Category Archives: learn karate at home

The Truth is that Taekwondo is Really Karate!

Karate became Taekwondo!

Interesting statement, but it is true: Taekwondo came from Karate. Consider the history of the five Kwans.
Chung Do Kwan (Blue Wave School) was begun in 1944 by Won Kuk Lee. Won Kuk Lee studied Shotokan Karate with Gichin Funakoshi, and he used the same forms and called his school Tang Soo Do.
Moo Duk Kwan was started in 1945 by Hwang Kee. Kee actually studied tai chi chuan, then studied with Won Kuk Lee, but he claims he learned the shotokan forms that he taught from Funakoshi’s book.

karate punch

Karate…Taekwondo…just hit ’em!

 

Song Moo Kwan was begun in 1944 by Byung Jick Ro. He studied shotokan, and called his school Tang Soo do.
Kwon Bop Bu/Chang Moo Kwan was begin in 1947 by Byung In Joon. Joon studied Karate with Kanken Toyama, who was a classmate of Gichin Funakoshi.
Yun Moo Kwan was founded in 1946 by Kyung Suk Lee (judo) and Sang Sup Chun (Karate). While this school was original judo and Karate, after the Korean War it began teaching Shito Ryu Karate.

These were the top five schools, and they were all Karate based.
The lesser six schools were all derived from these original five.
Comes the question, how did Karate become Taekwondo?
The answer is that Korea is a very nationalistic country, and politics plays a large part. Thus, Gen. Choi Hong Hi decided to bring all the schools under one banner, and to call them by the generic term Taekwondo (Way of the hand and Foot).
Thus, some of the schools still teach the old forms from Karate, and some teach later forms. There were actually a couple of evolutions of these later forms, and so there is confusion in Taekwondo because of this.

Interestingly, probably the school with the greatest claim to being pure Taekwondo would be The Kang Duk Won. This is because the style is based upon the teachings of Kanken Toyama. This kept the system more of a pure link to Okinawa, the birthplace of Karate, and away from the Japanese influence. Japanese Karate is good, but it has been altered to fit certain cultural facets of Japan.

Interested in learning the system that came through Kanken Toyama? Go to MonsterMartialArts.com and look for Evolution of an Art. Evolution of an Art contains three complete styles of Karate, from inception to interesting and extreme variations.

I Use Karate to Kill People!

Using the Martial Arts to Dismember and Maim?

I got the idea for this title from a fellow who said, ‘What do we say when people ask us why we study karate?’

Well, I gave sound advice, tell them it’s good for you, tell them it gets rid of your hostility, tell them whatever, but who cares…you do them because you love them.

karate punch

A fast Karate punch…the only cure for a zombie!


But…inside my insidious cranium, I was thinking something else. Tell them you do karate so you can more effectively hurt people. Tell them you like pain. Tell them it’s better than a knife or gun because you won’t leave evidence.

And then I started thinking about Zombies.

The zombies are big on TV today (walking dead), and World War Z is coming up on the big screen, hmmm.

When I was a kid zombies were slow moving. You could outrun them by breaking into a fast walk. But now, zombies are hyped up druggoids that can outrun a cheetah and are stronger than an elephink.

But what if they new Karate, too!

I mean, that would be killer diller zombies! I mean, the human race would be blotto in the time it takes wind a solar watch!

So now, when people ask me why I study Karate and all them other durned martial arts, I tell them it’s because of the zombies! I know the zombies are learning karate, so I figure I better learn Karate better! You know?

Zombie Karate, where your fist becomes so fast it is like a bullet to the brain!

Zombie Karate, where your kicks are so powerful you knock the head off a zombie!

Yowzer!

Anyway, I don’t say those things, when people ask me why I learn karate, but…I should!

Huge Dictionary Sized Volume of Martial Arts Writing!

A Huge Amount of Martial Arts Writing!

Monster Martial Arts has just released a single volume containing 500 martial arts articles.

The volume is a massive undertaking which took years to write. Consider that it has over 600 pages, and nearly 250,000 words, and one quickly realizes that it is one of the largest martial arts books ever written. It is even larger than many dictionaries.



The instant download is nearly 6 Megabytes alone!

The 500 articles were written by Al Case over the last half dozen years, and were intended to bring attention to his Monster Martial Arts website. That they succeeded is obvious, as the website has become extremely popular, as have the martial arts courses on the site.

The courses cover a broad range of fighting disciplines, including karate, aikido, kung fu, pa kua chang, tai chi chuan, weapons, and more. The courses are designed to teaching one how to matrix the martial arts. Matrixing introduces a new form of logic which makes the martial arts easier and faster to learn.

The 500 articles also cover a broad range of interests. Consider the following titles.

4 Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li: Who‘s the Better Martial Artist?

37 Download the Martial Arts into your Brain like Neo!

60 How to Fight in the Dark

82 How to Tell if a Martial Art Instructor is Any Good!

124 Kung Fu Master…and the Secret of Light Kung Fu!

179 The Greatest Training Device in the Martial Arts Isn’t So Great!

209 The Fastest, Hardest Kick In The Martial Arts

250 I Beat Eight Ninjas in a Barfight Using Spetsnaz Karate Techniques!

276 Flux Theory and the Secret of Negative Tai Chi Chuan Chi

297 Martial Arts Breaking Techniques: Boards with a Single Finger

346 Five Martial Arts Exercises Make You Five Times More Stronger, Faster And Powerful!

369 Tony Jaa Threatens to Kill Himself, then Becomes a Monk!

402 Karate Kick Harder with These Seven Simple Tips

418 Take a Punch and Walk Away Smiling with One Simple Exercise

447 Karate Freestyle and the First Few Seconds of a Street Fight

456 The Yoga Kata

488 Is This the Most Powerful Punch in the Whole World?

 

 

The release of the 500 articles coincides with the upcoming ‘Great Matrixing Tour.’ The purpose of the tour is to bring Matrixing to the Martial Artists across the United States.

 

People who purchase the book will be contributing directly to the tour.

 

Again, the book is an instant download, and a complete viewpoint of the martial arts, including history, techniques, personalities, and event he new sciences of Matrixing and Neutronics. People interested in purchasing the 500 Martial Arts articles should go to:

 

http://churchofmartialarts.com/bookstore/500-martial-art-articles/

 

The Ultimate Method for How to Learn a Karate Form

Learn a  Karate Form the Right Way from the Start!

When it concerns Understanding the best ways to Do a Martial Arts Form, the typical mistaken belief is that that you go into a class with twenty additional individuals, you perform kicks into the air maniacally, then you are a martial artist.

pinan one low block

No, you are a martial arts fan, and you are no place near to being an artist.

A lot of martial artists have not the faintest idea as to the best ways to do a martial arts form. The martial arts just occurred too quickly in the nation, and coaches were fresh off the airplane and either didn’t talk the language, didn’t have adequate experience, or an assortment of additional things.

So right here is exactly how you do a martial arts form.

You find out the very first motion. This typically includes something like standing in one location, stepping in a direction, and doing a low block.

Now, do not acquire the 2nd motion. Work on the very first motion. Take that very first motion home, stand in the center of your bedroom, and do it.

Do not do it quickly and maniacally, do it slowly and gradually. Work on making the hand and the foot move at the same time. Work on ensuring the hips are turning with the hand and the foot. Work on relaxing, then tightening up the fist at the moment of block. Work on breathing. Work on making that karate block or kung fu block the only thing you are doing. Rid the mind of interruptions till there is just the block. not even a thought of you.

Now close your eyes and do the motion. Feel your balance, feel your breath, feel your coordination and weight drop and anything else.

The function of a form is not to discover the best ways to block. An idiot can easily block. the function of the form is to free the mind of distraction, and to make that block the only thing that you are doing.

When the carpenter strikes the nail, is he thinking, or doing without thinking?

And, speaking of carpenters and nails, right here is an innovative, little activity to assist the novice, the other who does not comprehend exactly what I am asking right here and desires to, or also the other with thirty for forty years martial arts experience in a variety of martial arts.

Stand 3 feet away from your automobile with the keys in your hand. Close your eyes. Step forward and place the keys into the doorlock.

Within a short time, I’ll bet, your pretty, bright automobile is going to have a couple of scratches around the keyhole.

I always remember when I was doing this, but sitting in the vehicle and only placing the keys into the ignition with my eyes closed. The spouse comes out and asks just what I’m doing.

Martial Arts, I reply.

Okay, got that block down? Really good, go be taught a 2nd motion, and do the exact same thing all over once more. And do not forget to duplicate the very first lesson so you will not forget it.

I assure that discovering your martial arts forms in this way will certainly tremendously increase your progression in the martial arts. All those amazing motions, you see, are nothing but polished basics. And by utilizing the technique I explain right here you are finding out ways to polish from the get go.

Keep in mind, it is not exactly how many times you do something maniacally and with frenzied energy. It is doing it once with reduced energy and high understanding. Opt for the understanding, that’s the best ways to do a martial arts form.

Discover the best ways to do martial arts the right way, and in the privacy of your very own house. Go to MonsterMartialArts (dot) com.

Baguazhang Karate Cross Training Idea

Baguazhang Karate

Pa Kua Chang, or Bagua Zhang as some describe it, is a peculiar martial art where in one participatings in walking the circle till one discovers the actuality of one self.

Like a pet dog chasing his tale till he discovers Buddha.

baguazhang

Like Black Sambo converting leopards into … liquid gold.

Like exactly what is the race of men racing to?

Dong Hai Chuan was a likable chap with a fascination for martial arts. He engaged in Shaolin Kung Fu, so the tale goes, and reached a point where he was so great he took to the road and started roaming, looking for instructors able to educate him more.

His search led him throughout the Wudan Mountains of rural China, back where the mystic holy places stood, and legends had it that archaic expertise existed in pure design. His search led him to a rare religious sect whose specialists thought that one could certainly uncover the reality of the universe by … walking the circle.

So Dong walked the circle, day in day out, in search of his divine nature. For 9 years he walked the circle, and one might well picture the taunts of passersby.

“Examine the old man chasing his shadow!”

“Hey buddy! Place it on a straight line and you could get somewhere!”

“Har de har har!”

Yet, rain or shine, under blazing sunshine and during freezing snow, Dong carried on his trek, looking for the reality of himself.

At last, some 9 years into his voyage, he stated to the monks of the mysterious sect that … wasn’t it odd that … the tree he was walking around appeared to be chasing him? That the tree in fact appeared to bending over?

Was the tree bending over? Or was something in his mind bending over? Or was something in his mind just coming to be … unbent?

The monks eyed one other, and one lightly put forward, “An additional 2 years.”

So on went Dong, round and round, circle after circle, nose after tail. And possibly this is where he integrated his Shaolin with the unlimited walking of the circle. Probably this is where the circle came to be imbued with the art of violence, and came to be not simply a repository of religious fanaticism. Probably this is where the creative mixture of self with the fanatical seeking of God comes to be … whatever it comes to be.

Did Dong at last manage to catch the reality of himself?

No reference of ‘the bolt out of the blue’ striking the formerly young lad is made in the histories. Just what is recognized, nevertheless, is that he attained a high degree of proficiency, that he was so profound at circle walking that he had the ability to defeat the Emperor’s bodyguards, and come to be main coach of that celebrated ‘clan.’ And there are tales of him fading away under the attacking hand, of tiing up mighty warriors in fragile knots exactly to view them fall, of consulting his followers even after passing.

Bolt out of the blue or proficiency, this author thinks that proficiency is the more valued. However, that stated, we reach the heart of the fable.

We understand not whether Dong discovered himself, however we do understand that an individual who walks in a circle is insane. Such purposeless endeavor, specifically in this godless globe, is the heart of insanity. Yet … is insanity not simply a quality that others can not discover? Does not one have to go ‘in’ sane to discover real sanity?

The man who pounds his palm upon a stone, hour after hour, every day, year after year … does he make powerful the hand? Or at last divine that the universe really is created of space?

That young child who will come to be old doing his kung fu forms, does he battle hordes and legions in his mind? Or does he unburden his mind of all hordes and legends?

That acorn … will it truly come to be an oak?

The acorn may fall down a deserted gopher hole, and it could root into fertile ground … however it is time that makes the mighty oak, and the limitless and insane urge to grub into the ground … simply to view the sky.

We are all grubs … however have we got a hold of the earth? Will we see the heavens?

Trust Dong Hai Chuan for the answer to that one, yet only ask if you are walking the circle, if you are pursuing yourself with Pa Kua Chang, round and round, year after year, breath after breath.

The writer walked the circle, did Pa Kua Chang for 2 years, till human beings started to bend over, lightening filled his legs, and energy stripes barber poled out his arms … you can easily discover his Pa Kua Chang at Monster Martial Arts.

Great Mental Space is Available With Karate!

With Karate, every work out is a prayer.

Let’s talk about what a work out really does.
I mean,
I keep telling you to work out,
and you know you get stronger and faster,
more smarter,
and people even like you more,
but…
why?
So let’s talk about EXACTLY what happens in a work out.

with karate

Learning Karate Changes Even Bullies



The human body is a motor,
and the human mind is like a radio transmitter.
I know,
sounds weird,
but it’s true.

At first,
you are working out
and the motor gets stronger,
faster,
and so on,
and that’s all good.

Somewhere along the line
the radio transmitter,
the mind,
starts to lose static.
All the chatter and bushwah
going on in the mind
gets less and less.

Mostly,
this is hard to perceive,
it’s not like muscles,
where a month later
you notice that you are stronger.
With the mind,
it’s like a year or two later,
you just feel better,
are calmer,
hold your own in conversations better,
and that sort of thing.

Now,
when you do a form,
or a technique,
you are deliberately trying
to get rid of distractions.
You want to do the move without extras.
You want to do only the move.
You want to be pure in motion
without thought.

The purpose of the form is to get rid of thought,
so that only that single thought
that creates the motion
is manifest.

Read that again.
The purpose of a form is to get rid of useless thought,
and manifest only that thought
which initiated the action.

The beginner has to move his feet,
his body lurches behind,
he’s not sure which muscles he’s using
and halfway through the move
he starts daydreaming.

Well,
maybe not daydreaming,
but he is not holding on to the single thought
which created the move.

For myself,
I used to get SO-O-O frustrated
because there was so much happening in my mind
when I did even a simple step and punch move.

But,
as time progressed,
and the step and punch moves accumulated
my mind stopped chattering
and I started focusing
on only one thing,
on only the move I was doing.

Have a thought and make it happen.
That’s what the whole procedure is…
have a thought and make it happen.

Now,
after some twenty or thirty years
your mind gets fair calm
and you actually start to see what the other guy is doing.

I know it sounds funny,
twenty or thirty years,
and who would want to take that long,
but take it from me,
when you start seeing what the other guy is doing…
BEFORE HE DOES IT
it is worth a hundred years of forms.
Even a thousand.
There is simply nothing like leaving the mind
and all its bushwah chatter,
and entering into
A GREAT SPACE.

That is the only way I can describe it.
When the mind disappears,
becomes so small it is negligible,
it is like you are in a great space.
You have so much room,
so much time.

When somebody starts to move,
you have the time and space
to yawn, create a counter,
and implement it.
You have Great Space.

Now,
what I have described here
is exactly what happens
when you do forms for some thirty years.

You start with a mental radio transmitter
that is rusty and clogged with static.
By forcing yourself to focus,
to concentrate on one thing,
the chatter goes away,
the static goes away,
and you become able to actually have a thought
and make it work.
And,
you start to see other people,
and you actually perceive their thoughts,
and you have this Great Space
in which to act.

Life becomes a big, empty jewel,
sparkling with happenings,
and you feel this incredible compassion for people
and you realize the truth of brotherhood.
Not politics,
or some bushwah belief system,
but the actuality
of perceiving your fellow man
on the deepest level,
where he lives,
in his soul.
Or…
to perceive the soul that he is.

Now,
do you understand why
I want you to learn faster?
Why I want you to accumulate this wisdom
in a year or so,
as opposed to thirty years?

I want you to clear out the radio transmitter that is your mind.
I want people to experience the Great Space
that is their true reality.

I want the orifices that are politicians
and petty dictators,
and bad bosses,
and nagging wives,
and snapping and snarling mad dogs…
TO KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF!

Pardon my French,
Swearing is the mark of an untrained mind,
but I really wanted to make my point.

So,
do you like Karate?
Here’s an URL
to help you grow faster,
get smarter quicker,
and connect with the truth
of yourself and your fellow man.

http://www.monstermartialarts.com/Matrix_Karate.html

Do you like Kung Fu?
Check out the Shaolin Butterfly
on the Monster Martial Arts site.

Maybe you’re one of these mystical whiz kids,
take a gander at
Butterfly Pa Kua Chang
at the Monster.

Or weapons or chi building or…
whatever you want,
whatever it takes to get you to take the next step,
to put aside the ancient and slower methods.

Do you understand?
The planet is undergoing a meltdown,
and you are needed.
You are needed to take up arms,
so that you may put down the inner beast
that is in yourself
and in everybody.
And it is a simple matter of
doing what you love.
Doing the martial arts.
Making yourself focus on one thought.
Making yourself stronger and smarter.
Making yourself into a spiritual entity
that can bring peace to the self
and the world.

With Karate we can actually create a better and more harmonious world.

 

How to Use Karate Strategy to Walk Through a Mob

Use Karate Strategy to Defeat Chaos!

A bit of cross training and you can build and use karate strategy that will enable you to walk right through a bom. Following is the article.

use karate strategy

Adapt and use the art of Gichin Funakoshi to walk through a mob!

 

I was reading a martial arts journal several years ago, I think it was Black Belt, and I stumbled upon this anecdote involving Morihei Ueshiba. O Sensei would go to different towns and put on Aikido exhibitions. I have no doubt the exhibitions were spectacular, however the thing that inspired the heck out of me was the story his uchideshi (inside student) offered regarding O Sensei’s crowd walking strategy.

When traveling across a train station (for example) O Sensei would simply walk straight forward, radiating his chi, and the masses would part. Individuals might turn and stare at this imperious titan, then the masses would close up. The Uchi deshi, packed with trunks and bags, would struggle through the closing people.

The thing that awed me about this relating of event was not that a man could easily emanate effective chi and sweep back a masses, but that it reminded me of my very own crowd walking experiences.

When I was in eleventh grade I used to love to run through groups. I would probably be late for class, or simply playing tag with someone, and unexpectedly something would come over me and I would be in complete sprint. The halls would certainly be jammed, and I would be turning on the nickel, scrambling full tilt, not able to be tripped (and a few of the teenagers would certainly make an effort). Young women might gasp and also offer little shrieks as I ran full tilt towards them, then turned and spun around them. The ground resembled a magnet to my feet, I never ever slipped, it was like I was flash, yet with magic glue on my soles.

O Sensei’s crowd walking blew me away, however it was so different from mine.

Exhibiting chi like he was a walking heating system. It was the start of my martial arts calling, and control of chi in such splendid way was yet a dream. Still, I had my very own technique.

As time went on I acquired the capability to exhibit chi, though not to the degree of O Sensei, yet, fascinatingly, I started to hold my very own procedure up as possibly not so scruffy.

The key, of course, was in engaging in Pa Kua Chang, in walking the circle. Especially, I would focus on walking EXTREMELY slowly. I would feel the chi go up and down the legs, and I started to recognize a few things.

One, there was even more finesse in my strategy than simply turning it on and blasting individuals back.

Two, Pa Kua Chang really didn’t instruct individuals to crowd walk like I was doing it. Classic Pa Kua Chang was more into tricky hands, and not into fine tuning the walk itself. Walking slowly, concentrating the knowledge on the generation and control of chi in the legs, made lightening in the legs. And this lead to the next understanding.

Three, I could show individuals ways to walk through crowds ten times more quickly and effectively, and there was a TON more fulfillment in the teaching.

Chi blasting a group is entertaining, however it is pretty much a bully method.

Understanding ways to worm through the people at high speeds thrills the creativity, it is subtle, it needs more entire body strategy. And this last is fascinating, and actually important to the expanding martial artist.

Contrast it to a musical instrument. Chi blasting such as O Sensei did is comparable to the opening chords of’ 2001: A Space Odyssey.’ (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). Crowd walking such as I explain and instruct with my particular Pa Kua Chang resembles playing Flight of the bumblebee.

One is spectacular, the other is elaborate. One is amazing, the other is subtle. One is overpowering, the other is shading subtleties of hue unto infinity.

And, of course, when it pertains to crowd walking martial arts procedures, one should master both. Have the ability to be subtle, and blast at a second’s notice.

This has been an article on how to use karate strategy to walk through a mob, check out Pa Kua chang at MonsterMartialArts.com.

Making Powerful Karate Kicks

I say Karate kicks, but the training tips of this article hold for Taekwondo Kicks, Kung Fu kicks, or whatever. There are two things that we need to analyze when figuring out the best way to kick somebody’s butt. One is holding to the basic kicks, and the other is the mechanics of the kick itself.

Karate kick

Use the whole body when kicking!


When doing Karate kicks one can get carried away with a lengthy list of flashy kicks. This includes jumping, spinning, and even acrobatic leg maneuvers. These, however, while fun and even a benefit to the student, will not work in a street altercation. Thus, when doing martial arts kicks one should stick to the four effective fighting basics: front, side, wheel (roundhouse), or spinning rear kick.

When practicing these leg tricks make sure that you raise the knee. Raising the knee involves the hips and commits the whole body to the kick. A good training tip for doing this is to practice kicking over a chair.

Always use the correct part of the foot when striking. This would be the toes, the ball of the foot, the instep, and the heel. When selecting which part of the foot to kick with, remember that the smallest striking area will focus the greatest amount of force.

Always turn the hips when kicking. Turning the hips commits the whole weight of the body into the action. This must be done liquid and whiplike, all pieces moving together.

Do not hold your leg in the chamber position. One must be like a liquid whip, up from the earth to the target, and back from the target to the earth. To hold the leg halfway between is to bleed power out of the kick, and to break it into segments.

Always do your kicking at the right distance. Just as you shouldn’t try to use a fist when at kicking range, don’t try to use a foot when at fist range. The better strategy is not to try to make something work at the wrong distance, but to get so good at the basics that you can’t be stopped.

Most important rule of all: do hundreds, even thousands, of kicks every day. The fool who thinks ten kicks per foot per kick per day is enough is just that…a fool. Only by dedicating oneself, by going fanatic and mad dog in your training, whether in Karate kicks, or whatever type of leg movement you are practicing, will you hope to obtain the best benefits that your martial arts discipline has to offer.

There are some great articles on kicking at FreeMartialArtsOnline.com

Beat Up a Karate Teacher for World Peace!

Yes, You Can Beat Up a Karate Teacher!

A 37 year old man entered a Fort Wayne Karate school and tried to beat up a karate teacher.

The unnamed man carefully disguised himself before entering the martial arts school. He ripped up a batman tee shirt and draped it about his face as a mask, then entered the school. A ‘Karate kid’ class was being conducted, but that did not sway the alleged ‘beater upper.’ He strode to the center of the mat, apparently to give a message of world peace.


karate instructor

The owner of Bowles Karate Academy politely asked the belligerent to leave, but the man refused. Instead, he held out a hand with a secret message on it. The owner refused to take the note, and instead elected to guide the man off the mat and out of the school. The man immediately swung a quick fist and punched the school owner in the face.

Big mistake.

The karate teacher quickly subdued the man. It was not stated whether he used a simple jointlock, threw the man down and sat on him, or kicked him in the, uh…juncture at the top of and between the legs.

At any rate, the man was subdued, and the sensei and one of his assistants held the man in place while the police were called. It is unknown whether the martial artssensei lectured the children on proper jointlocks, holds, and submission techniques while he perched aboard the intruder.

The police shortly not too long afterwards, and the man was passed over to them to be handcuffed. When the police asked the man why he had come into the school, the man passed them the secret message. The note said, ‘Stop the Violence.’

The police began laughing, then everybody in the school was laughing, and the attacker hung his head in shame.

The man was arrested on misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal trespass.

The teacher was cheered, and so goes the attempt to beat up a karate teacher.

 

The Truth About Yoga, Karate, And Your Right, Big Toe

When it comes to Yoga Karateka can get great benefits.  Before you get benefits, hower, you have to understand why Yoga works. It’s an interesting question, and one which I have never heard answered. In fact, some youngster puts the question to some oriental sage type, and I see a lot of justifying and circumventing and philosophizing…and no real answer.

yoga karate

Learning Karate Changes Even Bullies


I was trying to make yoga work the other day, and I was listening to some gal on a Yoga CD course and trying to relate it to the karate that I knew, and the gal on the CD suddenly said something that made me blink. Smugly, she stated, ‘It took me three years to be able to do this yoga asana.’ I paused the CD, and ruminated over her statement.

It took her three years of discipline to make her body hold a pose. She was proud, which is okay, but is still probably the sinful version of satisfied. And I don’t think she really knew or understood Yoga.

She was stretching and being a contortionist. She wasn’t talking about becoming aware as a spiritual being, but rather being prideful about being able to pretzelize her body. What she was saying had to do with holding her body in a posture, and nothing to do with the spiritual side of the discipline.

One of my more odd martial arts tricks is to practice my karate kata in a dark room with no lights and my eyes closed. I do this because Karate means ’empty hands,’ and I recognized that you couldn’t have empty hands without developing an empty mind. I am merely trying to reduce extraneous sensations, and develop awareness aimed at the single and concentrated practice of the martial arts form.

To understand this in Yoga, shut your eyes and become aware of your right, big toe. You must be aware of your right, big toe without the use of body perceptions. You must become aware, not be aware through body perception devices (eyes, taste, hearing, and so on).

If you can hold the body motionless, reduce sensation, and just become aware, then you are on the track of real yoga. If you can understand the different between being aware through body perception tools (sight, smell, etcetera), and just being aware, then you are on the track of real yoga. If you can become aware of yourself as a spiritual being apart from the body, then you are doing real Yoga.

You don’t have to force your body through rigid postures. You need merely assume a pose…doesn’t even have to be an official yoga position…and stop looking through your senses, and let awareness flower. The difference between perception and awareness, this is why yoga works, why karate is great, and your big toe is so cool.