Little Tai Chi Gimmicks to Build Chi!

Posted on November 25, 2023 | Leave a comment

Adding Chi to Tai Chi Chuan!

I remember when I first heard about Tai Chi.
Quite fascinating stuff.
Over the decades it became more fascinating,
and I learned how to differentiate
the myth from the reality.
In this newsletter
I want to list a few of the things I do
that helped me figure out Tai Chi.

Do remember that these things take time,
even with matrixing.
They also demand a certain amount of belief
that you are going to get to where you’re going.

Move the hands like the hands of a clock.
They move evenly,
at the same rate of speed.
It helps if you watch them
and get a little removed from your body.

Breath as if to the tan tien,
and keep the tan tien taut.
Don’t flex the muscles of the abdomen,
especially over the tan tien
(Tan tien ~ ‘The one point’ ~
the center of the body)
Like you’ve got an unbendable arm,
just running energy through it,
keep the tan tien taut, not tight.

move the arms into the posture
and keep them unbendable
while you turn the waist
and shift the weight.

Push with the legs,
you can feel the weight,
and alternate with weightlessness in the legs.
Synchronize the parts of the body
so they begin motion at the same time
and end motion at the same time.
this is CBM
(Coordinated Body Motion)

The energy in the tan tien
will duplicate the motion of the hands
if you have a taut belly and unbendable arms
and synchronize all motion.

Feel the air when you move the palms through it

Imagine yourself above your head
as if looking down from above
imagine yourself as if pulling the strings
attached to the parts of the body
like a puppet.

Now,
here’s the thing,
this will cause energy to flow
help you enter a meditative state
and even understand the physics involved.
BUT
it is worthless if you don’t practice applications.
This means you should understand the hard style first,
and you should train yourself to handle attacks
without using force.

Make your body as if a glove
into which the opponent puts his fist,
then adjust the glove to unbalance him.

No contact
except the brush of skin on skin
and unbalance the opponent.

Practice push hands,
and especially the Lop Sau
that I have created.
Not the traditional,
which is merely a piecemeal drill,
but the whole drill I developed.

There’s lots of other things you can do,
the classics are full of stuff,
but you need to understand the hard arts,
then practice A LOT!

But these things should help you.
Check out the tai chi courses on Monster Martial Arts

And,
if you want to learn the Tai Chi concepts about ten times faster,
check out

The Last Martial Arts Book:
Nine Square Diagram Boxing.

Make sure you look for the version with five hours of video included.

And don’t forget to give me five stars!

Have a great work out!
Al

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

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 12 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 8 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find the book that works for you.

How to Fix Karate:
A Karate Training and Workout Book
(Two Volumes)

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The Proper Use of Muscles in the Martial Arts!

Posted on November 21, 2023 | Leave a comment

The Two Muscles in the Martial Arts!

There are two ways of using the muscles in the martial arts
One is to use the muscles,
the other is to not use the muscles.
I know, sounds like zen double talk.

The first method is to tighten the muscles,
specifically upon impact.

The second method is to ‘empty’ the muscles,
to just flow energy through them.

When I first began training in 1967
I was taught to use muscles,
to ‘focus’ the muscles by tightening
everything at the point of impact.
When I went to the Kang Duk Won
(not American KDW)
I was taught,
and mostly through experience and not words,
to tighten only the fist.
Eventually I stopped tightening the fist entirely,
merely sticking the bones of my arm
into the opponent’s body.
This required almost no muscle.

There are several things to be understood here.

If you tighten the muscle energy doesn’t flow through the body.
This leads to inefficiency,
energy loss,
and so on.

It is important to go through the tightening of the muscle phase,
lest you don’t understand what a punch really is.
This is why TCC sometimes doesn’t work,
the student doesn’t understand the reality of combat.
If the student does understand the reality of combat,
TCC is one of the better and more effective arts out there.

The ‘unbendable arm’ (Aikido)
is the best example of an ‘empty arm.’
Or an arm through which energy flows.
Aikido doesn’t develop this for combat,
but rather uses it almost as meditation
and for show.

I use the ‘unbendable arm’ in all movements.
I move my slightly bent arm with only a bit of
expansion and contraction.
The less I move,
the more ‘flow’ I create,
the more subtle are my movements,
my power,
my effectiveness.

When adapting the ‘unbendable arm’
to arts such as Karate,
One MUST understand how to sink the weight,
how to push with the legs,
how to turn the hips,
and how to move all body parts in harmony
so as to strike with the entire body weight.

I still have snap,
but it is subtle,
and designed around the delivering
of the whole weight of the body
into the target.

By developing the ‘complete energy’ of a strike
into the ‘no energy’ of a strike
one loses his tendency to be jumpy,
to respond with violence,
and attains a very calm mind,
one that doesn’t set up fights through mental attitudes.

The odd thing is that this sounds like mysticism,
but it is really hard core science.
It just goes beyond the ‘Newtonian’ science
we have been raised on.

Hey,
Happy Thanksgiving!
Take advantage of the time off
to do extra work outs,
and don’t forget to check out
my books on

How to Fix Karate:
A Karate Training and Workout Book
(Two Volumes)

(There is a version with five hours of video
but you have to hunt for it on Amazon)

And don’t forget to give me five stars!

Have a great work out!
Al

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

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 12 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 8 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find the book that works for you.

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Pushing Hands Applied to Combat!

Posted on November 12, 2023 | 1 comment

The Five Armies of Tai Chi Chuan!

I say Tai Chi Chuan,
but these five armies. are usable
in every martial art.

The five armies are:
the wrists
the elbows
the shoulders
the waist
the feet

It’s pretty simple,
actually.
If you understand a little push hands
it will really make sense,
but even if you don’t,
there is a logic here that can’t be denied.

If somebody grabs your wrist simply roll it.
This escapes all wrist grips,
and provides wrist twist counters,
and opens up a LOT of other doors.

If somebody pushes on your forearm,
simply fold it back.
The idea is to let the person fall past
and circle your arm to strike him.

If the person is closer
and pushes on your shoulder, or your upper arm
so that it affects the shoulder,
circle the shoulder.

If somebody is pushing on your body,
turn the waist.

If somebody has penetrated past the waist,
simply shift back,
let him pass.

Okay,
this is designed for push hands,
but push hands is designed for martial combat.
So you don’t have to be in push hands mode,
if somebody is pressing an attack
on one of the five areas,
or zones,
or whatever you want to call it,
just use one of the five armies.
Shift back and:
roll
fold
circle
turn
shift.

If you can do all of them that is great.
That is applying CBM
(Coordinated Body Motion-using the body as one unit)
to the technique.

Now,
if you stop thinking about him coming in,
and start thinking about you moving forward,
you end up with the total strike.

You push with the feet
as you turn the waist
and circle the shoulder
and unfold the elbows
and snap the wrist.

So you can apply the Five Armies concept
to defense or offense.
Or any combination of attack and defense.

This concept is demonstrated for Tai Chi
in my

Five Army Tai Chi Chuan course

I would also recommend,
if you are more into Karate or the striking arts,
my book on

Chiang Nan

The point isn’t that this stuff hasn’t been done,
it’s just never been explained in a clear and concise manner
the way I do it.

Check them out,
and have a fantastic work out!
Al

How to Fix Karate:
A Karate Training and Workout Book
(Two Volumes)

(There is a version with five hours of video
but you have to hunt for it on Amazon)

And don’t forget to give me five stars!

Have a great work out!
Al

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

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 12 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 8 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

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Eight Fighting Techniques to Base Your Martial Art On!

Posted on November 5, 2023 | Leave a comment

Only Eight Martial Arts Techniques!

Yep,

there are only about eight martial arts techniques,

everything else is fluff and stuff.

Of course there are a thousand deviations,

and they are valuable for your overall education,

but,

when you get to the down and dirty,

there are only eight techniques.

Now,

this is not boxing.

This not padded gloves to dissipate force,

and eliminate grabs.

This is somebody strikes

or is going to strike,

and you either slab and grab his arm,

or you shoot straight in

going for the one punch knock out.

One strike one kill,

you know?

Of course,

as everybody knows,

a plan only works until the fight starts.

SO,

once you have tried to stick your fingers in his eyes,

and MAYBE tried a follow up body shot…

you will find yourself on the inside of his arm

or on the outside of his arm.

You don’t have time for a poser,

he’s not going to wait while you do all your tricks.

You only have one chance.

And,

derivation here,

what I am going to tell you works best,

and perhaps at all

if you ‘shock and lock’ him.

Which is to say,

you simply distract him with a slap or an elbow or something

so that you have an opportunity to  apply one of the eight techniques.

If you have twenty years experience

you can consider not doing the ‘shock and lock,’

but that’s at your own risk.

If you are on the inside of his arm

elbow the head and push his arm up into a ‘chicken wing’ elbow lock.

Or, elbow the area under the armpit and snake your arms around

to a ‘figure four’ armlock.

Either of these can deviate out to arm bars or splitting techniques

(lower body goes in the opposite direction of the upper body)

or spinning him around and angling him up to what I call

a ‘vertical arm pin.’

that’s two techniques with a few deviations.

third, foot sweep,

can be deviated into knee to groin

or various kicks,

but you want to pull his leg viciously

and make him face plant

so you can walk on his neck.

Four,

if you haven’t locked in that body shot,

do it now.

Reverse punch,

and I often teach the ‘pubic punch,’

which is angling the punch down towards the hip joint.

He collapses on the ground and it takes no special force or effort.

Now,

if he strikes,

and you end up on the outside of his arm,

cool.

Inside means you have targets,

but you have also presented targets.

Outside means you have less targets,

but have presented almost no targets for him.

Slap and grab,

or perhaps just let him punch between your arms.

First technique is simply an arm bar,

or an elbow roll deviation.

Second technique,

elbow to the head and extend your arm in front of his face,

and slide your leg behind him to split him.

(top goes one way, bottom goes the other)

Third technique,

elbow under the arm,

split him by going under the arm.

Whether you split him by going under or over his arm

is often dependent on the relative height 

of your opponent.

You can add sweeping to this,

because there is an inherent sweep in the split.

fourth technique, punch.

Hard.

Break things in his body.

So that is the list of eight techniques,

which eight lead to a variety of deviations,

if you enter one of the eight,

the deviations become apparent with practice.

He punches and you are inside.

1) elbow head and elbow lock over his arm

2) elbow armpit and elbow lock under his arm

3) Punch (pubic preferred)

4) Sweep w leg options

He punches and you are on the outside

5) break and/or arm bar/elbow roll

6) split above the arm

7) split under the arm

8) punch

Now,

I know there are going to be all sorts of objections here.

Some of the objections will be that you simply don’t understand my terms,

but if you examine the description of the techniques,

you will find them in your art,

or your art is severely lacking.

Some of the objections will be that you have a thousand techniques in your art

and you simply can’t give them up.

But I am not asking you to give up your data base.

I am merely asking you to focus on that first punch in a fight

and do some real karate.

Some of the objections will be because there are no pictures

and it is difficult to mock up these techniques in your mind.

Why don’t you kick?

Kicking is for when you are far away

and kicks take time to become ‘one strike one kill,’

and you want to close and break or disable

as much as you can in a direct and short period of time.

Karate is not a far away polite business.

It is mean and nasty and as brutal as you can make it.

Why are you not making the split one of the techniques on the inside?

Because you have to go through the closure of distance,

and that is the progression of closing distance after the fight starts

What the heck is ‘shock and lock,’ and do I have time for it?

It is hitting on the way in,

and the way I have set it up there is extreme fluidity of motion

that will make the progression from slap and grab to shock and lock

 and to the final technique incredibly fast and virtually unavoidable.

What about wrist locks?

They are there,

but it is difficult to grab a fist in the middle of a fight.

It is easier when he is there,

and maybe trying to back out of his predicament.

And there are other objections.

But if you study what I said here,

and just drill the eight techniques for a short time,

and just explore your position…

everything will become apparent.

Incidentally,

what I say here is in all my courses,

but I never really talk about it

except as the technique progresses.

But it really is the essence of my Monkey Boxing.

I really should write a book on this little thing I have said here.

But…time. Sigh.

Okay,

guys and gals,

hope you got something out of all this,

and feel free to look at…

How to Fix Karate:

A Karate Training and Workout Book

 (Two Volumes)

https://www.amazon.com/How-Fix-Karate-One-Training/dp/B0B6L5DSD1/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1RWF2LRFTSRZO&keywords=how+to+fix+karate&qid=1699188789&s=books&sprefix=how+to+fix+karate%2Cstripbooks%2C136&sr=1-2

(There is a version with five hours of video

but you have to hunt for it on Amazon)

And don’t forget to give me five stars!

Have a great work out!

Al

Don’t forget to check out the interview

https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 12 ratings for 5 stars.

(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)

My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them  for 5 stars.

‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 8 ratings for 5 stars.

‘The Science of Government’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.

‘Chiang Nan’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.

My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings

so hopefully you’ll find that useful

find the book/course that is right for you,

and matrix your own martial arts.

Leave a comment

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Advanced Chi Power Usage in the Martial Arts!

Posted on October 31, 2023 | Leave a comment

The Secret of Martial Arts Whole Body Energy!

You know,
I talk about matrixing a lot.
Figuring out all of the blank spots in your art,
getting rid of poser techniques,
making logical sense of the whole thing.
But one thing I don’t talk about enough
is CBM

CBM is Coordinated Body Motion
In oldspeak,
or mysticism,
it is using the body as one unit.

This is a solid concept,
but often discounted.
It’s faster to just pound on a bag,
make your arm muscles big and strong,
and rely on that.

It is harder to do the forms slowly,
or at least with attention to detail,
and figure out how to use the body as one unit.
CBM.

But think of this.
Instead of building the arm so it is strong enough
to knock over 200 pounds,
why not train yourself to use the 200 pounds of your body?

The point of a punch (or technique),
is to deliver weight.
So just learn to put the entire weight of your body into the strike.
It’s easier in the long run,
and when you get old and lose your muscles,
you will still have an interesting by product.
Energy.

Energy is the capacity for work.
Work can be measured by weight.
But while you’re thinking about this,
let me tell you something else,
something a little more advanced.

You use your body as one unit.
You strike with the whole weight.
It is more efficient,
less tiring,
more effective.
But,
what happens when you CBM the other guys’s body?

This is the real secret of the grab arts.
This includes aiki, chin na, and even advanced judo/jujitsu

When you have achieved sufficient CBM
you touch the other person’s body with CBM
and his body will react by moving…WITH CBM!

The explanation is simple.
Bodies are bodies,
and you can hook them together.

ten marines lifting together can lift more
than twelve marines lifting separately.
This is a proven fact.

If you’ve only CBMed a little,
you probably won’t be able to do this.
But if you CBM a lot,
your body doesn’t just operate on muscles,
it operates on energy,
and the person you touch,
their body will react with energy,
and they will unconsciously,
without even knowing it,
CBM.

Now you try the throw.
You throw the arm,
which weighs 20 pounds,
and the body goes along
which weighs 200 pounds.

This is actually how old men,
frail and fragile,
can push young men,
robust and muscular
a dozen yards with no effort.

And you really don’t want to know what a fully CBMed strike,
with all the energy pouring forth,
is like.

Now,
the unfortunate fact is this is difficult to prove,
unless you happen to cross hands with some old fellow
who has taken the time to develop his art,
and he is willing to share his art with you.

But the theory is solid,
and it’s not going to hurt you to think about it,
and maybe consider it in your training.

He strikes,
you evade,
you push and his body CBMs
and flies away.
And he will never know what hit him.
Unless, of course,
he read this blog.

If you want to learn more about CBM
I mention it in a lot of my courses,
and my arts are designed to promote CBM
even if I don’t mention it.

But I always suggest
The Master Instructor Course

That was the first time I talked about it,
years ago,
but the data is there,
plus A LOT
 of other stuff.

Everything you need to master ANY art.

BTW
thanks to all who have purchased the
The Last Martial Arts Book
(There is a version with five hours of video
but you have to hunt for it on Amazon)
Don’t forget to give me five stars!

Have a great work out!
Al

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

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

And volume two is at…

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 11 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

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At the End of the Martial Arts Path!

Posted on October 23, 2023 | Leave a comment

The Secret of the Real Martial Arts

All right,
a beautiful day for secrets.
Of course, that means you might have to think.
NO! comes the scream.
I DON’T WANT TO THINK!
Too bad, so sad.
But if you want to learn the real martial arts you will have to think.
And specifically,
you will have to think about what I am about to tell you.

What is the purpose of the martial arts?
Why, it’s to beat people up!
And it is.
On a certain level.

But what is really at the end of the martial arts path?
What do you get if you are studying a true martial art and persist?
To love and trust your fellow man.

What?
What FN planet did this bozo study his fake ass martial arts on?
Let me explain.

A beginner puts out blocks,
ridges of energy,
and this pushes the opponent away, or back, or whatever.
It stops his opponent,
but it also stops his own ability to perceive.
Necessary in the beginning, maybe,
but not the end,
it’s the beginning of the real martial arts.

You go through the procedure of learning
how to put out a ridge of energy
so you can NOT put out a ridge of energy.
A ridge of energy will stop you from perceiving
the thought of the opponent.
You want to know what the opponent is thinking,
You want to know when he is thinking.
If you stop his thought from coming through,
then you can’t see the technique the opponent is planning,
and then you can’t do the right thing.
You’ve been reduced to simple blocking
which may or may not be the right thing.
You’re back to being a white belt.

So how do you stop yourself
from stopping the thought of the opponent?
You accept the opponent.
You don’t think of him as bad or good,
you don’t judge him,
you don’t stop him.

If he wants to hit you,
fine,
accept that.
Trust him to punch you.
Trust,
and here’s the crux of the matter:
like him.
That is the really real secret of real martial arts.
That is what awaits you if you study a real martial art.

You don’t make the other fellow wrong,
even if he is offering you a knife for your heart.
You don’t get upset if he wants to do bad things to your family.
You like him,
you appreciate him for the opportunity he has offered you.
You accept him as a seriously misguided individual
and do what you have to…while liking him.

If you refuse to like somebody,
even if you are right that he is evil,
then you will not see his true potential,
you will not read his body actions,
you will not see his thoughts
and you will have stopped yourself
from effectively handling him.

The only solution is to trust everybody.
Even Hitler.
Don’t trust him to treat you fairly,
trust him to be what he is.

I hope you understand,
but if you don’t,
don’t worry.
You will if your art is true and you persist.

And,
don’t forget to give me five stars…
when you purchase
The Last Martial Arts Book
(There is a version with five hours of video
but you have to hunt for it on Amazon)

Have a great work out!
Al

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

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

And volume two is at…

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 11 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

Leave a comment

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The Martial Arts Fighting Method

Posted on October 18, 2023 | Leave a comment

The Martial Arts Freestyle Method

Technically,
you should probably say,
‘The Al Case Martial Arts Freestyle (or fighting) Method.’
I don’t know of anybody else who teaches freestyle like this.
Yet it is a complete method that
leads to competence in fighting in the shortest possible time.

The problem with karate,
and with people,
and all of mankind,
is that they think the only solution is force.

somebody comes at you and the solution is to hit him.
And, of course,
we know that Tai Chi and Aikido and such,
they aren’t really arts,
they don’t work!

Poopycock to you!
Those arts work fine!
They work better than the hard arts!
The problem is that people don’t make them work.
And the problem behind that is…
they don’t know how to make them work.
They are stuck with the idea of force only.

So let’s talk.

The first rule of a soft art,
Aikido, or Tai Chi especially,
is get out of the way.
simple dimple.
Guy punches,
step aside.

After a while,
learn a few tricks,
starting to get an inkling,
you figure out the second rule.
Empty.

In Sticky Hands you empty the arms.
In Pushing Hands you empty the body.
In Aikido you empty the body while in motion.
Easy peasy.

And, after a while,
you figure out the third rule.
Help him punch you.

Now,
while you’re thinking about that,
I figured all three rules out
on my first couple of lessons in Sticky Hands.

The guy is hitting me,
I’m not fast enough,
Totally confused.
But,
as time went on,
and the punches accumulated,
I realized what sticky hands was trying to teach me.

Don’t reach out and create a barrier, a block, a ridge.
If you do that you’re pushing him away,
and he’ll just come back and hit you again.
A ridge draws in force.

But if you reach out as he reaches out,
then pull back as he passes the halfway mark
and you help him with his strike,
you can guide it using almost no force.

Don’t fight him,
agree with him.

I structure my freestyle method like this:

FIRST
Rhythmic Freestyle
A slow block and counter drill.
Back and forth,
slowly blocking,
speeding up ONLY when competence appears.

SECOND
Lop Sau, or ‘Rolling Fists’
Mind you I do this one totally different than any other art.
I’ve figured out all the parts,
all the missing pieces,
so it is a complete method of freestyle,
not just a wing chun drill with limits.
The point is the student is introduced to
‘pulling the attacker’s punch.’
Only two techniques in a method that has six techniques,
but it works.
I’m the only person in the world that teaches the complete lop sau drill.

THIRD
Sticky Hands.
I drill the student on emptying his arms..
He pulls the arm,
twists the hips slightly,
and deflects the punch
without moving in place.
I actually skip this drill a lot.
It just isn’t as useful as some might think.

FOURTH
Pushing Hands.
Not just emptying the arms,
but emptying the whole body.
Absorbing the punch while moving in place.
I usually drill Lop Sau and Pushing Hands together,
(after the student is able to do all the attacks in Lop Sau)
making the student appreciate the difference
in distances in the two drills.

FIFTH
I do ‘flowstyle,’
It’s like Rhythmic freestyle,
back and forth,
except we can only flow punches into locks and throws.

I’ve outlined this method in lots of places,
I believe it is in the Matrix Combat course,
but I wrote that a long time ago
and there might be a couple of missing points.
You’ll find individual freestyle drills in the various courses,
but you have to go through them and see where they are,
then compile them.
There aren’t going to be any missing pieces,
however,
and this is the most thorough explanation of the method.
You can also find it in some of my books,
especially the later ones.
But,
again,
you have to check it all out.

So there it is,
first, realize that you must…
get out of the way
empty your body
help him punch (attack)

Second,
Rhythmic freestyle
lop sau (complete method develped by me)
Sticky Hands
Pushing Hands
Flowstyle (aiki method of back and forth throws/locks.

Have fun,
and don’t forget to give me five stars
when you purchase
The Last Martial Arts Book
(There is a version with five hours of video
but you have to hunt for it on Amazon)

Have a great work out!
Al

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

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

And volume two is at…

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 11 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

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The Curse of the Closed Combat System

Posted on September 20, 2023 | Leave a comment

When Did Karate Fail!

It’s a very common opinion, these days, that karate doesn’t work.
In this article I will tell you why it doesn’t work, and when it stopped working, which may help you make it start working again.
Mind you, there are other reasons than what I detail here, but the reasons I detail here are probably the most important reasons, specifically, the reason which was put in place by the founders of karate. A deliberate but unintended consequence of a very bad decision.

The King (emperor) of Okinawa was commanded by the emperor of Japan to live in Japan. This was a political expedience.
The problem was the Okinawan bodyguards suddenly lost their jobs.
They became wood cutters, dock workers, school teachers, and so on.
Did they stop their training in karate? Probably not. As any student of the art knows, it is the monkey on the back, a joy that is almost impossible to give up. It would not be given up easily.
Thus, the art was taught at the homes of the bodyguards, and the students were probably tough kids, or kids that wanted to be tough.
It wouldn’t have died out, and it would have remained fairly pure. But purity, as this article presents, can be a myth.

About 1900 Gichin Funakoshi had a bright idea: let’s teach karate to the school children!
Karate made small bodies strong.
Karate instilled discipline.
Let’s not, however, teach little Johnny how to rip somebody’s throat out over lunch money.
Thus, the great dumbing down was begun.
There was, however, something worse that was happening.

Karate is a CCS. A Closed Combat System. This means it is a set number of techniques, and development through the inspection of other practices is discouraged.
Karate actually became a CCS years earlier when the system was codified into forms.
Forms make it easier to teach. Forms make it easier to remember the random but physically similar techniques.
Forms doubtless caused a surge in ability as it focused training, and lifted up the lesser students.
And there was a wonderful mindset created through Karate. A zen mindset that made a superior human being.

Up until that time Karate had been, to coin a phrase, an OCS. An Open Combat System. They took techniques wherever they could find them. Trips to China, shipwrecked sailors, talking with some friendly fellow in a bar, and ending up in an alley testing out these ‘extra’ techniques.
Now it was a Closed Combat System, a system which refused data from other sources, and the children were being deliberately dumbed down, and that was the one two punch that sealed Karate’s demise.

It didn’t happen suddenly. In fact, as the art spread new blood kept it alive and quite deadly.
But, eventually, it was no longer the province of the ‘tough guy’ who wanted to be tougher and who was willing to suffer the bruises and blood and a few lost teeth of those early practices.
Then it became sold.

One could accuse Gichin Funakoshi as the first person to commercialize Karate. After all, he sold it to the school system.
But when the Americans, with their capitalistic greed (hey! I’m just sayin’!) the game was all over.
McDojos sprouted in the strip malls of America.
Forms were put aside for kid’s games so the parent’s could be kept happy. Which was, is, probably the cruelest trap of all. I want my child to defend himself, but if he gets a single bruise I’ll sue you!

Nowadays it is difficult to find a real version of Karate.
Oh, it is out there, altered, pushed by the fanatic who doesn’t give a golden tu_d if you get a bruise.
But mostly you will find…MMA.
Hey, advertising. And the Gracie Brother’s creation of the UFC is the greatest advertising ploy since Bruce Lee.
We’ve had 30 years of advertising with the big buck tournaments. It has replaced boxing to a great extent. And it’s made some people rich.
Commercialism.
Sometimes good, often bad.

Want to know how to tell when an art has gone CCS and has started to die? If not in the physical working then in the virtuous mental attitudes? The Virtue that used to be the coin developed by years of intense and unwavering training in the Martial Arts?
It is…My Art is better than yours.
I saw this happen when Karate, was in its heyday, spreading through the US and the world like wildfire.
Suddenly other arts came along, and to get students instructors would wink about another art or school and imply, or say it outright, ‘My art is better.’
And it fed the ego of the student.

Now it is happening in MMA. Not a week goes by when I don’t see some ego driven, bully boy type of child say, If it doesn’t work in the ring then it doesn’t work!
Which certainly explains why, when SEALs go to work they always end up on the ground, wrestling around and looking for arm bars.

MMA is not an art. It is a sport. An art self improves, a sport attempts to prevail over another human being. And the truth is that you don’t become better by making someone worse. That is the bully lie that has infected many MMA teachings.
That is not to say there isn’t art to some of the techniques.
But it doesn’t matter because as long as the bullies can beat up the karate man, and people of other disciplines, the lie will be accepted as the truth.
It is not MMA. It is MMS. Mixed Martial Sport.

Mind you, I am not attacking the art of Jujitsu, or other MMA based arts. Effectiveness is to be appreciated and studied. And to the extent that it becomes art i love it. But I am pointing out certain attitudes and how some misguided people degrade the art.
And, hopefully, this will create an understanding that will improve the arts on all fronts. Don’t degrade other arts, make yourself better by making others better.

Don’t like what I’m saying? Then change your sport. Or, better, change your mind.
But the truth is that when a system becomes CCS, when data is refused to be inputted, either because of commercial interests, or children running around screaming ‘My Art is Best!’, then that art has gone over the cliff and is heading for the spiked rocks below.

Really don’t like what I’m saying? Order a course in Matrixing, open your art up and accept the superiority of a true OCS…the ultimate OCS. A system that doesn’t take from all in random bits and pieces, trying to be OCS but only marginally succeeding, but rather aligns all the data so you can make the right choices…in combat, or in life.

About the author: Al Case has been studying the martial arts since 1967. He wrote articles and had his own column in Inside Karate magazine. He has written over forty books on the martial arts, including ‘How to Fix Karate,’ which is a two volume, 400 page book going into and fixing every move from the most important eight forms of Karate. It includes FIVE HOURS of video instruction.

And have a great work out!
Al

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

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

And volume two is at…

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 11 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

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Muscle Memory in the Martial Arts!

Posted on September 8, 2023 | Leave a comment

Muscle Memory in the Fighting Arts!

Good morning!
Every kata is a prayer.
It is a moment in time
in which I summon up energies
built by the repetition of moves
over over 55 years.

Let’s talk about muscle memory.
One trains to make the muscles move in a certain way.
This is a path, a circuit of nerve impulses.
A to B to C to…to Z.
As one gets better and better
he stops using this ‘muscle memory’ path
and goes from A to Z.

You see,
if you subscribe to the muscle memory theory
then you are saying that your body is doing the fighting.
But it is you that is doing the fighting.
The muscle moves
because the impulses travel through the nervous system
and who gives the nervous system the command to move?

I ask people this sometimes
and they give me some amazing answers.
‘My brain.’
That’s a common answer,
and it shows that people don’t understand the brain.
The brain is, at best, a switchboard.
And if the brain moves the nerves moves the muscles,
who commands the brain.
‘My mind!’
That’s a great one.
Except the mind is just a bunch of memories.
It doesn’t do anything except react.
And if one is going to get to the heart of the martial arts
one must do more than react.
They must act.
And,
to get to the heart of the matter,
who gives the mind the command
to make the switchboard brain
tell the nerves to work,
to make the muscles move?

Okay.
The answer.
‘You.’

And here is the secret of the martial arts.
If you do your ‘prayers’
(your martial arts moves)
long enough…you will go back through
these body and mind systems
and find…you.

You are the creator of your life.
You make the choices.
You are not meat muscle,
you are not nervous twitches,
you are not the switchboard brain,
or the memory mind.
You are you.

And,
obligatory advertisement…
you’re going to find you a lot faster if you matrix.

Try
‘The Last Martial Arts Book’

It has the meditation of Tai Chi,
the power of karate,
the easy and simple modular method
of pa kua chang.

(And, by the way,
get the one with the five hours of video included!
The one without the videos has all the five star ratings,
but $5 more gets you five hours of video instruction.)

End of advertisement,
so get back to your ‘prayers.’

And have a great work out!
Al

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

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

And volume two is at…

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 11 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

Leave a comment

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Grappling and the Martial Arts

Posted on August 18, 2023 | Leave a comment

Three Dimensional Martial Arts!

If you take a look at Karate,
as a good representative of the striking arts,
it is one dimensional.
Forward and back.
Circling around is fine,
but it is an additive from Bruce Lee and boxing.
Real karate,
you get close,
you strike…
forward or back,
it’s one dimensional.

There are grab arts in old karate,
and you can add some if you don’t know them.
But that only makes it a two dimensional art,
in a manner of speaking.
You zip in and force throw.
Charging straight in is one dimensional
and cause the throw to be hard style.
Hard throws tend to make it two dimensional.

If you add flow throws it becomes three dimensional.
When you don’t rely on force of punching,
when you don’t rely on the relative two dimensions of force throws,
then the game opens up.
You aren’t locked into force,
you can now think outside the box of two dimensions.

Now,
I know there’s going to be some severe disagreement
with what I’ve said.
This is because various people
have various viewpoints,
different experiences,
different arts at their fingertips.
That’s okay.
But let’s consider a case.

Morihei Uyeshiba
(founder of Aikido)
Could probably take any MMA fighter out there.
Not because Aikido is superior,
but because he studied Aikijujitsu,
real combat art,
before it was watered it down,
shaped for enlightenment and illumination.

I doubt if any of his students
could do well in the Octagon.
They have a three dimensional art
which is lacking the first dimension.
Without understanding strikes,
you can’t truly understand
how to handle strikes.

My own theory
is that you must do the grab art
as the strike enters.
Not catch the flow and guide it.
Not trap and then break, trip, or whatever.
But as the punch enters your space
you begin wrapping it.
As it misses it is already wrapped.
And the fellow has punched into a lock,
or throw or whatever.

It’s a matter of moving in the moment,
synchronizing with the opponent
not after it.

I have seen Karate adapted to the ring.
There is some stand up. grappling,
sweeps and throws and such,
but they are force throws,
depending on muscle.
Mostly the ring consists of boxing/Muay Thai/whatever
then jujitsu ground game.

I’ve included a short clip of one of the grappling tricks
that I teach and use.
If you disagree with my analysis
of what makes a more three dimensional art,
drop a line in the comments.
Insults are fun,
but people pay more attention to physics,
links to illustrate,
and so on.

Here’s one of the techniques from my
Matrix Kung Fu course…

Armwrapping

have a great work out!
Al

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

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

And volume two is at…

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 11 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find that useful
find the book/course that is right for you,
and matrix your own martial arts.

Leave a comment

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Tagged , , ,