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Learn how to Arrange Karate so it Works for Modern times!

Newsletter 811

How Karate was Mistranslated

Man!
Aren’t summer work outs the best?
You cleanse yourself
through the purity
of plain, old-fashioned sweat.
Glorious!

learn karate the right way

Click on the Tiger!

Okay,
let’s talk about how Karate was messed up.
I’ve talked about how Karate was
mangled by people with vested interests,
power hungry students,
nationalism, religion,
just about every thing under the sun.
So let’s talk about one specific way Karate,
and this is going to touch upon just every art there is,
was truly messed up.

When Karate was developed
people wore armor.
They carried swords.
And to use your fists,
to get your fists dirty
on the body of an enemy
was downright disgusting.
Think about it,
this is simple:
karate was developed to handle samurai,
with their swords and armor.
Karate was empty hand.

So,
do you crack armor with an empty hand?
Maybe,
but while you’re doing that,
the fellow is using his sword.

Do you block that sword with an arm?
Nope.

Do you get the point?
Now,
here is where it truly gets messed.
When the American servicemen were taught karate
they were taught a random variety of throws,
of defenses for weapons,
of specific techniques for specific attacks.

And not many of those attacks were real for this modern age!

So some instructor taught a student
how to disarm a sword.
But when you look at the technique,
there is no sword,
and the fellow the karateka is defending against
is punching the crud out of him.

Punches.

Here’s the funny thing,
Karate rose to the occasion.
All the arts rose to the occasion.
They managed to make fast punches and kicks,
and adapt to striking.

Even though striking was a small part of the whole art.

So Karate,
and other arts,
became skewed
to meet the demands of a punch crazy society.

okay,
summation:
Karate was designed for complete combat,
but then shrunken and warped
to fit the precise punches
of a different culture and time.

And that’s why Karate,
and many other arts,
just don’t work.

It’s like using metric wrenches on a 1950 Chevrolet.

So,
Karate,
and other martial arts,
are broken.
Mismatched.
Outgrown.
And here comes the funny part:
what was the solution provided in America
and in other parts of the world?

The solution was to teach boxing
and call it Karate.
Go on,
visit a few schools.

You will find people doing boxing,
or kick boxing,
or some other thing,
and calling it Karate.

I went to a school the other day,
the instructor had the children hold their hands
in boxing position.
They were taught to bob and weave.
It was not Karate.
There were no stances,
no blocks,
a few kicks,
including fancy ones that looked so cool,
but would get a person killed on the street.

But it said ‘Karate’ on the front window!
Big letters,
too.

And there are other solutions,
some pretty bizarre,
some effective,
but all deviating from what karate really is.
And,
deviating from kung fu,
or other types of arts.

What was my solution?
My solution was demanded
by the fact that I could not box
and call it Karate.
I couldn’t leave behind the energy,
the subtle throws,
the powerful way of developing the mind and body,
not to mention the spirit.

So what I did was rearrange everything,
made it 1, 2, 3 logical,
so that one step led to the next.
So that one didn’t learn a punch,
then a fancy hold,
and let’s throw in a cartwheel kick here,
cause people would really dig it!

I arranged the blocks
so they made as much sense as 1, 2, 3…
and everything is adapted for striking.

But I didn’t throw out the locks and throws.
Instead,
I teach the strikes,
classical strikes using energy,
and you end up in a specific position,
and then I show how each position ends up
in a lock or throw,
if you just continue the motion…logically.

Everybody else is teaching the classical forms,
trying to adapt them to strikes,
when they were not meant to be adapted to strikes.
Strikes were only a small part.

When you do Matrix Karate you learn everything logically,
and that includes the throws which have been put
at the end of the strike.

Think:
in a fight distance closes.
The kicks and punches are done,
the bodies come together,
and that is where the throw should be,
when the distance collapses.

I don’t teach how to fight from six feet away
with a lock or throw.
I teach how to logically close the distance,
using the punches and kicks logically,
and then do whatever throw you are in position to do.

And this is an important point:
after a strike or block,
you will find yourself in a specific position,
and there are only a couple of locks or throws possible.
That is true for every position.
So you don’t search through your mental database,
ransack your memory,
looking for a throw,
or trying to figure out how to throw
from an awkward and not appropriate position.
Instead,
you move forward logically,
and the result is a flow.

Maybe you’ve read some wins people have sent me
from doing some of my forms.
People talk about there being a specific flow
to the forms and techniques.
This is the result of logic.

Anyway,
I could talk forever,
but it’s all written down,
all video’d,
in Matrix Karate.
And if you don’t see the throw,
you can find all the throws,
logically,
so they fit into specific positions of any art,
in Matrix Kung Fu (Monkey boxing.

So,
‘nuff said.
You guys have a great summer work out,
three months working hard
in the heat,
sweating your b***s off.

HAPPY WORK OUT!

Al

For logical Karate:
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-karate/

For logical throws:
http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-kung-fu/

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The Secret of the Karate Block

Newsletter 807

How Karate Blocks Make You Better

May you have the best work out of your life.
Really.

karate black belt

Kindle version of Matrix Karate (vol 1 of 6)

Speaking of blocks…
When I was in my teens I was studying Kenpo.
I learned all these neat tricks,
was excited about fighting,
and I kept having these weird ideas about strategy
and how the martial arts were shaped.
Oddly,
I couldn’t make these strategies work.
I could fight well,
but these things I was thinking about,
they just eluded me in combat.
And it was because there wasn’t much
in the way of blocking,
in Kenpo.

In my twenties I joined the Kang Duk Won,
I bashed my arms for years,
and I learned about pain.
I learned that pain is a warning device.
And it was all because of blocks.

Funny.
Most people won’t use a real block in freestyle.
I can,
and do if I am teaching somebody
and there is a lesson in it.
But it’s easier to just hit the other fellow
than it is to block.

But I never would have learned
how to slide in and hit somebody
if I hadn’t learned how to block.

I always remember the specific technique
where it all came home.
It was the technique
from the first move of Batsai.
Batsai is spelled a few different ways,
but it means
‘defending a fortress.’

In that technique I had to do three blocks.
And I had to do these three blocks with hips twists,
I had to twist the hips
to align the body
so it could support the impact
without collapsing.
And I had to do it faster
than somebody could throw three punches at me.

For months I tried to get that technique.
I would practice it and practice it,
get guys to give me that attack,
but I just couldn’t move my body fast enough.

One day,
I did.
Just like that.
One second I couldn’t,
and the next second I could.
Like a switch had been thrown.
But here’s the interesting thing:
I felt like I was behind my head.
I felt like I was out of my body,
just a little bit,
and watching my body move without me.

Well,
it was moving because I had mastered
the thought pattern behind the blocks.
I had practiced that mental circuit
until it broke,
and what was left was me.

From there I moved into other things,
hitting without blocks because,
darn it,
I had gotten so good at them I didn’t need them.
And I moved into concepts
of how to move the energy in my body
just by thinking about it.
Which is understandable if you realize
that learning how to block
had taught me how to influence my body
with just thought.

I began to be able to accomplish
all those odd ideas I had had
way back in Kenpo.
Which led to Matrixing.

Nowadays people don’t practice the blocks.
And if they do,
they don’t practice them with the proper hip movement,
the proper alignment,
the proper breathing and thought.

I know this because when people
come to me for lessons,
they show a complete lack of understanding,
no knowledge of the drills,
of how blocking works.

The thing is
there is a whole realm of thought
that goes with learning how to block.
You learn all sorts of things,
and it builds a springboard
for moving into other concepts.

Think about it,
you can box,
and learn how to take a punch,
but that doesn’t teach you
how to run energy through your body.

Nothing wrong with boxing,
it’s actually pretty good stuff,
fills in a few gaps
that are in the martial arts,
but it just doesn’t have the energy theory
that goes along with the martial arts.

Anyway,
I’m working on the Matrix Karate
for a Kindle version.
Kindle is very unfriendly to photos,
so I have to take some out,
and rewrite the thing.
It’s be good,
but not as good as a book,
or a video.
Heck,
even the other electronic readers are better,
because they take PDFs easily.

But one of the things I focus on
to make up for that lack,
is the specific blocking in the forms.
Not the matrix of blocking,
which provides a logic
which blasts one to intuition,
but the old way,
learning the blocks,
making them work,
until the art does you,
and you become the art.

You guys are lucky.
You understand something the Kindle readers
may never understand.
You get everything on these courses.
On the other hand,
the kindle readers may understand something you don’t
because they will be seeing the art
in a more bare bones viewpoint,
that will let their mind fill in the blanks,
which is very healthy for a student.
Well,
who’s to say.
The real lesson is in the work out.
Getting the material and doing it,
thousands and thousands and thousands of times,
until it becomes you,
and you become it.
That will teach you the art,
no matter which of my books or courses you get.

Here’s the full Matrix Karate course.

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-karate/

Have a great work out!

Al

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/matrix-karate/

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http://www.amazon.com/Matrixing-Tong-Bei-Internal-Gung/dp/1507869290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423678613&sr=8-1&keywords=tong+bei

Women Will Fall at Your Feet!

…and bullies will bow down!

The one thing that gets me concerning the Martial Arts, and it shouldn’t, but it does, are ads like the one right below.

I Couldn’t Believe I Froze Up … What’s Really Ridiculous Is That I’ve Been Trained In 13 Martial Arts Since I Was Only Four Years Old, So I, Of All People Should Have Been Able To Do Something, But I Couldn’t – I Didn’t Know What To Do In This Exact Situation, Even Though I Practiced Many Similar Situations. This Was A False Sense Of Security.

karate instruction manual to black belthey_skinny_adThis ad is off the internet, it’s part of a big pitch designed to empower people with ‘invisible force fields’ that enable them to handle multiple attackers with their bare hands, to tear apart whole mobs, and without any martial arts training.

Or, as in the case above, the guy had studied lots of fighting disciplines, but they didn’t work.

Okay, so let’s look at the real facts here.

Fact Number One: I doubt if the guy studied Karate, or Kenpo, or Aikido, or even a smidgeon of Shaolin. But if he did, he better ask for his money back because…They weren’t the real thing, they weren’t real fighting disciplines.

Fact Number Two: In spite of the hype of ads like this, ads which actually degrade the real martial arts in favor of making money for some bum who studied no martial arts, or martial arts that weren’t real, there is no substitute for learning a real martial art.

A fake, comic book, internet scam martial art is a handful of tricks that look neat, but have little relation to each other.

A real self defense method is a LOT of tricks, tied together with effective theory so that everything relates, and which then can work on you to change your mindset and make you a better human being.

Consider this: a real art, like Karate or Gung Fu or Krav Maga develops intuition. It develops a sixth sense. Let me tell you this: if I was that guy I wouldn’t have awakened when the bad guys so much as stepped on my property. The hairs would have stood on my neck, I would have been wired, I would have been more alert than Defcon Five! Because THAT is what a real fighting discipline does to you. It wakes you up, it makes you intuitive, it gives you that sixth sense. 

Consider this: when you study a real discipline, like Jujitsu or Wing Chun or good, old Karate, when somebody holds a gun on you…you instantly wake up! You are more alert than you have ever been, and you can’t stop the scenarios from enfolding in your mind. I can do this, I can do that, and you sort through them and wait, because you know, when the time comes, that you won’t be thinking, you will be doing.

Concerning the above two considerations, the above two chapters, I speak from personal experience. This is not a hype, or a war story, or some whimsical comic book supposition.

So the conclusion is this: if you don’t know a real form of self defense, a classical method that’s been formed through the centuries, then you are a sitting duck. You have no discipline for emergencies, you have no plan, and you likely don’t even have the conditioning.

Yes, sometimes a form of self defense like Karate or Kung Fu might have some mistakes in it, maybe defenses against weapons that are no more, maybe a poser technique, but even these problems tend to make you think, condition your body, give you alternatives in the extreme. Everything is an education, and it really all depends on what you do with it, whether you make it real enough to save your life.

And, here is the truth: don’t bother with the hype, don’t bother with comic book ads. Only seek out real martial arts, real forms of self defense. Learn them fast, and learn more than one, because what one doesn’t teach another one will.

To do less is to stand on the street in the middle of the mob holding hundred dollar bills and scream ‘Don’t take my money!’

You’ll end up in the gutter faster than fast, and it’s your own fault for not being prepared, for not getting in shape, for not giving yourself a real Martial Arts education when you could have.

About the Author: Al Case has studied Martial Arts since 1967. He is the originator of Matrixing Technology, which is the only science of the martial arts in the world. People who learn Matrixing can absorb classical martial arts three times faster, and make them work three times better.

If you want to learn a real method of Self Defense, the best place to start is Matrix Karate

The Munio Fist Load Keychain Karate Weapon

Making the Deadliest Karate Weapon in the World!

A Fist load is a Japanese term for a hand held martial arts weapon of the small variety. In this classification you would find brass knuckles, possibly saps, and definitely Kubotans.

 

munio key chain  martial arts weaponmartial arts weaponAnd, you would definitely find Phil Ventrello’s handy, little keychain called a Munio. You can read about the Munio, and of my test of it, here, (https://alcase.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/munio-self-defense-is-great-martial-arts-equipment/)

What you don’t know is that at one time, a few years ago, I decided to make one of these key chain killer devices myself.

First, I went to the lumber store and bought a six inch dowel.

Then, I went to the hardware store and bought a handful of nasty and sharp, little nails.

Then I measured the spread of my finger in a fist, and pounded the nails through the stick at the measured points.

ZOWIE!

I was holding a gnarly stick that fit perfectly into my hand and projected the points of some very, sharp nails between my fingers.

I had a device that could be adapted to carry keys, would fit in my hands, could be used to pound like a hammer, or flail like a small mace, and I pitied the fool mugger who wanted my skinny, little wallet!

And, here is the thing, I could make these suckers and sell them!

I could see it in my mind’s eye, mass produced by some third world country, recommended by police officers and Navy SEALs everywhere, and people would buy them like hot cakes!

Hot cakes with nails in them, but still hotcakes!

Conjecturing over this massive sales bonanza, adding up zeros in my head, I slid my home made fist load into my pocket and—OW!

The nails ripped apart my pants and scored my skin! And when I tried to take it out of my pocket it hurt even more!

I stared at the nasty, little martial arts tool. It bled at me. Darn. It was so perfect, but you couldn’t carry it. Heck, it would defeat any kind of holster, rip apart clothes, and…and if I was caught carrying one of these I would be guilty of intent to maim and all sorts of other stupid laws!

So I tossed it in the trash.

And, several years later, I carry a Munio. And now you can understand why I was so excited when I came across the Munio.

Munio means ’I defend.’ It can be carried into an airport, it won’t zap some poor fool into a heart attack, it won’t spray you in the face, and the darned thing is really cool looking!

Yet you can flail the keys and use the butt of the thing to pound sense into some poor mugger’s face!

Heck, I showed mine to my wife, and though she has NEVER showed an interest in martial arts weapons, she said, “Can I have one?”

So, check it out here…http://www.munioselfdefense.com/munio-workshops/.

Horse Stances and Karate Punches…

It’s the wind up, it’s the karate punch, it’s the…oops!

Good Lard is it a beeootifull day, especially for the ultimate karate punch..

Good day to work out, limber up the muskles, knock the fat off yer frame. Get healthy. Ya know? Are ya ready to talk martial arts?

kata unsu

Matrixing your horse stance training with Matrix Karate. Click on the pic.

Click on the book to find out about the man who killed Kenpo Karate.

Click on the book to find out about the man who killed Kenpo Karate.

One of the drills I hated the most, but got the most out of, was the simple horse stance. We would spread the legs, get the thighs down to where they were almost parallel to the floor, and put up one high block, and extend the other hand to the side in a chicken beak, and look at our finger tips. We called this position Kima Chasie. Horse Meditation.

And we meditated on the pain it would cause us.

Now, forget the pain, forget the stronger legs, forget everything but the real purpose of it. Get out of your body.

After a couple of years of dabbling with horse Meditation I decided to do it right. I decided that pain wouldn’t cause death (in this instance) and that I should just do the exercise until I got what it was all about.

So, I hit the stance, looked at my fingers, and concentrated on breathing. Time passed. Minutes seemed like hours. My mind began to still, the world slowed down. Seconds seemed like hours.

And, suddenly it all stopped hurting. No pain at all. The whole universe was one peaceful concept that i could live with forever.

How long did it take me to get there?

Five minutes.

That’s all.

Zingo bingo, instant enlightenment.

Doing the Horse Stance Form and techniques at 61.

Now came the problem. When I tried to move, I couldn’t. My whole body had locked up. Man, I was freaked. Tried to wiggle backwards, couldn’t move, couldn’t even rock. Tried forwards, ah, there we go, I could fall for…oh shit…ah! Landed on my face.

So, enlightenment is possible through the old training methods, but sometimes it can be weird, freaky, and even as significant as a karate punch on the nose.

Hey, any of youse guys feel like coming over to see me, I live on good old Monster Martial Arts. Brings your friends, the doors are open, leave your old life outside.

See ya.

Al

Here’s a great article on how to be Karate tough. If you can take it. Grrr.

Is it Time for Modern Weapons to be in Martial Arts Classes?

Martial Arts Taken to the Mat…

Guest blog by Alaric Dailey

Shihan would say “best defense is ‘please don’t hurt me’ and if they continue to harass or intimidate you, only then do you try to take the gun from them”. My sensei would tend to agree with him, and why shouldn’t he, after all Shihan was his Sensei.

Nick Cerio didn’t feel that way, as a police officer he felt that the inclusion of defenses against modern weapons was absolutely necessary. So with Ed Parkers blessing Cerio branched Kenpo to include some modifications including adding gun defenses.

body guard martial arts novel

An amazing Martial Arts novel. Click on the cover.

 
The Israeli Defense Force has to deal with guns all the time, so Krav Maga includes gun defenses.

I personally feel, that given the fact that above the age of twelve most fights include a weapon or multiple attackers, you must start addressing modern weapons.  Of course I also tend to agree with Shihan, and diffuse the situation if possible. However, I think you should also be trained how to handle such a situation properly, not making mistakes like trying a disarm and ending up wrestling over the gun, and having it pointed at yourself.

Gun safety, especially among children becomes more important every day.

Handling someone with a weapon, and especially a gun, is a dangerous thing to do. The techniques should be tested, and proven.  Thus, my personal opinion is to that the best place to borrow these modern weapon techniques from systems that must defend against them on a day to day basis.  Feel free to look around and compare, but the best most realistic techniques out there are from Krav maga.  Not only are these techniques easy to learn, no non-sense, and realistic, they are proven effective, which is why law-enforcement teaches them all over the world.

So as you may have guessed, I feel it is foolhardy to proclaim that you teach self-defense and not teach modern weapon defenses. Here are some of the ideas that I think should be incorporated into training, besides things like disarms.

1. Teaching everyone not to touch a gun they have found (contamination of evidence), children should get an adult, adults should call law enforcement.

2. Safe gun handling, handing off a weapon, clearing a weapon etc.

3 .Marksmanship

4. First aid/CPR and treatment of combat wounds.  A great choice would be EMT training, since most “First aid courses” are simply courses of “call 911”. If you are not qualified to teach these courses yourself, make sure students have access to those classes.

5. how to deal with an active shooter situation.

As for myself, when I open my own school, I intend to make regular trips to the range, and encourage my students to join me, Also I intend to ask my students to pursue getting their own conceal carry permits.

Alaric Daily began practicing the martial arts in 1992. Martial Art he has studied include Pangainoon, Karate, Kenpo, Wing Chun, Krav Maga, Judo, Jujitsu, Aikido, Bagua Zhang, and Tai Chi Chuan.

For a real Martial Arts tune up…subscribe to this blog.

How to Defend Against Dogs with Martial Arts

Martial Arts Defense Against Killer Dogs

Is this going to be a GREAT week or what?
Eh?
I mean,
the stars are in alignment,
the tea leaves are propitious,
and,
if that isn’t enough…
you get to work out!

best karate kung fu chi training manual

Click on the cover!

Of all them prophetic devices…
only the work out is the sure thing,
so I think I’ll work out twice!

Oinkly doggie.
Let’s leap right into the good stuff,
let’s talking about taking out attack trained,
killer vicious curs called…
guard dogs.

I was ten years old,
was cutting across a neighbors estate on my bicycle
and a big, old weimaraner
who I had known and played with,
attacked me.
Dragged me off the bicycle
and I managed to steer the falling bike
towards the property line,
and I fell into the street.
Off the property.
The guard dog,
who I had known and played with,
petted and wrestled with,
growled and snapped at me,
but was stopped by the property line.

Okay.
Guards dogs gone wild.
you know?

So I was afraid of dogs after that.
Then,
when I was eleven,
my older brother gave me his paper route.
And,
on one of the streets,
you guessed it,
a dog.
Not a guard dog,
but he would run into the street
and chase me.
I would peddle and cry.
And I asked my brother what he did about the dog.
“I kick it.”
It’s got to reach you,
so when it jumps,
I kick it.

I envisioned kicking,
even practiced it a bit,
and,
the next day,
I was delivering papers,
and,
you guessed it,
the dog comes chasing after me!

Man,
I stomped that sucker right in the face.
He yipped and ran.
And,
a half hour later,
I rode past that house again.
I was feeling a bit proud,
maybe even a bit blood thirsty,
hoping that dog would attack me again
so I could nail his face with my
Sunday go to meeting shoes.
(They were the only hard soles I had)

There were teeth on the ground!
I had actually knocked his teeth out!
HAHAHAHA!

And,
over the years,
I think about the A$$whole
who owned that dog.
Cause it’s the owner that should be kicked,
not the dog.
I’ll bet the owner thought it was funny,
his lights were on,
he let the dog out,
laughed when the paper boy ran.

Well,
he was feeding that dog mush with a spoon now!

Okay.
That sets us up.
Let’s talk about Monkeyland.

We have dogs up here.
Truth,
I LOVE dogs.
I hike all over with them.
I throw sticks.
I even swim with them!

Nothing is better than a big, old mutt
with a wet, sloppy tongue.
Nothing.

So we’ve got three dogs.
One is a hundred pound lab.
Big frigging tongue on that boy!
The other two are Mallenois.
Mother and pup.
Mallenois are like under sized german shepherds.
And,
they are highly prized as guard dogs.
My partner brought them up,
introduced the mother,
who was highly trained,
as a killer.

Well,
that’s not really what we’re about at Monkeyland,
but he’s my partner’s,
so now we have a highly trained attack dog.

Here’s the bad news.
The mother is loving,
one of the most loving dogs I have ever seen.
It is…
over loving.
Frantic.
Desparate.
You can’t go outside without the dog leaping on you,
hugging you,
trying to curl around your feet,
prostating itself and
…just wanting love.

The trainer,
you see,
has done a number on her.
Probably a good trainer.
My opinion,
however,
is that the dog will protect instinctively.
Doesn’t need to be trained to harm a human being.
In fact,
I think the training,
to harm another human being,
is a crime.
And what it has done to that poor dog…
Lord.
That poor dog is just out of its mind.

It’s always the owner,
in this case the trainer,
you know?

Anyway,
before I rant on a$$wholes who train dogs,
let’s talk about taking out a dog
that has been trained to harm human beings.

I went out on the front porch to do a work out.
Beautiful out there.
A mile of green valley and blue skies.
High, puffy clouds wafting across the sky.
A hint of breeze to cool off the work out
and let it go even longer.

Paradise,
you know?

BUT,
the dog wants love.
Is desperate for love.
And it crawls under my feet,
tries to jump on me.
So I practice my footwork,
anticipating directions,
and the dog is falling into space,
can’t keep up,
even falling down.

Hey!
This is fun!
BUT,
somewhere in there,
the attack responses are triggered.
The dog leaps at me.

Remember that dog I played with?
And who dragged me off my bike?
Man,
here it as,
all over again.

Not quite vicious,
but the line between love and hate,
usually large,
has been slipped over.
The dog leaps at me,
snapping at my wrists.
I realize that this is one of the devices
that the trainer must have used.
Play,
slap around,
get it to go lightly vicious.
A game,
you know?

But the A$$whole trainer
obviously didn’t know martial arts.

I was doing Tai Chi at the time,
the first move,
ward off.
The dog leaped,
I shuffled back slightly,
bowed my belly in,
and held my arms out,
the dog was in my space,
and I lowered my arm so that the forearm was at the neck,
turned my hips,
and threw the dog.

Man,
you have never seen such a quick and efficient throw.
That dog just flipped on its side.

It leaped at me.
I did golden rooster,
a simple knee,
and the dog bounced off the point of the knee and fell back.
Yipping!

I smiled,
cocked my head,
and held my hand out and motioned to the dog like Bruce Lee.
Come on.

The dog went for the feet.
I was wearing soft shoes,
so I merely stepped in front of my left foot with my right,
then,
when the dog was fooled,
slapped it in the head with a left sole behind the right leg.
Came right out of nowhere,
rocked that momma like there was no tomorrow.

Now,
I was being incredibly soft.
I LOVE dogs.
Even attack trained vicious guard dogs.
It’s the owner,
you know?

But I moved across that porch,
befuddling,
confounding,
confusing,
and threw that dog this way and that.
Didn’t use any force.
Just slipped and turned,
gave the dog the target,
then withdrew it.

And,
after a while,
the dog wasn’t sure what to do.
In the game it had been trained in,
it won,
got a cookie for savaging a wrist or ankle.
Got loving for biting the padded mid section.
Here,
there was no midsection.
And the ankles bit back and were gone.
And the wrists,
oh Lord,
going for the wrists
was a fool’s errand.
That always resulted in a disappearing target,
and a dog body flipped on it’s side,
and a series of Karate punches to the belly.
Soft punches.
And,
grin,
I avoided any of the Tai Chi strikes.
I didn’t want to kill the dog.

So,
that’s how you handle an attack trained
vicious,
killer guard dog.

Karate will work fine,
or any other art,
but remember that it is play here,
and that you are,
in essence,
undoing what the dog has been trained to do.
And,
remember,
it is always the owner.

The guard dog,
any dog,
is just one of God’s critters,
and we are charged with taking care of them.
Not using them against our fellow man,
beyond their natural protectiveness.

And,
it makes me think,
there are a few people I’d like to ‘de-train’
a few politicians.
Hmmm.
Maybe that’s a story for another time,
eh?

Have a great and glorious work out!
And don’t forget to pet your dog,
and play with him every day.
especially if he’s been attack trained.
Grin.

Al

Here’s the link for Matrix Tai Chi Chuan.
That’s the stuff I use,
and I recommend it HIGHLY!

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/2ba-matrix-tai-chi-chuan/

Breathless Martial Arts…Empty Karate…Silent Aikido

The Value of Silence in the Martial Arts

Karate, Gung Fu, Taekwondo…no matter what martial art…they need silence to grow.

My first hint of this was the ‘empty’ in Empty Hands, which is the literal translation of Karate.

Empty hands, and empty mind. A zen thing.

kung fu karate

Be silent, my friend, and hear yourself think…

 
Not how many tournaments you can win, not how ‘bad’ you are, but how silent you can be.

A light bulb depends on space to create the spark that lightens society. Is not space emptiness? Silence?

The human being is a light bulb, a machine through which sparks energy. But he blathers so much that there is no silence, thus, he never turns on those extra sensory perception tools like telepathy.

He is left with the sound of his body, a noisy thing that obscures his real thoughts.

A human being must create silence, and then the light bulb can go on.

When there is no sound he can create silence.

When there is no sound he can listen…and hear.

Hear what?

Hear his own thoughts.

Hear the thoughts of others.

When I was in the city I found it difficult to work out. I had done martial arts in such a way, and for so long, that I wasn’t interested in speaking, and the speaking of others disturbed the silence.

Humans are a loud variety.

Their heads actually make enormous noises, but the noises are beneath the human band of hearing. Thus, he is guilty of noise pollution, a machine trundling through life making squeaking gurgling sounds that are deafening to animals, but nothing to himself. He has made sure he can’t hear his own noise.

A polluter.

When you create enough silence the world speaks to you.

You can hear the animals look at you.

Animals are silent. They know how to listen. They never bothered to learn how to speak. Their ‘speech’ is more in action, pose, posture, grin.

Humans are so miserable.

They talk and they talk and they talk, and the world never listens.

Try the martial arts.

Try them blindfolded in a room without lights late at night.

Move by using your imagination.

Do your karate or kenpo or aikido in silence, lessening even the slither of bare foot over carpet, doing without noise.

Until not even your breath can be heard.

Breathless Martial Arts.

When you finally succeed in making perfect silence, then will you hear the true martial arts.

Then will you hear the world.

Then will you hear yourself.

Al Case has been studying the Martial Arts since 1967. Tai Chi Chuan is perfect for creating silence in the Martial Arts.

Basic Karate Kata Revolutionizes How to Teach Karate!

Basic Karate Kata Introduces New Teaching Method!

Let’s face it, most basic karate Kata are boring, and couldn’t boredom be the reason many people quit their karate class early on?

With this in the back of my mind, I decided to make a better basic Karate Kata. Simply, I wanted my karate class to be fast and fun. I wanted a karate form that would include all the basics, and actually involve the student.

best karate form

Does your karate form look like this?

 

Before we get into the form itself, consider that most forms are basically step and block drills. Step and strike. A piece of a karate technique, and not the whole thing. Thus, in addition to being boring, the forms have little value except for indoctrination into how to learn things rotely.

Can anybody spell second grade? How about behavior modification? Both good reasons to put aside long used teaching methods and find a better way of teaching Karate, or kung fu, or whatever your martial art is.

beginner karate

Or does it look like this?

In making the basic Karate Kata called ‘House’ I decided to use three basics, the low block, the outward middle block, and the high block. Those are easy enough for a beginner to learn quickly, and real enough for simulated fighting.

I then placed these blocks on a line, and put a punch after each block. Thus, there is stance change, weight shift, basics, and the idea that you can actually block and then offer a karate punch, or martial arts counter of some kind.

Now, to be honest, Chinese Kenpo, as presented by Ed Parker, had a good idea in their short one basic karate kata. The unfortunate fact is that while the idea of facing all four directions was good, it needlessly complicated the basic function of this kenpo form.

So, in line, three blocks, strikes right after each of the blocks, and you have something that works in real fight simulation, and can be learned quickly and easily, and, here’s an important element, can be upgraded into a more difficult variation.

Let’s say you begin the student on the first step, a low block and punch, and he can’t quite get it. That’s okay. The martial arts are new to him, and he’s confused by all the data. Let him be confused, drill him only on that one move until he gets it, then give him the second piece. Then, drill him on the first and second movements till he gets them, his own confusion will keep him entertained, and, finally, he can progress to the third move.

Thus, the karate student learns the whole kata.

Now, want to keep him learning? Want to make sure he does the form enough to get the deep down essence of the moves? Have him drill it in two man fashion. This is just like one step blocking movements done at the beginning of a traditional Karate class, except that it is a two man form, and the reality of the movements, that is to say the form, is being re-inforced with every single strike. More important, it takes no excessive teaching, you just have the student do the basic karate form and feed it strikes. He will have realization within minutes concerning how to do this, and he will be off to the races!

The Karate student thinks he knows it? Ask him to speed up. Ask him to do it without stepping,  while standing in place. Ask him to do it with a (rubber) knife or stick!

The possibilities are endless, and this simple, basic karate Kata is suddenly opening doors that are refused to students who learn in the same old same old mass education manner.

If you would like to do this form yourself, click on Basic Karate Kata, if you would like to learn an entire karate system taught in this manner, go to Matrix Karate at Monster Martial Arts.

Teaching the True Art of Karate

Spreading the True Martial Arts

I want to talk about something,
not everybody might like it,
but it has to do with growing the martial arts,
and growing your income.

Look,
here is the straight skinny,
the country is having probs,
incomes are down,
and wouldn’t you like to have a few extra bucks?
And,
wouldn’t it be nice if those few extra bucks
came from teaching Karate?

teaching martial arts

Learning Karate Changes Even Bullies

It’s one of my pet projects,
encouraging people to teach.
The thing is
there are a lot of teachers out there,
many aren’t really qualified.
They might have credentials
from big name organizations,
but that doesn’t mean they have the knowledge.
It takes a precise knowledge
of how to teach Karate.
I discovered this with one of my first black belts.
He went out and started teaching,
and when I got over to look at his karate class,
he was teaching calisthenics.
There were a few martial arts thrown in,
and he was good,
but he opted for teaching…calisthenics.
Push ups, sit ups,
a few kicks,
running around the room.
And,
finally,
as an after thought,
he might teach a karate self defense move.

Now,
why he did this,
I don’t know.
But I do know that I checked on his school a couple of decades later,?when it was under one of his students,
and it had gone to full contact karate.
Basically,
fighting and…calisthenics.

So,
I understand that martial arts change,
especially when people don’t understand the underlying reasons.
I can only conclude
that the degradation of his karate school
was my fault.
I taught him,
I was young,
I hadn’t figured it out,
I taught him well,
he was good,
but…he didn’t understand the underlying reasons,
so his school degraded,
didn’t die,
just degraded to the point
where it was teaching people how to fight.

So,
I offer underlying reasons,
and I try to fix schools that have degraded.
And…
I encourage people to teach karate, and other martial arts.
I know that the people who have done my martial arts courses
are going to understand why a technique is,
how it works,
and,
more important,
how to get the student to understand.

Want to know something interesting?
I’ve got a book
‘How to Start Your Own School,’
and when somebody write me and asks me about teaching,
I usually give them that book for free.
It’s part of the Master books,
I could sell it Kindle for a few books
(and I probably will)
but I give it away to people who say they want to teach.

Look,
the difference between man and beast is the fact that man understands.
Animals don’t.
They just fight,
and make up a reason for fighting.
Silly animals.

Anyway,
the point of this rant is that if you are hurting economically,
a victim of the money crunch happening in this country,
you can do something about it.
You could order the Master Instructor Course,
do it,
know that you know more than ANY martial arts instructor on the planet,
and then you could head down to the YMCA,
see if they need a karate instructor.
You can put up cards at a local gym.
You could gather a bunch of neighborhood kids.

You can start out low,
$10 a month for kids,
you can go high,
charge good bucks at the gym.

YOU CAN START YOUR OWN CLASS.
Be it Karate or kung fu,
aikido or pa kua,
or whatever,
and using the data that is inside
The Master Instructor Course,
you could teach that art better than it has been taught
since whoever founded it was teaching.

Spare time.
Saturday afternoon.
Evenings.

You could build it into something large!

Do you understand?
The martial arts are a blessing.
They make people better.
They make strong bodies,
increase awareness,
and they are a fist in the face of the bad guys.
But we need people who understand what they really are.

Oinky Donkey.
I hope my rant has helped.
I don’t want you poor,
and I want everybody healthy and happy,
So…think about it.

Let make a couple of other announcements
before I close off.

I’ve got a new site up.
It’s about Bruce Lee.
Can you find it through google?
It’ll be tough,
but it’s out there.
Next week or two
it’ll be easy to find,
but right now…
can you find it?

And,
we’re waiting on word of escrow
for Monkeyland.
Escrow,
120 acres on a hilltop,
and start building a temple.
And I will let you know as soon as this thing comes true.
Pics and everything.
you’ll be blown away.
incredible site.

Okay,
that’s…ooop!
I almost forgot.

If you have a website,
or a functioning blog,
let’s trade links.
I’ve got three different sites
that are chunking pretty traffic,
a link might bring you a little traffic,
and google likes links,
so they might send you traffic.
Just email me at aganzul@gmail.com
and ask about linking up.

Okay,
now that is it.
You guys and gals
enjoy the heck out of this week.
Have lots of work outs,
do what you want to do,
and live life like you were meant to!

Al

And don’t forget to go to…

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/4-master-instructor-course/

This has been a page about teaching karate…and other martial arts.