Tag Archives: kung fu

How to Fix Karate is Published!

Posted on July 15, 2022 | Leave a comment

How to Fix Karate is Published!

Newsletter 1047 ~ sign up on right top.

All right!
I know you are doing fine!
People who study the martial arts are ALWAYS fine!
So…
‘The Book’ is published.
At least the first half is.

How to Fix Karate (Volume One)

The book is over 400 pages long.
It comes in two volumes because
I can’t put that much material in a single volume.

The book presents eight forms,
the basic forms of karate.

Book one dissects Pinan One and throws it out.
Yep.
All the way out.
And the reasons are delineated in detail.

I give you the ‘New Pinan One,’
which is Matrix One.
A MUCH more intelligent form.
And I give you all the reasons,
and show you how to make 16-20 techniques from that one form.

I then have sections for
what is wrong with pinan two and
how to fix it
what is wrong with pinan three and
how to fix it.

The remainder of the forms,
including advanced materials and
a whole video course
(Matrix Combat),
are in the second book.

I have included links at the beginning of certain chapters
which will lead to videos of me doing the forms.
Please keep receipts
in the event that links change.

This is NOT a book for dummies.
People will think that I have made it too simple,
they will think I have made it too complex,
that my logic is faulty,
they will argue over my reasons and conclusions.
This is good,
because I am going to tell you a secret…

Virtually EVERY martial arts book written
is merely a show and tell
of what they have been shown.
There is almost NO original thought,
certainly not analytical thought,
in the martial arts books on the market.

It is just what they have been shown
and accepted without question.

People have much pride in passing down martial arts
EXACTLY as they have been shown them.
Nobody asks why.
Nobody looks at the material and says…that technique sucks,
Nobody questions the venerable old master
and asks themselves if the old guy is in his second childhood,
or suffering Alzheimer’s,
or just had too much to drink.
They just take the art and pass it along,
and they make up reasons for forms that don’t make sense,
and teach the same old worthless techniques
that don’t work in reality..

The only real objection is in the form of people who quit karate.
And they have certainly NEVER looked at the art,
and questioned it,
or they wouldn’t have quit.
They just didn’t understand it and they quit.
Period.

Can’t really blame them.
Honestly.
They found karate to be unworkable,
and it is difficult to argue with their conclusions.
Hopefully we can rescue a few of these people
and bring them back into the fold.

Anyway, this book will cause consternation, argument,
and all the other things that a real artist must deal with
if he is to understand the art.

The glory of this book is that I’ll take the forms,
technique by technique,
and tell you not only what is wrong with it,
but how to fix it.
The techniques will suddenly make sense,
which will bring about a rejuvenation
in the belief in forms as a method.
I use logic, history, physics and matrixing to do this.

And,
as you argue over my conclusions
and even think bad thoughts of me
I will have succeeded.

When I was in 6th grade
everybody was doing reports on South America.
Joe had 10 pages.
Barry had 15 pages.
Sue had 30 pages.
And that was about it.
I wrote over 200 pages.
Had to put it in two folders.
Teacher’s eyes popped out.
All the kids started whispering and
I thought I had done something wrong.
Turned out I had actually done something right,
for a change.

But that wasn’t the real story.
The real story was that the next semester
we did reports on Central America.
I did 300 pages.
Zowie.
BUT… six kids had larger reports than me.

Now you’d think I would be disappointed.
I wasn’t top dog.
But I had an interesting thought:
I made those kids do more than me.
I inspired them.

And I realized that this was what I wanted to do.
I wanted to inspire people.
It was cool.
It gave me such a sense of self worth I never got over it.

And that has been what has been driving me all these years.
That and the idea that I wanted to write a letter
to people who live a thousand years from now.

In writing this book I feel I have succeeded in my purpose.
Enjoy the book,
hate it,
argue over it,
and that is my success.
You won’t be able to stop analyzing
and looking and figuring out
how to make Karate
the powerhouse it originally was.

I will have made a whole art
become a method for analytical thought.
Talk about changing the world.

Here is the link.

I do have to thank Ted VanderNoot for his editing.
No matter how hard I look,
the mistakes are all still mine.
Sigh.

If you want to see a real mistake,
glance at the back cover.
It’s a small mistake,
that is huge,
and glaring,
and you’ll laugh.

The second book is going through the publishing process.
I am publishing hard bound copies
in the near future for those interested.

Do me a favor and pass the word
on this book.
And give me five stars when you can.

Okay, everybody,
HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

How to Fix Karate (Volume One)

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

BTW
I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on

The Science of Government.
It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

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Self Awareness in the Martial Arts

Posted on December 11, 2021 | Leave a comment

Building Self Awareness in the Martial Arts

I am speaking of the classical martial arts.
some types of Karate,
some types of kung fu
aikido,
tai chi…
that sort of thing.

I am not speaking of MMA
and the various arts
that fall under that umbrella.

First,
there is sport
and there is art.

Sports are when you try to beat somebody
Art is when you try to discipline yourself.
Huge difference there.

Trying to beat somebody doesn’t make you wise
Disciplining yourself makes you wise.

But,
I’ll be in your face with this,
if you don’t understand the difference,
why this is so,
then you’re just going to be pissed off at me if you’re into the sports
And you’ll be a parrot supporting your art if you are classical.

So,
here it is…
what is the difference?

This universe consists of motion.
Objects fly through space.
Go on,
think about it.

cosmic forces impinge on a planet,
a planet forms.
Gravity and such causes compression,
rocks heat up,
heat rises to the surface
a volcano blows up
people run for their lives.
Living in this world
is like living on a game board.

But,
on this game board we call earth
there are humans
and humans have choices
and can even affect the game board.
They can move away from the volcano.
They can dodge meteorites.
They can step out of the way of cars.
Or they can get into the cars and drive through crowds.

All there is in life
is the analyses of the flow of objects
period.

So how do you analyze the flow of objects?
In boxing you hit the bag
and there are drills for bobbing and weaving.
But the point isn’t to analyze the flow of objects.
The intent is to make the body strong
and to create knee jerk reactions.
Yes,
this is good,
but it does not build the awareness
that will turn into wisdom.

You won’t get wise by being punched,
otherwise we could make Mozarts with clubs.

You won’t get wise unless you pursue awareness.

So,
we come to the martial arts,
and the point I am trying to make here.
Some martial arts,
many martial arts
have gone the way of boxing.
Boxing works,
after all.
Even though it doesn’t breed wisdom,
or elevate one’s awareness and self awareness.

In the classical martial arts,
the real ones that haven’t fallen to knee jerk training methods,
there is a pursuit of awareness.
There are drills that cause one to become more aware
and more self aware.
Smarter and wiser.

Sure,
boxing works,
and it can be used to beat people up pretty ruthlessly,
but what good is the ability to beat people up
if you keep walking into the traffic?

So,
let’s delve into this subject of awareness in the martial arts.

There are four methods for enlightenment.

scripture
yoga
fakir
martial arts

One can study scripture
and eventually figure out wisdom.
Very intelligent approach,
but not useful for self defense,
but…enough wisdom and one can see a fight coming
and avoid it.

One can study yoga,
which exercises the body
and holds on still long enough
that he might see the motion within his body
and that tends to bleed over to seeing the motion
outside one’s body.
and hopefully the yoga will see the fight coming
and avoid it.

One can deny the existence of the universe
as a fakir does
until he sees himself
and becomes aware of himself.
Sort of a crazy method,
but it works.
But it is difficult to get punched in the face
and say it didn’t happen.

And then there are the martial arts,
which I will describe in a second,
after I have made a brief summation
of the other three methods for pursuing enlightenment.

A scripturalist
learns ABOUT the motion of the universe
until he becomes aware of potential consequences,
and in this method he is enlightened,
which is to say
he is made self aware.

A yoga
looks at the universe inside his body
until he can see the similarities of motion
between the universe of his body
and the game board universe in which he lives.

A fakir says nothing exists
denying the universe
until he figures out that he is all that exists.

A martial artist
studies the flow of fists
until he understands that the universe
is nothing but the flow of objects.
He becomes aware that he cannot see the flow of objects
unless he looks at them,
and he can’t look at them,
unless he looks at himself.
Self awareness.

Of the four methods
the martial arts are the best and the surest.
This is because
reality impinges if he doesn’t look.

How many times have you heard something like this…

‘He tagged you,
better open your eyes.’

Yet most martial arts
have put aside the drills that open the eyes,
and gone the way of such as boxing
with their emphasis on knee jerk reactions.

A knee jerk reaction is a jerk of the body to a threat.
It is not self awareness.
And you have instructors touting muscle memory,
instead of teaching people to ‘open their eye,’
or attain self-awarenes.

And there is just enough truth in muscle memory,
that people think there is more.

You are walking through a dark house
a tap on the shoulder
and you turn around and smack the guy.
Wonderful!
Except the guy happened to be your granny
offering you a fresh baked cookie.
That is muscle memory.

You are walking through a dark house
a tap on the shoulder
and you turn and hug your granny,
or smack the guy with the club,
because that is not muscle memory.
That is awareness.

Looking at the flow of objects
on the game board of this universe,
Now analyze force and direction
until you are aware of force and direction
to the point at which you becomes enlightened.
Self aware
Wise.

Now,
if you are still with me,
I have one more point to make.
There are degrees of self awareness,
and these degrees can be arranged in a scale.

A baby walks into walls, falls down.
He isn’t aware of his body much at all.
He/she might be fantastically aware of themselves,
but as the game board of the universe impinges on them
hits them on the nose with enough walls,
awareness of self falls to awareness of hard objects that flow.

A teenager is aware of his body
but not of himself.
He/she is usually out of control
(unless they have VERY enlightened parents)
and deliberately runs into the walls of the universe.

A fellow who has started the martial arts
has taken a step towards self control.
And this is a discipline
and a step towards self awareness.
Unfortunately,
the state of the martial arts,
the obsession with hitting people for fun
keeps them in a very low state of self awareness

A black belt…in a GOOD art,
an art that is logical and based on physics,
has a greater degree of self control.
He has awareness of himself,
but not to any great degree.
He is a baby in a new universe.
The key here is this:
while there is an art to destruction
the true art lays in control.

A fellow who has mastered a true art,
one based on physics and with the precept just mentioned
is aware of himself to a great degree.
He is somewhat enlightened.
But he is like a teenager in a new universe.

How do you become totally enlightened?
Totally self-aware?
Don’t give in to the games of the universe.
Don’t teach to dominate.
Don’t play politics.
And…
Do study other arts,
and study fields outside the arts
with the intent of developing self awareness within those fields.
Most of all…
teach with the idea of helping others.

And here is the fun fact…
there is no end to developing self awareness,
and that is the True Art.

Okay,
time for the obligatory ad.
If you do the one simple exercise in the Matrix Karate course
you will be close to, and might even attain, enlightenment.
That is because it puts the observation of the flow of the objects (fists) of the universe
to logic.
That which is logical is ten times easier to learn
ten times faster to absorb.
But here is the cruel trick.
Most people read the drill,
it is called
‘The Matrix of Blocks,’
and they say,
‘Oh, I’ve done all those blocks.
So I don’t need to.
I understand what he’s saying,
and it’s enough that I’ve read it.’

Grrr.
I am close to saying a dirty word here.
That’s like saying
‘I’ve been in a car,
so I don’t need to know how it works.’
Or,
and this is a good one,
‘I’ve seen water,
so I don’t have to take a bath.’

Stupid, eh?
So you have to get the course,
and…GET A PARTNER.
And…DO THE MATRIX OF BLOCKS.

Knowing about it is not enough.
Having a surface knowledge of the basics isn’t enough.
You have to experience the blocks
and how they work together
in the Matrix of Blocks.
Just a few times through,
until you can do them as easy as you count from one to ten,
and then you’ll have it.
But please…
don’t read about it and think you know it.
Don’t be a paper tiger.
Be the real thing.

MATRIX KARATE

And,
my HanaKwanMass present to you,
If you order the Matrix Karate course,
you may order any other course you wish,
of comparable value.

That’s the Master Instructor course,
the Matrix Aikido course,
the Shaolin Butterfly
or whatever.

To be specific,
any course that’s $40 or less.

Just make your order,
and write me and tell me what course you would like
and I’ll send you the download link.
email me at aganzul@gmail.com
Write me if you have questions.

Now…
HANAKWANMASS!
And have a great work out!

Al

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

BTW
I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on

The Science of Government.
It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

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What is ‘Fake Karate?’

Posted on October 21, 2021 | Leave a comment

One Thing Wrong with Karate…

Good morning!

One of the main things wrong
with karate today
is bunkai.

It’s funny,
I have heard people who believe in
the more combative methods,
talk about how worthless Bunkai are.

And,
I have seen a LOT of schools that don’t even practice bunkai.
so people don’t practice making karate work,
and,
as a result,
they don’t know how to make it work.

when I was training we didn’t call the form applications ‘bunkai.’
We called them ‘Promise Fights.’
It was the ‘promise’ of a fight.
But,
as time went on,
it was more.
It was the postulate of a fight.
A postulate is an idea.
If you practice promising enough,
the idea works.
It is that simple,
and that complex.

First,
many of the applications are worthless,
they are either dancers or posers.

Second,
they don’t fit the form.
But the forms have been really screwed up,
so that is understandable.

Third,
when we did the form applications,
or ‘Promise fights,’
as we called them,
we had 1/3 to 1/2 of the class time to do them.
We would face each and get ready,
we stepped forward with an attack,
and the defender did his promise fight.
Class after class,
year after year,
and a strange thing happened.

Because it was the same every time
we began to see where a body would move
before it would move.
We weren’t fighting,
we were looking,
and we would suddenly see the dip of the shoulder,
the turn of the foot,
the glaze of the idea,
and we knew what was coming,
before it was even launched.

So damned simple and workable,
yet it has,
in many schools,
been put aside.
And even if bunkai are practiced,
they don’t make sense,
they don’t fit the form,
they dance and they pose.

Our applications were VERY workable.
No posers,
no dancers.
They looked like the forms,
but they were VERY functional in combat.

I’ve talked about how the upper students
could actually make them work in freestyle.

And people have given up doing applications
across the arts.
It is easier to have a fellow punch a bag,
than think about the turn of the hip,
or the wrist,
year after year.

The sad truth is that most people
think that karate,
and other martial arts,
are all about fighting.

May I coin a phrase?
If people think that,
they are not doing karate,
they are doing…
‘fake karate.’

And here’s an interesting little item,
the people who say,
‘my art is better than yours,’
are manifesting a fight,
and they are guilty of…
‘fake karate.’

And,
believe me,
Fake Karate is every bit as bad as fake news.

Okay,
just to let you know,
I’m working on a book,
and it’s a big one.
Might even come in two parts.
But it is proving…difficult.
Usually,
when I write a book
I sit down and write it,
takes maybe a week or two.
But this one is just beating me up.
I have rewritten it,
broken it into pieces,
recombined it,
and it is just being stubborn.
So,
my apologies for making you wait,
but,
you might want to make sure
your matrix karate is ready for when this is released.
You are really going to need
to have your art down,
because this is going to expand it.
Severely.

The book is about what happened to karate,
and i am specifically speaking of the applications.
The bunkai, if you will.
Full of history,
full of applications,
full of matrixing.

So,
I’ll keep working on it,
but you should look into either

Matrix Karate
or
The Master Instructor Course

In fact,
I really shouldn’t do this.
there’s no reason to,
except that I’m a nice guy…

Buy one and I’ll give you the other.
Just buy one,
then email me at: aganzul@gmail.com
and I’ll send you both courses.

This is good until October 31st.
Happy Halloween!

Now, have a great work out!
Al

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

BTW
I’m always pushing my novels,
did you know I write other stuff?
If you want to know the truth about government,
why we have riots and why idiots keep getting into office,
why the government seems to do the exact wrong thing
almost ALL the time…
then check out:

THE SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT!

1a Matrix Karate

1d Master Instructor Course

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Internal Chi Power: Karate and Tai Chi Chuan

Posted on April 14, 2020 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 998

The Two Types of Internal Power (chi)!

Hi guys and gals!
Happy Corona vacation!
I hope you’ve made the best of it,
learned an art or two,
worked out every day,
preserved your health and safety
for your whole life.
If not…okay,
you’ve still got time.

One of the big mysteries in the martial arts
is this thing called Chi Power,
or ‘internal power.’
It is spoken of in Karate and kung fu,
Aikido and Tai Chi
and all manner of arts.
Interestingly,
MMA,
and more modern arts,
don’t speak of it.
In fact,
‘chi power’ is often denigrated,
held in poor repute.
All that means is that people don’t understand it,
and so bad mouth it.
So,
let me delve into the subject briefly.
Before I do,
however,
you should know something.
Most arts won’t generate chi power
for the simple reason
that the body is not structured properly.
To make chi you first have to have resistance,
and the body must be formed
to take advantage of that resistance.
you don’t make muscles,
although muscles occur,
in real martial arts.
You generate awareness,
and awareness becomes chi power.
When you do the Master Instructor course
you learn how to create resistance
by structuring the body correctly,
and that turns into chi power,
but it’s not easy.
It takes time and awareness,
and most people are too interested in beating people up
and so ignore the simple fact of awareness.
When you do the Matrix Karate you learn how to structure an art,
and that speeds everything up.
No missing pieces in your path,
nothing out of place or not making sense.

Okay,
that all said,
let’s talk about the two main types
of internal power in the martial arts.

There are hard arts,
karate and kung fu and such.
Then there are soft arts,
such as Aikido and Tai Chi.

Karate is a matter of analyzing the body
so that it provides certain paths of resistance,
and then using as little force as possible
on these paths.
Why as little force as possible?
Because if you use force you build muscles.
If you don’t use force,
then you start to use energy.
But the paths of resistance MUST be correct
for the generation of energy to occur.
If you turn your feet wrong you lose resistance.
If your hips aren’t aligned you lose resistance.
If your shoulders overthrow you lose resistance,
and so on and so on.
This is why the old guys who teach hard chi
obsess on such things as the wrist not being turned properly.
Even if you knock the other guy out…bad form.

Now,
here is an interesting phenomena.
Most karate teaches explosive power.
It’s all in your ability to explode.
If your form is correct
you might make the transition
and start to generate chi power.
Most styles of karate,
however,
do not have proper form.
they have been made into boxing,
or the instructors haven’t understood what they are doing
and the art has become tweaked and incorrect.

Actually,
the proper way to teach hard chi
is as follows.
Push with the foot,
feel the turn of the leg,
feel the turn of the hip,
feel the power go up the body,
feel the corkscrew of the arm
snap the fist.

This is described in many places,
but the directions are poor,
or they leave things out.
The instructor doesn’t teach the student
to stop tightening the whole body
and to tighten only the wrist.
Or breathing is neglected.
Or the purpose of stances is not adhered to.
(sink the weight into the ground to create a motor).
But if you relax, breath correctly,
feel weight and sensation course up through the body
through exact configuration
(spiral, unfold, pulse, etc.)
then you don’t get chi power.

tell the truth,
I had chi power from my study of karate.
I had a teacher who taught a good art,
and I obsessed on figuring out the best way to form the body.
But I didn’t understand it,
and wasn’t able to teach it effectively
until after I had done Tai Chi.
Tai Chi gave me the ‘emptiness’ that I needed
to fulfill the ‘empty’ in ‘empty hands.’

Okay,
having mentioned Tai Chi,
let’s talk about the chi power you get
from such arts as Tai Chi or Aikido.

Karate is an explosion.
A ball of boom!
Aikido and Tai Chi…
they rely on getting ahead of the attacker
just enough to unbalance them.
Now,
here is the secret.
When you move with somebody,
in harmony with them,
you tap into more power.
It is the simple fact of two motors
(two bodies)
working in tandem.
More energy is created.
And, harmony has more inherent energy
than the fact of exploding.

Which is not to say karate or kung fu
don’t have harmony.
But it is constantly being upset by the need for power.
If a person can stop lusting for power,
learn to relax while punching,
harmony breeds.
Never as much as in Tai Chi or Aikido,
but enough.

So these are the two types of internal power
you get from the classical martial arts,
arts that haven’t been corrupted by such things as politics,
MMA, boxing, the need to pay rent, and so on.

But there are more types of internal energy.
Much more.
But the correct path would be to develop
one, or both, of the types of energy I describe here,
then let other energies develop.
And they will develop.
Every person is different,
however,
so it may be difficult to predict
what kind of energy and ability you will develop,
and it may not be what you were expecting.
But whatever you get,
it will be in keeping with your personality
and your personal evolution of spirit.

If you want what I am describing here,
I recommend

the Master Instructor course
to learn how to structure the body correctly.

Matrix Karate
to learn how to structure an art
so there will be no missing pieces,
no out of place oddities.

And,
if you are a long timer
and understand all that I am saying,
you might like to delve into
Tai Chi Chuan.

Okay,
‘nuff said,
have yourself a great and wonderful Corona vacation,
and a super duper work out.
Al

2c Five Army Tai Chi Chuan

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Tai Chi reality and a Special Offer

Posted on March 29, 2020 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 997

What Tai Chi Really is and Means!

Before I get started,
remember that I have a couple of specials
available on my site.
Matrix Karate is discounted,
There is a two for one offer on that page
Read this blog for details.

Corona Kung Fu Special!

I do this because lots of people
can’t go to the dojo,
and you need to keep practicing.
A hardy body/immune system
is crucial to beating the Kung Flu.

Okay, let’s talk about Tai Chi Chuan.

Tai Chi Chuan means
‘the grand ultimate fist.’
Some bozos think it is proud brag,
that it refers to Tai Chi being better
than all the other arts.
Nope.
Not the meaning at all.
It’s much more than that.

First,
I have over 50 years in the martial arts.
Probably 45 of them studying Tai Chi.
Lots of Tai Chi.
All the styles.
Read all the books,
and so on.

When I first began Tai Chi,
back about ’74,
I came across a wood carving.
It was old,
a couple of hundred years,
and on it was a bird’s eye view
of the top of a mountain range,
and it looked like a yin yang symbol.

I was like,
what the heck?
How did this carver know what a bird sees?
Well, he was supposed to have studied Tai Chi.
That one concept,
that a person could get so out of his body
that he could look down on the highest mountains,
guided my Tai Chi.
I always had that in mind.
For many years it was just an idea.
Cool, but no progress.
But I persisted.

But changes occurred,
and eventually I began experiencing
what that wood carver must have experienced.

I was doing Tai Chi the other day,
standing in the middle of a road
doing my versions of Tai Chi.
I was higher than the road,
looking down on it
as if from a rooftop.
I mean it was like I was standing
on top of a bowl
that was upside down.
The world just curved away and down from me.
I was up,
the world was beneath me.

So let’s talk about this phenomena.

There is no proof that the world exists.
It’s all just sort of…assumed.
Or,
as I prefer,
imagined.

I mean…you are,
and that’s about all you can say.
But you can’t prove that you are to anybody else.
And,
to be honest,
everything in the whole universe
might be a figment of your imagination.
You know?

BUT…
When you do the Tai Chi form
you push awareness through your body,
which validates your body,
and,
more important,
validates you.

You are the center of the universe,
and by doing the Tai Chi form over and over
(I’ve probably done it 20 or 30 thousand times in 45 years.)
you become aware of this.

Awareness is the crux of reality.
Reality doesn’t exist except as you are aware of it.

Do you understand?

And,
over the years,
Tai Chi makes you more and more real
as the center of the universe.
After all,
it is your awareness that is making your life happen.

This is how a wood carver
hundreds of years ago
can be higher than the mountain tops.

But,
I tell you from personal experience,
it takes time and effort and hard work over time.
And I mean to be redundant.

So,
get started now.
Tai Chi takes less effort than say Karate,
or harder forms of martial arts,
so you can do it longer.

It has direct effect on your body systems.
You will have less colds,
more immunity,
and the hell with this Corona crap.

And,
to help you out,
let me make a special Corona offer.

Order Five Army Tai Chi Chuan
on this page

2c Five Army Tai Chi Chuan

then send me an email

aganzul@gmail.com

and tell me you want the Matrix Tai Chi course, too.
I will do it.

Download or disk,
you get both courses for the price of
the Five Army Tai Chi course.

Okay guys,
hope to see you over the mountain tops,
and…

Have a great work out!
Al

2c Five Army Tai Chi Chuan

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The Night Before Xmas…for Martial Artists

Posted on December 24, 2019 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 993

The Martial Arts Night Before Xmas

Here it is,
my annual Xmas poem,
the Night Before Xmas,
adapted for Martial Artists.

I won’t make apologies for it,
but I will ask one thing,
a present to me for Xmas,
if you will.

If I have offended,
sent the wrong order,
dropped a communication,
offended you in ANY manner,
even with this poem,
please forgive.
It’s a new year,
help me start it fresh,
the world is too wonderful a place
to carry around ANY ill will.

Now,
with no further ado,
here is…

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HANAKWANMASS TO ALL
and to all a great work out.

Have a great work out!
Al

1a Matrix Karate

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Dark Martial Arts Holiday is Here!

Posted on December 10, 2019 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 992

Martial Arts Holiday HanaKwanMass is Coming!

One punch at a time…
one kick at a time…
day by day we get closer and closer…
it’s just a few days until…

HANAKWANMASS!

You old guys know what I’m talking about.
Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas!
HanaKwanMass,
the one day out of the year
I get to insult EVERY person who says…
happy holidays.

Happy holidays is a phrase invented so you don’t
hurt the feelings of somebody who believes in Kwanza
by saying Merry Xmas to him,
or offend a Jewish fellow by saying Kwanza,
and so on.

But I say
a holiday is a holiday,
and if somebody says the wrong one to you
he meant well
and you walk away with good wishes,
and the heck with the politically correct bushwah.

You know,
there is a deeper thread here.

A fellow knows karate,
so he bad mouths Kung Fu,
or Aikido or whatever.
A fellow does MMA,
so he looks down on Kenpo or Taekwondo.

These fellows are the garbage minds of the Martial Arts.

When I meet a fellow who studies something I don’t,
I am all over him,
how do you guys handle this?
What about that weapon?
what’s your training like?

Every question I get answered
opens my mind
makes me a batter martial artist.

No art is better than any other,
they are just different steps in the martial arts.

No person is any better,
or worse,
than any other.
We are all cogs in the same machine,
we are all the different faces of God,
we are people…
and HanaKwanMass to us all.
And HanaKwanMass to you
and all your kids,
and your brothers and sisters,
aunts and uncles,
grandparents,
and even your dogs and cats,
and especially to your instructors.

If you understand what I just said,
then you understand the real spirit of the martial arts.

OBLIGATORY AD
(you may skip if you wish,
but you’ll probably wake up tomorrow with a rash.)

4d The Punch


This is for those of you
who wish to develop
the strongest punch
known to mankind,
and even a few aliens.

Al

4d The Punch

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Unding your Education with Matrixing

Posted on November 11, 2019 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 989

The Odd Effects of Matrixing in the Martial Arts

Started matrixing back in the 80s.
Been a long time.
Formalized it around 2007.
Taught a lot of people,
but here’s the thing…
matrixing is VERY subtle.

You do the first courses,
maybe you get a blast of realization,
especially if you’ve spent some time in the arts,
have a good database that needs to be organized.
Then the real work starts.
Time.

Time passes
and the seeds gestate within.
The initial blast of logic fades a bit,
but it keeps working.
Sometimes you don’t realize it
but you are looking at the world differently.
logically.
Life becomes smoother.
things other than the arts make sense,
are made logical by the matrixing going on inside you.

When you go to school
you are told to shut up and learn.
It’s all behavior modification.
Teachers can’t control the classes
unless they can control the masses.
So shut up and do your work.
Doesn’t matter that the work isn’t logical,
doesn’t have much to do with life.
Shut up and do your work.

They even go after you after school.
Do your homework.
No rest.
Get trained (modified)
so you can be a cog in a factory.

And here’s the thing…
there isn’t much real learning.
Mostly,
it’s memorizing.
When was the battle of Bull Run.
Who cares.
Memorize that algebraic function.
Even though you will never use it in life.

And,
when a lot of people graduate
they are in one of two modes…
a robot ready to man a desk somewhere…
and learning sucks.

Yeah,
school teaches you that learning can be boring,
meaningless and stupid.
So people come out of school thinking that learning sucks.
I did.
And I’d probably still think that learning sucks,
if it wasn’’ for martial arts…
and then matrixing.

There are things in school,
underneath all the drivel,
that do mean something.
Learning how to write,
what all that grammar stuff is,
is incredible.
But they don’t spend a lot of time on that.
Better to modify your behavior.

Underneath that algebra,
is a whole method of learning and analysis
and critical thinking…
but they slide over that quick,
too hard to explain.

And speaking of critical thinking…
schools don’t go anywhere near that.
Kids might start thinking for themselves,
and then where would the behavior modifiers be?

I started learning when it came to the martial arts.
I wanted to understand it.
I wanted to figure it out.
And I started thinking.
I started analyzing it,
being critical in my thought concerning it.
I started doing things that school never prepared me for,
and never wanted me to do.

Matrixing.
A quick way to line up all the data,
to make sense of it
and apply it.
And the carefully arranged rigidity of my mind
started to shatter.

Unfortunately,
it doesn’t work that way for everybody.

I was lucky,
had a couple of good schools,
an instructor who didn’t say much,
but could do a lot,
but who wanted us to figure it out for ourselves.

I remember once,
when a couple of the students went to Bob (my instructor).
They showed him two techniques
and asked him which was better.
He said,
‘I don’t know.’
But it was obvious he knew!
But it was also obvious he wanted to think for ourselves,
to make up our own minds.
To look at the techniques,
try them out,
mix them up,
analyze them,
synthesize them,
and…
understand them.

That is something that almost no teacher,
in todays schools,
martial arts or otherwise,
wants you to do.

No critical thinking for you…
you have to stay a bozo.

Okay,
I’ve ranted enough,
and it’s up to you.
Be a carefully crafted
‘do what I say’ person,
or start looking.
Get critical,
get analytical,
start matrixing,
look for understanding,
and,
here’s the real deal…
start having some fun.

Guaranteed,
when you finally figure out what I’m saying
you’ll understand something that teachers may talk about
but don’t know how to make happen…
fun.

Here’s some real fun…

1a Matrix Karate

Hey,
hapy vets day to you!
and have a great work out!

Al

1a Matrix Karate

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Becoming Formless with Martial Arts

Posted on October 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 987

How to Be Formless in the Martial Arts

Bruce Lee talks about being formless.
Zen teaches us to be formless.
This idea of being formless permeates the martial arts,
but what the heck is it, really?

To be formless is to be in the moment,
actually moving in concert with an attack,
and not in response to an attack.

It means you don’t react,
you don’t move in specific ways,
but rather in unspecific manner,
adapting to the motion of your opponent,
and not moving in specific manners
your training has dictated.

Here’s the problem,
there are total idiots out there
who hear about being formless,
and think that because they don’t study anything,
and especially a classical art,
they are formless.

Nope,
they are idiots,
trying to make their lack of learning
more than it is.

So,
here we go,
here is what it means in ways you can understand
and even adapt to your work out.

To be formless is to be like water,
pour it into a glass and it assumes the shape of a glass.
Pour it into a bowl,
and it assumes the shape of the bowl.
So it doesn’t mean you have the no shape
of somebody who knows nothing,
it means you are smart enough
to shape yourself to the attack.

Somebody punches and you block?
That’s a response form Karate.
Somebody locks you go with the lock
and figure your way out of it?
That’s a response form Jujitsu.

And freestyle is just reacting,
it is fighting,
no pouring yourself into a shape
that fits the attack.

Let’s say somebody pushes you.
How do you react?
Do you brace, then attack?
Do you grab and throw?
Those are specific responses
created by studying specific arts.

If you were formless
you would adapt to the push,
shape your body around it,
and that might entail blocking or grappling…
or unbalancing or shifting or…or…
but it would be unique to the situation…
WITH NO LOSS OF AWARENESS.

Indeed,
you would have more awareness,
because that is the result of the martial arts training…
if done properly.

If you do not study a martial art
you are certainly formless,
and a victim to the forces of the universe.

If you do study a martial art,
and then another one and another one,
you eventually become formless…
and the universe is victim to your desires.

So these fellows who study something and say,
‘I stopped studying so I could break out of that art
and become formless,’
are total and utter idiots.
They have exchanged their inabilities
for the right to sound stupid.
It’s true.

The BEST way to be formless
is to study an art,
maybe karate or kenpo or something,
then another art,
maybe Aikido or tai Chi or something,
and then another art…
and so on.
Eventually you learn ALL the options
for forcing or flowing an attack,
Then you have choice,
actual AWARE choice,
within the structure of the fight.
And that would be formless.

Here’s the obligatory ad…

Tai Chi Chuan

I put Tai Chi here because most people study hard arts,
or arts requiring great effort,
and the best way to achieve formlessness
is to study an art that take little effort,
and which makes you think
and figure things out.

Make sure you check out the video halfway down the page.

Have a great work out!

Al

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/five-army-tai-chi-chuan/

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Punching Ten Times Harder with Martial Arts

Posted on September 12, 2019 | Leave a comment

Newsletter 984

The Easy Way to Punch Hard in the Martial Arts

Most people don’t understand how easy the martial arts are.
Take, for instance, a good karate punch.
It will generate more power than any other punch in the world.
And takes less energy.
Don’t believe me?

I was watching a fellow punch the bag the other day.
The guy was maybe 25,
much experience in boxing and other arts.
The bag jumped and bent a little,
and that was it.

I stepped up to the bag.
I’m old…71.
I put my fingers to the bag,
then,
without retracting the arm,
I closed my fingers and thrust my arm out.
Freakin’ bag went to the roof.
You could feel it say ‘OW!’

So why was my ‘old’ punch stronger than some young turks?
Because I used less energy.

What is energy?
Go ahead,
give it your best shot.
Nope,
it’s not that.

Energy is the capacity for work.
Go on,
look in the dictionary.
That is the physics definition.
Physics,
if you don’t know it,
is the stuff we made up
to measure the universe.

So how do you measure work?
Here’s where it gets tricky.
You can measure work with…
watts, ohms, pounds, gallons per minute,
and so on and so on.
How you measure work depends
on what you are measuring.

So how do you measure work in the martial arts?
Here’s what nobody knows,
and why punches are so spectacularly lacking in horsepower.

You measure work by weight.

When that young Turk was punching the bag he was punching with his arm.
Twenty pounds of weight.

When I punched the bag
I moved my 71 year old body into it…
200 pounds of weight.

20 pounds versus 200 pounds.
I was literally punching ten times as hard as he was.
And,
I’ll tell you this,
it was easier for me to move my 200 pounds an inch or two
than it was for him to try to punch as hard as me
using his 20 pound arm.

Now,
I’ve given you all the clues,
how you going to put them together?
How are you going to make your body work ten times easier
than some guy nearly 50 years younger than you?

Well,
I’ll tell you,
it took me a while.
Fortunately,
I wrote it all down.

The totally scientific martial art
that opens eyes everywhere
and makes all martial arts quick and simple to learn.

Here’s the obligatory ad…

4d The Punch

But I’d be careful before I go there.
Sometimes it hurts to learn something,
you have to give up what you thought you knew.
Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Have a great work out!

Al

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