Tag Archives: mma

Making Karate Real

Posers in Martial Arts!

Last newsletter I talked about the basic poser technique,
a technique where the attacker has to wait
while the defender does the technique.
That’s the basic thing you’ll see
that makes a technique useless and unworkable.

A secondary poser would be one where
the defender has unrealistic hand speed.
The attacker throws a punch or two,
and the defender’s hands are a blur,
almost invisible.
But is it realistic to assume
that you will be that much faster than your opponent?

In a fight everything speeds up.
Your attacker is going to speed up.
And that includes doing unorthodox things
that you won’t see on the mat.

So the idea of you being incredibly fast
and the opponent reacting in an exact, prescribed manner,
is false.

So,
solution.
Don’t practice techniques where the other guy waits for you to do the technique.
That was my first advice from the last newsletter.
AND…
practice techniques that are simple and basic,
and rely mostly on basics,
until you go out of your body.

This happened for me
right before I got to black belt
on applications from the form Botsai.
(Bassai, other spellings)

We did the three blocks
right at the beginning of the form,
and I knew I couldn’t keep up with the three attacks.
Month after month I practiced,
Trying to do something I knew I couldn’t do.
With endless practice I started to economize my motion,
and I started to use my body as one unit.
What I call CBM,
or Coordinated body Motion.

All parts of the body begin motion at the same time.
All parts of the body end motion at the same time.
All parts of the body contribute to the motion
according to the various percentages
of muscle, mass, etc.

One day I was doing the technique,
and suddenly it was as if I was behind my head,
not looking through my eyes,
but seeing everything without blinking.
My hands moved,
perfectly CBMed,
and my ‘whole body speed’ was faster than the attack.

That was a major point for me.
My body working as one unit,
being apart from my body,
and my body moving in response to my thought,
and not because of ‘reaction times.’

I often hear people talk about muscle memory,
and that is a silly concept.
Your muscles don’t remember sequences.
They remember pain,
but the real ‘memorization’
is a circuit in your mind.
And that circuit is enacted by you.
The human being.

And if you practice long enough
the circuits tend to delete
and you move without the need for circuits.
Which is seen as you being apart from your body.
Moving in…’the now.’

So good martial arts is liberating,
imparts a certain freedom of the soul.
And that is why you have to stay away from posers of ALL kinds.
Unfortunately,
most arts are so filled with posers
they rarely impart this freedom of the soul.
But almost any art can work
if you simply get rid of posers,
Focus on techniques that rely on basics
and a true estimation of time and speed of hands and so forth.
I would recommend applying Matrixing to your art
to make this happen.
Matrixing is the only scientific analysis of the martial arts.

Remember this:
Science only measures.
Matrixing provides solutions.

Obligatory ad coming up.
check out

The Last Martial Arts Book: Nine Square Diagram Boxing

GET THE EDITION WITH THE 5 HOURS OF VIDEO LINKS!

This art has the meditative aspects of Tai Chi,
the simple, modular approach of Pa Kua,
the workability of GOOD karate,
and goes from block and punch
the closure of distance
to grab arts.

Incidentally,
I’m almost ready to publish a book on advanced Nine Square techniques,
including the only form in Nine Square Diagramming.
Stay tuned,
sign up for the newsletter if you haven’t,
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

‘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)

What is Fake Karate?

What is the difference between fake karate and real karate?

I taught a karate class in Ukiah.
And, one of those students taught a class in Willits.
And, as time passed,
other students took over the class.

Now,
I taught real karate,
as it had been taught to me.
Forms, applications,
making those applications work,
translating the thing into freestyle,
and a zen mind at the end of it all.

My student taught calisthenics
and half the forms.
a lot of freestyle
Not much about applications.

His student taught an even more reduced curriculum.

And his student,
taught fighting.
And he called it Karate.

It wasn’t karate.
It was calisthenics
for the purpose of fighting.
No theory about forms,
nothing about the structure of the body,
nothing about the actual physics of karate…
it was now boxing, (kick boxing)
and not very good boxing at that.

So I’ve seen how the art degrades first hand.
I’ve seen how the art can be corrupted.
I’ve seen karate go from real karate,
as taught by the bodyguards of Okinawa,
to…fake karate.

Isn’t it fake if you’re just fighting?
And not learning?

Now,
a LOT of people
are going to disagree with me.
This is because they’ve invested their time and trouble,
and they think they are doing karate.
Sorry.
I was second generation to the people who brought karate here.
And here is the way I define karate,
and fake karate.

Real karate
forms and applications
applications made to work
limited freestyle but no protective gear
Learn control

Karate
forms and applications
applications are posers that don’t work
freestyle with protective gear

Fake karate
calisthenics
emphasis on fighting with protective gear

I know,
there are some people out there that really don’t like this.
And,
I know there is a lot more to this.
Each of the three levels has much more to be considered.
But this does sum it up.

Let me make a couple of points.

Fighting is not karate.
Karate is learning not to fight, but to control.
Karate was designed,
or at least highly adapted to,
controlling people who had weapons and armor.
Real karate doesn’t bounce around like Bruce,
who was dancing around like Mohammed Ali.
Real karate teaches one to fight…
by teaching one how to not fight.
This is a very zen thing,
but it is at the heart of not just karate
but all real martial arts.

And,
a final word,
if you use what I have said here
to ‘prove’ another art (or person) wrong,
then you have missed the point entirely,
and you are doing Fake Karate.

If you want to fix your karate
and make it real,
I suggest my book,

How to Fix Karate

Two volumes ~ FIVE HOURS OF VIDEO INSTRUCTION!
four hundred pages
800 images
applications that are not posers
all the missing pieces found
and the garbage thrown out
sections on matrixing
sections on fighting

You don’t have to be the victim of poor instruction,
you can make your karate real karate yourself.

Enjoy the summer 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.

How Deep Should You Strike in Karate?

Hitting with the Right Degree of Force!

Let’s take off the gloves.
Let me dispel a couple of illusions.
Let’s talk about how deep you strike somebody
in the martial arts.

There are three depths of striking.
First, you strike somebody skin deep.
Bare contact,
no harm,
point fighting.
Excellent stuff.
Trains people without harming them.
Sure, it lacks reality,
but you can get more reality
by mixing in other training.
Makiwara, sand box, punching bag.
Mix those with your point fighting and
you will become formidable.

Second,
you strike somebody muscle deep.
This is to cause pain and bruises.
It is not to kill somebody.
It is to bruise them and dissuade them.
It is the slap to bring them to their senses
before you stick a knife in them.
We use this in a very controlled manner
when we are doing form applications.
We build ourselves and our partners up
by striking them harder and harder,
but still don’t damage them.

Third,
you strike somebody bone deep.
This is the punch or block designed
to break a bone or…
to end a life.

To punch skin deep is to touch,
to punch muscle deep is to bruise,
to punch bone deep is to render them
broken and unconscious.

Good karate,
or any good martial art
will enable the student to progress
through the depths of strikes
so he can use the right one at the right time.

I think that being able to
strike somebody bone deep
is a skill worth acquiring.

I wrote a book on how to develop a third level strike.
it is called:

The Hardest Punch in the World

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.

Using the Mind in the Martial Arts!

Martial Arts Mental Abilities!

A Funomenal day for a work out!
And I ain’t kiddin’!

Before we get into today’s headline,
remember,
the newsletter will be ending.
Go to
https://alcase.wordpress.com
if you want to keep getting it.
The sad truth is that though I like Mailchimp
(a newsletter distributing service)
they are getting too expensive for me.
So,
back to the basic wordpress blog format.

Okay, secrets of the universe time…

To understand what I’m saying
you’re going to have to realize that the mind
is just a bunch of memory.
You don’t use it.
It’s just a data base that,
ideally,
you just draw data from.

So what are you using?

There is the body
which is meat.

There is the mind,
which is memory.

Then there is you,
which is spirit.

Most people confuse mind with spirit.

Most people think the martial arts are about beating people up.

If you study a good martial art,
you‘ll be past that in a few months,
maybe a year,
two at the most.

The first step is to learn how to stare at something
without being distracted.
I love a good candle.
But other things will work.
I don’t recommend objects like diamonds
or other such shapes.

You use this is in freestyle,
focusing on the opponent so that there is only him,
and you ignore distractions.

It took me a couple of decades,
but I ended up looking at an opponent
as if through a tunnel,
and I could then predict
what he was going to do.

it shouldn’t have taken so long,
but there were no instructions
and I had to figure this out for myself.

What is happening is that you are
unconfusing the blend of mind and spirit
and viewing the opponent without the distraction
of the body or the mind.

YOU are looking at the opponent,
and you are not confused by having to look
through the meat mechanism of the eyeballs.

That is one way to use the mind in the martial arts.

The second way is different,
and there’s no way to train for it,
except through a rounded and intense
practice of the martial arts.

You are walking down the street
you suddenly step to the side,
don’t know why,
just do,
and the attack misses.
ESP,
sixth sense,
whatever.

Here is the weird thing,
you don’t get this unless you have
no concerns, no stress, no bothers.
If you are stressed
you don’t have this ability.
If you are not stressed,
just bopping through the world
happy as a clam,
it works every time.

I started having this ability
after I got my black belt.
Three and a half years in the Kang Duk Won.

When I did start doing this
I redoubled all my efforts
at living a stress free life.

I’ve lived in dangerous areas,
done dangerous things,
and I always made it through
by being happy,
greeting everybody cheerfully,
and staying away from a-holes.

But it all starts with dedicated practice,
intense practice of the arts.
And you MUST have a good art,
and your progress will be ten times faster
if you understand matrixing
and apply it to your martial arts.

I usually recommend an art at this point,
shameless advertising,
don’t you know,
but I’m having a BOGO month.
Buy One and Get One (free)
So head over to the Monster and pick an art.
Buy the art,
then email me at aganzul@gmail.com,
and tell me what art you would like for your freebie.

monstermartialarts.com

Have a great work out!
Al

Remember to vote for Angelo!

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.

Time to Ban the Martial Arts!

Don’t learn karate or kung fu or MMA or whatever!

Okay people!
Dust off your nunchuks
and carry them proudly on the street!
They are no longer illegal!

In 1974 New York politicians made nunchucks illegal.
Which, of course, made people want to buy them even more.
And, if you’re a student of the 2nd amendment…
was an entirely unconstitutional law.
Fortunately,
people recognize that politicians are a danger to the country,
and that they should be outlawed,
and it is very easy to get nunchucks and practice with them.

That said, let’s talk about James Maloney.
In 1981 he was arrested for using nunchuks in a demonstration.
He graduated from law school in 1995
and set about challenging the law.
He’s 60 now, and he was successful.

Judge Pamela K Chen ruled that nunchuks
were protected under the second amendment.

WAY TO GO JAMES!

You know,
I am reminded of a bumper sticker.
When guns are outlawed,
only outlaws will have guns.

Yowza!
When nunchuks are outlawed
only outlaws will have nunchuks.

And…
when politicians are outlawed…
we will all be a little safer.

But,
I did not call you here to rant political!
But since you are here…heh heh…

IF…somebody breaks into your house,
and IF…they allow you one phone call,
and IF…the 911 operator isn’t too busy,
and IF…the bad guys don’t leave before the police get there
(five to ten minutes on a good day)
then you better pray you know martial arts.

And, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that
the best courses in the world
on how to do the martial arts
are at Monster Martial Arts.
It’s true.

Your Attacker will have a Weapon!

Snuck that ad right in there…didn’t I?

Okay, guys and gals,
time to hit the home dojo
and crank out the punches and kicks
and become a better person!

Have a great work out!
Al

Hi, Kumar.

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.

The Martial Arts Night Before XMAS!

Martial Arts

HanaKwanMass!
And, I’ve got my yearly
‘Night Before Xmas’ rendition for you.
But,
first,
HanaKwanMass means
Hanukah plus Kwanza plus Christmas!
You might offend two thirds of everybody you meet,
but you get three times the gifts!
Yahoo!

Now,
in the interests of offending everybody everywhere
is the Martial Arts Night Before Christmas!

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.

Al

BTW…
‘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

And 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 Tale of the Karate Book

Writing a Book on Karate!

Good morning!
Yes, I’m still here,
and my thanks to those fellows who have written me
and told me to get off my butt.
Kumar, Jerome, Michael,
you know who you are.
Thumbs up!

Now,
let me tell you what is happening and why.
And, before I start,
I’m going to be talking about
‘The Book!’
And if you’re not interested,
or wanted me to go heavy duty
on the art,
self defense,
concepts,
whatever,
that’s next time.

This time I’ll tell you what my problem is

I’ve studied martial arts for over 50 years,
I’ve written probably a hundred books and training manuals,
thousands of articles,
been a professional writer,
so I know my way around a keyboard.
But this book…
this book has been a bugger.
And the problem is simple,
I’m trying to put too much in it.

One,
I want to cover karate like it has never been covered.
That’s my base art,
and I want to leave it in better shape than I found it.

Two,
I want to show some advanced matrixing.
I want to show where karate can go,
and in the simplest fashion.

Three,
I want to fix karate,
and that means pointing out some serious problems with the art,
and show how to fix them.

I’m not focusing on matrixing,
except by the way.

Right now,
the book is about 300 pages and counting.
And,
it has been a true mess to figure out.

Normally,
I get an idea,
I write it.
I write about as fast as I can talk,
books are usually done within three or four days,
and I’m off on another project.
The books I write are quick and easy and very logical.

Karate is not logical,
so it is like I am untangling this MASSIVE knot,
and retying it.

And,
I have had a terrible time with formatting.
I am trying to write the book so it can be understood on the paper page,
but I want to format the thing differently.
For instance,
I write the forms on the left page
and the techniques on the right.
I don’t do the form,
then show the techniques,
I show the techniques along side the form,
and this makes perfect sense
if you are scrolling on a computer.

But creating in this fashion
and for the paper page, too,
has been REALLY messy.
300 pages
and I’ve reformatted it 4 times,
and rewritten it probably six.

I NEVER rewrite.
And now I am stuck in it.

So,
not to bore you,
but that’s what I’ve been doing.

The good news is I actually called on a reader
Ted V,
and he has proven to be a good editor.

Think about it,
the guy was able to tell the arrogant Al Case
that his work is a mess
and I better get back to the drawing board.
I thank him,
and serve warning that it’s coming.

Anyway,
I won’t bore you anymore
with the trials and tribulations of writing
except to say one thing.

I decided,
and this was a conscious decision I made over 50 years ago
to practice two arts this lifetime.
One is karate,
for the external.
One is writing,
for the internal.
A very yin and yang balance.
And they compliment each other wonderful.
I always tell people they should have two arts in their lives.

So if you have a physical job you love,
pick up painting or sculpting or poetry or something.

And if you have a mental job
pick up karate, yoga, dance, whatever.

Seek balance.

Now,
my apologies for yakking on about
‘The Book.’
It will get done,
I seem to have the formatting fixed,
and my writing is taking on the normal flow again,
and I am hoping this project
becomes the most intense
and thorough examination of karate ever written.
Thanks for being patient,
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…

A NEW MASTER INSTRUCTOR!

A NEW MASTER INSTRUCTOR!

Congrats to the latest Master Instructor…
Mr. Francisco Sierra de la Rosa

Here’s his win…

In my case, being a person who already practiced martial arts before, both Chinese and Japanese styles, the concepts I was looking for were not so much technical concepts as the possibility of learning elements related to teaching, body structure, and the science behind the movement of the body when practicing martial arts.
I consider that in the course there are really useful and important tools when it comes to martial arts and their application, very important is the lesson on grounding and how it affects the movement of our body and the ability of this to relate to an opponent.
Another concept very well treated in the course is the explanation to the student of concepts such as the generation of energy and the importance of dantien … or at least a simple way to understand the Chinese teachings on how force works.
I consider that one of the most interesting elements that I have learned is the importance of angles in martial arts, it is true that this concept I had dealt with before, almost without realizing it, but not with this clarity, applicable to different situations.
In short, if we are able to combine our physical structure, with the world around us, we find the practical application of lines, angles, circles and elements that undeniably build the world, the result of this I consider these concepts of the most important during learning in the course, and applicable in all systems that someone works, with their differences and details of each art.

Thank you, Francisco, and well done!

He’s really pointed out three crucial items.
teaching, body structure and…
the science behind body motion.

Teaching is easy to understand,
take something from your mind
and put it into your student’s.
But…so few can do it.

Body structure is another bug a boo.
It is crucial,
but nobody understands the six secrets
that will make ANY martial arts technique work.

The big item, however,
is what is behind motion.
Would you like to know what I was thinking,
when I wrote about
what is behind the Martial Arts?
It’s real simple,
but unless you get it,
you don’t understand what is behind motion.
The best way to explain this is this…

You are looking through binoculars.
Who is looking?
You.
The binoculars are but a tool.
Okay, you are looking through your eyes.
Who is looking?
You.
The eyes are but a tool.

Now,
I have said everything,
that is the secret.
And to understand the martial arts,
the universe and life,
all you have to do is understand one thing:
Who are you?

Okay, obligatory ad…

The Master Instructor Course.

1d Master Instructor Course

All the secrets
easy to understand,
easy to teach.

You’re welcome.

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!
Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW
I’m always pushing my novels,
did you know I write other stuff?
If you want to know the truth about government,
you will find some startling matrixing going on in

THE SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT!

Becoming Formless with Martial Arts

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/

How Do They Rank Black Belts in MMA?

Newsletter 986

The Interesting Thing About Black Belts

I’ve written often about
what a black belt is,
what the requirements should be,
and so on.
Let me say some unpleasant things here.

I volunteered my time
at a local martial arts school.
One night I was sitting with a half dozen MMA instructors,
and the talk turned to black belts.
One fellow had 22 years experience,
but was not a black belt.
Had no plans for testing.
Was quite happy to be a lower belt.
The other fellows accepted this as normal,
but it really made me think.

The fellow had the qualifications,
he knew what he was doing,
but there was some sort of mystique
concerning the longer you wait the better you are.

I asked one of the fellows later
about his promotion to black belt.
He said he had studied for some 20 years,
and suddenly realized that he wasn’t going to get any better.
Oh, he would get smarter,
pick up a few more sly tricks,
but he was now descending,
his body getting older
faster than he could learn.
So he went to the school owner
and told him that he wasn’t getting any better
so he better get his black belt while he was still any good.
He was given his black belt.

Now,
I’ve given you the data,
and maybe you’ve read some of my writing
about a black belt being ‘expert,’
so what does all this tell you?

To me it says that there is too much emphasis
placed on winning,
and not enough on structuring MMA
so that people can be properly evaluated.
That in the MMA (and this includes many brands of Jujitsu)
people are more concerned with who they can beat,
rather than mastering the distinct body of knowledge
that MMA is.
And this is what makes MMA a sport rather than an art.

Look,
being a sport is not bad.
It just sounds bad here because
it is coming through the filter of Al Case
who promotes art as best.

But,
really,
it is all up to you.

Interestingly,
I approached the head of the school I was volunteering at.
I suggested we categorize techniques,
make it easier to teach,
make the body of knowledge succinct and precise
so that we would better teach it.
He agreed,
and it actually fit into his plans for the school,
but every time we started to do something
he found an excuse,
disappeared,
changed the complexion of our meetings,
and so on.

As a sports man
he was unable to become an artist.
And here’s the funny thing,
he had trained in many of the classical arts,
he knew where I was coming from,
even agreed that I was right,
but at heart,
in the core of him,
he was a believer that might makes right,
that beating people up
was more important than teaching them methods
that would create distinct methods resulting in art,
the ability to classify ability,
and so on.

Simply,
it was more important to win a tournament,
than to do an art.

Well,
I’ll leave you fellows and gals
to figure out the worth of what I have said here.

In the meantime,
one of the most exact studies I have done
on what ranking and abililties are
was in the Outlaw Karate book.

Here is the Amazon page for it…

OUTLAW KARATE

There is a complete art in it,
complete with tests,
but see if you agree with how I analyze belt rankings.

Have a great work out!

Al