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Hard Hands and a Real Martial Arts Punch!

Posted on November 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

Conditioning and Protecting Your Hands in the Martial Arts!

Thanks for asking, Kumar.

When I began the martial arts
we were hitting trees,
sticking our hands into boxes of sand,
and generally thinking we were conditioning our fists.
Actually,
we didn’t know what we were doing.

When I went to my first real school,
the Kang Duk Won,
there were two planter boxes at the head of the class.
One had sand and the other had pebbles.
We dug our spear hands into those.

Over the years I played with rug samples on tall trees,
makiwara and bags and balls
and all sorts of things.
The best conditioning device,
the one that worked for me,
was to do push ups on fingertips.
I was able to do push ups on two fingers (each hand).
The glory of that was not in the conditioning,
but in the mental focus it required.

Now,
after all that,
one would think that I would be suffering from arthritis.
Nope.
And I didn’t use dit da jow
or any secret potion.
What I did to make sure I didn’t get arthritis
was to…stay active.

I’m 76 now,
and I still practice the forms,
especially Tai Chi.
I do light work outs on striking,
and, here’s the key:
whenever I feel sore
in any part of my body,
I focus my work out on that area.
My hip hurts?
I stretch in a manner that opens the hip up.
I do stances that use that hip.
My fist hurts?
I practice focus,
snapping loose tight,
and the pain goes away.

I know other people who suffer from arthritis.
Some just aren’t active.
A lot of Jujitsu/MMA fellows
seem to suffer injuries,
arthritis and other things,
But they don’t practice forms,
or do Tai Chi,
or put awareness via work out
into an afflicted area.

Want to hear something funny?
My family all decided a certain Chiropracter/nutritionist
was the real deal.
Everybody went to see him.
My wife dragged me along.

Now,
I work out every day,
but my diet is junk.
I eat what I want.
McDonald’s, ice cream,
pizza and other fast food.
Any thing I want.

Everybody expected the doctor
to find all sorts of things wrong with me.
So he did a kind of body testing,
holding various substances,
minerals and vitamins and things,
up against my body
and tested my muscle reaction.
If my muscles were weak
that wold indicate some organ was malfunctioning.

He couldn’t find anything wrong with me.
Everything worked.
And here’s the funny thing,
my family was so sure the doctor would reveal my problems,
they got mad when he couldn’t.
They were so pissed off they stopped seeing him.
He couldn’t find anything wrong with Al,
so he was obviously a quack.

This is absolutely true,
and the real secret,
of good health,
avoiding things like arthritis
and whatever,
is this:

Don’t take anything serious.
Laugh at everything.
Ignore idiots.
Work out every day.

I especially laugh
when people try to think I’ve got problems.
After a lifetime of martial arts
I have no problems,
and that’s my secret of good health and long life.

Here’s the book I wrote on

The Punch!

You should also consider my courses on Tai Chi Chuan.

Have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

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

FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS I HAVE REPUBLISHED!
You will probably have to do a search for them,
but they’re out there.

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!
Black Belt Yoga
Five Martial Arts!
Hidden Techniques of Karate
How to Fix Karate (book one)
How to Fix Karate (book two)
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: Creating a New Kenpo
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: The Real History
Matrixing Kenpo Karate: The Secret of Forms
Neutropia ~ Surrealistic Poetry
The Book of Matrixing
The Book of Neutronics
The Last Martial Arts Book
Pan Gai Noon: Kung Fu to Karate
Kang Duk Won: The Korean Contribution
Kwon Bup: American Power
Outlaw Karate: The One Year Black Belt
Buddha Crane Karate; The First Matrixed Art

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Martial Art Forms, Techniques and History

Posted on November 3, 2024 | Leave a comment

The Martial Arts Encyclopedia!

As you may know
I have republished the five books
I refer to as the Martial Arts Encyclopedia.
I wrote them over a twenty year period.
I wrote them out of order,
though they are in the correct order as published.

PAN GAI NOON
I wanted to know where Karate came from
A fellow once told me
if you don’t know sanchin you don’t know karate.
I describe the two essential forms
Sanchin and Seisan
and describe the theory of technique
so that one understands how to evolve technique
out of the forms,
This was the introduction of X, Y and Z
in circular form to the techniques.

KANG DUK WON
That was the art I was trained in.
I wrote a book on it because
it was closer to the Okinawan karate,
having gone through the Korean route
instead of the Japanese.
The Japanese added several things
which are questionable.
Lower stances, higher kicks,
stylized forms and freestyle.
The art engendered intuition in me
and enlightened me.

KWON BUP
I wanted to know the truth of Kang Duk Won,
and saw that it was built of two arts,
the original KDW,
and my instructor’s art of Kwon Bup.
Was Kang Duk Won what had worked most in me?
Or Kwon Bup?
I separated the two arts to better understand this.
I discovered a linearity in the Kwon Bup
that was not in KDW.
I found the techniques more direct,
and more powerful.
If KDW was a hammer,
Kwon Bup was a point on the hammer.

OUTLAW KARATE
I wanted to combine KDW and KB.
I wanted a superior art that could be learned faster.
I also knew that Kenpo had lengthened
the time of training to black belt
to four and more years.
In the KDW people were learning in two years,
why should it take longer?
And there were stories of people
learning Karate in one year.
I wanted to make a black belt in one year.
I was able to take five out of six original students
to black belt in one year.
There was total power and in depth intuition.
I was beginning to use different training methods on the freestyle
to bring them along faster.
I began to appreciate how trust makes for faster learning.
I also saw that one doesn’t need contracts to keep a student.
If you give them the right data
at an adequate speed…it works better than a contract.

BUDDHA CRANE KARATE
I broke down what I had been teaching,
I aligned the methods with the ten lines of Ton Toi
I made a form that could be changed
to accommodate each line
similar to the Hsing i method.
This was my initial breakdown of the art
into a logic that was easy to remember
and therefore easier to learn.
It retained the workability of my earlier arts.
It was my first attempt at arranging the moves
in logical order.
This was a precursor
to the Boolean Truth Table I was eventually to use
to matrix any art.

Those are the five books that make up my ‘encyclopedia.
There is a little history,
but more important is that arrangement of techniques.
Which techniques were the same from art to art,
which were different?
How does theory morph into practical technique.
How does (did) the art change with the various evolutions.
What were the effects of various countries,
how do they blend together,
when do they overlap.

There is also the added bonus of seeing the mistakes I made.
A person who sees mistakes learns faster
than somebody who ‘does it right’ every time.

You can find these books on Amazon
simply type in the title,
(for instance, ‘Pan Gai Noon.’)
or type in the title and my name (al case)
(for instance ‘Kwon Bup Al Case.’
You can also find them on Barnes and Noble
and other sites.

You don’t have to spend five years on each art,
simply do the forms,
do the techniques,
then move on to the next art.
Specialize in what interests you
and put the rest aside.
Most important,
apply the lessons to whatever art you study.

No single art is totally right…
it is up to you to make your own art,
and to make that art right.

Now,
thanks for being students of the arts, and…
have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

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

FOLLOWING IS A CATALOGUE OF
THE MARTIAL ARTS BOOK I HAVE REPUBLISHED!

THE LAST MARTIAL ARTS BOOK
Amazon

Barnes and Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-martial-arts-book-al-case/1146217369?ean=9798227617200

ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
Amazon

ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
Thriftbooks
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/advanced-tai-chi-chuan-for-real-self-defense/53758888/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJyWkLdO18y0RFUxGoTb3CDXCgAXTk-VB_hvu2NHQwKZOqPBmK#edition=71844464&idiq=72002772

FIVE MARTIAL ARTS!

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
Amazon

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
Thriftbooks
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/how-to-fix-karate-book-one/53863237/?srsltid=AfmBOooDYRdXJmWmsSkzxxtHX9PDU2c6L1kFl2cSe0tH0MWpwhjvqBk5#edition=71905055&idiq=72156439

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
amazon

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
bookshop
https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-fix-karate-book-two-al-case/21839401

BLACK BELT YOGA
amazon

BLACK BELT YOGA
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-belt-yoga-al-case/1121852191

THE BOOK OF MATRIXING
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=THE+BOOK+OF+MATRIXING&crid=306WX8EKZIXJE&sprefix=the+book+of+matrixing%2Caps%2C167&ref=nb_sb_noss

THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS

THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS
BooksaMillion
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Book-Neutronics/Al-Case/9798227766922?id=9287395896456

HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hidden-techniques-of-karate-al-case/1146377079

HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
Amazon

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Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate Problems!

Posted on October 28, 2024 | Leave a comment

Kenpo Karate is Broken!

That Kenpo is broken is obvious. Actually, not to hurt anybody’s feelings, it has been broken from the get go. One simple proof is that the founder himself, Edmund Parker, presented five different versions of the art during his lifetime.

Five different versions, starting with a shotokan karate based version, and progressing through a variety of made up kung fu. Yet, before you decide I am nothing but a detractor, all the martial arts can be found in Parker’s Kenpo. It is a massive system, and the potential is unlimited.

Now, the problem is that most kung fu systems have been passed along for generations. They have had hundreds, even thousands, of years to become developed, polished and evolved. Chinese Kenpo, on the other hand, has not been benefitted by this process.

The first version, the classical karate version, was extremely workable. Parker ran into difficulties with his instructor, however, and ran out of material to teach. Thus, he hired a kung fu artist from the San Francisco area, Jimmy Wu, to help him put together more material.

The next four versions of Chinese Kenpo, then, are they Parker? Or are they Wu? To be honest, they are probably a mix, but of what percentage?

And, to be fair, one must realize that Parker, through his lineage, and Wu, through his, did bring a certain amount of tried and tested material to the board. And, one must realize that the times were rich with material. There were all sorts of systems of karate and kung fu making their appearance, and Parker had front seat through these times.

That brings us to the intent promised by the title of this article, how to fix Kenpo. The best way to fix Parker’s Kenpo is to throw away the rankings, categorize the techniques by attack, and arrange them in order of difficulty. While this has been done somewhat, in doing it anew one will find all sorts of things that were left out, over emphasized, and so on.

The point is that all the martial arts are there, but they need to be arranged in a more workable manner, and only by a more scientific analysis is one going to come to grips with the truth of Kenpo.

About the Author: Al Case just finished revising and republishing his three volume ‘Matrixing Kenpo Karate’ series. In that series he fulfills the promise made by this article. Look for ‘Matrixing Kenpo Karate‘ on the net.

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Five Versions of Kenpo Karate!

Posted on October 24, 2024 | Leave a comment

The Five Kenpos of Ed Parker

The first Kenpo of Ed Parker was actually Okinawan Karate. One can see the forms in the string of techniques in his first book. Forms were actually not taught, except, I believe, for Naihanchi and maybe one or two others.

The second version was a blend of Karate and jujitsu. This version was originally taught in a small temple in Japan.

The third Kenpo of Mr. Parker was actually created by James Wing Woo, a kung Fu stylist who taught Ed’s class, and helped him write a book while he lived in Pasadena. This was the version of kenpo from which many of the forms were originated.

The fourth kenpo was a reworking and renaming of the 3rd version.

The fifth and final Kenpo was created by Ed Parker to replace the earlier styles of Kenpo. He was proud of the fact that it actually wasn’t kenpo anymore.

Now, this all stated, one has to ask why there were so many styles. The answer is simple, Ed was trying to simplify and make sense out of the mess.

The fact of the matter is that the martial arts are random sequences of motions. This causes the art to be hard to learn, and hard to apply. It is simply hard to memorize to the point of intuition so much data.

Ed was trying to simplify and make sense out of the thing so that students could learn faster (among other reasons).

Unfortunately, he failed.

He came close, but his efforts were still comprised of random sequences of motion.

Each method he designed or compiled or whatever was built upon the ashes of the previous, tried to include new concepts and theories he had come across, and does not make summation of kenpo, or the martial arts.

Was he wrong for doing what he did? Not at all. His work was ground breaking and innovative, he just lacked the logic and perspective to bring it all together.

Does it mean that the kenpo you are studying is wrong?

Nope.

For Kenpo is a manifestation of knowledge, and each person contains the knowledge in his own unique way.

Though Ed failed to make the art a science, it is still an art, and it is still whatever people make it.

The author, Al Case, picked up the skeins of this mess and used his matrixing process to order and align Kenpo. He has just republished his three part series on that art. It is a thorough analysis as to why some techniques work, and some don’t. It makes Kenpo simple and easy to learn and succeeds where Mr. Parker failed. You can find ‘Matrixing Kenpo Karate’ on the internet, or order through your bookstore.

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Putting martial Arts Ranks to Yoga!

Posted on October 21, 2024 | Leave a comment

Yoga with Martial Arts Ranking!

The difference between yoga and martial arts is quite interesting
but quite simple.

Yoga is ‘not moving’ meditation
Martial arts is moving meditation

Both use the body,
and studying both can be incredibly enlightening.

In yoga you assume a pose and put your awareness
through the body.
The focus is on flexibility,
there is much good health,
awareness grows.
All good stuff.

In martial arts you do a technique and put your awareness
through the body,
and through your partners body.
The focus is on self defense,
good health and…awareness.

So which awareness is better?

Of course it depends. but consider
a few of the following comparisons.

You won’t get bruises in yoga
you won’t learn to defend yourself

yoga analyzes energy flows in the body
martial arts analyzes energy flows outside the body

you’ll get more injuries in martial arts
injuries which yoga can help rehabilitate

you won’t be asked to ‘show your stuff’
at a party with yoga
There is always some idiot who wants you to
show your martial arts stuff at a party
Of course its sort of fun to practice your joint locks
on drunks at parties…but still…

yoga is great stuff, but you don’t get to wear a belt.
Martial Arts is always looking for the next belt,
if you’re into that.

There are pros and cons for both disciplines,
and you know what I’m going to say…
study both.
Grow awareness inside,
rehabilitate and get flexy,
and put that acquired mental focus to work
by applying it to martial arts.

Guaranteed,
the disciplines will aid each other.
Greatly

Now,
it is easier to get started in yoga.
Get a book,
a DVD,
do an online course.
Lots of freebies to get started.
There is one problem, however.
The advanced theories and knowledge
are severely lacking in yoga.
Most of the people teaching it
really don’t know
how the mind works,
where to put the attention,
and all sorts of stuff like that.
Everybody just monkey sees and monkey does.

It’s the same in martial arts,
but not as bad.

Anyway,
I suggest finding some free beginners stuff,
and supplementing it with

Black Belt Yoga

The ‘belts’
(levels of difficulty)
are accompanied by very simple but thorough
advices on what, exactly,
you are supposed to be doing in yoga.

Try it,
you’ll find your martial arts shining
with new awareness,
and your abilities will grow.
Furthermore,
nobody has ever done what I did here.
Everybody makes a sequences of yoga poses
based on what they like to do.
I put the poses in actual order of difficulty.

The republishing is going well,
I’ve included a short catalogue below.
Check out the various links.
They should work,
and eventually I’ll get them all in the websites.
and have a great work out!

Al

PS ~ sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

It’s expensive to pay Mailchimp and I want to cancel it.

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

THE LAST MARTIAL ARTS BOOK
Amazon

Barnes and Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-martial-arts-book-al-case/1146217369?ean=9798227617200

ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
Amazon

ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
Thriftbooks
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/advanced-tai-chi-chuan-for-real-self-defense/53758888/?srsltid=AfmBOoqJyWkLdO18y0RFUxGoTb3CDXCgAXTk-VB_hvu2NHQwKZOqPBmK#edition=71844464&idiq=72002772

FIVE MARTIAL ARTS!

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
Amazon

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
Thriftbooks
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/how-to-fix-karate-book-one/53863237/?srsltid=AfmBOooDYRdXJmWmsSkzxxtHX9PDU2c6L1kFl2cSe0tH0MWpwhjvqBk5#edition=71905055&idiq=72156439

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
amazon

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
bookshop
https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-fix-karate-book-two-al-case/21839401

BLACK BELT YOGA
amazon

BLACK BELT YOGA
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-belt-yoga-al-case/1121852191

THE BOOK OF MATRIXING
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=THE+BOOK+OF+MATRIXING&crid=306WX8EKZIXJE&sprefix=the+book+of+matrixing%2Caps%2C167&ref=nb_sb_noss

THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS

THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS
BooksaMillion
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Book-Neutronics/Al-Case/9798227766922?id=9287395896456

HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hidden-techniques-of-karate-al-case/1146377079

HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
Amazon

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The Myths of Ed Parker’s Kenpo Karate!

Posted on October 18, 2024 | Leave a comment

Kenpo History Sort of a Mess

Kenpo Karate is one of the most popular martial arts in the world, and the history is, to put it lightly, a mess.

There are three men who brought Kenpo to the streets of America. These are James Mitose, William ‘Thunderbolt Chow, and Ed Parker.

James Mitose learned the art at a temple in Japan. Except, there is no temple there. The area is the home of kosho sect of the Yoshida clan, so maybe. Except…when you think about it, would there be much significance if your instructor learned Karate at a Baptist church somewhere in Illinois? 

Yes, there are differences in culture, and there is a potential zen aspect to it all, but churches are basically meeting places.

The second man in this lineage is William ‘Thunderbolt’ Chow. Professor Chow claimed that he originally learned martial arts from his father, a Buddhist priest. Except, there are no records of his father as a priest. And how does that tie in with the Kenpo he learned from James Mitose?

The third man in this saga is Edmund Parker.

Parker brought Karate to the mainland, began teaching  martial arts while at Brigham Young University. Except, he is said to have taught his students all he knew – he was only a brown belt – and when he went home and tried to get more to teach…Professor Chow wouldn’t teach him anything because he had been instructing without permission!

Now, there are a lot more sordid details to this story. There are fights and arguments and people slandering one another, and the reader might think, at this point, the this writer is writing black headlines just to sell an article. Except…the real problem here is not the three men, it is the students learning their kenpo karate martial art.

People seem to need to bolster themselves up, to give themselves airs, to make themselves sound more important than they are. 

So when Mitose says, in an offhanded remark, ‘Yes, my father used to show me tricks when I was a kid. We were living next to a church then, and we would roll around on the grass in the side yard. Lot of fun…’ the student bows deep and realizes that his instructor studied at a zen temple, was beaten with a bamboo rod for dozing, and had to go through rigamarole that would make Gordon Liu envious.

And when Thunderbolt Chow says, ‘Yes, my father had dreams of being a priest, talked about it often. Priests know really great martial arts, you know,’ the student holds his finger aloft as the lightening strikes him, and knows that he studying ancient and arcane mysteries written down in scrolls dating back to the time of Buddha.

And when Parker says, ‘My instructor didn’t have any more to teach me,’ the student catches his breath and claps his hands together, for obviously his instructor has surpassed his instructor, and the student is the real beneficiary of all this light and goodness.

Yes, there are people who spread rumor and prevarication to make themselves look good, but it is up to the student to be discerning and find out the real truth…and, there is a lesson to be learned here.

The lesson is that man learns best from his mistakes. He learns a little bit from doing something well, but he learns A LOT from messing up. And these three men, James Mitose, William ‘Thunderbolt’ Chow, and Ed Parker, they were human, and they messed up.

So, are we going to make them saints and pretend they made no mistakes? Or are we going to look extra hard at their mistakes and learn, truly learn, from them?

The author began studying Kenpo Karate in 1967. He has written a perspective of Kenpo called ‘How to Create Kenpo.’ In that three volume series he offers a unique perspective of Kenpo. Subscribe to his blog at MonsterMartialArts.com

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Martial Arts and a Hurricane!

Posted on October 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

Republished More Martial Arts Books!

You guys ever been in a hurricane?
I live in Clearwater,
and we had our second hurricane in two weeks
and, man, it was a HOOT!

First,
is there a hurricane martial arts out there?
I’ve read theories of swinging the arms in circular motions,
and how you have to mentally be the eye of the storm,
and, of course, lots of techniques named things like
‘hurricane fists!’

If you know of one,
let me know.
I’ll look into it for an article.

Second,
to be in a hurricane is incredible experience.

Here’s the set up…
the news media goes crazy trying to scare you.
You’re all going to die!
You have to leave your home!
There will be no emergency services
when you almost die
and there won’t be any food!
And on and on and on.

So,
I ignore the naysayers.
They are all idiots.
I get gas for my car,
stock up on water and food,
have a way to cook when the electricity goes out.
Then I sit back and watch the roads jam up.
And the shelves empty.
And, of course,
the people on TV are going crazy trying to scare you.

Here’s the actual fact…
The wind goes up to 30 or 40 MPH
spatters of rain.
The lights flicker.
The people on 
TV tell you you are going to die
and they won’t even find your body!

Then the wind raise up to 50 or 60, with 75 to 80 gusts.
The carport starts banging,
so I go out and tie it down with a garden hose
and run my car over the hose.
End of emergency.

Things start slamming into the house,
it’s time to go to the shookie.
A shookie (sp?) is a little brick shithouse.
It is designed for hurricanes and laughs at them.
I have a bed set up in there,
water,
lights and books.
I call my family on my cell phone
in the middle of the hurricane.
They are all crying and whining and
wailing and sobbing.
AL, YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!
I ask them if they’ve been watching the news.
Yep.
Poor fools.

A few hours the wind dies down
and I go back in the house and watch TV,
and the news people talk about bridges out
and pets abandoned and…
they can’t scare you anymore
so they try to make you sad.
Idiots.

Now,
in all honesty,
if I thought the hurricane was a big one
and it really was going to hit me square on
I’d have left,
or at least gone into the shookie earlier.
I’ve lived through four or five hurricanes now,
and they are scary,
but unless they hit you dead on,
or you live in a cardboard box,
nothing to worry about.

I advise that you do your homework,
however,
before you do what I do,
before you live through one.

But,
you want to know the truth?
I’ve lived through some incredible martial arts training.
I know when to be scared,
and when to laugh.
I even know when to laugh when scared!

So that’s my adventure,
and the real news is that I’ve got about 9 or 10 books republished.
I have included a big section below with links.
Note that Amazon is publishing me again,
but through third parties.
Also note that other book stores are picking me up.
If enough people order through Barnes and Noble
they’ll probably put it in their brick and mortar stores.

Okay,
guys and gals,
get ready for the next hurricane and…
PRACTICE THOSE MARTIAL ARTS!

and try this link…
HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hidden-techniques-of-karate-al-case/1146377079

It’s a heck of a book that goes into a LOT of stuff.

Al

PS ~ you should sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com

It’s expensive to pay Mailchimp and I want to cancel it.

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

THE LAST MARTIAL ARTS BOOK
Amazon

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ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
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ADVANCED TAI CHI CHUAN FOR REAL SELF DEFENSE!
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FIVE MARTIAL ARTS!

HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
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HOW TO FIX KARATE! (1)
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HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
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HOW TO FIX KARATE! (2)
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BLACK BELT YOGA
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BLACK BELT YOGA
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THE BOOK OF MATRIXING
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THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS

THE BOOK OF NEUTRONICS
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HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
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HIDDEN TECHNIQUES OF KARATE
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American Kenpo Karate Problems!

Posted on October 7, 2024 | Leave a comment

The Things That Went Wrong With American Kenpo Karate

Here’s a short article on some of the things that happened Kenpo Karate, and made it less than it could be. If you disagree, leave a comment and detail why. Have a great work out! Al

I walked into my first American Kenpo Karate dojo back in 1967. This was the Rod Martin variation of Tracys Kenpo, which was an offshoot of Ed Parker Kenpo Karate. Therein is the first problem with American Kenpo.

It grew too fast. In the orient teachers didn’t teach until they had a minimum of a decade of experience, had studied under a variety of teachers and had learned a variety of martial arts styles. We were borning senseis every three years, which is how long it took to make a black belt back then.

Of course, there is also the problem of which kenpo is the true kenpo? Ed Parker, you see, developed five different kenpos. If you learned an earlier version, is it now considered…less than kenpo?

And, this bring us to the fact that there are variations on the variations. There are people who have evolved combat kenpo and tournament kenpo and MMA kenpo, and so on. It seems there are as many kenpos as there are people studying it.

I first became aware of this problem, too many variations, while putting together Monkey Boxing, which, in one sense, is my version of kenpo, or at least as close as I can come to a kenpo. I had studied the version of a version of it way back when, then I picked up Larry Tatum Kenpo, and I had some of the kenpo connection material, then I came across rather massive instruction manuals on Olympic kenpo, and I believe I had two other versions of the art.

As I went through the endless techniques I saw how the changes were sometimes small, and sometimes large, but always unique to the person making the changes. Now, to be sure, every art should be an expression of the individual, and kenpo does seem suited to this. Still, it would be nice to have a specific set of concepts, and maybe a list of techniques that would standardize the kenpo field before individual martial arts masters expanded it with their own variations.

In the end, I boiled the techniques of five complete arts, with a couple or three partial arts, down to forty techniques. I am sure there will be some who shake their heads at this. After all, how can one summate over 500 techniques, and all the evolutions thereof, with but 40 techniques?

Well, I offer no excuse, I merely invite you to try your own hand at collecting sufficient variations that you might have a complete overview of the art. Then, start organizing the data. It will be difficult, definitely a number nine headache, but you might find yourself a true master of American Kenpo Karate.

Al Case, the greatest martial arts writer of all time (nearly 2 million words in print), is at Monster Martial Arts. You can examine his 40 technique version of American Kenpo Karate there. Make sure you pick up his free ebook on Matrixing, and sign up for the newsletter.

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Back in the Beginning of Kenpo…

Posted on September 30, 2024 | Leave a comment

A Bit of Kenpo History

I began studying Kenpo in 1967. 

It was so unknown that it was called Kenpo Karate so it could be identified with the art of Karate. Not that that many people knew what karate was.

Kenpo was born in Japan. There are many lineages, but the specific Kenpo that is so widely known these days came from James Mitose, Thunderbolt Chow, Ed Parker, and finally, an instructor near you.

Martial Arts were not studied widely at the time, and usually it was fellows who were tough, who looked forward to the street fight, who studied them.

Kenpo came from Okinawan Karate and Japanese Jujitsu. There were other sourcss, many and varied, but the American style Kenpo you might study was likely based, at least in the beginning, on these arts.

Right from the outset Americans realized that Kenpo could be marketed more easily through tournaments, so we studied our freestyle rabidly, and we looked forward to the weekend trips.

For such a violent art, the participants at these tournaments proved to be a polite bunch. Schools were located a distance apart and there wasn’t much competition. Instructors actually looked forward to seeing each other, to comparing notes, and even learning a ‘secret’ technique or two.

And, outside of school, fights did happen. Proud warriors, Kenpo stylists, all martial artists, were happy to step up to a challenge, take umbrage at a veiled insult, trade fists with a goon.

We were more rabid back then. We didn’t do ten or twenty kicks and think we were done, we would do a couple of hundred and chide ourselves for being lazy. We would do forms by the hour. See if we could do 60 forms in an hour.

In short, we would exhaust ourselves. We would go for a run, do some weightlifting, and then freestyle for a couple of hours in class, and know that we were doing it right.

Mistakes? We made a ton of them. But over time we fixed them; the martial arts tend to be self fixing; the turn of the foot, the line of the wrist, the physics of the universe corrected us and were our teachers.

And now, near fifty years later, all we wish is one thing: to do it all again. To do Karate and Kenpo, to throw and kick and punch to our hearts content.

And we feel sorry for all those people who quit early, or who were born too late, or who were just too lax in their training to really find the truth: You are what you do, that is your measure, and that is your worth.

If you want a REALLY good book on Kenpo, consider ‘How to Create Kenpo’ by Al Case. It has the real history, the one you don’t hear much about, plus a section on how to do forms, plus 150 kenpo techniques, thoroughly analyzed so that you can be the best Kenpoka you can be. That’s How to Create Kenpo. The hard work is up to you.

SPECIAL NOTE: How to Create Kenpo went out of print, but it is due to be republished in the very short future.

EXTRA SPECIAL NOTE: Here is a website with the nasty history behind Kenpo. The Man Who Killed Kenpo. The comments are truly amazing!

Don’t forget to join the blog.

 

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Republishing the Book of Five Martial Arts!

Posted on September 30, 2024 | Leave a comment

A Book on Five Martial Arts!

Okay,
just republished ‘Five Martial Arts.
It’s on Amazon at

Five Martial Arts!

You’ll see the basic house forms from Matrix Karate,
the two man forms from Shaolin Butterfly
and from Butterfly Pa Kua Chang.
The lines from Tai Chi Chuan
and the basic training moves from Monkey Boxing.

This is a a hefty book with 164 pages and 300 illustrations

It’s also a nifty look at how I progressed from soft to hard,
included fighting techniques, and so on.

Most important, it’s easy to do.
It will change how you look at and do your martial arts.

I’ll keep you updated as to when new books come out!

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

PS ~ you should sign up for the blog at
https://alcase.wordpress.com
or
http://www.monstermartialarts.com

It’s expensive to pay Mailchimp and I want to cancel it.

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

The Last Martial Arts Book

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

How to Fix Karate! (1)

How to Fix Karate! (2)

Five Martial Arts

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