Good gun for a beginner, right?
I haven’t done much gun training, know only a little about gun control, so when my wife asked me about it I had to rely on what I’d heard and basic martial arts training. This all boiled down to five basic points. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged aikido, gun control, gun training, karate, keno, kung fu, taekwondo
There are extraneous martial arts influences on every art, and the Kang Duk Won is no different.
Sometimes the martial arts influences can be bad, sometimes good. In the case of the Kang Duk Won Continue reading
Posted in karate, martial arts, taekwondo
Tagged karate, kenpo, korean karate, martial arts, moo duk won, oo duk won, taekwondo
Beyond Black means in any martial art, as you will see in this article.
When a person is beyond black belt it means he is ready for advanced training.
In Karate, and similar martial arts, the training is more advanced forms.
What lies beyond Black Belt?
But these more advanced forms don’t always mean much. The movements are sometimes so esoteric that they aren’t workable, and they don’t seem to make only marginal advanced energy capability in the body of the student.
This holds true for just about every Martial Art, from Karate to Aikido to Taekwondo to…whatever.
So the real reason for these advanced but same old same old forms are that they afford the practitioner the means to ‘polish’ his art. To get better at…the basics.
To get better at the basics means that they become smoother, more intuitive, more usable.
And, there are other qualities to be appreciated here: calmness of mind, a certain type of wisdom, some sixth sense abilities (if you lucked out and got in a good system, very rare) and so on.
When I found myself in the position of teaching people beyond black belt I decided to do things differently. I began teaching whole arts for each level after black belt.
I might teach a Shaolin style to second black black belt, a pa kua style to 3rd black, and so on.
This gave me tremendous leeway in what I teach. I was actually able to shift programs around like shuffling cards, and fit the programs and specific martial arts much better to individual students, and yet still maintain a distinct discipline and structure in my classes.
Furthermore, the polishing consideration was not neglected, but rather enhanced. Basics are basics, from art to art, and there is little difference. Thus, not only was the student working on basics, but he was getting different viewpoints of basics, which helped him understand them in depth.
The truth of the matter is that this method allows me to teach more than art, but a viewpoint of art, a perspective that is not able to be taught in normal classes.
It is a matter of how much knowledge you can impart, not art, but quality of knowledge, and the ability to import more knowledge…at a glance.
What was really pleasant for me is that I often run into these old students, and they’ll say they learned some new art, and I’ll ask them about it, and they’ll say something like, ‘Oh, I got together with so and so and we traded systems.’
Traded systems. Just like people did before everything went commercial. As in trading Pa Kua for Tai Chi. Or Shaolin for Karate. As it says in various accounts of martial artists, especially those who created their own systems.
Able to trade a whole system because they have been trained not to do a million punches, but to do a million punches while absorbing several martial arts systems.
And it gets really interesting for me when I get around these old students, they’ll be talking about things like shifting the tan tien while making a kung fu kick work in a karate style, or retaining power without dropping their weight, or some other oddity that it took me decades to figure out, but they are doing in a couple of years…and they have a whole lifetime to go places I dream about.
Lucky guys.
But, that’s okay. When I give up this body I’ll get a new one and find one of these guys to teach me.
Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that the reason I am able to teach lots of martial arts beyond black belt is because of this Matrixing Technology I developed…it’s at Monster Martial Arts.
Posted in aikido, bagua zhang, karate, kenpo, kung fu, pa kua chang, shaolin, taekwondo, tai chi chuan
Tagged aikido, beyond black belt, black belt, karate, kung fu, martial arts, shaoin, taekwondo
In the best Karate Training drills one should look their opponent in the eyes. This is a very interesting and powerful aspect to Karate training, so let me give you some data about it.
First, I have had a lot of people, during karate drills, ask me where they should look. The common answer that I have found over the years, and this is from Karate school to Taekwondo school to whatever Martial Arts school (style) you are studying, is that you should ‘unfocus’ your eyes on the chest. Look at the center of the body and become aware of all the stuff on the outside.
You can’t fight what you can’t face!
This actually isn’t bad instruction, you want to see everything, but it stops forward progress for the martial artist at a certain point.
The real advice, if you want to experience the best karate training drills, is to look at the eyes.
The eyes are the windows to a man’s soul; look at the eyes long enough…and you can actually see what a man is thinking.
Look at the body, and you stop looking at the mind, and the martial art becomes a thing of reaction, or, at the very least, slow progress.
So you look at the eyes, train hard, do your forms for discipline, and eventually you will actually pick up on the very thought of the opponent.
Tell me this doesn’t give an incredible edge in combat…to know what an opponent is thinking!
Anyway, the point is this: you can’t fight what you can’t face.
And, as you progress, if you don’t look to the eyes, attempt to see the thought behind the action, then you wo’t make the jump from fighting to handling.
You see, in the real martial arts you learn to fight so you can give up fighting.
You don’t look at an opponent and fight him, you predict what he is going to do by reading his thoughts, and then making moves that undo him rather than harm him.
Can anybody spell the word ‘harmony?’
Only idiots fight all their lives. Smart martial arts students, people who want to experience the best karate training drills, watch the eyes and learn to read the mind.
And, eventually, they experience harmony, and greater control.
Opponents become as children, and as easily handled.
And that is why, when it comes to the best karate training drills, the eyes have it.
Check out this great article on Aikido style throws. Or, you could take a look at this course presenting a more combat Aikido style.
Posted in karate, kenpo, kung fu, martial arts, shaolin, taekwondo
Tagged best karate, karate, karate drills, karate training, kenpo, kung fu, taekwondo
Rape seems to be a rising statistic, so I thought I’d run out a few tidbits of self defense advice for the more valuable members of our society…the ladies.
Before we get started, let me say that you should always trust your intuition. Ladies seem to have better intuition than men, so why not trust it? Especially if it could save your life!
high side kick
Self Defense tip one: if you have a guy feeling when you return home, call neighbor. Don’t push your intuition aside, trust it, and when that darkened house seems…odd, call the big guy who lives next door to check it out for you. And here’s an extra…don’t go in with him, let him do his work and stay out of the way. Stay at the door and be prepared to run or scream if a ruckus starts.
What, you don’t want to bother a neighbor or seem weak?
Silly you. Men were built to thump on their chests and do valiant deeds for fair damsels. You actually make us feel good when you ask us to do our job as your protectors!
Self Defense tip two: Travel in crowds. One women is a victim. Two are not. It is that simple. So when you go to the theater, or to the garage to get your car, have company. And, if anything happens, make sure you scream loudly.
Remember, one of the first things an attacker is going to do is try to get you to shut up. That’s because he doesn’t want anybody to hear what is going on. And that means that if you scream loudly enough you might be able to attract what he doesn’t want…lots of attention!
Self Defense tip three: scratch the eyes. Kick the mangoes. Bite. Do not go quietly into that dark night. An attacker is not just lustful, he is depraved and more than likely into dominance and torture. So when a bad guy grabs you, let him know that you won’t go down, and you are going to leave your mark on him! Leaving a mark on him is good stuff, because it makes it easy to convict the perps.
Self Defense tip four: this may seem a bit contrary to the last tip, but bide your time. Yes, I know I just said fight, but this is a judgment call. Yes, struggle and fight, but, consider the situation and then consider whether you should bide your time, act compliant, get your attacker to ease up long enough for you to…struggle, fight, bite, scratch and scream!
Self Defense tip five: this is the big one…learn some martial arts. Get in shape. Learn how to protect yourself.
Look, a self defense class is fun! And you learn stuff! And you are going to feel better for being in good shape. And…you will cultivate the calm mind and clear thinking that might just get you through a lady’s worst nightmare!
The point here is this…you can’t depend on others to protect you. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, a cop arrives AFTER the crime. So it is up to you to protect yourself. So start with a fun self defense class at the Y, then go to a regular martial arts school and pick up some Karate or Kung Fu or Taekwondo.
Heck, one of the best things you can do is order a martial arts course online. You can see what it is about, do a little working out on your own, and be that much better educated when you go looking for a good self defense class, or martial arts school.
Honestly, there is NO reason ANY woman should ever have to suffer the degradation and terrible effects of rape.
Here is a great article on Self Defense when being carjacked. And, I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that Monster Martial Arts has a fantastic course on how to handle martial arts weapons.
Tagged karate, kung fu, self defense, self defense tips, taekwondo
Karate pain might be good, and it might be bad. It depends on the circumstances.
I know, we’ve all heard the saying, ‘No pain, no gain,’ but that isn’t what this is all about.
In Karate Pain can be an instruction
You see, there are two types of Karate Pains.
One type of Karate Pain is the real injury. The broken bone, the accidental punch in the nose or poke in the eyes. These injuries, these types of Karate pain are real and should be attended to.
If you’re bleeding, stop the durned bleeding. If you’re nose is broken, see a doctor. A poke in the eye could result in all manner of eye problems.
So you take care of it.
The thing here is to be able to tell the difference between karate pain that is real, and karate pain that is in the mind.
A bruise isn’t usually serious. So just inspect it, take care of it if you have to, and move on.
A dislocated joint, better get that sucker looked at.
A bone bruise…hmmm.
Bone bruises, especially when they are the result of some fast and intense sparring, can be quite painful.
I remember a blocking exercise which kept me in bone bruises for years.
I remember overextending punches, and suffering bone bruises inside the elbow joint where the bones slapped together. That was painful for a long time.
But, bruises, even bone bruises, are just something you go through.
The karate blocking exercise I spoke of, it was called the eight step blocking exercise, and we did it every class, and we all had constant bruising of the forearms.
BUT, after a couple of years of this we would be doing freestyle, do a block, and our opponents would yelp in pain. Simply, we got used to the pain, started ignoring it, and got the abilities that we wouldn’t have gotten if we hadn’t persisted in our karate classes.
And there were other exercises, some quite painful, that gave us abilities that people who don’t take karate, or other martial arts like kung fu or taekwondo, would never get.
The ability to grip somebody with a hand and bring them to their knees simply by squeezing.
The ability to get calm and focused when terrible things are happening and everybody else is going into a state of panic.
There is a saying, you don’t make an omelet without breaking eggs. Man, is this true.
For seven years I broke eggs. I still have bumps on the bones in my forearms from the durned eight step blocking exercise.
But when it comes to getting things done, I’m the go to guy.
Simply, I have faced pain, and now no the difference between real pain, and fake pain, the kind of pain one should just ignore and go ahead with his work.
This is something that is not taught in school.
And, truth, this is something that makes people great.
Pioneers of America had this quality. There was nobody there when they broke a wagon or got shot with an arrow or whatever, and so they had to fix everything themselves.
In recent times this ability, to forge ahead when the going gets tough, has been weaned out of people. But the martial arts, especially exercises that result in the karate pain i describe here, bring this ability out again.
Here’s a great article on the toughest Martial Arts class I ever taught. And if you are seriously interested in finding out more about this Karate pain type of thing, and how it can help you, check out the Evolution of an Art course at Monster Martial Arts.
Ki Energy in the Martial Arts is always considered one of those mysterious magician’s gimmicks. Nobody knows how to do it, let alone explain it, yet ki Energy, or chi power or qigong or whatever you want to call it, has grabbed the public imagination.
What is fascinating is that using the body martial arts style, there is an automatic input of energy. Unfortunately, most people never understand it, and thus the effects are unappreciated.
Martial Arts Ki Energy!
In this piece of writing I’m going to set forth a couple of rules which should help you generate more ki energy. You’ll find that understanding what you are doing is going to really help your martial arts practice.
When you sink into a martial arts stance you are attaching your body to the earth. To hold the ground or to launch the body through space matters not, there is an attachment of the body to the planet, and from this you build your martial arts power.
When you sink into stance you need to analyze the geometry of the body. The geometry should be based upon a simple triangle. The tan tien (the ‘one point’ located a couple of inches below the belly button) is the top of the triangle, the line between the feet provide the base.
Doesn’t matter what martial arts stance you take – horse stance, back stance, whatever – just examine the triangle and make sure the angles of the triangle are functioning.
Functioning means that you are doing two things.
First, breath to the tan tien.
Second, lower the stance, so that you feel more weight, and thus create more energy.
Do these two things for a while, breathing and grounding, and you will find the function in your stance, and ki energy will start to build in your body and manifest in your martial art.
Karate vs Kung Fu vs Aikido…or whatever the fighting discipline…it doesn’t matter. The stance is the item. The art is a stylistic build upon the stance…and the techniques you do will all be mounted upon the stances.
Now, a couple of things to be wary of.
Don’t turn the feet too far to the sides, or turn them too far inwards, seek an alignment of the feet that supports the intention (direction) of the stance, and therefore the technique. This can be confusing until you realize the simplicity of how everything works.
Keep the tan then inside the base of the feet, lest your triangle topple.
Relax.
Breath rhythmically with your motion. Breath in when the body contracts, breath out when the body expands.
Do you see how basic these martial arts instructions for generating ki energy are? The difficulty lies only in thinking that the stances, which is to say the various postures, are complex, and then having to resolve them by inspection until they are simple and make sense.
Read that last sentence again, it is important, it tells you one of the reasons people make the martial arts such a lo-o-ong subject to study.
The truth of the matter is that the body can be rebuilt in as little as three months, and this includes making real and usable ki power. Watch the US army boot camp, or even one of the PX 90 infomercial ads on late night television.
Whether you change the body, and start manufacturing ki power depends not on years of rare exercises and drills that you don’t understand, but simply resolving the simple stances and techniques and martial arts kata to the principles explained here.
For more data, check out this bit of writing on Martial Arts Chi Power. Or, if you want, all the principles that I’ve hinted at in this article on ki power are actually given in the Master Instructor Online Course at Monster Martial Arts.
Dragon Gung Fu refers to internal martial arts training, and tiger Gung fu refers to external martial arts systems.
Dragon Gung Fu would include such Chinese martial arts as Pa Kua Chang, Tai Chi Chuan, and so on.
Official Symbol of Gung Fu at Monster Martial Arts
Tiger Gung Fu would include such systems as Hung Gar, but would go outside the Chinese to such systems as Shotakan Karate (Tiger Emblem), Kyukoshinkai, and so on.
The main difference between the hard and the soft, or the external and internal martial arts systems, is emphasis on muscles in the hard, and emphasis on the growth of Chi from the Tan Tien in the hard.
Though, to be honest, do the Tiger Gung Fu styles long enough, and you will morph into the harder Tiger systems.
Now, most people consider that all you have to do is gear your training to development of tan tien based martial arts, and that will transform you into a dragon gung fu stylist. And this is true. But, there is an easier way, one that works more in conjunction with Tiger Gung Fu styles.
This means that if you do what I am about to tell you, you can easily transform your hard style into a soft style with just a little shift in your training.
To make the transformation from tiger Gung fu methods to dragon, first learn how to make grab arts out of the self defense techniques you practice in the forms.
This can be easily done, and probably the best example of this is the Matrix Aikido method.
Now, here is where the change really starts. You must learn how to use less and less force when doing those grab arts.
Instead of slamming with the hips, learn how to nudge and unbalance, and let the unbalancing technique take its course.
Now, I could tell you dozens of things, but I shant. It would turn into a complex discussion, instead of a conceptual principle.
Heck, take apart those techniques by the thousands, get complex, but always refer back to this principle of using less and less effort.
And that is the way you transform Tiger Gung Fu into Dragon Gung Fu.
Here’s a great article on how to make Dragon Gung Fu out of Tiger Gung Fu, and here’s an interesting online martial arts course on the subject.
I went to see superman today,
definitely a martial arts movie.
Supie has daddy probs,
and the bad guy has mommie probs,
(not really, but it sounds funny to say)
and it is a slugfest fantastic!
And I had this thought
about halfway through the movie.
There’s a little superman in ALL of us!
A martial artist is a superman.
Sure we are.
We’re stronger,
longer lasting.
We rarely get sick,
we even tend to avoid accidents!
Wouldn’t you say that is a cut above Joe Ordinary?
So what makes us that way,
and what is our kryptonite?
What makes us superman is simple.
On the physical level it is the simple work out.
When you do a the first form of Karate,
for instance,
you are doing twenty lunges.
By the time you have done five forms
you have done lunges,
kneels,
squats,
all manner of sheer physical exercise.
So when you are doing Martial Arts,
you are doing body calisthenics
the way a madman might do them.
Or…
a superman.
On the second level we have energy.
Every time you do your forms
you are doing cycles of deep breathing.
This oxygenates the body,
feeds the tan tien
(the energy generator)
and cause incredible amounts of sheer energy
to swarm through the body.
So when you are doing martial arts
you are feeding the energy system,
and making something
a lot longer lasting and more powerful
than even the muscles you have built up.
On the third level we have thought.
Thought is the most powerful thing in the universe,
and Joe Ordinary doesn’t even know it exists!
Joe Ordinary thinks thought is doing a book report,
or something like that!
But we know the truth.
We know the truth because we built up all that energy,
and all that energy had to be controlled,
and the only way to control energy is with thought.
And all that energy we build up in the body,
as we learn to control it,
we learn to control the energy of the universe.
And thus,
through three levels,
we become stronger,
longer lasting,
have more energy,
know how to control that energy.
Can you understand why I refer to us as…
supermen!
Now,
what is our kryptonite?
That is an interesting question.
What can harm us?
The only thing in the universe,
the whole entire universe,
that can harm a superman is…
himself!
He can abuse his powers,
fragment his self,
lose sight of that incredible energy that is him.
The exact procedure
for making yourself less than a superman,
and,
indeed,
less than a man,
is to forsake virtue.
Virtue is part of the soul,
it is the desire to do good.
When we don’t teach,
share the lessons,
spread our charm,
then the energy dies,
we fragment,
and lose sight of our superhuman selves.
Virtue.
Help a child.
Pet a dog.
Laugh at a barbecue.
Wrestle with your younger brother…and let him win.
Tell a girl she is beautiful.
Hold a job,
learn,
share.
That’s all it takes to protect our superhuman powers.
And how super can we get?
Well,
that depends on your work out.
The more work out you do,
the more forms you do…
(every form is a prayer)
…the stronger you get.
The more times you do a technique,
the more integrated you become as a human being.
The more times you kick and punch,
the more you fill yourself with superhuman powers.
And,
of course,
there are going to be those that disagree.
Who say that I’m wrong,
and give other reasons.
but they are mere earthlings.
If we are patient enough,
we can raise them up.
And patience is a virtue.
And maybe they will come,
someday,
to the truth that we know.
You are a superman.
So,
go enjoy the movie.
Have a ball.
Eat popcorn and cheer for the good guys,
and feel sorry for the bad guys.
They just haven’t worked out enough,
lost sight of themselves,
don’t know their own power.
Enjoy the movie.
And,
BTW,
the new site is called…
Free Bruce Lee.
Google it,
it’s about a super guy,
and it’s got some super stuff on it,
and it is built for super people to enjoy.
Have a great work out!
Al
And don’t forget to go to…
Start your journey to superhuman right here…
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-karate/
Posted in bruce lee, chi power, karate, kenpo, kung fu, martial arts, shaolin, tai chi chuan, Uncategorized
Tagged aikido, hapkido, karate, kung fu, shaolin, taekwondo, tai chi chuan
Matrix Kung Fu win coming your way,
and it is powerful,
and I want to explain something about the Core Package.
The core package is four courses,
Matrix Karate Matrix Kung Fu
Matrix Aikido
The Master Instructor Course.
The theory behind it is simple.
Matrix Karate begins the matrixing process on any martial art.
You do the course, learn karate,
but,
more important,
you have the basics of matrixing.
You then apply matrixing to any art you know.
You take,
say,
Wing Chun,
and you put it to the Matrix Karate Template.
You isolate the proper blocks,
and actually do the karate forms
with Wing Chun.
Or Shaolin,
Or Kenpo,
or whatever.
Doesn’t matter what art it is,
you can take it and insert it into the matrix karate template,
do the exact same forms with a different art,
and,
wham!
Your other art is matrixed.
So that’s the first course.
Matrix Aikido is a look at how to make a grab art
out of ANY technique.
You throw a punch,
somebody blocks,
and you do a simple concept,
and suddenly you have a whole new world
opening up for you.
Now,
it is is a wild and wooley world,
but it is open,
and once you step through those doors
you are going to need Matrix Kung Fu.
Matrix Kung Fu applies that concept to every joint,
breaks down every joint in the body
so that you have the proper education
and can understand exactly what you are doing
even when you are doing
something you have never done before!
And,
I should say,
it doesn’t matter which course you do first,
Matrix Kung Fu or Matrix Aikido.
The effects,
in the end,
will be the same.
You will be able to take ANY technique
out of ANY martial art
and make a grab art out of it
all the way to lock or takedown.
Now,
I should say more at this point,
I have a win to offer,
but let me tell you something about the Master Instructor Course,
before I give you the Matrix Kung Fu win.
The Master Instructor Course matrixes the body.
It doesn’t get all mystical,
it is merely a scientific breakdown
of how energy works in the body,
and you can use this to make your form perfect,
and your techniques perfect.
And I do mean perfect.
After you see the right reason for doing something,
you will give up your wrong ways
and focus on the right ways,
and you will be in an entirely different realm of martial arts.
The data on the Master Instructor Course is instantly usable,
and nobody,
and I mean NOBODY,
can argue with what I tell you on that course.
And the truth is this…
if a fellow doesn’t know the material on the master instructor course,
he isn’t really an instructor.
And I tell you this,
if you’re an instructor,
order the course,
if I’m wrong,
get your money back.
But,
some future newsletter
I’ll talk more about the Master Instructor Course,
what it does to a person,
and all of that.
This newsletter,
however,
I promised you a Matrix Kung Fu win.
Hello Master Case,
…I wanted to say that this Matrix Kung Fu is the best I have seen from everything that I have of yours so far! Furthermore, this course is the best course on throws and locks that I have ever seen due to its simplicity yet comprehensive nature. If a student learns these forty techniques then that student can learn any similar type throws or locks based on the foundation that Matrix Kung Fu provides. The only comment I would make as far as changing anything is that this is really Matrix Chin Na (which in my opinion is an excellent system).
The video is very well done, the techniques are excellent, the material is very original, and the step by step explanation is great! I practiced these with my black belt son first and then started to teach them to my Monday night martial arts students. The techniques worked great!
Thank you for the fantastic work you do!
Sincerely,
John
John M. Landry, Ph.D.
Thank you, John.
Your kind words inspire me.
And,
for everybody out there.
I’m not getting rich on this,
check out the price of the course,
it’s…cheap.
But the data is priceless.
The thing is this,
everybody out there wants to make money,
I want to get better,
and the ONLY way to get better in this life
is to make other people better.
To be a helping personality,
instead of a greedy or desperate personality.
That’s why I do what I do.
That’s why I keep the prices low
so ANYBODY can afford my courses.
Now,
I want you to consider something.
John did the course,
grabbed his son and said,
let’s go!
And,
he is now teaching others what he learned.
His teachings have improved,
and my real pay is…
his students are getting better.
And their students will get better.
And maybe I will have done something
in my short life
that is of worth,
that has value,
that actually helped people.
As I said,
that’s why I do what I do.
So check out the Matrix Kung Fu course here…
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-kung-fu/
Now,
a word…
It looks like Monkeyland is coming true.
120 acres on top of a mountain.
Absolutely idyllic.
Paradise.
We’re working hard on it,
and I hope to have an announcement,
complete with pics and plans
in the near future.
And,
at this point,
you can contribute merely by sending me
your kind thoughts and mental pictures
of what Monkeyland looks like.
Very exciting.
The most significant thing to happen in the martial arts
since the establishment of the Shaolin Temple.
So,
stay tuned,
and I’ll tell you more about it when I can.
Now,
time for you to do a work out!
Me, too!
Talk to you later.
Al
Don’t forget to go to…
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-kung-fu/
