Category Archives: taekwondo

Karate Throws to Break an Opponent’s Spirit!

Karate Throws to Warm Your Heart!

Speaking of Karate Throws… It used to be people learned Karate so they could one punch a sucker. Put him to sleep for a week. Then, people couldn’t do it, and by the time the nineties rolled around they were ready for Mixed Martial Arts. Ready to throw and lock, ground and pound, smash and trash, and all that.

shotokan karate throw

Best Karate Throw

Now, first, you can one punch somebody if you do it right. It has to do with depth of punch, time of actual contact (impact) and delivering an idea.

But, this is not about that one punch idea, this is about throws, and a lot of people gave up their karate training because there weren’t any throws in it.

My, my. Ain’t we silly.

Gichin Funakoshi got together with Jigaro Kano. Gichin was asking about throws, Jigaro taught him some. Then Gichin did a throw that he had not been taught by Jigaro. Jigaro was surprised and asked him about it, and Gichin replied… ‘Oh, we have throws in Karate.’

We have throws in Karate, what an interesting statement. Yet the whole world thinks we don’t! Yet the founder of modern day Karate says we do. So why don’t we see many throws in Karate?

One reason is because it is easier to teach punches to huge classes.

Another reason might be the Japanese had throws, so why teach them what they already had?

Another reason might be the Okinawans didn’t want to teach their samurai busting techniques, to the culture that created the samurai.

Heck, there could be a lot of reasons. My personal favorite reason the Okinawans didn’t teach a lot of throwing techniques in Karate (they did teach some), is that the specific physics of Karate don’t favor the particular mechanics of the body when doing throws.

The reason I say that is I learned a few throws, but they relied on violent karate style motion, and we didn’t have any ‘judo techniques’ style of motion.

Anyway, consider all that as you wish, let’s talk about throws.

In Pinan Three. The spear hand technique, you can translate that into an arm wrapping technique, and take a guy down easy squeezy.

Or, in Pinan Three, when you are doing the foot raise elbow and backfist on the way back down the center of the form, you can slide into an opponent, insert yourself under his arm, and effectively ‘split’ him. Bottom half goes one way, top half goes the other. And, voila…a throw.

Or, Pinan Three, at the end, when you do the horse stance, punch over the shoulder. Perfect for a grab from behind, you grab his arm, sideways movement with an arm throw.

Karate Throws at the end of each technique…Check out Matrix Kung Fu if you want all the throws.

Now, that’s just three off the top, the truth is, I could easily find a dozen throws in that form alone.

However, I don’t bother. I was interested, I looked, I saw, but I found that it was much better to matrix the body, isolate specific lines of energy, and therefore to isolate the throws and present them as a matrix.

I don’t teach big massive arts, I don’t teach Karate with all the techniques of all the other arts, I teach karate as a specific and ordered set of principles, as a science and not an art, and then I teach throws as a specific and ordered art in Matrix Kung Fu (Monkey boxing).

To try to teach all the arts through one particular art’s viewpoint is how we got in the mess in the first place. Somebody learns a concept, say it is the clinging energy of Mantis Kung Fu, then they try to include every single concept they have ever learned under the mantle of preying mantis Kung Fu, and suddenly they are trying to teach the elephant style of Mantis.

And it doesn’t make sense!

All the concepts don’t fit together if you try to teach them from a single viewpoint!

But, if you teach each martial art from the unique viewpoint of that art, then the arts become small and bite sized.

The problem, of course, is that people have never really isolated the specific concepts of their arts. Karate is ‘hard,’they say. But that’s not the unique concept of Karate! That is a generality, it points to art, and not to science!

‘Tai Chi Kung Fu is soft,’ they say. But all kung fu is not soft, and so there is misunderstanding, concepts are mushed together, and people are left to dig their way through the mess.

Do you understand?

For an art to be considered as a science it must be made logical, pried apart form other arts, aligned within itself, kept separate form other influences.

Then, when it is understood, it can be put together with the other arts, which is to say, other arts can be taught in similar fashion, and put together and made into a whole.

Studied as a mush, it takes decades to lifetimes to master the martial arts. Taken as small, bite sized, and logical matrixes of information, the whole art can be absorbed quickly and smoothly. Mastered in a couple of years.

But, don’t believe me. Try Matrix Kung Fu,

1b Matrix Kung Fu

See for yourself. Matrix Kung Fu is virtual all the standing up takedowns in the martial arts. If there is a takedown not there, it is invariably able to be figured out from the throws that are there.

Oinky donkey, nuff said. I hope I’ve said enough to bring you out of the dark ages, because the golden age of the martial arts is about to open.

Matrix Martial Arts shows you where the doorknob is, and all you have to do is turn and enter. That simple.

Now, before I go, Check out The Map. It’s on the menu of Monster Martial Arts. I used to have one of these a long time ago, and I’ve brought it back, very interesting, especially if you are on it.

Okay, remember…

1b Matrix Kung Fu

And I’ll talk to you next Friday.

Al

Karate Chop Cowboy Goes to a Gunfight and Wins!

Cowboy Karate Chop Break Burglars Brain!

Karate Chop is more powerful than a gun! Consider the tale of Ervin Brittnacher, who lives just outside Houston, Texas. He is a 79 year old Cowboy in in Texas. He is also a member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. One would think that such an oldster is past his prime, his martial arts would be weak, and he would be easy pickings for a criminal, right?

Wrong!

karate chop

Ervin Brittnacher

 

Late one night our Karate Chop cowboy heard his dog barking and got up to investigate. Opening the front door he found one Charles Smith standing there holding a gun.

Now Ervin had several choices. He could pick up one of his own guns, which stood conveniently next to the door, and blast a hole through the brisket of the burglar. But he decided to take a kindlier route, and did a karate chop to the side of the neck.

The young criminal immediately knew he was in trouble. He started blathering about his girlfriend being there.

Our cowboy actually invited the dope inside to see for himself!

And, end of the story, the police were also invited, and they took Charlie into custody, and to jail, where he was charged with attempted burglary.

Ervin Brittnacher had never taken Karate, or tae kwon do, or any other martial art, but he is a tough old bird and a natural karate punch, and a knowledge of how to dismember the human body. It didn’t take much for Ervin to put together the karate movies he had seen with what he had to do to defend himself!

Charlie Smith has also never taken martial arts, but he may want to take a karate lesson or two after he gets out of the hoosegow. Honestly, beaten up by an old man!

But that’s the power of the martial arts, and a karate chop, and that’s how one old cowboy took a karate chop to a gunfight and won!

This has been a page about taking a karate chop to a gunfight and coming out on top!

 

 

Bruce Lee Workout Increases Strength and Power: Three Principles

Bruce Lee Work Out for More Power!

The Bruce Lee Workout I am describing comes from studies of about Bruce Lee, but is combined with research from other sources. There is data from bodybuilding exercises, weightlifting workouts, and so on.

Mind you, I call it the Bruce Lee Workout, but it comes from a variety of sources. many of which cropped up after his death, or were studies of his workout routines.

bruce lee workout

Bruce Lee used weight training, diet, and other factors to get this physique

There are three component parts to a Bruce Lee Workout.

The first deals with Bruce Lee Strength training. This is that weightlifting is the third best way of increasing strength. This is because when you weight lift you isolate the muscles. Yes, the muscles get bigger, but since the whole body is not being used, one will not get the tremendous speed of Bruce Lee.

bruce lee quote martial arts classical mess

Bruce Lee believed in simple Body Weight exercises!

The second principle associated with a Bruce Lee Workout deals with dynamic strength training, sometimes referred to as dynamic tension. This is when muscle works against muscle. This is a type of workout Bruce Lee liked, but didn’t always talk about. There are, however, Wing Chun exercises in which dynamic tension is present, or can easily be put in. The glory in these exercise routines is that the muscles, though they work against each other, do not isolate. They stay in a ‘group mode,’ and so one is able to use these exercises to achieve Bruce’s speed.

bruce lee wing chun exercises

Bruce did do weights, but his lack of mass puts them lower on his priorities

The third Bruce Lee workout principle holds that body calisthenics are the best method for increasing personal strength and power. While the Little Dragon did weights and dynamic tension, he also did Yoga and other body calisthenic exercises.

Tying all of the above together, of course, are things like the Bruce Lee diet, and other fitness concepts.

Thus, to make your own Bruce Lee Workout, one should do a lot of stretching, especially Yoga style. Then do light weight training. Light as one doesn’t want mass so much as definition and efficiency. Finally, the heavy stuff, body weight calisthenics.

And, though many people may object, especially in light of certain Bruce Lee quotes regarding classical martial arts, this author prefers classical martial arts for his body weight calisthenics. It is just more fun to do than simply lifting heavy metal plates, or other similar types of weight training. And, finally, more yoga to cool down and make sure the muscles relax after the work out.

So consider these points when you analyze your own body, what you want to get out of your training, what you think is fun, and then create your own Bruce Lee Workout.

How and Why Matrixing Will Work in Your Martial Art!

Learn a Martial Art in a matter of months!

A lot of people read my site, or articles on the web, and they raise their eyes and say, ‘Oh, right. A guy can learn a Martial Art in a few months? Ha!’

Lot of cynicism out there, and I understand it. Some fellow studies for years to learn Karate or learn Kung Fu or whatever, and I come along and say, ‘You could have learned it ten times faster.’

martial art

Don’t just look at the moon…BE the moon!


That guy is going to be upset! He’s going to think I’m full of it, just because if he doesn’t, then it invalidates all his years of training.

But, when somebody actually does matrix their martial art, and this works for Aikido and Kenpo and ALL other martial arts systems, then they find that I am not invalidating all they have done…I am making it count! I am organizing their data, making it more accessible, and that means their martial art is sharper, quicker, more intuitive…and so much more!

So how do I convince the doubter?

Try these facts on for size.

Take two pigeons and put them together for 6 weeks and they will mate for life.

6 weeks, and you cam MAKE a pea brain MAKE a life altering decision. Doesn’t even matter if Mrs. Pigeon is ugly.

Now this is a stupid fact, but it tends to open the door to facts more pertinent to you and the Martial Arts.

The US army takes a common, garden variety man or woman…and MAKES them into a soldier in three months. Another three months and we’re talking about a high tech soldier, able to use a computer, or some other complicated device, right in the middle of a firefight!

That’s a good fact. It speaks highly of dedicated, factual training.

Here’s another one: there are ads on TV that claim you can MAKE your body into a lean, mean muscle machine in three months. Three months and you no longer have a beer barrel, but, instead, have a six pack!

So the point here is this: if you are smarter than a pigeon, then you can change your mind and change your body in three months.

Or, in other words,

You can learn a martial art in a matter of months!

You don’t even have to believe! You just have to get a martial arts course and do it!

So now we come down to choice.

Do you want to sit around and tweet one liners…or do you want to join a brotherhood that has lasted for thousands of years…the brotherhood of the Martial Artist!

Do you want to be sweet meat for that home invader? That mugger? That guy who wants to take your girlfriend?

Do you want to watch Bruce Lee movies and think, ‘How cool!’ Or do you want to BE like Bruce Lee?

Okay. Nuff said. I hope I’ve changed your mind, gotten you to get up off the coach, inspired you to do something that will give your life value forever!

So take a look at this http://monstermartialarts.com site, check out the courses, and decide what you want to do.

Remember, the only person stopping you from being more than you…is you.

This has been a page about how to learn a martial art, and how you can learn them in a matter of a few months.

Teaching Martial Artists and the Inertia of Ignorance

The only thing that stops you from learning is…you

I should say the odd thing about teaching people, not just teaching martial artists. But the fact is…people refuse to accept information.

Let’s say you’re teaching Karate to some fellow. You can say something like ‘twisting the wrist on impact is dangerous. The joint is unstable and you are adding weight to it.’

teaching martial arts

Can you overcome ‘Inertia of ignorance’ and actually learn Martial Arts?


Now, this is a big thing, so many systems use the twisting wrist to teach newbies. But, they don’t teach the newbies why, or how to transition the technique to a more stable punch.

You see, the wrist is unstable, but it teaches people how to focus. Once they learn how to focus their strikes, they need to learn how to snap a vertical punch, or some other variation. But when you tell them that, they go into protest mode.

They shake their head, and continue doing what they are doing, and it is as if you never spoke.

It’s not the martial arts, it’s deeper, it goes to the person’s ability to listen, to actually process information.

That is, incidentally, why the martial arts are so important. Somebody disagrees, and you can show them on the mat. You can make them listen.

But, that doesn’t cure the person of not listening. Even somebody who has studied the martial arts for years has this problem. Here is the EXACT thing they think when you tell them something.

‘Oh, we have that in our system.’

They don’t say it, they just get this smug look on their face. But the truth is this: yes, they had it in their system, every system has everything, if you look far enough, BUT…they were not aware of it before you said it.

This problem, incidentally, I have given a name…‘The Inertia of Ignorance.’

Simply, people hang on to their ignorance. They protect it; they are not willing to admit it because, darn it, they think it will make them look stupid!

But holding on to your ignorance is what is stupid. If you don’t admit your were ignorant of something, then you can’t learn: your protection of your image as somebody who knows something stops you from learning something.

Do you understand?

Now, go ahead and read Monster Martial Arts. Hopefully, what you have read here has removed you from that attitude, and opened your skull to the input of new information. Because, I guarantee…the stuff you read on Monster, this Matrixing concept, has never been seen before. It is brand new material, not done by Bruce Lee, nor written down in Ninja scrolls, not anything.

Brand New, and that makes it very difficult for people who are more concerned with their image of worldliness than their desire to learn martial arts.