Got an email from Tom J the other week,
said an interesting thing.
I am getting the picture that “real” true karate, being true to its Okinawan roots, comes very close to stand-up grappling with strikes, I think, also, much of the sensitivity developed in Tai Chi – like exercises was there.
Even though they were not doing Tai Chi as such, lots of practice and thinking through the moves probably brought the Okinawan masters into that level of skill
Which brings me back to your “Everything must be practiced”, admonition. All the pieces are like pieces of a pie and all should be visited in practice.
Thanks Tom.
And he is so right.
People think that Tai Chi is the ultimate,
and it is,
but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others that are the ‘ultimate,’
it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other arts
that don’t elevate the student to the top.
My instructor said to me once:
There are many roads to the top of a mountain.
He had certainly reached the ability,
let alone the sage wisdom,
of a tai chi master.
The problem is that so many people think it is all about fighting.
Fighting is important,
but you go past fighting,
and start to understand how to handle life,
and what person can fight you
if you know how to handle life?
Heck,
a guy throws a punch
and it is an exercise in dissection,
in quick and sure manipulation,
and there is no fight.
And the truth of the matter is that these old guuyts,
these old masters,
who knew so much,
they knew so much because they studied more than just half an art.
Shake Morihei’s tree and you’ll find
the very thorough and complete
aikido jujitsu.
And you’ll find spear fighting,
sword fighting,
and all many of no nonsense studies.
Take a look at the Tai Chi masters,
you’ll find Shaolin,
types of kung fu,
history as bodyguards,
and it’s all to the death.
So don’t think you are going to be a master
if you study just one art.
Oh,
maybe,
but it’ll take half a century,
and then you die.
Which takes karate and applies tai chi principles to it.
You get a soft way of train a hard art.
You figure out different ways,
sometimes more efficient ways,
to move the body.
You undo the effects of training that has been too hard,
and has resulted in injuries.
You elongate your life in the martial arts.
You learn more than you ever thought there was in the martial arts.
Okay,
enough preaching.
You heard or you didn’t,
and the choice is up to you.
I think,
next time,
I’ll talk about the various courses.
I’ve got so many,
got so many books,
I should probably differentiate them,
maybe acquaint some of the newbies to this newsletter
about the how and the why of matrixing your martial arts.
Until then,
think about Chiang Nan,
The Martial Arts Concept That Will Get You Killed!
Behold the Poser!
I figured out the Poser like this:
I was an instructor in Kenpo.
Thought I was the deadliest SOB walking.
Then I met a kid who showed me some stuff.
Curious, I let him introduce me to his brother.
His brother happened to be a Hell’s Angel.
His brother also happened to know something of Kenpo.
“What would you do for this attack?”
He grabbed my tee shirt with two fists.
I was shocked,
incapable,
in spite of my training I didn’t know what to do.
“Why don’t you try ‘Flapping Wing?’
My eyes were round,
that was one of my techniques.
I taught it regularly.
Surely I could make that work!
So I locked his hands in place,
brought a forearm up to break his elbows.
He lowered his elbows,
which hurt my forearm.
Doggedly,
I brought my forearm around in a circle.
I smashed down on his radial nerves,
which should have paralyzed his arms,
and started to chop him in the throat.
He threw me through a wall.
Yep.
All the way through it.
Then he told me to grab his shirt.
I did so.
And he punched me…through the wall.
Twice,
in thirty seconds,
I went through a wall.
The night then became one of the most fascinating
question and answer period,
and I started to learn about the true art.
And I started to learn about posers.
The actual definition for a Poser technique is:
‘when the attacker has to not do something
so the defender can make the technique work.’
My kenpo consisted of wide circles and slapping hands,
his technique consisted of straight punches and brute force.
Now,
this isn’t to downgrade Kenpo.
There are many arts which make the circling of the arms work,
and well.
And Kenpo,
with a little bit of analysis,
can also be made to work.
Kenpo is not bad,
but there is a wide variance of ability
in the people who teach the art.
On the beginning levels of the martial arts
one learns how to streamline the straight line,
how to make it work.
Matrix Karate.
On later levels one learns circles and how to make them work.
Blinding Steel (Monkey Boxing),
for instance,
creates speed.
But,
I recommend that one learn the beginning levels
so that one learns how to generate power properly.
That power can then be used on later levels,
later levels which do not have those types of power building drills.
So,
a Poser can be a person who is a fake personality,
acts like he is something when he isn’t.
But,
in the martial arts a Poser refers to a technique
that takes too long,
doesn’t fit in with concepts of power,
looks fancy,
is often out of place
(could work if learned later on when certain principles of power have been learned)
And so on.
And,
the news…
Matrix Karate is the ONLY course that gives you techniques in the right order,
and that knowledge will help you discover the Posers in your own art,
and fix your own art.
Your art isn’t bad.
Heck,
it might be pretty good,
but once you know how to fix it it will become better than great.
My guarantee.
Onkey Donkey,
Not too late to give the gift that keeps on giving
(one of my matrix courses)
And,
HanaKwanMass to all,
and get ready for the Martial Artist’s
‘Night Before Xmas.’
I read it (via newsletter) every Xmas.
People groan and throw up their hands,
but I think it is art.
So there.
I get this question every once in a while.
Some fellow writes in, makes a comment,
and the question is:
Has matrixing ever been done before?
Valid question.
So,
let me give you a couple of instances
so you can totally understand whether Matrixing is new.
In the original hard bound ‘Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere,’
(not the soft bound or kindle)
by Westbrook and Ratti,
there is a fold out which sort of matrixes Aikido techniques.
It is actually quite brilliant,
but it is not a true matrix for several reasons.
One, it pertains solely to Aikido,
therefore, it lacks the viewpoint necessary to the whole art.
Two, it doesn’t provide for a gradient list of techniques,
advanced or basic, you figure it out.
This makes it VERY difficult to learn.
Three,
it doesn’t demonstrate the ‘basic-basics’ of Aikido
(those body motions which construct the basics themselves)
rather it espouses a singular concept (giving way)
this results in a student going down a singular path,
and not being able to develop certain attributes and tendencies necessary to quicker understanding,
if not more thorough understanding.
Another example of ‘almost matrixing,’
is in the book ‘Wing Chun Kung Fu’
by James Yimm Lee.
This book was supposedly authored by Bruce Lee,
but I’ve read nothing to substantiate this,
other than the fact that Bruce was teaching out of Jame’s house in Oakland.
So, who knows on this point?
The specific matrixing would be the ‘four doors and eight gates’ theory
with the resulting drills.
This is quite genius,
explains the blending of hard and soft admirably,
and in a mostly mechanical manner.
BUT…
One, it is, same as Aikido, specific to an art.
It is readily applicable to other arts,
but most people don’t understand the basics of their arts
well enough to understand the how and the why.
Two, it is specific to the Wing Chun method of controlling the contest through the arms.
Thus, several other theories are ignored, or at least not mentioned.
There are other things which influenced me,
but these two were key.
Important to note,
when you consider them,
is that I was studying several other arts at the same time,
writing extensive records (to be books) concerning them,
and really examining them from a ‘whole art’ point of view.
So,
is matrixing new and unique?
It is totally new and unique.
It is not just a new model of car,
it is a new and incredibly faster type of vehicle.
It’s like comparing a Mustang to a Tesla.
Really different.
Of course,
you won’t believe it till you’ve tried it,
and the best place to start is the basics,
as in Matrix Karate.
Not just the basics of karate,
but the basic theories of matrixing,
and a completely different way of looking at the arts,
of being able to combine all arts so that they make sense,
don’t fight one another,
and join into one whole art.
Happy hot day to you!
Hot days are the best days,
the work outs sweat you hard
and you detox the body.
Do it!
One thing people should remember,
when it comes to the martial arts,
is that they are not all hard,
nor all soft.
Take a look at Morihei Ueshiba.
Guy studied some serious hard arts
before he came up with peace and love.
How about Tai Chi?
Those soft moves
are backed up by some brutal moves.
So what does this mean?
It means you have study both the hard and the soft.
You can’t study one without the other.
Now,
eventually,
if only by age and injuries,
your hard art will soften up.
Then comes enlightenment
and a profound appreciation for both sides of the yin yang.
But why wait forty years?
Why risk not making it to forty years
and not even discovering the other side of the art,
of yourself?
I’ll tell you the truth here:
when people ask me why my karate punches are so effective,
I tell them Tai Chi.
When people ask me why my Tai Chi is so effective
I tell them Karate.
That’s the truth.
Because I know what a hard punch is,
I have been able to develop tai chi to handle them.
Because I know what sensitivity and balance are
I have been able to develop Karate beyond simple muscles.
Okay,
I know I’m preaching to a a few of the choir here,
but there are others out there
who need to know this.
Who need to do some Tai Chi or Aikido
to go along with their punchology.
And there are others
who need to beef up their punches
with some good old karate or kung fu,
if they are going to evolve
their sweet and sensitive side.
If you order the DOWNLOAD ONLY…
(Not the physical disks!)
I will give you two for the price of one.
Simply order one of the above courses,
Temple Karate or Five Army Tai Chi,
DOWNLOAD ONLY,
and write to me,
say you want the two for one deal,
and I will send you the passcode for
the DOWNLOAD ONLY.
Let’s see,
it’s wednesday,
so let’s make this offer good through Sunday, July 16.
Come Monday don’t bother to whine and grovel,
it’s gone.
So do it,
take advantage,
I don’t make offers like these often.
In fact,
can you even remember the last time?
So do it,
and make this the summer of super martial arts,
study and master BOTH sides!
Happy every day to you!
The work out you do today will be special.
Gonna really rock.
Now get started!
Got an interesting email the other day,
Michael S. had this nifty way of looking at things…
I was talking to a friend earlier and it got me thinking about a couple of things. I wanted to pass along what I came up with and see what you thought.
Basically, my idea is that techniques have three main categories in relation to each other.
If we say your good friend Joe Blow has a strong jab, you might teach him a cross. Those techniques are friendly, meaning they work together in a very natural way.
Then you teach him a kick so he’ll be able to play that range too. This kick is complementary, meaning it isn’t exactly friendly with the jab but it serves to round Joe out.
Then he goes home and gets on to Youtube and decides to pick up a kimura. He doesn’t know much about grappling, he hasn’t learned any takedowns. The kimura is lonely. A lonely technique is one that needs friends to be really effective and doesn’t have them. If Joe goes down to the local BJJ school and starts learning the basics then that kimura is going to have lots of friends.
It goes without saying that this isn’t some kind of weird dig at BJJ (I know you’ll pick that up but I want to add some clarity in case this email gets shared). If a dedicated Judoka picks up a superman punch one day, then it’s the same situation. He’ll have to develop his striking base before that punch gets to ever really be effective.
One other thing I’d like to clear up about this paradigm is that some techniques can be alone but not necessarily lonely. These will tend to be straightforward basic techniques. As a matter of course, the techniques most likely to be lonely are advanced or complex moves when someone does not have a good grasp of the basics.
And of course, have a great workout.
I like the idea of grouping techniques
as friendly and lonely.
It makes science more user friendly.
Thanks Michael.
Okay,
thanks for all the orders for the
Professional Martial Arts Instructor.
Remember, if you are out of states,
meaning foreign or even Canada,
you need to order the PDF.
Postage out of the 48 kills me.
And,
here’s an interesting little phenomena…
Paypal insists on charging shipping for PDFs.
I have talked myself blue in the face,
but they make no sense.
Here’s their insanity.
I put 0 in the shipping and handling box.
They charge $4.
I complain,
they say I have to change ALL my buttons
to fix one.
What?
Are they crazy?
Why doesn’t $0 work?
They just keep repeating their insanity.
It’s a variation of
saying the same thing and hoping for a different answer.
So,
people are getting charged $4 extra on PDF orders.
Regular book is okay,
I’ve shifted to Amazon for that.
But,
I am now trying different things for the PDF,
and may be looking for a different company.
The problem is I would have to start on changing
hundreds of buttons.
Grrr.
So,
my apology.
I will try charging one penny,
if that doesn’t work,
I will try something else.
Just thought i’d let you know what is going on.
And,
I’m working on book two of the series.
Give me a month,
should have something big and great coming along.
Okay,
for those willing to confront
the PayPal insanity, (grin)
here’s the link
http://www.martialartsinstructortraining.com
Again, thanks Michael,
and thanks to everybody for helping me.
Happy Santa Anas!
The Santa Ana’s are the big winds here in LA,
it’s fun to work out with them whistling through you.
Ok-a-ley dok-a-ley,
it’s time to find out what perfection in the martial arts is.
Had a great talk with a bunch of students the other day,
and I mentioned finding perfection in the martial arts.
So what is perfection in the martial arts?
It’s an interesting question,
one that nobody ever really asks,
they just talk about it,
and assume they know what they‘re talking about.
It’s when you can ‘one punch/one kill’ somebody.
It’s when your form is perfect.
It’s when you understand the secret of the universe.
But nobody knows what perfection really is.
I do.
I defined it in The Master Instructor Course,
and tell you how to get it.
But here,
let’s talk about the short version.
Let’s talk about one of the things that I learned
way back when
that put me on the path to,
or at least understanding
what perfection is.
I was in an aikido class,
and the instructor said,
‘The perfect art cannot be felt.’
Man,
that was zen.
you know?
And it started me thinking.
He was talking about blending your defense
with the attack.
He was talking about moving your body
totally in synch with the incoming attack,
so that the opponent didn’t actually feel you
even when you took control of his body.
And he was talking about a high level of energy,
profound spiritual awareness,
etc.
But,
there’s more to it.
I took what he said
and applied it too ground rolling.
A perfect circle has no corners.
Because if you have a corner,
something will thump on the mat,
and then there is no perfection.
I spent a lot of time
figuring out how to roll without making any noise.
And it translated as:
the perfect art has no sound.
And I took that and applied it to karate.
I learned to move
without being heard.
My feet didn’t slap the mat,
not even my gi rustled,
and the only sound
was the smack of my fist hitting flesh.
Interesting.
The other night I came across the 1935 video of Morihei Ueshiba.
There was no sound.
He threw people,
and the only sound was them hitting the mat.
But of him,
there was no sound,
no foot fall,
no grunt,
no whisper of motion.
The perfect art can’t be heard,
or felt,
or,
for that matter,
even seen.
And that is the sort of thing I endured
to figure out the seven principles of the body,
and the six secrets of how to make ANY technique work,
which are all on The Master Instructor Course,
along with a lot of other nifty stuff.
Remember, no guarantees on the links here, I don’t know where they lead, but if you find a working link to a deal I’ll honor it. Not working links….too bad.
How many Martial Artists does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one. The others sit around and say, “We have that in our system.”
Awright, it’s a terrible joke.
I actually prefer this joke:
How many buddhas does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two. One to screw in the light bulb, and one to not-screw in the light bulb.
I often wonder how many people actually understand that. I mean, how do you ‘not-screw’ something? how do you ‘not-do?’
It took me about 20 years to figure out how to not-do something, and this in spite of the fact that I actually understood it.
But knowing about something is not the same as knowing something.
So when you are beginning, you punch, really hard. This has the benefit of making muscles, creating speed, and impressing the girls.
After a couple of decades you realize that you aren’t getting stronger. In fact, you realize that the harder you go, sometimes… the more it hurts.
For me, I started getting headaches from punching. Whiplash, you know.
So I started changing things. I didn’t want to give up the martial arts, and I realized that if they were hurting, there was something wrong.
I was doing something wrong.
One thing I did was read all the old texts. Old books on zen, Chinese concepts, that sort of thing.
I mean, if I was hurting, and I was doing what everyone else was doing then somebody else must have hurt, too. Right?
And it was in the ‘not-do’ concept of Buddhism. Oddly, now I didn’t understand it. But I understood it when I was 20! But at 40, I didn’t get it.
The solution to understanding this concept came from The Tao. There is a line in it… a very neutronic line…
‘Do nothing until nothing is left undone.’
Lights came on in my dusty cranium. Synapses clicked in my neural patterns. Even the zombie circuits came alive!
I started hitting softer. I stopped seeing how much impact I could create, which was the result of hitting harder, and began looking for how soft I could hit, or, here it comes… how much weight I could deliver without hitting.
Man, that was a real ‘not-doing.’ It was zen, baby, right from the root.
Now, to be honest, it probably wouldn’t have worked if I hadn’t spent all those years trying to hit hard. I had to have a certain amount of yang before I could have a certain amount of yin.
It’s sort of interesting, the universe is built of yang, but there is more yin. Yang is things. Yin is not-things. Not things include the space of things, but also… all the rest of space. Here is the key to understanding.
It’s not how hard you hit, it’s how much weight is transferred, but then you have to go backwards again, and take even the weight out of the strike. once you go through these steps something interesting happens.
In the old Chinese texts There was reference to hitting something and invalidating the atoms. Making the molecules hurt. Hmmm.
And I found that the softer I hit, and the less weight I put into the the strike, the more I could feel…atoms.
Well, not atoms, not exactly, but hitting softly, with more yin, putting space into an object (body) and the body didn’t like it. It was like the atoms got invalidated.
So if you hit with yang, impact, force on force, then things simply break. They just reach a point of breaking and the object doesn’t mind that.
But if you hit with yin, understanding what force is, and isn’t… then the object that you are striking wants to go away.
I guess the only way to think about it is like this… something in the universe (a body, for instance) doesn’t mind being broken, for that doesn’t change it’s ‘somethingness.’ but when you hit ‘something’ with less force, to the point of hitting it with emptiness, so that the idea of emptiness goes into the somethingness, then that something is in threat of being changed, it doesn’t like it, it wants to run away. It is invalidated, made more wrong than it understands wrong to be.
Weird, eh?
Anyway, you can see the video of me hitting something with yin on the Matrixing Chi page on the monster.
Unfortunately, unless you have developed enough force to understand force, and then gone the other way to understand ‘not-force,’ or yin, or the opposite of something (nothing…to the extreme), you won’t understand it. But that’s okay, you just read the words, have a little faith, and do a lot of practice, and what I say is going to make PERFECT sense.
Have an awesome work out! Al
PS, any trouble with courses, any questions about anything, drop me an email at:
Hey! An EXCELLENT morning to you! And a great work out!
Gonna talk about Closed Combat Systems, or…CCS. But first…
You may have noticed that the site was down for a couple of days. My host server moved me to a newer computer, and lost my site. Couldn’t believe it. I kept calling them, even getting nasty, which is something I don’t do. They finally got it back up, but, man, I was actually irritated.
I don’t usually get angry, or even irritated because when things happen, that’s life. You solve it. You don’t let emotions get in the way. Anyway, it’s back up, so let’s talk about CCS, or ‘Closed Combat Systems.’
There used to be nothing but CCS in the martial arts. That’s because martial artists tended to be paranoid. Didn’t want to talk to the competition. So the growth of the arts was slow, and things tended to…here comes the word… ‘circuitize.’
To understand this word consider: a move in the martial arts is a series of small steps. A simple punch, for instance, consists of:
sink the foot, push with the leg turn the hip rotate the shoulder extend the arm
And, aside from these five basic points, there are ALL sorts of minor points, minor points that are ABSOLUTELY crucial to a good punch, to a REAL martial arts punch.
breathing to the tan tien, breathing as if into the strike, turning the wrist or not, focusing the eyes, focusing the energy, turning the limbs so that proper alignment is achieved, coursing energy the right way, and on and on for everybody part every motion every notion.
A good martial artist will be aware of ALL these things, and conduct them, just like an orchestra conductor conducts a 100 piece orchestra, and all in a split second.
To make this all happen the martial artist visualizes, and causes to come into being, a ‘circuit.’ That is, a sequence of awareness impulses that drive the nerves, muscles and bones of the body machine. And there is a lot more to it than that.
Now, some people think it is all ‘muscle memory.’ Muscle memory is a small part of it, and the term isn’t even accurate. For it is not the muscles that remember, it is the spirit setting up a circuit of awareness.
Setting up a ‘robot action,’ as it were.
The point behind all this silliness and significance is that one practices a move until it becomes intuitive. Until he doesn’t have to be aware of all the little pieces.
And one practices these moves until the individual aware pieces disappear and one is left with… intuition.
So one establishes a circuit just to make it disappear. One piece at a time, through endless practice, the circuit becomes an intuitive move. The circuit disappears. The student is left with himself, and is now n expert, on the way to becoming a master.
Now, the point of this is that… old arts, because they didn’t change, became heavily circuited. Changes occurred in small increments, and the whole art could absorb them.
Fast forward to the twentieth century. Books, magazines, internet. Tournaments every week, Dojos on every corner. The appearance of LARGE corporations! Heck, these corporations would even enlist people from OTHER schools to fill the demand as they expanded.
And… systems changed. Ed Parker went through multiple organizations, five different systems, hundreds and hundreds of schools, and he was just one of the thousands of people causing havoc to the CCS.
The CCS method broke down. The art changed. The age old method that caused intuition ceased functioning. And… the quality of black belt went down.
I know because I was there. I started martial arts in 1967, studied MANY different arts, wrote for the mags and saw TREMENDOUS evolution.
Now, let’s be honest, there were a few problems with the CCS. It wasn’t efficient, but it did work. But it was replaced by something less efficient.
People who put aside forms entirely and taught fighting. People who put tournaments above individual awareness. Vested interest aimed at slanting the art for making money. A nationalistic bent that caused SEVERE tweaking of styles. And, of course, the utterly despicable rise of politics. And so on.
So the CCS died. And that brings us to me.
Interestingly, I had a fellow who wrote me the other day, asked me what my purpose was. Purpose is an interesting thing. I am speaking, of course, of the purpose of one’s life. Why a person exists. Why one would choose to have boringness in this universe on this planet in this geography at this time.
We all have purpose.
I laughed when I was asked the question, and I responded.
‘To make a science of the martial arts.’ And, I further said, ‘I accomplished my purpose, now I’m just playing.’
And it’s true.
Look, let me give you a little perspective on me.
My father was an engineer. I grew up reading such mags as popular mechanics, popular science, all sorts of ‘how to do’ mags, and, a little bonus, my father was a golfer. So I read all these mags with the most fascinating pics. Pics of men with planes placed over the body to show how the hips moved to swing the club to drive the energy the analysis of the blade of the club on the dimple of the ball.
I applied this to the martial arts.
In fact, when I picked up my first martial arts book, (Super Karate Made Easy!) I was stunned at the lack of clarity. hundreds of drawings, showing moves and techniques, self defense situations, AND NOT ONE PIC SHOWED HOW IT WAS DONE! No planes through the body, no analysis of how the hips joined to the legs to the feet to sink the weight to provide torque to the shoulders, so the wrist could snap at the right time, and… the moment of impact.
THERE WAS NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL, WRITTEN ABOUT HOW THE ART WORKED.
So there came my purpose, to put the ‘how to,’ the REAL, PHYSICS INSPIRED how to.
And, as my life passed I realized that I was obsessed with putting science into the martial arts. Something NOBODY had ever done.
Now, I succeeded. Got over 600 pages of testimonials letting me know that I succeeded. And I didn’t pursue these testimonials, they came out of the blue.
So I succeeded. I’m not famous, not rich, don’t care. Because money and fame is not the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to become competent in something, and to share that competence.
So I succeeded when I sold my first matrixing course. I succeeded because that fellow, whether he bought into my scheme of arts or not, was putting science into HIS OWN art.
And he was going to pass that science down for one simple reason: it was true. It worked, and you can’t argue with the universe. Only a fool would want to.
And, heck, people can disagree with me all they want about art. Art is subjective, it is the expression of the person, and every person is different, but… NOBODY has ever disagreed with matrixing. Matrixing is the logic, and it is an analysis of, and is based upon, cold, hard science.
Not the limited science of the colleges and western influence.
A science that includes such things as chi power, and all manner of ‘sixth sense’ phenomena.
So, now you know what CCS is, and, for what it’s worth, you understand what drove me, what inspired this obsession of mine, and how it all worked out.
But, of course, there are a few loose ends here.
The main being… what do you do to reinstate CCS. And that, interestingly enough, is where we come to matrixing.
With matrixing you go through certain evolutions.
First, you realize how to make your system work. You apply the principles, start to streamline your art, and therefore create your own CCS.
Be sure, you will learn 10Xs faster and more efficiently, heck, 1000Xs faster and more efficiently, if you create your art.
When you take apart the art you learned, be it Taekwondo, Aikido, or whatever form of Kung Fu… and put it back together, you are involved in a form of creation. You are the artist. You are no longer ‘monkey see monkey do.’ You are the one making something that is unique to you. Even though it is based upon other arts, it is unique to you.
Second, you start to create your own art. You finish aligning the systems you learned, and you start expressing yourself, creating an entirely different martial art than anything you’ve ever learned.
This is the ultimate stage of CCS.
Yet… you never close your mind to others. Matrixing won’t allow you to. You learn a system, you IMMEDIATELY start figuring out how to make that system mesh with everything else you know.
Matrixing IS a CCS. Matrixing allows you to put ALL arts, all the pieces, into one ‘picture.’
But, of course, it requires you to obsess. Just as it required me to obsess. But, just as I said the purpose of my life was to put science to art, and as I said the purpose of life itself is to become competent, the purpose underneath it all is… to put order to everything.
You put order to the tools in your garage. You tune your car so it is in order and can run. You talk to people at work to make sure you are on the same page, thus putting order to your work. Everything… EVERYTHING… requires order, and it is the obsession of every right thinking human being to make that order happen. On that scale it becomes almost religious.
And, let me say one…last…thing.
As I said, I have achieved the purpose of my life. I achieved it when I sold my first matrixing course. And I achieve it when you buy my course. And, at the end, when you have achieved your purpose… you play.
That’s what is at the end of Matrixing.
Not fame and riches, not dominance and subjugation, not corporate ownership and king for a day, but the single and sole ability…
TO PLAY.
So get a course, start the journey, and come play with me.
Have a great work out! Al
PS, any trouble with courses, any questions about anything, drop me an email at:
Man! This is a freaking great year! So many things to do! Have you made a list of things to do? I hope your list starts with doing martial arts every day, and learning a new art every month!
Every month? But Al! Nobody can do that!
Oh… Bullstuff! You can do ANYTHING you want to do!
You think not? You just set your goal, take one step at a time and watch the goal grow closer. It’s that easy.
But… twelve arts in a year? NOBODY can do that!
Oh… BULLSTUFF!
You could if you wanted.
Look, each art builds on the one before it. Let’s say it takes you three months to learn Matrix Karate. It’s only going to take a couple of months to learn Shaolin Butterfly after that, because you have a LOGICAL database. Matrix Karate is so logical, so intuitive, and each matrixed art you study after that gets easier and easier.
You could towards the end, learn a couple of arts a month. Easy. You just need the true and accurate data on what the martial arts really are.
The work outs get to be fun.
You get done with Matrix Karate, then you look at Shaolin Butterfly, or whatever art you choose, and the thought blasts through your head… THIS IS EASY!
Yeah, this is just a second step, oh, this relates to that, oh, that’s how it fits.
Your mind gets excited, you start ABSORBING the martial arts. Not grinding at them, but ABSORBING them. In fact, it’s almost like they are eating you.
It’s like getting drunk, each drink getting easier to toss down the old gullet, except it is knowledge you are tossing down. And the work outs are not boring grinds, they are exciting times with your mind leaping through the material, your body not even knowing it is working.
I’m not kidding.
Or, you could sit there and say, NAH! Nobody can do that. That’s impossible. I’M NOT EVEN GOING TO TRY!
You guys and gals want to know something?
I’m a beginner. I was a beginner in 1967, and I’m a beginner now.
Do you remember what it was like to be a beginner? To be swamped with new concepts? To travel through each work out with your brain going…OMG!
With matrixing, every work out is like that.
At least for me it is. But then…I don’t think anything is impossible.
Okay, here’s the skinny. I’ve written over two million words on the martial arts. More than anybody else in history. I didn’t even think about it, just did it, because it was FUN!
So here’s a little blast from the past. I was trying to put order in my files and I came across the six journals.
They start small, the first one is only four pages, and grow larger and larger, and cover all sorts of things, some original articles, some original artwork, some original thinking. AND I HAD FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT THEM!
Well, heck, with over 2,000,000 words, of course I’ve forgotten some stuff, forgotten I’ve written some stuff. So here is the link to the first journal. No charge, just something to get you thinking, something to help you come to the conclusion… NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
And, of course, let me know if the link doesn’t work. I don’t know if any links inside the mag work, you can let me know, but I probably won’t do anything. After all, I wrote the mags ten years ago, and have gone through several websites, softwares, etc.
BUT… here’s my screwup, and you can take advantage of it.
I never deleted one of my old websites. Oh, yeah, it’s there. In fact, it is so old that I can no longer fix it. I made it with an old Mac program. No longer works. So you MIGHT be able to find links to old prices. Now, if the link doesn’t work… if a Paypal button doesn’t work… I won’t honor it. Sorry. It’s broke, I can’t fix it, tough luck. BUT if it works, you can order what you want. I have to honor it, right?
Now, to tell the truth, I don’t know what works. Maybe everything, maybe nothing, probably something in between.
I don’t know, and I don’t care to look because, darn it, I can’t fix it.
So, a New Years blessing. Something to get you going. If the links work, take advantage. If they don’t, if a product is no longer there, I probably won’t honor it. (Though I will refund, if that issue comes up. I always guarantee everything, even if I don’t know what it is.)
Okay, welcome to the new year, have a great work out, and remember… ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
Happy New Year! And a dirty word to you. A dirty word? But…which dirty word?
The word is… ATARAXIA.
I will explain why it is a dirty word later. Right now, let me say that, dirty or not, it is the one word you should know, especially if you wish to be a real martial artist.
I do want to warn you, that if you’re not prepared for a little concentration, a bit of hard thought, and the willingness to look your face right in the mirror, you better skip this newsletter.
Here we go.
Ataraxia is derived from Greek. it means… ‘not disturbed.’ It is freedom from distress and worry.
Or, A state of serene calmness.
This is not just a philosophical word. Philosophy, as in dry old men who sit around and talk about life.
This is freedom from worrying about whether some fellow is going to attack you, whether your car is going to make it to work, or even where your next meal is coming from. Heck, it is even freedom from the fellows in Washington, who do their best to disturb any tranquil state of the soul.
And here’s the real definition.
Ataraxia is an untroubled and tranquil condition of the soul… THE IDEAL STATE FOR SOLDIERS ENTERING BATTLE! (Caps mine.)
But, we have just scratched the surface of the word.
Dig in a little deeper and we have… ‘live life modestly, gain a knowledge of the world, and limit one’s desires.’
Yikes! That means you don’t need a Ferrari, a cheap junker will do, if it will get you from here to there, which is the point of it all.
If you live modestly and seek knowledge, you will become free from fear… you will be happy.
But, it gets even juicier. A person who takes no position as to what is good or bad attains a state of ataraxia. Good or bad, you see, is a judgment. A person who judges others has removed himself from humanity.
And, yet more. A person who pursues virtue will achieve ataraxia.
So, to become a warrior, a real warrior, possessed of virtues and honor, you have to give up desires, you have to stop judging others, then you can become balanced, and that balance will manifest as a peaceful state of the soul.
Now do you understand why this simple word is so important? Do you understand why a year spent delving into it will result in yourself as a higher caliber martial artist?
And, of course, a few work outs a day. Work outs like in Monkey Boxing. Every week you get more data, old training drills that are now forgotten. New training drills to fill in the pieces. And an inspiration to work out. To not stop. To explore the martial arts to delve into what makes you you.
Think about it like this, think about this different way of looking at things: if something bad happens, you don’t get upset or emotional, for it has already happened. You don’t react, but merely move to calm the situation.
And, if you can do this, then you start to see ‘disturbances’ coming, and you start to act BEFORE the deed, thus preventing a disturbance to your ataraxia, and helping others to achieve this ideal state of spirituality.
That’s how it all works.
So why is Ataraxia a dirty word?
Because saying ‘dirty word’ makes people look. I got you to look. Hopefully, you will forgive my terrible deed, and consider a life filled with ataraxia.
And here’s something really sneaky about this, if i can inject a final word.
You saw the term ‘dirty word,’ your mind reacted, and you were compelled. Not very ataraxic, eh?
And the solution is to pursue ataraxia if you wish to overcome being a victim to ‘anti-ataraxia.’
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!
