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.
Excellent! You survived Thanksgiving, now all you have to do is make it through Xmas! Or, Hanakwanmass, as I call it. Remember, the best way to make it through anything, is to work out every single day. Nobody can beat a guy (or gal) who is in top condition!
Click on the Monkey to find out about Monkey Boxing!
Okay, time for an update on Monkey Boxing.
Before I start, let me say that the main focus of this newsletter is matrixing. Monkey Boxing will come up every couple of weeks, but, believe it or not, there are a few people who don’t want personal lessons from a guy with 50 years experience, they don’t want to tap into the mind that created matrixing and neutronics.
And, believe it or not, that’s okay, I have nothing against people who choose to remain ignorant. Good people, them, and future customers.
To them I recommend Matrixing. Good place to start before you jump into my world.
So, that said, Monkey Boxing is doing excellent!
About 20 videos were released this month. They deal with the whole spectrum of Monkey Boxing, from warm ups to kicks to the incredible ‘Rolling Fists’ exercise, to techniques and forms… lots of stuff.
And here’s something to think about… everything has my stamp on it, been matrixed up the yin yang, very scientific, very thorough, very intuitive, but… nobody has ever seen, except maybe through a quick mention, or an obscure video, such things as ‘The Circle of Blocks’ (Monkey Boxing Style) Monkey in a Box Circle of Blocks and attacks The Flower of Blocks Grab Hands The Monkey Blast
Never been seen, or almost never been seen.
Monkey in a Box will build your shoulder strength and help flexibility like gangbusters.
Grab Hands is a VERY heavy zen drill. BUT…you have to do it right. Here, you see it right.
The Flower of Blocks will build hand speed, and leg strength, if you do it while in a horse stance, like nobody’s business.
The Circle of Blocks opens up total new vistas of ability.
These things haven’t been seen, or only briefly referenced or described.
They are…NEW!
New martial arts. Stuff developed for Monkey Boxing, and never been seen in ANY other martial art.
Something to think about.
And, that all said, the coming months are going to be fantastic.
I’m writing a complete book, a freebie for the Monkey Boxers.
Dozens and dozens of unique and original (which is to say ‘never been seen’) exercises and drills.
The frustrating thing about all this is that I am gearing this off a real class I am teaching. People from the ground up, very little experience, so I jump around.
I’m writing a Monkey Boxing book, (freebie to subscribers) and the book will help in this. It will be ready in a month or so, and provide a massive overview and work out schedule.
But you will be picking and choosing, and trying to make sense out of this for a couple of months.
The good news is that in jumping around I am referencing things that haven’t been seen for a LONG while.
Grab Hands, for instance, you might have actually seen, but never the martial arts side of it, never the zen side of it. And it is TOTAL dynamite. Calms the mind, gets rid of twitches and flinches, and zeroes you in like a lazier guided rocket!
Okay, enough of the good news, let me give you some bonus good news.
Every month will be archived once past. BUT, I can’t sell an empty page to somebody on the first few days of the next month. So, the first week of the month, the videos from last month will remain up. After the first week, the previous month will get archived, but, for that first week, if you are smart… sign up and the previous month is still there. Watch, download, save your own personal copy, (but, please, don’t give my stuff away).
What this means is that you will have a window, about 7 days, when you can actually get two months for the price of one.
Remember, once a month is archived you will have to purchase separately.
Subscribers will, of course, have access to every month since they began subscribing.
Okay, that’s it, back to Matrixing next time,
AND GET READY FOR HANAKWANMASS!
Remember, a work out every day of the month is better than anything Santa can bring you. So start working out now, and give yourself the best present ever!
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.
‘Karate is the best thing you can do for your child.’
Who said the above quote?
The answer is at the bottom of this newsletter.
We didn’t have much of a kids class
back when I was learning at the Kang Duk Won.
There weren’t many schools back then,
and there was no shortage of adult students.
Now,
of course,
schools can only survive if they have children’s classes.
But how the heck do you teach a child?
Children have short attention spans,
they tend to whine,
and they don’t remember everything you say!
Which brings us to the solution.
First off,
don’t try to teach classical forms,
just keep working on the basics.
Teach them basic kicking,
basic rolling,
and do lots of freestyle ‘games.’
Here’s a couple of things to illustrate what I mean.
I went into a school, a pretty good school,
and noticed a healthy sized kid’s class.
Interestingly,
there was a riot of color when it came to belts.
white, yellow, orange, purple, blue, green, red.
All with stripes of…
yellow, orange, purple, blue, green, red.
This school had an amazing amount of belts,
and I asked the instructor about it.
He equivocated,
and when I watched a class,
I suddenly realized what he was doing.
He was teaching nothing but basics.
But there was a method here.
Kids can’t remember things,
so he just kept emphasizing basics,
and waiting for an individual child
to reach the point where he could accept instruction.
Until that point was reached,
it was calisthenics,
basics,
and games.
Interestingly enough,
though there wasn’t an emphasis
on teaching classical forms and techniques,
children who were wild and wooly
began to calm down.
The exercise tired them out,
and made them amenable to reason.
The discipline of just doing the basics,
made them more able to focus.
And when were they ready?
When they stopped trying to interrupt the class,
when they began to focus on what they were doing,
when they became aware
that there was more than a game going on.
Here’s something to think about:
I have seen young children
who were mature beyond their years.
I have known adults
who were nothing but children.
The key word is responsibility.
So you teach things like
kicks and shoulder rolls,
basic one step sparring games,
breakfalls and punches,
and you back everything up with
don’t let them rest.
Don’t make them cry,
don’t drive them like an adult,
make everything fun and laughs,
but don’t let up.
It is an interesting line you walk with this method.
When a child starts to look at you,
to understand what you are saying,
and especially when he is willing to help younger students,
then he is ready for instruction.
It might take a month,
it might take years,
but you just have to watch and wait.
You have to keep them there with games and fun,
until they can string a half dozen moves together,
and remember them,
until the light of awareness enters their eyes.
Here’s what you are actually fighting.
Parents that don’t feed their children properly,
that send them off to school
with cereal,
if that.
Electronic games that consume children,
and drive them to frenetic activity.
Peers that squash children.
Drugs that are handed out freely
by adults who don’t understand
what the real solution is.
Karate,
or any martial art,
can be part of the solution.
In many cases,
it is the only solution that is needed.
We live in a weird society,
a place where values have been forgotten,
where parents have never been parented themselves,
and simply don’t have a clue,
where teachers are guided by psychological interests,
and the simple fact of raising a child
has been forgotten and neglected.
As a martial arts instructor,
you may be the first sane person a child has ever seen.
You might be the only sane person a child has ever seen.
Yet your small influence,
being based in common sense and good values,
may be the difference.
Now,
Who gave the quote at the beginning of this newsletter?
Chuck Norris
I feel so-o-o good!
And it is all because of a work out.
Have you done your work out today?
You have?
Then do another one!
And feel double great!
Click on the cover!
I was going through my wins
came across this one.
I meant to print it a month ago,
but things happened,
and I lost it in the basket.
So here it is now,
an absolutely GREAT win!
I’ve trained on two continents officially hold 1 black belt, and unofficially am that level in 2 others. I am currently working through the purple belt level in your Kang Duk Won course. I have to say that the workout is as tough as anything I did in Hapkido. The KDW material is filling in all the holes I had in my training. It’s really amazing how much stuff the instructors leave out or don’t even know. About a year ago I was at the place where you started in developing matrixing. I was looking for ways to bridge all my training into a logical system apart from the individual styles. I am lucky I found your site. I saved myself about 40 years of headaches! Just keep up the good work. ~ Jason W.
Thanks
Jason W.
I truly appreciate your win.
And,
for everybody,
as Jason indicates,
after you get the basics of Matrixing down,
what do you do?
You look for places to fill out your training,
ways to put matrixing up against the classic.
Those old guys knew things,
they are not to be discounted.
And,
the Kang Duk Won was my first real art,
and understanding it through Matrixing
really makes it work.
It’s true that a lot of people
just can’t get to black belt.
There are too many holes,
too much incorrect data,
things out of place,
all sorts of things that are gone wrong.
But if you’ve done some Matrixing,
and especially Matrix Karate
and the Master Instructor course,
then taking a look at classical karate
is more than just crucial,
it is the next breath of martial arts
demanding to be taken.
Now you can study Kang Duk Won
through Temple Karate.
It’s got several of the forms.
And you can find it in Evolution of an Art.
And I believe the book I wrote on KDW
might be available on those courses.
but you should check out the courses first.
BUT,
the absolutely BEST way
to study Kang Duk Won
is through the mail order course,
which is at:
http://kangdukwon.com
I included all the old drills,
all the theory and concepts,
absolutely everything I could remember
concerning the Kang Duk Won.
It’s inexpensive, too.
If you’re not interested in matrixing,
it is still an amazing poke in the eye.
But if you have some matrixing under your belt,
then you have the tools to REALLY understand
what those old guys were saying
when they taught this incredible art.
It is,
BTW,
one of the purest,
if not the purest,
example of True Karate in existence.
Anyway,
check it out.
http://kangdukwon.com
HAPPY WORK OUT!
Al
go to and subscribe to this newsletter:
https://alcase.wordpress.com
Remember,
Google doesn’t like newsletters,
so this is the best way to ensure you get them.
Defeating Distractions to Find the True Martial Art
Good afternoon! Special day tomorrow, I’ll tell you about it down the page, but before we get to it, remember this: the only way to celebrate this special day is to… work out!
Okay, hope your interest is piqued, but before we talk about that special day, let’s take a moment to talk about emotion.
Ultimately, you don’t want to have any emotion in your martial arts. You don’t want to cry, or feel fear, or anger, or any kind of emotion.
Emotion is a distraction. It gets in between the thought of what you are going to do, and the reality of what you do.
There is this thing called emotional content, Bruce Lee mentions it in ‘Enter the Dragon,’ but even that, ultimately, is a distraction.
To get to the pure state where you can read the mind of the attacker, see what he is going to do before he does it, and move with perfection, you must get rid of ALL emotion.
There is a problem, however. The problem is that nobody really knows what emotion is.
If you can stick with me through a couple of points I can help you understand, which is to say that I can help you understand something that nobody understands.
Here’s the dictionary definition for emotion: a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others: she was attempting to control her emotions | his voice was low and shaky with emotion | fear had become his dominant emotion.
But that doesn’t tell you what emotion is. That is like saying electricity goes through wires, but there is no mention of where electricity came from, what a generator is, or how electricity ‘flows’ through a wire.
It is an inadequate definition.
Here are three more definitions: 1 she was good at hiding her emotions: feeling, sentiment; reaction, response. 2 overcome by emotion, she turned away: passion, strength of feeling, warmth of feeling. 3 responses based purely on emotion: instinct, intuition, gut feeling; sentiment, the heart.
Again, these don’t tell you where emotion comes from, what has generated it, and how it really works.
So, here we go, here is what emotion actually is.
Emotion stems from motion inside the head.
And here is a truth, there are only people in this universe. Everything else in the universe, all the objects and non-living things (or ‘low living’ like animals) are the effect of motion in the universe.
A bug sits on a stalk, a frog sees the swaying stalk and must flick his tongue. A coyote sees the motion of the tongue, and is compelled to eat the frog.
The universe happens like dominoes. And, the ONLY thing in the universe that can upset the dominoes, can change the path of the falling dominoes, can change cause and effect, is a human being.
A human being has choice, and that ability, that decision making ability, is apart from the universe, and can cause the path of the universe to change and change and change.
So a human being can change the universe, but how does he change it? by having a thought first. So he thinks, and does what he thought about, and what he thought about comes to be.
But, in between the thought and the accomplishment, is emotion. Think about it:
A man wants to accomplish something, he sets out on the task, then he gets angry, or fearful, or otherwise emotional, and his ability to make accomplishment is lessened.
He was distracted.
Which brings us to the crux of the matter, why does man create these (his own) distractions? Why does he create emotion and waylay himself? Why?
What happens when you squeeze an lemon? Juice squirts out. Gets in your eye and you cry.
So a man creates emotion when he is squeezed, like a lemon, and ‘things’ squirt out.
things like fear, anger, hate, and so on.
And these things disrupt the mind, cause distraction, and obscure the basic thoughts that one may have.
When I was a child I was spanked, which is to say I was squeezed. I experienced fear, and pain, and anger, and that stuff, because I didn’t know what it is, it stayed with me for a long time.
It would even be fair to say that, like dominoes, certain of those emotions caused me to study martial arts. How weird.
So when you feel pain and anger and all those unpleasant things just say ‘no’ to them. Just refuse them. Refuse to dwell on that emotion, refuse to have motion inside your head, refuse to feel the lingering effects of being squashed (squeezed), and go about your life. Refuse the distraction and accomplish your thoughts.
Of course, it is not always easy to do that. Sometimes what is big in your head is greater than your ability to ignore.
That is where the martial arts come in.
The martial arts train you to accomplish an attack, no matter the distraction, and the heck with emotion.
No other practice on earth does this more efficiently or to greater effect.
You face your partner on the mat. He growls, people yell, you are tired, but because you have endured training, and pain and other distractions, and gotten to your black belt, you are able to ignore the distractions, move forward, and accomplish the thought of the strike, or the lock, or the takedown, or whatever.
You simply train yourself to ignore the motion inside your head, to ignore anything in the universe that tries to stop you, and you accomplish your thought.
Here’s a cruel trap, people who start the martial arts, then quit, were distracted. They let something squeeze them, and they quit. And the cruelty is that if they had kept going they would have found the ability that would have enabled them to ignore distractions, and accomplish their thoughts.
Catch 22. Yes?
One last thing I want to say about this. There are many people who fail, and, there are many people who are studying something thinking it is a martial art, when it isn’t.
You have to study the true martial arts. You have to find forms that work, and you have to make them work. You have to cleanse your techniques so they become pure and can show the thought that created them.
That path creates the discipline.
Just fighting does not. Fighting teaches you to fight. Doing the real martial arts, practicing techniques until you can make them work, that is the discipline of ignoring distractions and getting yourself to the point where you can make your thoughts work.
The best method, because incorrect movements (which are distractions) have been removed, is Matrix Karate.
Okay, that special day I was talking about. For me it is the most important day in the universe, for it is when I decided to have physical presence on this planet. Birthday.
And, if you have been following this blog for the last couple of decades, then you know I always ask for one, specific present.
Forgive me. If I have sent out the wrong order, didn’t answer an email, didn’t answer an email quickly said the wrong thing, didn’t understand something, failed in some way, if i have done ANYTHING that might have offended you, or caused you ANY sort of distraction…
Forgive me.
Help me clean up my universe, help me not have the distractions of bad service, poor communications, or ANYTHING else.
Newsletter 802
What’s Happening in the Martial Arts!
Good afternoon!
Think I’ll do a Tai Chi workout,
those always make me feel so large.
It’s funny…
large on a peaceful scale.
Got an email today,
asking where the newsletters have been.
Here, read for yourself…
Hey Al,
Haven’t heard from you in a while. Are you okay? I miss your newsletters. I’m sorry you’re catching flak from a bunch of little cowards spouting their worthless and unqualified opinions from the safety of their mother’s basement. I’ve been playing this game for a long time (since 1978), and I see you as nothing less than an innovator (if for no other reason than your unique ability to systemize that which has always been chaotic). We live in a unique time where the sharing of information is easier than ever. It’s easy to put people on a pedestal and idolized those who went before us as more than men. But the truth is, they only had a narrow perspective and worldview, and while they did the best they could with their extremely limited access to information, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are deserving of worship. Just like grade school, only about 5 people out of a hundred actually studied hard and put in the work. The rest either ostracized them, or agreed with them and parroted their phrases to appear more intelligent. I think this phenomenon is seen in the Bible, with William Shakespeare, & in the martial arts. Five percent actually understand what the hell they’re reading (or have read it at all). Most of us do not understand or have not read it, so we agree with those who have and praise the brilliance of the work. The rest think it’s just a bunch of bullshit. My friend, you are among the 5%… No, you are one of those that the 5% study. The difference, is that we have access to more tools than any of our predecessors have had. There will always be the few that create change, and the lazy masses that first violently oppose, and then blindly parrot. You can’t be extraordinary by being ordinary. Keep on pressing on. I value and appreciate your perspective.
-Sean
I thank you, Sean,
from the bottom of my heart.
So let me explain what,
exactly,
has been happening,
and why I am so slow these days.
When I came down from Monkeyland
I was pretty broke.
No place to live,
no job…
no prospects.
Well,
it’s against the law to whine,
so I took on a bunch of jobs.
I drive Uber in the morning,
tutor kids in the afternoon,
do the martial arts in the evening,
and have a janitorial business on the weekend.
And I make sure I work out every day,
and multiple times a day,
if I can.
So that’s what’s been happening.
Survival on the stupid level.
the need for petty, crass cash.
A couple of things happened because of this,
a person gets tired if he isn’t doing what he loves.
So I’m tired all the time.
Poor me.
Whine…whine.
But,
there will come a time when I can shift everything back around,
focus on the martial arts,
and keep going.
After all,
at the end of the road is Monkeyland.
A place where people can go to study martial arts.
Anyway,
it’s not the small people who whine about what I am doing.
There is one common factor in these people:
they have never read what I am doing,
never seen a tape.
They offer opinion without facts.
They think they know everything
based on their own experience,
and they don’t need no durn facts.
So how can I get upset about a bunch of fellows
who offer ignorance as their stock in trade?
It’s sort of like listening to fourth graders
whine about how tough math is,
when the truth is
they just just don’t want to do the work.
And,
the root of the matter,
I’m just stuck in a boring spot,
should be out of it one of these days,
and doing more martial arts.
Then my chi kicks in,
my energy swells,
and life is great.
So that is what is happening.
That is why I am slow in coming out with the newsletters.
It’s my own durn fault,
for putting myself in this situation,
and it continues to be my fault
until I figure out how to right the situation.
So I thank you Sean,
and all the others,
the fifty,
and even the passersby.
Thanks for writing me the email,
encouraging me,
and even chastising me.
I apologize for being a lazy…fellow,
and I guarantee it won’t last forever,
nor probably even long.
In the meantime,
it is up to you.
Work out every day.
Don’t make ignorance your comfort zone,
but delve in,
buy books and videos,
enlarge your cranium with the swell of martial arts.
Put them to work with your friends.
Understand that their is perfection of the spirit
in the study of martial arts,
and that it makes the world a better place.
It calms the spirit,
it undoes undue excitement,
it gives lazerlike insight into the problems of the world.
I’ve been around for a while,
and I will go away,
but the martial arts are your true teacher,
they are the liberator,
the educator,
the enlightenment.
They last forever.
Enjoy.
Now,
I’ll try to work a bit harder,
and stop being a lazy…fellow.
Newsletter 798 The Importance of a Black Belt in the Martial Arts
Good afternoon! Absolutely stunning day. Absolutely perfect for a work out.
Hey, I had somebody ask me, the other day, what belt I was. It’s a legitimate question.
I received my black belt in 1974. It was in a classical karate system, the Kang Duk Won.
And, a few years ago, a bunch of my black belts decided I should be an 8th black belt. I had some forty years training at the time. But it was sort of interesting. we had a wall, and everybody who made black belt got a plaque on the wall. We had a dozen or so plaques, and somebody noticed there wasn’t one for me. So they got together and got an 8th black plaque for me.
The funny thing is I didn’t notice it for quite some time.
Here’s the deal. I’m proud of my black belt. But, shortly after I received my belt, I lost all interest in belts and promotions and such. (Though I did appreciate what my black belts did)
Simply, I became addicted to the information, the the art, to the development of myself in a spiritual sense. But that’s me. For those who have just begun, you should be very concerned with earning a legitimate black belt.
A legitimate black belt carries with it the realization, the knowledge, that you have just begun to learn. If you earned a black belt, and you didn’t get that thought, then there is a good chance that you aren’t legitimate. You haven’t CBMed, made the art into yourself, inverted your viewpoint of the world, haven’t understood that reality is the illusion, and yourself is the projector.
Now, the real point of the martial arts is this: Does it work.
First, does it work as self defense. Can you defend yourself?
Second, does it make you grow spiritually? Do you understand your worth as an ‘I am,’ do you see yourself as a point of awareness, do you understand how your thoughts control the universe?
I suppose, analyzing my own preferences, that is why I prefer Karate first, and Tai Chi second.
Karate works. It makes my bones hard, puts snap in my muscles, and gives me long life.
Tai Chi works also. It makes me sensitive, removes me from illusion, and gives me long life.
And, interestingly, Tai Chi, learned effectively, is one of the most incredible self defense styled martial arts I have ever experienced.
And, they provide me with a ‘hard and soft’ progression of art. After you do a bit of matrixing, you can see how karate can become tai chi. And how tai chi enhances Karate.
All very interesting.
If you are experienced with the hard, I recommend the soft. If you are experienced with the soft, I recommend the hard.
It’s the only way to be sure that you really understand all aspects of the martial arts.
The trick, of course, is to make sure you matrix BOTH martial arts.
Al Case began MA in 1967. Started writing for the mags 1981. Had his own column in Inside Karate 1991. Originated Matrixing 1984. Established Monster Martial Arts 2002.
In Business since 1984. On the net since 2002.
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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.
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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
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