I feel so-o-o good!
And it is all because of a work out.
Have you done your work out today?
You have?
Then do another one!
And feel double great!
Click on the cover!
I was going through my wins
came across this one.
I meant to print it a month ago,
but things happened,
and I lost it in the basket.
So here it is now,
an absolutely GREAT win!
I’ve trained on two continents officially hold 1 black belt, and unofficially am that level in 2 others. I am currently working through the purple belt level in your Kang Duk Won course. I have to say that the workout is as tough as anything I did in Hapkido. The KDW material is filling in all the holes I had in my training. It’s really amazing how much stuff the instructors leave out or don’t even know. About a year ago I was at the place where you started in developing matrixing. I was looking for ways to bridge all my training into a logical system apart from the individual styles. I am lucky I found your site. I saved myself about 40 years of headaches! Just keep up the good work. ~ Jason W.
Thanks
Jason W.
I truly appreciate your win.
And,
for everybody,
as Jason indicates,
after you get the basics of Matrixing down,
what do you do?
You look for places to fill out your training,
ways to put matrixing up against the classic.
Those old guys knew things,
they are not to be discounted.
And,
the Kang Duk Won was my first real art,
and understanding it through Matrixing
really makes it work.
It’s true that a lot of people
just can’t get to black belt.
There are too many holes,
too much incorrect data,
things out of place,
all sorts of things that are gone wrong.
But if you’ve done some Matrixing,
and especially Matrix Karate
and the Master Instructor course,
then taking a look at classical karate
is more than just crucial,
it is the next breath of martial arts
demanding to be taken.
Now you can study Kang Duk Won
through Temple Karate.
It’s got several of the forms.
And you can find it in Evolution of an Art.
And I believe the book I wrote on KDW
might be available on those courses.
but you should check out the courses first.
BUT,
the absolutely BEST way
to study Kang Duk Won
is through the mail order course,
which is at:
http://kangdukwon.com
I included all the old drills,
all the theory and concepts,
absolutely everything I could remember
concerning the Kang Duk Won.
It’s inexpensive, too.
If you’re not interested in matrixing,
it is still an amazing poke in the eye.
But if you have some matrixing under your belt,
then you have the tools to REALLY understand
what those old guys were saying
when they taught this incredible art.
It is,
BTW,
one of the purest,
if not the purest,
example of True Karate in existence.
Anyway,
check it out.
http://kangdukwon.com
HAPPY WORK OUT!
Al
go to and subscribe to this newsletter:
https://alcase.wordpress.com
Remember,
Google doesn’t like newsletters,
so this is the best way to ensure you get them.
Man! Aren’t summer work outs the best? You cleanse yourself through the purity of plain, old-fashioned sweat. Glorious!
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.
Defeating Distractions to Find the True Martial Art
Good afternoon! Special day tomorrow, I’ll tell you about it down the page, but before we get to it, remember this: the only way to celebrate this special day is to… work out!
Okay, hope your interest is piqued, but before we talk about that special day, let’s take a moment to talk about emotion.
Ultimately, you don’t want to have any emotion in your martial arts. You don’t want to cry, or feel fear, or anger, or any kind of emotion.
Emotion is a distraction. It gets in between the thought of what you are going to do, and the reality of what you do.
There is this thing called emotional content, Bruce Lee mentions it in ‘Enter the Dragon,’ but even that, ultimately, is a distraction.
To get to the pure state where you can read the mind of the attacker, see what he is going to do before he does it, and move with perfection, you must get rid of ALL emotion.
There is a problem, however. The problem is that nobody really knows what emotion is.
If you can stick with me through a couple of points I can help you understand, which is to say that I can help you understand something that nobody understands.
Here’s the dictionary definition for emotion: a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others: she was attempting to control her emotions | his voice was low and shaky with emotion | fear had become his dominant emotion.
But that doesn’t tell you what emotion is. That is like saying electricity goes through wires, but there is no mention of where electricity came from, what a generator is, or how electricity ‘flows’ through a wire.
It is an inadequate definition.
Here are three more definitions: 1 she was good at hiding her emotions: feeling, sentiment; reaction, response. 2 overcome by emotion, she turned away: passion, strength of feeling, warmth of feeling. 3 responses based purely on emotion: instinct, intuition, gut feeling; sentiment, the heart.
Again, these don’t tell you where emotion comes from, what has generated it, and how it really works.
So, here we go, here is what emotion actually is.
Emotion stems from motion inside the head.
And here is a truth, there are only people in this universe. Everything else in the universe, all the objects and non-living things (or ‘low living’ like animals) are the effect of motion in the universe.
A bug sits on a stalk, a frog sees the swaying stalk and must flick his tongue. A coyote sees the motion of the tongue, and is compelled to eat the frog.
The universe happens like dominoes. And, the ONLY thing in the universe that can upset the dominoes, can change the path of the falling dominoes, can change cause and effect, is a human being.
A human being has choice, and that ability, that decision making ability, is apart from the universe, and can cause the path of the universe to change and change and change.
So a human being can change the universe, but how does he change it? by having a thought first. So he thinks, and does what he thought about, and what he thought about comes to be.
But, in between the thought and the accomplishment, is emotion. Think about it:
A man wants to accomplish something, he sets out on the task, then he gets angry, or fearful, or otherwise emotional, and his ability to make accomplishment is lessened.
He was distracted.
Which brings us to the crux of the matter, why does man create these (his own) distractions? Why does he create emotion and waylay himself? Why?
What happens when you squeeze an lemon? Juice squirts out. Gets in your eye and you cry.
So a man creates emotion when he is squeezed, like a lemon, and ‘things’ squirt out.
things like fear, anger, hate, and so on.
And these things disrupt the mind, cause distraction, and obscure the basic thoughts that one may have.
When I was a child I was spanked, which is to say I was squeezed. I experienced fear, and pain, and anger, and that stuff, because I didn’t know what it is, it stayed with me for a long time.
It would even be fair to say that, like dominoes, certain of those emotions caused me to study martial arts. How weird.
So when you feel pain and anger and all those unpleasant things just say ‘no’ to them. Just refuse them. Refuse to dwell on that emotion, refuse to have motion inside your head, refuse to feel the lingering effects of being squashed (squeezed), and go about your life. Refuse the distraction and accomplish your thoughts.
Of course, it is not always easy to do that. Sometimes what is big in your head is greater than your ability to ignore.
That is where the martial arts come in.
The martial arts train you to accomplish an attack, no matter the distraction, and the heck with emotion.
No other practice on earth does this more efficiently or to greater effect.
You face your partner on the mat. He growls, people yell, you are tired, but because you have endured training, and pain and other distractions, and gotten to your black belt, you are able to ignore the distractions, move forward, and accomplish the thought of the strike, or the lock, or the takedown, or whatever.
You simply train yourself to ignore the motion inside your head, to ignore anything in the universe that tries to stop you, and you accomplish your thought.
Here’s a cruel trap, people who start the martial arts, then quit, were distracted. They let something squeeze them, and they quit. And the cruelty is that if they had kept going they would have found the ability that would have enabled them to ignore distractions, and accomplish their thoughts.
Catch 22. Yes?
One last thing I want to say about this. There are many people who fail, and, there are many people who are studying something thinking it is a martial art, when it isn’t.
You have to study the true martial arts. You have to find forms that work, and you have to make them work. You have to cleanse your techniques so they become pure and can show the thought that created them.
That path creates the discipline.
Just fighting does not. Fighting teaches you to fight. Doing the real martial arts, practicing techniques until you can make them work, that is the discipline of ignoring distractions and getting yourself to the point where you can make your thoughts work.
The best method, because incorrect movements (which are distractions) have been removed, is Matrix Karate.
Okay, that special day I was talking about. For me it is the most important day in the universe, for it is when I decided to have physical presence on this planet. Birthday.
And, if you have been following this blog for the last couple of decades, then you know I always ask for one, specific present.
Forgive me. If I have sent out the wrong order, didn’t answer an email, didn’t answer an email quickly said the wrong thing, didn’t understand something, failed in some way, if i have done ANYTHING that might have offended you, or caused you ANY sort of distraction…
Forgive me.
Help me clean up my universe, help me not have the distractions of bad service, poor communications, or ANYTHING else.
Good Lard…it’s summer! And absolutely perfect for learning another art. So which art do you want to learn this summer? A hard art to go with the soft? Soft to go with the hard? Weapons? Tai Chi? I mean, why not? what else do you have to do? And there is nothing else that is better for you.
Click here to get the whole story on Matrixing the Martial Arts
Okay, every once in a while I like to go over what Matrixing is, and suggested methods of study.
Matrixing is a system of logic. It is based upon analyzing potential motion. It is applicable to any art, and to any system.
But here’s the thing… the martial arts are put togethers. As such they are conglomerations of what worked for individuals. But these are all based on what an individual prefers, or works for his body, or the culture he has grown up in, and so on.
The result has been a lot of mystery, which is hidden by calling it mysticism.
So if you apply matrixing to your martial art, it becomes logical, and thus easier to learn, and there won’t be hidden spots. No more mysticism. Just hard core science.
That is matrixing in a nutshell. You can find out a lot more about it by subscribing to the newsletter, (alcase.wordpress.com), and just thinking about how it can be applied to your art.
Okay, recommended ways of studying matrixing.
Each course looks at the martial arts from a specific viewpoint, from a specific art or concept. If you have a specific weakness in your system, say…no weapons, or too hard, or something like that, you can just study the art that will take care of that weakness. Guaranteed, the logic on the art you study will start to seep into the rest of your arts.
BUT, the best way to study is probably to just follow the arts as they are listed on the site (MonsterMartialArts).
For instance: Matrix Karate analyzes the hard arts and classical blocks. Matrix Kung Fu analyzes locks and throws Matrix Aikido analyzes learning by concept. The Master Instructor Course analyzes the body Shaolin Butterfly analyzes footwork Butterfly Pa Kua Chang analyzes the transition from soft to hard Five Army Tai Chi Chuan analyzes soft takedowns And so on.
But each art can be taken apart by a sequence of matrixing courses.
If somebody wanted to learn karate, for instance, and from the ground up, I would recommend the following courses: Outlaw Karate (inspiration) Buddha Crane Karate (modular studies) Matrix Karate Making the art pure) Temple Karate (what old forms actually mean) and so on.
So there are many ways to study matrixing. But the fun of it all is this: you learn multiple arts…fast. Which is why I said, at the beginning of this newsletter, what do you want to learn this summer? Heck, you could learn three or four whole martial arts all within a year. That would be a high state of mastery.
Anyway, Here’s the Matrix Karate page, because that is the one that started it all, that is the one with some pretty crucial matrixing data on it.
Good afternoon!
Man,
is it good!
Go on,
work out,
you’ll find out!
Hey,
I received an interesting win.
Here you go…
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.
The breakthrough Martial Art, Matrix Karate, is now available through Kindle!
First Volume of Matrix Karate ~ Kindle version
This is a long awaited development, as Kindle is not user friendly for books the size of Matrix Karate. Kindle refuses to hold large amounts of pictures.
Thus, this version of Matrix Karate has been broken into 6 volumes, and reformatted to be Kindle friendly.
There will be six volumes of Matrix Karate, and this is the first. These new volumes will be renamed as ‘Earning a Black Belt.’
The subject matter of the six volumes is as follows:
Vol 1 ~ Two Man Basic form
Vol 2 ~ First Form and Self Defense movements
Vol 3 ~ Two Man Intermediate form
Vol 4 ~ Second Form and Self Defense movements
Vol 5 ~ Two Man Advanced form
Vol 6 ~ Third Form and Self Defense movements
The entire matrix karate system is delivered through these six volumes. The price has been adjusted commensurate with the printed version.
For people wishing to view the original video course, go to MonsterMartialArts.com.
May you have the best work out of your life. Really.
First Volume of Matrix Karate ~ Kindle version
Speaking of blocks… When I was in my teens I was studying Kenpo. I learned all these neat tricks, was excited about fighting, and I kept having these weird ideas about strategy and how the martial arts were shaped. Oddly, I couldn’t make these strategies work. I could fight well, but these things I was thinking about, they just eluded me in combat. And it was because there wasn’t much in the way of blocking, in Kenpo.
In my twenties I joined the Kang Duk Won, I bashed my arms for years, and I learned about pain. I learned that pain is a warning device. And it was all because of blocks.
Funny. Most people won’t use a real block in freestyle. I can, and do if I am teaching somebody and there is a lesson in it. But it’s easier to just hit the other fellow than it is to block.
But I never would have learned how to slide in and hit somebody if I hadn’t learned how to block.
I always remember the specific technique where it all came home. It was the technique from the first move of Batsai. Batsai is spelled a few different ways, but it means ‘defending a fortress.’
In that technique I had to do three blocks. And I had to do these three blocks with hips twists, I had to twist the hips to align the body so it could support the impact without collapsing. And I had to do it faster than somebody could throw three punches at me.
For months I tried to get that technique. I would practice it and practice it, get guys to give me that attack, but I just couldn’t move my body fast enough.
One day, I did. Just like that. One second I couldn’t, and the next second I could. Like a switch had been thrown. But here’s the interesting thing: I felt like I was behind my head. I felt like I was out of my body, just a little bit, and watching my body move without me.
Well, it was moving because I had mastered the thought pattern behind the blocks. I had practiced that mental circuit until it broke, and what was left was me.
From there I moved into other things, hitting without blocks because, darn it, I had gotten so good at them I didn’t need them. And I moved into concepts of how to move the energy in my body just by thinking about it. Which is understandable if you realize that learning how to block had taught me how to influence my body with just thought.
I began to be able to accomplish all those odd ideas I had had way back in Kenpo. Which led to Matrixing.
Nowadays people don’t practice the blocks. And if they do, they don’t practice them with the proper hip movement, the proper alignment, the proper breathing and thought.
I know this because when people come to me for lessons, they show a complete lack of understanding, no knowledge of the drills, of how blocking works.
The thing is there is a whole realm of thought that goes with learning how to block. You learn all sorts of things, and it builds a springboard for moving into other concepts.
Think about it, you can box, and learn how to take a punch, but that doesn’t teach you how to run energy through your body.
Nothing wrong with boxing, it’s actually pretty good stuff, fills in a few gaps that are in the martial arts, but it just doesn’t have the energy theory that goes along with the martial arts.
Anyway, I’m working on the Matrix Karate for a Kindle version. Kindle is very unfriendly to photos, so I have to take some out, and rewrite the thing. It’s be good, but not as good as a book, or a video. Heck, even the other electronic readers are better, because they take PDFs easily.
But one of the things I focus on to make up for that lack, is the specific blocking in the forms. Not the matrix of blocking, which provides a logic which blasts one to intuition, but the old way, learning the blocks, making them work, until the art does you, and you become the art.
You guys are lucky. You understand something the Kindle readers may never understand. You get everything on these courses. On the other hand, the kindle readers may understand something you don’t because they will be seeing the art in a more bare bones viewpoint, that will let their mind fill in the blanks, which is very healthy for a student. Well, who’s to say. The real lesson is in the work out. Getting the material and doing it, thousands and thousands and thousands of times, until it becomes you, and you become it. That will teach you the art, no matter which of my books or courses you get.
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Click on the Cover!
Good afternoon!
Good weekend,
and great work out.
Just released a new Martial Arts book.
But,
it is not for everyone.
I recently read a book which claimed that
martial artists are dying young.
It was a very well researched book.
Went over the history of the martial arts,
traced the ages of death
and pretty much proved that
the martial arts are bad for your health.
Well, I can’t have that.
Even if it’s true its a lie.
So I wrote a book
proving that the truth was really a lie,
and that martial artists can live a long life.
If,
of course,
they do certain things.
So this book is about those certain things.
And,
it is not for everybody.
It is not a book of technique nor form.
It is not a training manual.
It is a serious discussion
as to what is wrong with the martial arts
that makes martial artists die young.
And there are recommendations
and data concerning things like energy (chi),
how you’re supposed to use the body,
and so on.
So it’s a brainy book.
Strictly for those who like to read and understand.
but it could have fantastic consequences
for those who want to understand
the principles behind adjusting your body
so it works properly.
And,
here’s some other news concerning it.
It is a kindle book, which means you download it and read it
on your kindle or iphone or whatever.
Now,
I am planning to write a few books strictly for Kindle.
The Kindle format is unfriendly to pictures,
so there won’t be tons of illustrations,
just a few.
And,
the books are usually about half as long as a regular book.
That is just the kindle format and problems.
But,
it is a huge market for me,
so I have to gear a few books over to it.
Incidentally,
the most well reviewed book I’ve got
is Outlaw Karate.
Five Five star ratings.
Nothing under five stars.
I recommend the paper version
because the kindle version comes in two parts
and isn’t always easy to read.
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.
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.
Go to the Testimonials in the menu and do a search for your martial art!
Hi Sensei Al!
(On the Black Belt Course) Everything is working great! Thank you for the quick responses. I am enjoying the one on one videos. It may be cliche, but I do feel like I'm there. I also like the conversational style and the way you explain how you're teaching and why. You've got a new student for life. Thank you. ~ Daniel
What's interesting about Al Case's writings and teachings is there isn't any emphasis on 'the unknown' or 'mystery' behind martial arts. Al will slam this information in your face! Quite frankly the data isn't hidden, you'll find you're blind. ~ WG
Al Case is a powerful presence to be around, but if you can confront it, then you will not be sorry, for there is no one like him, and it is an extreme privilege and honor.
I used to read your articles in Inside Karate and was excited when I found your web site. ~ RV
As an old timer with thirty-five years of experience I was really bored, but your works have peaked my interest and shown me that there is much more to learn. I Thank You Again, Sincerely ~ CC
Where was this information 24 years ago? This course is one of the best things to ever happen to me. Thank you Al Case for the gift of knowledge!
Be blessed my teacher, ~ Rev. Ernest R
I bought the Infinite Fist tape YEARS ago and you know? I Keep going back to it! ~ KS
You are a master. You have opened me up to things that I have never thought of before. ~ KFM
I purchased your course on "Create Your Own Martial Art" and absolutely love it. I believe that your matrixing system is very unique. ~ DW
In my entire experience twenty years as a student and an instructor since, no one has contributed more to my martial arts education than you have. I started following your works twenty years ago and although I was young then I knew you had the True Art it was obvious to me even then. ~ Charles C
Students will know longer be slaves of poor instructors and practitioners. ~ Lonnie M
Win from Master Instructor Course
Let me start out by saying thank you. Thanks from all the martial artists who asked why. Al, I'm in the Security and Law enforcement field and carry Instructor credentials, so effective methods in combat and teaching them is what I constantly look for.
Win from Matrix Aikido
I just had to write to you to say WOW. Your INSTANT AIKIDO is great!!! ~ SD
My students have started coming up to me after class telling me how much more they are enjoying it, and that the classes have stopped being so ridged and now flow in a kind of give and take between me and them. I have stopped being a task master and started having fun and letting them teach me as well.
I did the Master Instructor Course and it hit me. The Basics that are so concisely communicated in this course including the Matrix principle IS the solution. It doesn’t matter what “style” I call my art, because all styles follow these same principles. It doesn’t matter how hard I train or how many repetitions I do if I don’t train the right way. And I would never become a master if I didn’t know how it all fits together. Now I do! I can honestly say that I am now on the path that I have always sought as a martial artist. Thank you Al!
I conducted a Matrix Aikido training class for a Security Team at a local manufacturing plant. I tailored the training according to their Use Of Force policy. As you know they need control and takedown skills. I knew Matrix Aikido would be the answer. The training plan you shared was boss. The class went so smoothly. The participants learned very quickly. By the end of the class you could see techniques of Monkey Boxing coming through. They were also able to create their own techniques. There was one female officer in the class who asked to become my private student. She was throwing, locking and taking down guys twice her size. The Security Supervisor wants me to come back and with more participants! I'll keep you posted. ~ L M
Have found your books and dvds excellent. My background is mainly in medical qigong but I practice Sun Style Tai CHi, BaGua and HsingI as well as Eagle Claw, Snake Style Kung Fu and several Wudang weapon styles. This is the first time I have had the underlying principles so clearly explained and in a way that they are immediately workable and demonstratable. I have worked through the Master Instructors Course, Aikido and Butterfly Bagua and have started to breakdown the Sun Hsing I using your matrix method. I was even able to teach a 70 year old friend of mine with no martial arts background your instant aikido where she was able to do some very accomplished locks and throws after the first lesson
Search the testimonials for your martial art!
Free Martial Arts Books
HERE'S SOME FREE MARTIAL ARTS BOOKS, MY THANKS FOR DROPPING BY.
Includes books on Bruce Lee, the Truth About Matrixing, the first Martial Arts book sold in America (It's a real hoot!), and much more!
