Category Archives: Korean Karate

Splitting the Intention with the Classical Karate Back Stance

This is the first Classical Karate Stance I learned, and it turned out to be the worst.

The stance, you see is a split between a horse stance and a back stance. Thus, the intention goes to the side, nd to the front. It is split, and reduced in effectiveness. This is because the Japanese fell in love with power.

The correct positioning of the stance should be more weight on the rear leg, and the rear leg turned more in the direction of the stance. Thus, the leg is better ‘coiled,’ and the intention of the stance aligns with the physical nature of the stance.

Now, Shotokan, and other types of Japanese Karate do it the wrong way. Look to Shudokan, or some of the old Korean Kwans (Kang Duk Won) for the right way.

But, even then the stance may be wrong, as schools of thought change, and not always for the better.

Really, the true teacher is physics. Pay attention to the physics, and align your stance, your posture, and your functionality accordingly.

Anyway, if you want more data on correcting classical karate stances, or anything on the correct way to use the body, per physics and not mysticism or bad teaching, you’d have to check out the Master Instructor Course.

Win #39–Does the Master Instructor Course Apply to only Karate Systems?

The Master Instructor course applies to all martial arts, and not to just Karate systems. Heck, there’s all sorts of things about throws, effortless throws, principles to be applied to karate katas, kung fu forms, martial arts applications any art, and so on and so on.

I think it’s a little easier to understand if you have a karate background, but still, any person from any art is going to be enlightened as a result of reading and doing this material. Here’s a win…

I received my Master Instructor videos yesterday. Awesome information and right to the point. LM

I get these wins from Karateka, kenpoka, aikidokas, kung fu-ists, Ninpo-ists, and on and on. These are the underlying principles, and they don’t just illuminate and make locgical any martial art, they put the martial arts together. Make one picture out of all of them. First time that has ever been done.

Anyway, if you want a taste of martial technology that applies to all arts, and not just Karate, email me for a free karate book.

Win #28–How I Got Started Writing Articles for Inside Karate!

It’s true, I wrote articles for Inside Karate in the 90s. I actually started writing in the 80s, and my last article came out in Inside Kung Fu two months ago, so I’ve been a writer for the mags for near 30 years. Here’s a win I got in the mail one day.

“I used to read your articles in Inside Karate and was excited when I found your web site.” RV

It shouldn’t surprise me, I mean, I used to take note of the writer’s names and the kind of articles they wrote, but I figured it was a writer thing. I was interested in the competition.

What I used to do was look at the magazine a year after it came out. I went down the subjects, and if any subject hadn’t been written about for a few months, I wrote a fresh article on it. That’s how I avoided writing the same old same old. I knew the editor liked those kinds of articles, and I knew he hadn’t seen one for a while, and at my heyday I used to sell 90% of the articles I turned in.

What was nice was it got to the point where I was accepted, and I could write about anything I wanted. People actually said nice things about me. Huh! Anyway, try that gimmick if you feel like being a writer for a magazine, I know Inside Karate is gone, but there are others out there.

BTW, you can pick up a free book with some Martial Arts kata in it at one of my websites.

Win #27–Beating Pain through Good Karate Technique

There are two types of pain: one is the warning that you are getting damaged, and the other is used to grow yourself.

If you are in danger of being damaged, back off. Fight again another day.

But, if you can appreciate pain, then you can use it.

When somebody blocks, breath into your tan tien, and send a flow of energy down the blocking arm. Make your arm tight. Let the energy become rigid. Now, something is going to happen…you have a decision to make.

If you decide to take the pain, it is going to hurt.

But, if you jump back, and make a decision that it’s not going to hurt, that the other guy is going to hurt himself…then it will be so.

Here’s a win from one of my students.

“I am more willing now to confront pain. Obviously pain is not a great thing but when it does occur I am more easily able to confront it and continue on with what I am doing. I don’t have to run away every time I experience a bit of pain.”

Look, it’s a decision, and it is one of those decisions that only Karate will bring you to.

So, do you want to experience pain? Or do you want to make up your mind that it doesn’t hurt…period.

Drop by my site and pick up a Free Karate Book, and learn more about such things as beating pain with good karate technique.

Win #23–Karate as a First Martial Art

I like Karate as a first art because it is solid in the basics. Later, when you have experience, it’s fun to twist the basics, create different types of energy, learn sneaky ways of bashing somebody. But, in the beginning, Karate is the best. Straightforward power that can out kick a donkey, out slam a gorilla, and is just plain fun!

If I had not learned this as my first art, I would not be where am today. The basics, the foundation; a solid point upon which to stand, was essential to me as a martial artist. Few people truly understand what the basics are, let alone how important they are. Karate taught me all of this and I finished the program with confidence that I could apply what I had learned.

It’s true that people don’t understand what basics are. Take a look at the Pan Gai Noon Sanchin form. Goku does it for breathing, Shotokan does it for technique, uechi does it for dynamic tension…and they all are only partially right. Ground the weight, turn on the tan tien, and put the energy in the hands. The other theories are all right, but they miss the boat if they don’t concentrate on these three principles, and just these three principles.

Here’s a vid snip of me teaching Sanchin to my son many years ago. Karate was his first martial art, and it saved his life. Literally. Take a look at the columns at Monster Martial Arts and you’ll come across the tale.

Talk to you later.

Al

Win #19–Here’s Some Real Karate Power For You

My wife was teaching school, and she asked me to come in and talk about Karate breaking. So I went to the store, bought a bunch of wood, and went to school. Here’s the funny thing, I hadn’t broken anything for years. I just worked out, did the forms, taught a few people, and that was it. But the power of the Kang Duk Won, once gained, doesn’t go away. In the pic I’m breaking four boards. For those budding Karate Kids that morning I broke five boards, no spacers, with no special training. You know, breaking stuff isn’t hard, at the Kang Duk Won we actually chuckled at how people were so enamored by it. I mean, you just practice hard, make sure you don’t quit, make sure you have fun, and breaking was the least of the things we learned at the Kang Duk Won. There were so many other abilities that we gained, intuitive abilities where we could control time, mess up the way people perceived the world, all sorts of things. Well, those days are gone, I’m old now, but I wrote a book about the Kang Duk Won. It’s at the menu at the top of the page. Have a great day…and a great work out, and don’t forget to do some karate breaking. :O)

Win #17–There is Something So Liberating About Real Karate Power!

We’re not just talking about the ability to one punch some bozo and send him sleeping into next week…although that is good…no, we are talking about the thrilling energy that fills the body when you finally get and understand pure Karate Power! Here’s a win from somebody who saw the truth of karate…

When I got into the classical study program I learned of and was made to experience the true, raw power that a linear martial artist can achieve.–NL

Here’s a vid snip of me doing one my favorite pan gai noon technique. I work it against a variety of attack combos, and the technique never fails me. It’s in the end of the second Pan Gai Noon forms.

You see, most arts are designed for karate kids. Or, worse, karate tournaments. This waters down the techniques. I studied karate back in the sixties, in one of the original Korean Kwans, and we generated a power there that I have not seen in any modern school The times…they have changed. Anyway, I don’t think Karate is real karate unless you pump up that energy and learn how to use it. If you want to see some good and real karate, just go to the menu at the top of this page and check out some of the systems I have.

Win #16–The Deep, Dark, Karate Secret

When I began the martial arts I thought there was some serious karate secret that the masters knew that nobody else did. If I could only find this secret I could have everything wanted: money, women, respect…maybe I wouldn’t even be a dweeb. Interestingly, there is a secret, but it ain’t what you think. And it is easy to find out. Just a little hard work and common sense, and anyone can have it. Here’s a win from one of my students about this dark mystery. Like many others, I used to like to believe that there was a great mystery out there; that there was some kind of unattainable power and wisdom that I could only reach for in my dreams. Mr. Case has taken my wonderful dark mystery away and replaced it with facts that work; that work beautifully actually. Truth is a good thing, but sometimes a rude awakening can be best avoided by a longer slumber. Which path you choose is up to you. Just remember to shield your eyes if you’re opening them for the first time; it can be bright and painful to the pride at first.” ?HH (12 years of martial arts experience) Now isn’t that interesting? It seems that the mystery is easy to understand, but what is hard to take is the fact that you were blind enough not to see it in the first place. Well, it is easy to see, but the thing that stops most everybody from seeing it is the fact that: 1) they think they know better. 2) my art is best. 3) I’m already studying under somebody who knows everything. And so on. The prime problem here, you see, is that you must be willing to learn before you can learn. Doing push ups and forms until you sweat is fine, but when are you going to work out that brain? When are you going to say…maybe I don’t know everything…maybe there is something else under the sun. When are you going to open up and accept data and actually think. I know it sounds like I’m in your face, but I’m not. I’m just stating something that scares most people. Shut up thinking you know everything and be willing to learn something. That’s the truth, that’s the truth HH had to confront before he could start to learn, that’s the truth that near every martial artist in the world has to face before he can learn the real martial arts, and before he can find out the truth about this deep, dark karate secret thing.

Feel free to visit Monster Martial Arts, pick up a free ebook, and find out if I might actually have something to offer. Have a great work out.

Win #8 Another Win From The Old Master Instructor Course

I’m glad I started posting these old wins, they rejuvenate me, and they tell people what I am really doing…from the ground up. This one is from Nehemiah, the guy I usually bounce around on the courses. The guy is a phenomenal martial artist, I was lucky to teach him. Here’s a snippet of us on one of the courses. Scroll on down for his win.

Nehemiah’s WIN–I have a real ability to get my students to duplicate and understand anything that I might teach them, fully and completely, no matter the subject. For example: in addition to martial arts, I also have a dance class, swing, specifically, and I have found that it flows much more smoothly. With the tools that I have acquired, and learned to use with the completion of this course, I can comfortably state that I am an Instructor, through and through.?Thanks Al, for the tech you have created for us aspiring teachers. Can’t wait for the next course. Infinite Affinity, Nehemiah Lewrel The thing I love is that his knowledge is not conditional on having a degree…but rather from actual knowledge that nobody can argue with. This makes him absolutely confident, absolves him of any hint of overbearing attitude, and students really appreciate that. You can find out more about the Master Instructor Course at Monster Martial Arts. Have a great day. Al

Win #5 If You Want to Start Your Own Martial Arts School Read This!

Here’s a lesson I gave a fellow, heh heh, after you watch it scroll down for the real skinny on starting your very own martial arts school.

http://www.youtube.com/user/aganzul#p/u/6/Fk1pYvc3Nzs

I received this win out of the blue, and it knocked my socks off. I mean, I wrote articles for the mags, and had no idea that they were having effect. Well, they were…

Dear Mr. Case, ?Since the age of 11 have dreamed of having my own dojo.  I want to thank you for your ‘garage-dojo” article in August ’98.   After reading that article, I had no doubt that it was going to be a reality…?…I decided that it was time to give my own school a shot. I looked around for a rental–everything was so small, and I had no money in which to do this, this was July of ’98–in August I read your article, and it helped me understand that it wasn’t the walls and equipment my student would come for, it was me and how I handle and, taught my students. Simply, my skills mattered more than my age and rank, and if Bruce Lee taught in a garage—so could I.  So I took the cheapest rental I could find; I started my school with 1 kicking target a mat and four walls. Since opening day, Nov 16th 1998, I have moved to a larger location, now I have 12 kicking targets, 3 matts-and much more training equipment. I’m still a small dojo– but I don’t care to be too big, I’d rather keep it personal. I know the growth of each one of my students, and I have 3 black belt candidates with one that could test in the next year. To sum my progress up, in the past 6 years I have made a name for my dojo in the valley, and  I am a competitor for my old instructors school. Be sure to tell Andrew Wood that it isn’t your programs that wins the student, it’s your honesty, compassion for the student and your love of the martial arts…. PM?ps–I love your site: martial arts is about passing on your teachings, not holding back for an extra fee.

So if you feel like teaching, take the handcuffs off and start bashing! The only person that can stop you is you.

If you need any help in setting up a checklist for starting a martial arts school, or on how to teach, or anything at all, peruse MonsterMartialArts.com

Take care and have a great work out!