Category Archives: self defense

Making Your Martial Arts Systems Work

Posted on July 13, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 818 ~ Sign up at the top left!

A Buddha Crane Matrixing Win!

Got a great win from Timothy G this week!

martial arts training manual

Check it out ~ Click on the cover!

Hello sir.
It’s going well. Really well. Once I was able to connect Buddha crane with shuri ryu, the pieces began to fall into place all by themselves.
The Buddha crane is the foundation of the kihon waza, ippons waza and came into their own flow drills(taezus naru waza).
Making changes to the Kata isn’t as easy, but I have done the first few Kata. Even crazier, I found someone who has already blended shuri ryu with something. So, it came rather easy.
Upon showing him how I’ve made changes opened his eyes and he’s asking me to give him pointers on how to make his karate be more ‘alive’.
My shuri ryu master is dead and I never got the chance to get my black belt. So, I’ve gone thru these people I’ve run into and just from what I showed them they are willing to bring me to the black belt in shuri ryu.
I’m not sure if that’s even important now, being that I matrixed the whole art, but I do hope to bring this understanding of shuri ryu to the table. Thus, starting a new (sub) ryu to the family.
I couldn’t have done it without you. Osu

Thank you, Timothy,
and well done!

And for everyone,
please take note of a few things here.

The classical is not suffering,
drills and exercises have more flow,
which comes from increased understanding.

Making changes isn’t always easy.
Aside from the fact of understanding
the potentials of the martial arts
enough so that you can make intelligent changes,
you have to force yourself to change something
that you have come to believe in.

Changing a belief system is often the hardest thing
a man can do.

He shows his changes to another fellow engaged in changes,
and he becomes the authority.
Simply,
he isn’t just changing,
he has the knowledge,
and this is something that people really respect
and will adhere to.

Upon showing his changes to others
he is recognized as expert,
or having the ability to be expert.
Osu to you, Timothy.

And,
finally,
here is a very interesting question:
how important is the black belt at this point?
People going through these changes,
are gaining knowledge
and that is senior to black belt.

Maybe one out of a thousand people
that start karate
get to black belt.

But how many have the knowledge
to put together their own system or subsystem?

I encourage everybody to get to black belt,
but I encourage knowledge more.
Understanding is the most important thing you can ever get.
Period.

Thanks, Timothy,
your win is fantastic,
and I hope people understand
the trials and tribulations here,
and the incredible passion you have for the arts.

Here’s how I analyze forms. I do this for every move. Check out video courses at MonsterMartialArts.com. This particular technique is from Temple Karate.

Now,
I know Timothy has other courses and books on Matrixing,
but he mentions the ‘Buddha Crane’ book.
So let me explain something about that book.

That was the last book I wrote,
I believe,
before starting on Matrixing proper,
before doing all the matrixing courses.
As such,
I was using matrixing concepts hard and fast,
and I was developing a whole art
out of what I knew.
You can see me reworking techniques,
reworking forms,
trying to bring everything into a new slant,
or,
to be proper,
a ‘de-slanting.’
A truth.

Here’s the funny thing,
the book was actually just a ‘toss in,’
a bonus,
on the ‘Create Your Own Art’ course.
I wanted to show how I was creating an art,
give an example
to back up the theories I was pushing.
The book is PDF on the Create Your Own Art Course.

You can,
I believe,
get it on Amazon,
if you look around you can find it.
You can also get it here…

https://www.createspace.com/4577595

That’s my publishing company,
so I get a bigger royalty
if you get it there.

That page I just gave you
has a complete write up
on what is in the book.
And,
the Createspace version is paperback,
which most people prefer,
because it’s easier to walk around with the book,
than carrying a computer around
while you practice.

And,
a final word,
the illustrations are most interesting,
I wrote it on an old mac,
and the software was something called Appleworks.
What this means is that I drew the illustrations,
hundreds of them,
one line at a time.
I drew figures,
patterns,
techniques,
everything,
with lines.
Interestingly,
I remember,
at the time,
not being frustrated by the slowness of it all,
but being excited,
because I felt like I was,
by doing the illustrations in this slow and laborious way,
learning something about the human form,
writing what I was doing
in a new way in my mind.
By the time I was done
I felt VERY changed inside.

So,
that’s it.

Again,
thanks Timothy,
I hope people appreciate your win,
and I hope they take the time to look at the book,
and get their own wins,
take a stab at understanding,
and even changing,
their own carefully crafted belief systems.

And everybody,
it’s summer,
have fantastic work outs!

Al

https://www.createspace.com/4577595

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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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The Martial Arts of 1776

Posted on June 30, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 817 ~ don’t forget to subscribe!

Why Fourth of July Celebrates the 2nd Amendment

Happy Fourth of July!
When Americans declared freedom.
When a country dedicated itself to liberty.
We are unique,
and it shows in our martial arts.

jeet kune do

Click on the cover!

The weapon of choice,
back in 1776 was the Brown Bess.
Brown Bess was a long, heavy
smooth bore musket.
It could fire one big ball,
or a bunch of smaller balls,
which made it into a sort of shotgun.

The name ‘Brown Bess’ was probably derived from the German

“brawn buss” or “braun buss”
meaning “strong gun” or “brown gun”

A dictionary of vulgar terms explained Brown Bess thusly,

“Brown Bess: A soldier’s firelock.
To hug Brown Bess;
to carry a fire-lock, or serve as a private soldier.”

Some say the term was originated by Rudyard Kipling…

In the days of lace-ruffles, perukes, and brocade
Brown Bess was a partner whom none could despise –
An out-spoken, flinty-lipped, brazen-faced jade,
With a habit of looking men straight in the eyes –
At Blenheim and Ramillies, fops would confess
They were pierced to the heart by the charms of Brown Bess.
— Rudyard Kipling, “Brown Bess,” 1911

At any rate,
Americans were required to own and keep a Brown Bess.
Can one image?
Americans being forced to have weapons?
The shame of it!

Accuracy for the Brown Bess was about 100 yards,
and then it was time for bayonet work.

Another weapon,
used by snipers,
was the Pennsylvania rifle.
This was a grooved barrel rifle
with accuracy up to 300 yards.

So the sniper had to steady a ten pound barrel
that extended 48 inches,
take a quick shot at a charging soldier,
and then,
should he miss,
use a little cold steel.
I’m not sure if the Pennsylvania Rifle had a bayonet,
but no self respecting infantryman
would go to war without a cutter.

Let’s talk about bayonets.
They were triangular.
They weren’t designed to cut,
but to tear and rupture.

So,
here is the scenario the founders of this country had to face.

A long line of British soldiers.
British soldiers that had mastered the art
of holding their position
and rapid firing in rows,
so that the colonists were decimated.

The rows would be marched to within 100 yards
and hell’s afire.

Behind the rows of colonists
the snipers used the Pennsylvania Rifle
to pick off British officers,
and thus create confusion in the ranks.

The colonists lined up and died,
and those that were left,
if they hadn’t run
(and they often did),
faced a manic charge of cold steel.

And,
make no mistake about it,
the British soldier of the time
was the absolute best soldier in the world.

He could shoot accurately and en masse.
He stood his ground.
He charged with fire in his eyes.

Interestingly,
until the Americans learned such discipline,
they relied heavily on guerrilla warfare.

They were like apaches.
They were like VC.
They were like ninja,
stealing in,
opening fire,
and running.
They hid behind trees and did their damndest.
Interesting times.

And,
here is the pipper.
The Revolutionary war was NOT popular.
Many people didn’t want to fight the British.
They were loyal to Britain,
and they worked against those fool colonists
who spouted this ‘liberty’ nonsense.

But we made it.
We managed to outlast
the best military in the world,
and then go on to create our own best military.
For over 200 years we have strived,
have risen,
have introduced the concept of liberty
to the rest of the world.

So happy Fourth of July.
It is a holiday that should be celebrated not just here,
but around the world.

And remember,
your ability to know and use violence,
whether it be in the forms of weapons,
or the choice of martial arts,
that is what protects you
and keeps you safe.

And for those of you who disagree,
check out

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/3a-blinding-steel-matrixing-weapons/

It’s all about the fastest and most efficient way
to learn and use weapons
in the history of the world.

A Happy Fourth of July work out to you.

Al

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/3a-blinding-steel-matrixing-weapons/

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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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Fixing ANY Martial Arts Mistake!

Posted on June 17, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 814 ~ Sign up!

Matrixing Your Mistakes in the Martial Arts!

Gonna be a 100 degrees this week!
It’s time to really sweat!
So turn off that air conditioner
and get ready to ROCK!

karate master

Release of final volume of Matrixing Karate Series! Click on the Cover!

Let’s talk about matrixing.
In fact,
let’s talk about the big bugaboo of the martial arts…
MISTAKES!

Mistakes are not actually mistakes.
If you block something wrong,
for instance,
it’s not because you made a mistake,
it’s because you made a calculation,
a computation,
based on your current data.
When all the input finished,
when you finished calculating
the trajectory of the fist,
the angle of the block,
and so on,
and got hit in the face,
it is because you did what you trained yourself to do.

You didn’t make a mistake,
you responded according to your training.

This is actually true of everything in life,
but since martial arts are a microcosm,
a small classroom,
let’s look at the martial arts potentials here.

A student is trained to do a block.
He practices and practices,
until it is ingrained.
Until it becomes the intuitive response.
Then an attack happens,
and it is the wrong intuitive response.

This,
incidentally,
is why so many arts fail.
Take Kenpo,
for instance,
two arts,
the art of the technique,
and the art of freestyle,
and they have nothing to do with each other.
The training,
you see,
has left reality.
Then it takes twenty years or so
to make the intuitive work.
Maybe.

So here is the question:
How do you create a correct intuitive response…
EVERY TIME!
And that brings us to matrixing.

In matrixing a mistake is never a mistake,
it is an opportunity to learn something.

So consider this.

A right fist to the face can be blocked four ways.
Use your right hand to push it to the right
Use your right hand to push it to the left
Use your left hand to push it to the right
Use your left hand to push it to the left

I know,
there are lots of potentials here,
lots of other blocks.
But we are keeping it simple.
You can apply what I am telling you here
to other techniques and arts later.

So you practice the first one:
Use your right hand to push it to the right

and you practice it because it is the right one.
It is the one that works best.

And you practice and practice,
and then,
one day,
you are attacked,
and it doesn’t work.

WTF!

The reason it didn’t work might be anything,
a slight curve on the punch,
a delay in timing,
a sneaky distraction,
who knows and who cares.

What we care is the solution.

Instead of practicing just one defense,
you have to practice all four.

And practice and practice.

Sometimes,
if one of the potentials almost works,
you have to practice it a lot.

Sometimes,
if the potential is a disaster,
you just have to practice a little,
every once in a while,
just enough so that you realize…
here it comes…
WHAT DOESN’T WORK!

You see
it’s not enough to know what works,
you have to know what doesn’t work.

Not to make what doesn’t work intuitive,
but so that you can see what doesn’t work in the middle of combat.

This is a different level we are talking about.
We are not talking about being cause and effect,
we are talking about causing the cause and effect.
We are talking about a ‘master viewpoint.’

When somebody punches you shouldn’t react,
you should move with them,
in tune with them,
developing the block or counter or whatever
in the middle of the moment.

This is mushin no shin,
or mind of no mind.

This is when your memories
memories that you might have implanted yourself,
don’t distract you.

This is when you do purely and truly.

And it is really amazing
when you find yourself in the middle of one of these moments.

I was working out with a couple of fellows the other day,
using sticks.
These two fellows had worked out for years,
knew each other well,
knew the material well,
but when it came time to demonstrate,
the teacher turned to me,
because he could feel that I was more ‘in the moment,’
and showed the technique on me.

Simply,
I didn’t hesitate,
or make mistakes,
I just stayed with him,
moving in time with him,
moving in tune,
and even when he started deviating the technique,
there I was,
sticking with him,
making it work.

So you see,
you can’t just practice the martial arts,
you have to understand them.

You can’t just practice a technique,
you have to practice ALL of the techniques,
all variations.

You can’t train yourself to just respond,
because then you are training yourself
to be effect to the other guy’s cause.

Instead,
you have to train all the potentials,
even the mistakes,
then mistakes won’t fool you,
or otherwise trip you up.

The best place to do
what I have told you about here
is the Matrix Karate Course.
The Matrix of Blocks,
which is just one small item on this course,
goes directly to the heart of this.
You will then understand how blocks work,
how they work together,
and how to define what mistakes are
so they never trip you up.

Here go.

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

HAPPY WORK OUT!

Al

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

go to and subscribe to this newsletter:
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Remember,
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so this is the best way to ensure you get them.

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

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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Posted in bagua zhang, external martial art, self defense, zen

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How to Arrange Karate so It Makes Sense!

Posted on June 5, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 811

How Karate was Mistranslated

Man!
Aren’t summer work outs the best?
You cleanse yourself
through the purity
of plain, old-fashioned sweat.
Glorious!

jeet kune do

Click on the cover!

Okay,
let’s talk about how Karate was messed up.
I’ve talked about how Karate was
mangled by people with vested interests,
power hungry students,
nationalism, religion,
just about every thing under the sun.
So let’s talk about one specific way Karate,
and this is going to touch upon just every art there is,
was truly messed up.

When Karate was developed
people wore armor.
They carried swords.
And to use your fists,
to get your fists dirty
on the body of an enemy
was downright disgusting.
Think about it,
this is simple:
karate was developed to handle samurai,
with their swords and armor.
Karate was empty hand.

So,
do you crack armor with an empty hand?
Maybe,
but while you’re doing that,
the fellow is using his sword.

Do you block that sword with an arm?
Nope.

Do you get the point?
Now,
here is where it truly gets messed.
When the American servicemen were taught karate
they were taught a random variety of throws,
of defenses for weapons,
of specific techniques for specific attacks.

And not many of those attacks were real for this modern age!

So some instructor taught a student
how to disarm a sword.
But when you look at the technique,
there is no sword,
and the fellow the karateka is defending against
is punching the crud out of him.

Punches.

Here’s the funny thing,
Karate rose to the occasion.
All the arts rose to the occasion.
They managed to make fast punches and kicks,
and adapt to striking.

Even though striking was a small part of the whole art.

So Karate,
and other arts,
became skewed
to meet the demands of a punch crazy society.

okay,
summation:
Karate was designed for complete combat,
but then shrunken and warped
to fit the precise punches
of a different culture and time.

And that’s why Karate,
and many other arts,
just don’t work.

It’s like using metric wrenches on a 1950 Chevrolet.

So,
Karate,
and other martial arts,
are broken.
Mismatched.
Outgrown.
And here comes the funny part:
what was the solution provided in America
and in other parts of the world?

The solution was to teach boxing
and call it Karate.
Go on,
visit a few schools.

You will find people doing boxing,
or kick boxing,
or some other thing,
and calling it Karate.

I went to a school the other day,
the instructor had the children hold their hands
in boxing position.
They were taught to bob and weave.
It was not Karate.
There were no stances,
no blocks,
a few kicks,
including fancy ones that looked so cool,
but would get a person killed on the street.

But it said ‘Karate’ on the front window!
Big letters,
too.

And there are other solutions,
some pretty bizarre,
some effective,
but all deviating from what karate really is.
And,
deviating from kung fu,
or other types of arts.

What was my solution?
My solution was demanded
by the fact that I could not box
and call it Karate.
I couldn’t leave behind the energy,
the subtle throws,
the powerful way of developing the mind and body,
not to mention the spirit.

So what I did was rearrange everything,
made it 1, 2, 3 logical,
so that one step led to the next.
So that one didn’t learn a punch,
then a fancy hold,
and let’s throw in a cartwheel kick here,
cause people would really dig it!

I arranged the blocks
so they made as much sense as 1, 2, 3…
and everything is adapted for striking.

But I didn’t throw out the locks and throws.
Instead,
I teach the strikes,
classical strikes using energy,
and you end up in a specific position,
and then I show how each position ends up
in a lock or throw,
if you just continue the motion…logically.

Everybody else is teaching the classical forms,
trying to adapt them to strikes,
when they were not meant to be adapted to strikes.
Strikes were only a small part.

When you do Matrix Karate you learn everything logically,
and that includes the throws which have been put
at the end of the strike.

Think:
in a fight distance closes.
The kicks and punches are done,
the bodies come together,
and that is where the throw should be,
when the distance collapses.

I don’t teach how to fight from six feet away
with a lock or throw.
I teach how to logically close the distance,
using the punches and kicks logically,
and then do whatever throw you are in position to do.

And this is an important point:
after a strike or block,
you will find yourself in a specific position,
and there are only a couple of locks or throws possible.
That is true for every position.
So you don’t search through your mental database,
ransack your memory,
looking for a throw,
or trying to figure out how to throw
from an awkward and not appropriate position.
Instead,
you move forward logically,
and the result is a flow.

Maybe you’ve read some wins people have sent me
from doing some of my forms.
People talk about there being a specific flow
to the forms and techniques.
This is the result of logic.

Anyway,
I could talk forever,
but it’s all written down,
all video’d,
in Matrix Karate.
And if you don’t see the throw,
you can find all the throws,
logically,
so they fit into specific positions of any art,
in Matrix Kung Fu (Monkey boxing.

So,
‘nuff said.
You guys have a great summer work out,
three months working hard
in the heat,
sweating your b***s off.

HAPPY WORK OUT!

Al

For logical Karate:
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-karate/

For logical throws:
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-kung-fu/

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

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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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Finding the Secrets of the Martial Arts

Posted on May 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 808

Arresting a Thug Using Martial Arts

Good afternoon!
Man,
is it good!
Go on,
work out,
you’ll find out!

Hey,
I received an interesting win.
Here you go…

martial arts law

Click on Cover for The Secret of the One Year Black Belt!

Last night I arrested a thug at work.  I lost count of how many times I have done this over 25 years, but get this…  We use Aiki-jitsu (the late Bob Koga brought this to us and other law enforcement) as our tactics base.  Very watered down it works OK at best.  Last night I used a straight arm bar take down.  Usually a distraction technique, shuffle pivot hands on and gravity is how the magic starts.  Unfortunately some of these thugs learn through misadventures how to counter what we do.  To make a long story shorter.  I found myself doing a Buddha palm from a natural indexed stance and moved to the side.  My end position happened very fluid and I found his wrist and elbow on the transition of arm positions (during BP), reverse it with a modified arm bar take down stepping back and it was something else.  Not sure what the percentage of luck was but I think all my hours practicing clicked.  Pretty awesome! My partner was in awe! ~ KB
Thank you KB!
I love a good win!

Here’s an interesting little tidbit.
In Karate,
or other martial arts,
I sometimes talk about the space between the techniques.
I talk about this space as being crucial.
This win highlights why.

Put your hands together
in front of your face
as if praying.
Now circle one hand around
until it scoops
and is basically palm up pointing at the elbow
of the still praying hand.
That is the Buddha Palm position.
Now,
as you go back and forth,
circling the hands so that first one hand is praying,
then the other,
you find the ‘hidden’ technique.
But it’s not hidden,
it is one of those ‘spaces’
that you will find simply by doing the form.

Interestingly
there are A LOT of these ‘hidden’ techniques
in classical Karate.
You just pick two moves
and go forward and back
forward and back,
until you see what the motion is trying to do.

Unfortunately,
a lot of these ‘secrets’ are garbage.
They are just motion
nothing to be found in them.
But,
there are also the little gems
that you will find here and there.

Unfortunately,
most people only do the forms one way.
Straight forward,
they never look at the other side,
or going backward from move to move,
and look at what the motions really have in them.

And,
it is really fun to go through these
with a partner,
and look for ‘secrets.’

But,
no partner?
Just do the form forward and back,
forward and back,
move by move,
and you will find them.
Or,
as in the win that started this newsletter off,
they will,
if you throw yourself into the practice,
pop up when you need them.

It’s true.
And this is one of those things I refer to
when I say that
the art will do you.

Thanks again,
KB,

And for everybody,
start looking,
there aren’t any secrets,
there are just people
who don’t look at the forms,
who don’t throw themselves into the art,
until the art does them.

Here’s the link
for the ‘easiest to find’ secrets

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

Have a great work out!

Al

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Remember,
Google doesn’t like newsletters,
so this is the best way to ensure you get them.

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

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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Posted in bagua zhang, internal martial art, kenpo, kung fu, self defense, weapons

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Making the Promise of a Fight in Karate

Posted on April 17, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 805
The Promise of a Fight

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Gorgeous day.
Absolutely gorgeous.
And that means it is an absolutely gorgeous day for a work out.
So get going!

Was teaching this morning.
We were doing Promised Fights,
and my partner was grimacing,
and finally backed off.
“Ow,” he said.
And we got into a long discussion.
Heck,
he was hurting,
I had to let him recover,
give him some data,
and then hurt him some more.
Right?

First,
I started out with the old
‘Do it a form a thousand times and you know it.
Do it ten thousand times and you’ve mastered it.’
My student did exactly the right thing,
he said,
‘So if I do it 20 times a day,
then in fifty days…’
“Yep,” I said.
“You could know it.
You could be expert in 2 months.
But you have to do it right.
You have to understand the alignment,
how the feet work and why,
and you have to know the Promised Fights…
otherwise you could do it forever and not know it.”

Second,
we went into proper body alignment,
which is covered on the Master Instructor Course,
and how the feet must align properly,
and how the particular form we were doing had to be done
to make this all work.
I ended up saying,
“align your body,
make it a single unit,
then he won’t hit your body parts,
he will hit a single, integrated unit,
and it won’t hurt you.
Energy flows through a body that is a single unit,
it doesn’t flow through body parts used in individual fashion.
This is especially important in a Promised Fight.”

And,
came the look I had been waiting for.
I had been using the term Promised Fight,
and I knew he would eventually ask about it.

“What is a Promised Fight?”

A Promised Fight,
or a Promise Fight,
is a piece of the form applied.
A form Application.
It is a self defense movement.
It is bunkai.
It is the working part of the form.
But,
it is more.
In fact,
if a person doesn’t understand what I am about to tell you,
he/she is not doing karate.
They are just fighting themselves.

I asked my instructor what a Promised Fight was,
and he said,
‘The Promise of a Fight.’
And,
while the study of PFs gave great abilities,
and the answer he gave me was correct,
it was terribly incomplete.

To understand what a Promised Fight is
I need you to look up the word ‘Postulate.’

Look it up for yourself,
get all the nuances,
where it came from,
and all that,
but for this newsletter,
the short and inadequate version is this:

suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief

Assume existence,
put forth the truth,
as a basis for belief.

If you understand the hint here,
you should be diving for a big old Oxford Dictionary,
wanting to know why a simple karate move
becomes the basis for truth in this universe.

So let me break it down a bit,
from the viewpoint of 50 years of training.

A postulate is a thought,
which if worked on,
becomes true.

Worked on,
as continually done in a work out.

As in a piece of the form,
practiced again and again and again.

Now,
let me back up a bit,
a form is a circuit,
a pattern of moves that you practice and practice
until you just do it without thinking about it.
You strengthen the body,
you remember the applications,
you get light and quick,
and all those sorts of things.

When you do a piece of the form,
over and over and over,
you condense the circuit,
and you get rid of thought,
and suddenly there is nothing but the move.
Somebody punches,
and you don’t exist,
you just track the incoming,
and the Promise Fight,
the postulate of moves,
pops out of you.
And it works.
You punch him,
and he falls down.
And he doesn’t understand what hit him.
But here is the truth of it all…
a thought hit him.
A Postulate of thought hit him.
A Promise Fight,
clean and simple,
without distractive thoughts,
hit him.
And there is nothing purer in this universe.

Now,
I am always so busy trying to get people to understand,
offering all sorts of methods,
that i sometimes forget to go into this factor.
BUT,
in Matrix Karate there is the Matrix of blocks.
These are like mini-Promise Fights.
Very important to get these,
to understand them,
it is important to learn the small PFs
before you get to the big ones.
The big ones are on Temple Karate.
There isn’t talk of a matrix there,
because it is assumed you have done the groundwork of Matrixing first.
And the form applications are VERY pure Promised Fights.
They REALLY result in a zen frame of mind,
and the ability to hit somebody with a thought.

If you get Temple Karate
and you haven’t done Matrix Karate,
then you are taking the long route.
It will take you years,
and as distractions mount,
you can be knocked off the path
and never get there.

So you should do Matrix Karate,
work on the Matrix of Blocks,
make inroads and discover what a PF is.
And,
you can always take the pieces of the form,
they are pretty obvious,
and work on them to make real Promised Fights.

Then you do Temple Karate,
get into the classical forms,
and really go to town on the Promised Fights.

Matrix Karate is pretty simple,
it presents the movements that are pure karate,
no distractions from other arts.
It aligns you,
and sets you up for the broader moves of Temple Karate.
It is a real Closed Combat System.
You can do it by itself,
or you can do it,
then move into the classical,
and see what kinds of things
the old guys who came before us were into.
Temple Karate is a larger assortment of tricks,
it broadens the education,
and digs you to new depths.

Anyway,
that is the story on Promised Fights.
Dig ‘em…they are the real zen of Martial Arts.

Here’s the link for Temple,
if you have already done Matrix Karate.
You can just go to MonsterMartialArts and find Matrix Karate,
it is one of the first arts presented on the home page.

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

Now,
have a great work out,
and schedule yourself for twenty times a day,
and send me your wins in two months.

Have a great work out!

Al

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

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

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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Reading Minds in Martial Arts

Posted on April 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 804
Matrixing the Thought of Combat

Man!
It is BEEYOUTIFUL out.
Time for a BEEYOUTIFUL workout!

A quick word:
Google is suppressing newsletter,
but you can find this newsletter blogged at
alcase.wordpress.com.

Bruce Lee did a good job of analyzing the motion of combat.
He took apart when,
for instance,
during the opponent’s punch,
you should attack.
You can find out more about this if you dig around at
FreeBruceLee.com.

BUT,
nobody’s ever really tried to figure out
what happens at the moment of combat.
Not the moment of launch,
but the thought that must occur
before the launch.

And,
to be honest,
nobody’s ever had the neutronics data,
so it is no wonder that nobody has ever done this.

SO…

the one thing to remember is that you have a thought,
and energy, and body,
follow it.
The odd thing in all this
is that thoughts go in only two directions.

Thoughts go out.
Thoughts go in.

This can be made complex,
if you stick on analyzing emotion,
emotion disguises what you are doing,
and so on.

So,
the exact moment of attack,
should be when the opponent is,
for whatever reason,
not thinking out,
towards you,
but inwards,
towards himself.

If you understand this,
you understand the purpose of meditation:
sitting (or moving) and never allowing thoughts to invert,
to come back towards yourself.
In other words,
to watch the world
without having internal thoughts.

Here are the ways you can take advantage
of this momentary lapse of awareness.
The most important is distraction.

Distraction is when you point the opponent’s attention elsewhere.

He blinks because of a fly.
He looks because of a motion to the side.
He thinks when you tell him there is someone behind him.
He thinks because you trash talk.
He gets mad,
or otherwise falls to emotion.
And so on.

You can attack when any of these,
or other,
distractions occur.

You can attack after the thought of attack,
but that is not a good idea,
unless you are immaculate in your strategy and tactics.
The reason is attacks will collide,
mistakes can be made once you let him go into motion,
and so on.

BUT…
the best time to attack a person?
Before he has the thought.

Doesn’t matter when he makes a decision,
or for what reason,
you simply attack before his thought.
At that point he has become victim,
as he is going to be responding to your attack,
instead of creating an original one of his own.

Here’s the thing,
people think you can’t see a thought.
But you can.
It takes an immense amount of discipline in classical martial arts.
It takes less time in matrixed martial arts.
Logic just allows you to study,
and therefore learn,
faster.

Heck,
you see people thinking all the time.
You see the look in their eyes,
you read their bodies,
you feel their energy.
If you are good you actually perceive the thought.
But that level of good
depends upon how effective and sincere your training has been.

The lesson here?
Train hard,
train long,
matrix (make logical)
everything you do.
Make yourself a perceptive person
by looking out at the world,
and not inward to your own thoughts,
troubles,
emotions,
etc.

Here’s my personal martial art…

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/3a-blinding-steel-matrixing-weapons/

I created it after doing most of the matrixing courses,
it was my own understanding codified.
It should help you read thoughts faster.

Have a great work out!

Al

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/3a-blinding-steel-matrixing-weapons/

And don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

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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The Monster Martial Arts Newsletters

Posted on April 3, 2016 | Leave a comment

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.

And you go have a great work out!

Al

hHeere’s a course that undoes ignorance…

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/4-master-instructor-course/

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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Insanity in the Martial Arts

Posted on March 15, 2016 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 801
Sanity and the Martial Arts

Good summer to you!
It’s almost here,
and do you have a plan?
Have you selected what martial art
you want to master this summer?

Hey,
I was talking to this fellow today,
He was a pilot,
used to push B1s around.
that’s right,
he was carrying the biggest bullets known to mankind.

We talked about a lot of stuff,
and veered into politics,
and it was refreshing.
He was from Arizona,
told me about gun laws there,
concealed carry,
the incredible border war that is going on
and that the news media doesn’t cover.
I told him about sanity.

He made the remark,
the old saw about:

insanity is when you keep doing the same thing
over and over,
and expect different results.

I told him that sanity was when you could observe reality.
He blinked,
and said I was right.
Never thought of it,
but I was right.
And I am.

When you do the martial arts,
you practice for some guy coming down at your head with a knife,
and you have to observe the exact reality of it all.
Observe something other than a knife
coming at your head,
and you get cut.
Blood spurts.
You know?

And here is what it all means,
most people deal in opinion.
Opinion is talk without the facts.

Most politicians do this.
They pay no attention to the fact
that every state that has fewer gun laws,
has less crime.
They call for more gun control,
which,
if you observe the reality,
is asking for more crime.

Simple but true.

So on one side we have the relative insanity
(all sanity and insanity is relative)
of opinion.
On the other side we have the relative sanity
of observation.

The thing is,
it is actually pretty easy to be sane.
Just practice your forms,
and practice the techniques in your forms,
and toss out the bushwah,
the stuff that doesn’t work.

But,
and this is an example of insanity,
many people don’t do that.

Look at the chat rooms,
everybody has an opinion.
One or two have the facts,
and the other 98 or 99 has an opinion.

That,
incidentally,
is why I don’t bother going to chat rooms,
and have even,
thus far,
eschewed a chat room of my own.

So,
here it is again,
if you can observe what is real,
you can be sane,
and the martial arts help you observe what is real.

If you can’t observe what is real,
you can only speak in opinion,
and the more opinion you have,
the more insane you are.

Well,
think about it.

And think about getting the Outlaw Karate course.

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

I was doing the Outlaw Karate course,
and tossing out bushwah techniques,
and trying to find EXACTLY what worked.
It really helped me to discover matrixing,

And,
what martial art are you going to learn this summer?

Have a great work out!

Al

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

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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