultimate Fighting Championships…The House!

UFC President Dana White thought it would be fun to have girls coach the thing, so he enlisted Rabid ronda Rousey and Cruel Cat Zingano to be the coaches. Well, actually, Ronda was a shoe in, but Cruel Cat had to beat Malicious Miesha for the honor of coaching against the world ladies champ of twist and pound, Ronda (she ain’t no mousey) Rousey.

So, the stage is set, and the two gals are hiss and fizz POed at each other. Each and every week they trade barbs and insults, and dream about the day they will get to straighten each others curls in the Octagon.

And that day is coming right durned soon!

Dana White has compared the fun and frolics to the now famous season of Tito Ortiz and Chuck Lidell. And he has said of the girls “It’s pure F***ing mayhem every day!”

Well, mayhem is this writer’s meat and potatoes, and he will be following the season avidly and waiting fervently for the season ending match!

Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, a match made in cat heaven.

Here’s a great article for gals who want to takedown the biggest guys! It’s from the website Puncher Harder Now!

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Posted in martial arts, mixed martial arts, ultimate fighting championships

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