The Muscle that Isn’t!

Newsletter 1015

Here’s a good question for you…

Happy afternoon!
I hope you guys are all eating ribs off the barbie, eh?
Mmm.
Oh, wait,
this isn’t the cooking channel…
this is MARTIAL ARTS!

So,
what is the one moving body part?
That’s an easy one.
The muscles.
They are the only body part that actually moves.
The kidney doesn’t move,
it just goes on for the ride.
The brain doesn’t move,
it just sits in the skull and imitates a rock.
Heh.
So the muscles move.
So here’s some stuff to think about.

A muscle is a motor.
The matrix definitiion of a motor…
‘A motor is two poles between which there is tension.’
Push or pull, doesn’t matter.

Now,
all muscles should work together,
so when you move a lot of motors (muscles) make motion.

the individual muscle is a motor in that it has two ends (poles)
and there is pull between those two points.

Muscles can make a motor against other muscles.

But,
here’s the weird one,
there is in your body something I have decided to call…
‘tacking muscles.’
Now,
honestly,
I don’t know exactly how to define this term.
It comes from the process of ‘tacking,’
which is when you shift the sails of a boat
so the boat can sail against the wind.
Have you ever thought about how weird that is?
But it’s ingenious.

So,
when you stretch,
when you reach up for the sky
what muscles are contracting
to make you longer?
Those are the tacking muscles.

And,
I’ll be honest,
after much thought,
I don’t think I can define what muscles actually cause
this ‘tacking’ of the body.

this is one of those weird questions
I can’t really wrap my head around.
I have stood and stretched,
especially in yoga,
and asked myself what muscle is doing what.
I have the weird idea
that if I can figure this out
it will make me a better martial artist.

Maybe one of you guys out there
can enlighten me,
or at least be as confused as me.

Anyway,
the muscles are important,
I see people get old,
and they are always ‘out of muscle.’
They have ignored the one moving body part.
They talk about the right food,
but they never look at the one moving body part
that makes EVERY other part of the body healthy.

Motion massages the innards,
there are trigger points
that are activated by muscle motion,
and so on.

The martial arts are one of the few activities
that enhance every muscle in the body.
Yoga is good,
gymnastics are good,
but martial arts are…FUN!

Now if i could only figure out where the tracking muscles are.

Hey,
obligatory advertisement coming up…

Check out
‘Evolution of an Art.’
It is three arts,
that’s three different viewpoints
of all the muscles in the body.
Here’s the link…

3a Evolution of a Martial Art

Now,
have a great work out,
and build up your appetite for that old barbie.
Mmmm.

Al

BTW
Thanks to those guys who volunteered to read and review my novel…
Monkeyland

Turning up the Heat in a Martial Arts Class

Newsletter 1014

Heat Makes for a Pure Art!

bagua zhang style martial arts are the best!

Good morning!
It’s a perfect Wednesday!

You know,
I have a special deal for any of you guys
who like intense novels.
It’s at the end,
but let’s talk about heat first.

The body is a machine.
And it is a motor.
What is the difference between a machine and a motor?
A machine is a series of motors to accomplish a purpose.
A motor…wait for it…drum roll…
CREATES A HEAT!

The heat can be used for various things.
More action being prime.

When you work out,
when you use the motor that is your body,
what happens?
Your body gets hot.
Sometimes you have to cool it down.
Generally speaking,
what I have told you is totally accurate.

So,
what does this have to do with the price of pickles in Italy?

One of the clever little tricks the body does,
when you pump it up,
is cleanse.
Motion creating heat will purify the body.

Understanding this,
and remembering my days
sweating in the dojo…
(130 degrees in San Jose)
And remembering how much fun it was,
every once in a while I would turn up the heat in a class.

I mean,
REALLY
turn up the heat.

Half hour before class I would close the doors and windows
and turn the heat as high as it would go.
Man,
these guys would come in
and sweat just from standing there,
and then the fun would start.
That would be a day
when I ran them through basics half the class,
then ran them through forms the next half,
and then the third half we would freestyle.

Oh, it was fun.
They would be dragging.
Exhausted.
I would let them drink as much water as they wanted,
This was sort of unusual.
I don’t usually let students take breaks for any reason.
What?
You’re going to take a break in the middle of a fight?

Now,
I was careful in pairing students,
and I watched them closely.
Exhaustion leads to mistakes,
and I didn’t want anybody to get hurt.

But they would sweat,
and if their uniform wasn’t TOTALLY soaked
by the time class was ended,
I knew I had failed.

And,
a short aside,
when I first moved to Los Angeles,
taught my first class,
we met in an attic.
Heat rises,
and one fellow told me
he actually lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks.
Yowza!

Now,
the point here is this:
Karate is a pure art.
And it must be made pure.
And to have a pure art,
you must have a pure body,
so I would turn up the heat,
they would sweat,
and the machines that were their bodies
sweated out toxins,
and what was left was the pure body,
and it made it easier to guide them to the pure art.

Now,
the original inspiration for this method
came from reading about summer classes in Japanese dojos,
reading about how students
would go to the front door and wring out their gis.

Later inspiration came from reading about Yoga classes.

Now,
the obligatory advertisement…

I recommend
Butterfly Pa Kua Chang.
The reason is that when I did that
the purification process
really seemed to kick into high gear.
And the sweat was different,
it was ‘silver.’
Really amazed me,
I mean,
sweat can have different colors?
But that’s what I perceived,
and I recommend you find out for yourself.
Here’s the link.

2b Butterfly Pa Kua Chang

Now,
have yourself a great and sweaty work out!

Al

2b Butterfly Pa Kua Chang

And, the special deal for people who like to read novels.
I recently republished ‘Monkeyland,’
and I am looking for reviews.
If any of you guys want to read,
then give me a review on Amazon,
I’ll send you a free copy of Monkeyland (Digital).

Email me at:
aganzul@gmail.com

Subject line: Monkeyland review.

I will send you a copy of the book.
And,
before you send the email,
check out the book,
see if it fits your reading preferences,
and make sure you glance at the reviews.
Here’s the link…

Increasing Power in the Martial Arts with Formulas

Newsletter 1012
The Formula for Power in the Martial Arts!

Good morning!
Happy Mother’s Day!

I thought you might like to look at
formulas in the martial arts today.
This is actually pretty hefty stuff,
and you might want to have a dictionary at hand,
especially when I talk about things like
mass, energy, and other physics terms.

First,
energy is the capacity for work.
Work is the amount of weight lifted.
So the deeper the stance,
the more weight your muscles feel.
The more weight you feel,
the harder you work.
The harder you work,
the stronger you get.
This strength is channeled to the tan tien
and then to the rest of the body.

Second,
when practicing,
I move slow.
Moving slowly increases the amount of time
I am lifting the weight of my body.
Thus, I am lifting more,
thus, I am getting stronger.

Third,
when doing forms,
I use dynamic tension.
Dynamic tension is when you use
muscles against muscles,
and even
muscles against themselves.

Fourth,
when doing applications
I increase speed,
because
speed times mass increases the mass.
100 pounds of punch at one second
becomes 200 pounds of punch at 2 seconds.
And so on.

Fifth,
I try to make sure my body is properly aligned.
This creates a connection from the fist to the planet,
or the technique to the planet,
so when I hit somebody,
it actually feels like I am hitting them with the planet.
And when I get hit,
it feels like they are hitting the planet.

Sixth,
I try to use CBM
‘Coordinated Body Motion,’
all body parts move at the same time
starting at the same time
ending at the same time,
contributing appropriate to their
size, mass, angle, and so on.

Seventh,
I try to CBM all the formulas.
Putting them together when appropriate,
focusing on specific formulas when appropriate,
and so on.

And,
of course,
I practice all the time.
The more I practice
the more these formulas and concepts work.

So that’s it.

Oh,
there are lots of other formulas in Matrixing.
But these are pretty specific to action and movement.
And they should help you
when you analyze what you are doing and why.
They should really make your art POP!

Now,
here’s the thing…

I learned the first formula from doing Karate
I learned the second formula from doing Tai Chi Chuan.
I learned the third formula from doing Pan Gai Noon.
I learned the fourth formula from Karate.
And so on.

So you have to study a lot of different arts
to get all this.

You know what?
Evolution of an Art has three arts on it.

Pan Gai Noon
Kang Duk Won
Kwon Bup

It’s a good place to start.
The price of a night on the town
and it will feed your mind and spirit for years.
It will certainly help you make serious inroads
into the formulas I listed here.

Here’s the link…

Evolution of an Art!

Now,
go get your mommy some flowers!
And have a great work out!
Al

Evolution of an Art!

BTW ~ have you read my novel…Monkeyland?

Martial Arts Power from Stances!

Newsletter 1010

Proper Martial Arts Stances!

Hey guys and gals!
Good Florida morning!
I hope the rest of the US is as happy as we are down here.

Now,
last issue I talked about footwork.
But footwork doesn’t mean diddly,
if you aren’t connected to the ground.

The body is a motor,
and a motor won’t work
if it isn’t connected to something.
Tied down.
So it doesn’t just flop around.

So…
I remember the big myth about stances.
Everybody was talking about…
all the books were writing about…
distribution of weight in stances.

In the front stance
you have 70% of your weight on the front foot
In the back stance…you have 30%
Or some other percentage,
like 60/40,
and the percentages were worked out for other stances.
Then some guy put out two bathroom scales
and all stances were 50/50.

So this is what I want you to do,
sink into your stance
and don’t overly weight one foot or the other.
Have both feet gripping the ground.

Like your two fingers might grip an apple,
use your two feet to grip the earth.

So your front stance is now sort of a horse stance
with the body more on the front leg than the rear.

Your back stance is now a horse stance
with the body more on the rear leg than the front.

Your feet might be turned a little differently,
but it is still a horse stance,
and…
most important…
YOU ARE GRIPPING THE GROUND!

Instead of taking a big step with the front foot
when shifting from the front stance to the rear stance,
just do a little shift.

You get the same amount of weight transferred into the punch,
but you don’t waste motion.
It will be faster and more concise.
It will be more…usable.

As for cat stances?
I don’t do them.
People say they free up the front leg for kicking.
I say that tells your opponent what you are going to do.
So I take a narrow hourglass stance
and turn one foot,
and shift the weight back slightly.

Twisted or Dragon stances?
Good for exercise,
I recommend them for exercise,
but not for fighting.
Never seen a dragon stance used in a fight.
But I do see the conditioning they impart
as useful in a fight.

Stances where you are just standing with your feet together?
Why?
You would NEVER,
in your wildest dreams,
use that in a fight.
That is just ritual.
Stupid.

Okay,
do you get the idea?

I know,
it flies in the face of traditional stances,
but traditional stances are tainted.
They have been adjusted to teaching groups,
and have lost their workability.
traditional stances don’t work well
except as they promote the singular concept
of dropping the weight.

So play with this concept,
do your forms out of slightly off center horse stances,
play with the direction of the feet,
find out what intention they support
before they become less than useful.

And let me know how it goes.

Now,
there is a big PS below,
do me a favor and glance at it,

but for now,
that’s it and…

Have a great work out

Al

BIG PS

I write other books.
And they help support me
and this website.

I have two releases this month.

MONKEYLAND
Is a re-release.
Fully edited,
new cover,
and a whomper stomper of a story.
If you like tight action,
intense plotting and dialogue,
this will fill the bill.
Check it out at…
MONKEYLAND

three 5-star rating so far!

And,
my other book this month…

THE SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT

Again, only three reviews,
but all 5-star.

Just read the reviews.
see what people are saying…
it’s like matrixing for politics

So,
if you look my traffic is better,
if you buy you directly support matrixing
and a better world.
Thanks.

Al

Controlling Your Mind in the Martial Arts

Newsletter 1009

Making Your Mind Behave…

Good morning! Good morning!
I made it to Clearwater, Florida,
and am advertising for students.
Yippee!
Back in the saddle again.

So how are you guys doing?
Do you work out every single day?
I do.
Can’t stop.
Even if I’m beat and battered,
then I simply work out slowly,
tai chi style.
Tai Chi is a wonderful art,
and outside of matrixed martial arts,
it is one of the two most powerful classical arts I know.
(the other is karate)

Unfortunately,
most people think it is for health,
and old people,
and not much use for self defense.

I’ll tell you something interesting,
I don’t think I really began to truly understand
martial arts and self defense
until I began to delve into Tai Chi.

Oh,
I could beat people up.
But not if they were better and faster than me.
But once I learned Tai Chi
I began to relax in combat,
to see what people were going to do
before they did it.

The trick,
of course,
is to develop the patience.
When you are first doing that slow ‘ward off’ move,
you ask,
how can this work?
Aside form being slow,
it doesn’t have much application.
But the secret of learning
is to keep looking at something
until you understand it.

So I looked and looked
and went slower,
and…here it comes…
FORCED MY MIND TO SLOW DOWN!

Yes,
your mind is an errant child,
throwing distractions at you.
But if you MAKE yourself move slowly,
and MAKE your mind accept a different mode of thinking,
then everything becomes understandable,
and even those weird moves suddenly make sense.
And you find the applications.
And you find out that there is a vast world
of balance and sensitivity
of perception and appreciation.

Unfortunately,
if you don’t do this,
if you don’t MAKE your mind behave,
you miss out on all this wonder.
And you actually miss out
on a lot of the true meaning of the Martial Arts.

Just saying…

So here’s the Tai Chi Package.
Will help you look,
will help you MAKE your mind behave,
will show you some of the incredible self defenses,
that other arts miss out on.

2ca Tai Chi Chuan Package

If you’re here in Clearwater I hope to see you some day,
And…
Everybody have a great work out!!

Al

A Martial Arts Home Run!

Newsletter 1007

Release of New and MASSIVE Martial Arts Course

Okay,
7th game of the world series,
top of the 9th
full count
the bases are loaded
the pitcher winds up
he pitches…
CRACK!
Al Case hits a martial arts home run.
Don’t believe me?
Go here…

Research & Development Course

Incidentally,
another release,
just as magnificent,
I compiled the books I have written on matrixing in…
‘The Book of Matrixing.’
You’ll see the ad on the right side of the Nine Square site.

Everybody have a great work out!!

Al

Nine Square Diagram Bonus material

Newsletter 1006

Extra Bonus on Nine Square Diagram!

Hi guys and gals,
I just put up a couple of extra bonuses
on the Nine Square Diagram courses.

So if you have bought these courses

go check out the new bonuses.

The hard side gets a video
with more data on lop sau.

The soft side gets a video
and more data on push hands.

I included a video
on how the three freestyles fit together.
It’s a freestyle sequence,
and it will help everybody understand
how matrixing works with freestyle.

If you are getting this email
and don’t know what I’m talking about
check out this site…

https://9squarediagramboxing.wordpress.com

It’s got everything you need to know.
and a great work out, too!

Al

HanaKwanMass Martial Arts!

This is the ultimate Martial Arts course

It is that time of year again,
some old guy breaks into your house
and leaves a bunch of stuff.
And you’re supposed to leave him a cookie.
Huh!

Well,
I know how to celebrate Christmas,
first off,
you call it HanaKwanMass!
Doesn’t matter what holiday somebody celebrates,
you’ve got him covered,
and you’ve managed to offend everybody at once!
Ha!

Second off,
a telling of the traditional
Monster Martial Arts Christmas Poem,
which you will find at the end of this short epistle.

Third,
a big thank you to all who have purchased
The Nine Square Diagram Boxing course.
A lot of people asked for these videos,
here’s a win from one of them.

Dear Mr. Case,
The Nine Square Boxing (hard and soft)and two bonuses downloaded without any problems.

Watched some of the course last night. Started with the Q & A (glad you did that). After the Q & A I went through the first 5 segments of Part One. Plan on watching more today.

It’s been taking me a while to appreciate the nine square pattern. I’ve had the Shaolin Butterfly dvd since March and the Nine Squares paper book since July, but last night it finally sunk in while I watched the first five segments of Part One. I’ve have always preferred the simple 4 or 8 step basic kata (+ pattern) and drilling just one or two things, but I like the direction changes in the nine square more. I have a new favorite with the nine square.
Don H

Thanks Don.

you know, just to let you guys know,
wins are what really keep me going.
Life gets tough,
I feel out of sorts,
and I just open up the 600 or so pages of wins
and read a few.
Takes me right to the top
re-enforces my purpose,
makes life worth living.
such a simple thing,
yet so important to me.

That said, here’s the link
https://9squarediagramboxing.wordpress.com

And, there is actually a new release.
I’ve actually been working on this for a while,
and the release has given me an immense amount of satisfaction.
Here’s the link…

The Book of Neutronics

The book of Neutronics is the books I’ve written on Neutronics.

Five books, usually costing $50,
but this collection in one volume is only $20.

It includes
The Neutronic Viewpoint
Prologue
Neutronics
The 24 Principles
Outside the Tube

That is a massive amount of information.
About 300 pages worth.
And it is all about what is actually behind the martial arts.
It is the science behind the science.

And, an advice,
don’t bother getting it if you don’t like to read and think.
But,
if you are ready to understand the mysteries,
the mysticism,
the real reasons behind the martial arts…
this is it.

And,
that is about it.

You guys and gals have a great and wonderful HanaKanMass,
and a great work out, too!

Al

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

Twas the night before Christmas
I was in my shack
primed and ready
for the red fat attack.

my weapons were loaded
the windows were barred
all would be safe
while I was on guard

The chimney was decked
with concertina wire
I crouched by the couch
ready to fire.

I had an M60
with ammo to feed
I didn’t care
if the red fat did bleed.

A loaded shotgun
and grenades to spare
when red fat came down
I’d blow him out of there.

Throwing stars and knives
and a really long sword
and if that didn’t work
I knew a bad word.

Sitting there late
my eyes started to close
when suddenly I heard
a bunch of ho hos.

Off with the lights
safety off, too
I  watched the fire close
and heard a sound from the flu.

‘Ouch and gosh darn it
who put the wire here
those are my undies
starting to tear!’

Then a shower of soot
and a grunt and a groan
he landed in the fire
and gave out a moan.

He was rubbing the place
where the wire did tear
so I held down the trigger
and lead filled the air.

belt after belt
did I deal the red fat
he danced and he jumped
I knew he felt that!

then quicker than spit
I ran out of lead
but enough was enough
he had to be dead.

Boy was I shocked
to see him stand tall
stepping out of the fireplace
not bothered at all.

So I grabbed up the 16
to mow him down
he had to be hurting
cause I saw his big frown.

Then I was empty
and he came straight for me
I pulled out my knives
and sliced him with glee

He jumped to the side
moving real quick
disarmed my knives
with a well placed kick

then he dropped the big bag
he had on his shoulder
reached forth his arms
and his anger did smolder

He grabbed hard my neck
and held me up high
I tried kicks and punches
but I was like a fly

Not karate nor judo
no art did work
and he grinned a mean grin
and called me a jerk

‘Don’t you know
you stupid little man
Christmas is forever
in spite of your plan.’

Then he threw me aside
and proceeded to work
giving presents to all
and to me a great smirk

And when he left
the great big red fat
he left me a lump of coal
the big red fat rat!

HanaKwanMass to you and yours forever!

New Martial Arts Course!

Newsletter 1004

The Nine Square Diagram Course!

What better way to celebrate HanaKwanMass

than to announce a new course!

HanaKwanMass is

of course

Hanukkah, Kwanza and Christmas

And the new course is…

The Nine Square Diagram Boxing Course!

Now, it comes in two parts.

Part one is the hard style.

Part two is the soft style.

You can buy them separately,

or buy them together.

And, there are bonuses.

On the hard course,

I give the Nine Square Diagram Book.

No bonus on the soft style course

But,

get both hard and soft courses,

and you get the Master Instructor Course.

That’s right,

a whole course,

and probably the best course I’ve got.

It straightens up ANY martial art.

Gets rid of the stuff that is confusing

and leaves you with hard core physics

as the real backbone of the martial arts.

Right now the course is all digital.

A week or two and I’ll get the physical disks up,

And,

let me say it now,

this is the cumulation of everything

I have learned over 50 years.

It is complete,

includes virtually every other art,

and matrixes everything.

Hard to soft.

Concepts from any art.

Everything.

I mean it when I say it is the last art

you will ever have to study.

And,

it is pretty much the only art I do anymore.

All the classical arts I spent years figuring out,

they have been replaced.

All the techniques,

combined and condensed into true workability.

in the ring,

in the meditation chamber,

in the dojo,

in your backyard…

this really is the best art in the world.

So,

check it out.

the website is new,

just bare bones,

but I have an order page up.

https://9squarediagramboxing.wordpress.com

And,

a word,

because it is brand new there may be bugs.

If you encounter one just let me know at

aganzul@gmail.com.

I stand behind everything I do,

and i will fix any bugs as quickly as I can.

Now,

have a great work out!

Al

Justin Earns 4th Black Belt!

Newsletter 1003

A New Fourth Black Belt!

Happy Covid!
Hope you’re enjoying your vacation,
and that all is well with your friends and families.

Haven’t been writing much lately,
well I have,
actually I’ve been writing 8 hours a day,
but it’s been in other fields.
Simply,
I need to make some money.

That lame excuse out in the universe,
let me say…

CONGRATS TO JUSTIN HARRIS
Justin just earned his black in Shaolin Butterfly,
which, with the other arts he has studied
earns him a fourth degree black belt.

WELL DONE!

Now that’s a guy who takes advantage of the Corona crisis!

Okay,
Since I haven’t been writing much lately,
you can always catch up on old writings.
First,
the inexpensive way,
just go to
https://alcase.wordpress.com
and start reading the blog.
There’s probably
a 1000 blogs there.

Or,
if you want to go a bit more in depth,
I compiled all my articles in a ten book series.
The Biggest Martial Arts Lesson

That’s a lot of articles,
near a thousand,
and they cover EVERYTHING!
Or,
you could just start ordering courses,
stop reading about and start experiencing.

You know,
I came across an interesting question today.
It was something to do with how many defenses you need
to really protect yourself
I started to chuckle,
cause the guy had it backwards.
You don’t worry about how many things you can do,
you just worry about what he is going to do.
If you are worried about what you will do
you are introverting,
and not looking out,
to where the danger is.
So look outwards
and learn to analyze strikes.

Do you know how many punches there are?
Six.
That’s all.
So let me cover this in more or less logical (matrixed) fashion.

There are two punches left and right
There are two types of punches straight and circular
There are two modes of punches snap and thrust

When you matrix these, and toss out things that don’t work (you don’t snap a circular punch, for instance) You end up with six possible strikes. Of course they could sail in fron odd directions, but still, only six…

left straight snap
left straight thrust
left circular
right straight snap
right straight thrust
right circular

So,
first, watch for the kick.
No danger from punches or other strikes,
maybe from weapons,
but you will usually see if there is a weapon pretty quick.

Second, as you step in
the kick gets jammed,
easy to handle with a retreat or a turned hip, etc.
Now you have to worry about the punch,
but worry introverts,
so you just watch him.
I know some people say you have to train
for punches from the rear,
yes,
but as soon as you turn to him he is in the front,
so front training is where the punch is coming from.

Watch his feet to see if he is angling for a punch
watch his shoulders to see if he is loading
sidestep slowly,
always being ready,
and always moving so he can’t quite fix on you.

Third,
don’t worry about knees and elbows,
he has to close to use those,
and that is so obvious it is ridiculous.

And there it is.
Fighting is easy,
reading an opponent is easy.

Of course,
it all means nothing
if you don’t spend some time
hitting things so you can feel what it feels like
practicing forms so your body is in top top shape,
and just training like your life depends on it
because,
darn it,
it does.

Anyway,
that is sort of how you apply simple logic (matrixing) to fighting.

And,
obligatory ad,
you really should look into my courses,
because they are all like this,
simple and thorough,
realistic and fun.

That all said,
don’t worry about the Covid crisis,
because worrying is introverting
and life is out there.
Instead,
train hard and strengthen the immune system,
best medical advice I can give you.

Sensei Case

Have a great work out!

Al

Here is ‘The Last Martial Arts Book,’
Best one I have ever written,

Nine Square Diagram Boxing