Matrixing the Real You with Martial Arts

Newsletter 700
Matixing and Neutronics in the Martial Arts

Another day
another work out,
Another chance to be
smarter, stronger, nicer.
Another day to find…
the real you.

I’m going to tell you something really important about you,
about what you really are,
about what you can really do,
and how this relates to the martial arts.

The real you is not your body,
your name,
even your mind.
It is that part of you that looks out.
Watches.
Observes.
Figures things out.
Experiences joy.

It is you…the awareness.

Your real body is not flesh or mind,
it is as far as you can imagine.

One of the things that I have said,
that causes a few people to gripe,
is that you can only go in one direction.
Go on,
go to San Francisco and New York at the same time.
Can’t do it.

Can’t even think about it.
When you try to think about it,
you are thinking of San Francisco,
or New york,
but you can’t think of both of them at the same time.

Oh,
you can pu a thought of one in your mind,
and hold it there while you think of the other,
but that is like writing one on a blackboard,
while you think.
It is not going to two places at once.

You can’t go to two places at one.

Which leads us to an interesting,
and even FASCINATING concept…
you can’t think outwards and inwards at the same time.

Which means,
you can’t attack and erect a defense simultaneously.
And here is where a few people take objection.
They think that if they do a simultaneous block and counter,
they are doing two things.
Nope.
They are attacking.
They are not blocking.

Think about it this way.
You are either going towards someone,
or away,
or parallel (maintaining distance).
Parallel is not doing anything.
Or,
it is doing nothing.
Going towards or away is doing something.

You are either hitting them,
or you are not getting hit.

Now,
what is the value of knowing this,
of holding to this,
of making this work?

First,
you become aware of distance,
and he who controls distance controls the fight.
When you get past learning the blocks and strike and throws and all,
this become THE crucial aspect of the martial arts.
It is REALLY important.
But,
many people don’t understand this
until they have reached a certain point of discipline,
until they have realized the importance of themselves
as awareness.

Second,
you will find that you can control any situation
without using strikes or blocks or etcetera,
you can control ANY situation
simply with very subtle movement towards or away from.
This extends not just from opponents,
but to anything,
any situation,
in life.
Simply,
the offer or retraction of your presence resolves any situation.
Your presence is that strong.

Unfortunately,
a lot of people don’t get this,
it is usually figured out,
realized,
past the time when you become
aware of your ability to control a fight by controlling distance.

The real example of this,
I used to LOVE doing this,
I would freestyle students,
and shift towards or away in the smallest,
most minute fashion,
and it would totally disrupt their thoughts,
and any hope of techniques.
They would find that they couldn’t even attack me,
because they couldn’t mount a thought.
And you MuST have a thought before an action.
Simply,
I would shift when the thought was mounting,
and that would unfix me in space,
and they would have to try to figure it out again.
Honestly,
the students knew what I was doing,
they would understand and see,
other students could tell EXACLY what I was doing,
but they could’t deal with it.

I simply controlled distance better than they could.

Third,
and this is probably crucial to you now,
but will be crucial to you forever.

To control distance
is to control intention.
And intention is the ‘arm’ of the awareness.

You are,
you are an ‘I am,’
but howdy you ‘do?’
How do you accomplish things in this life?
Through intention.

So you study martial arts,
to hav the discipline to locate ourself in space as an ‘I am,’
and then you function as an ‘I am,’
by using intention,
and intention,
in this specific,
deals precisely with…
control of distance.

How close are you to an object (body),
how far away.

Now,
this is sort of an advanced lesson,
and it is a lesson in neutronics.
I figured all of this out
simply by using matrixing
until I was aware of myself as an awareness,
and since then I use neutronics.

So,
you know what I’m going to say now,
get yourself a matrixing course,
and start figuring out what I am saying.
figure out what I am doing.
Don’t just read these words
and think you understand,
for even if you do,
it takes too long,
and how are you going to get somebody else to do this stuff,
unless you have the better and faster method
of matrixing?

Matrixing is a method for locating yourself as an awareness.
Neutronics is a method for functioning as an awareness.
And when you use these tools,
you are different,
the world becomes easy,
you get the things you want out of life,
and what else is there?

Okay,
I suggest Matrix Karate for your start,

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

But,
if you happen to prefer Shaolin,
or weapons,
or whatever else,
check out the website and find the matrixing approach
that works for you.

Look,
guys and gals,
you never read anything like what I have said here.
Ever.
It simply hasn’t been said before.
Martial Arts are good,
they are great,
but they take too long,
and have too much risk of being misunderstood.
So look at the alternative.
Look at Matrixing and Neutronics,
and think about really finding out
the truth about yourself.

Remember,
the truth of Matrixing and Neutronics…
it is all about you,
finding the real you,
and using the martial arts to do so.
It is about you,
and what you can really do.
And,
man,
that is a LOT!

Now,
a short word,
I will be having an operation on my shoulder in four weeks.
I will be out of action for a couple of months.
That means I will do my best,
but my output will suffer.
It will be be difficult to do things.
I will let you know more
once I have a specific date set up.
But,
what can you do to help…
If you have been meaning to get a course,
please do so.
Your $20 or $30 will help out immensely.
If you have all the courses,
start thinking about neutronics.
Second,
and in a way this is even more important,
help spread the word.
Go through my articles and websites,
and click the ‘Like’ button.
Email things you like to friends.
help people find out about matrixing and neutronics.
If you have read any of my books,
give a review on amazon,
or goodreads,
or whatever.

That’s all you have to do
to help me out.
And I will be needing your help.
After working out every day for near 50 years,
I am going to be motionless,
that is going to be one of the toughest things I have ever done.
But your help will get me through.

So thanks in advance,
and I’ll give you all the exact details
over the next couple of weeks,
as I become aware of them.

Now,
sorry about that,
but think about what I’ve said in this newsletter,
about controlling distance
and how important it is,
and head over to the site and check out some courses.

Thanks for being martial artists,
and have a great work out!

Al

Wing Chun Karate is Interesting…

Wing Chun and Karate?

Wing Chun and Karate, seemingly opposites, but not. Actually, I found more similarities between Wing Chun and Karate than almost any other martial arts.

Wing Chun, of course, is the Chinese Martial Art that has soft blocks, which is to say guiding blocks, and hard strikes. It has been around for hundreds of years, and it is quite sophisticated. A person who has actually reached the ‘inner circle’ of this Chinese Martial Art is quite untouchable, can fight blindfolded, has a full range of sixth senses having to do with anticipating attacks before they happen, and so forth.

The main difference here is the direction of the blocks.

Wing Chun blocks tend to come back towards the body.

In Karate blocks tend to go away from the body.

In either art, if you are moving the block sideways, you are doing the block wrong, for there is no body, and therefore no possible body alignment behind the block.

And, yes, whether you are blocking hard or soft there must be body and alignment of structure behind the blocks. You can’t overwhelm the attacker’s strikes (as inKarate) if you don’t have this body and structure, and you can’t effectively guide the attack if you don’t have this body and structure.

Now, that all said, take a look at ‘Wing Chun Kung Fu,’ by James Yimm Lee, and you will find a section on the eight gates and four doors. Is this not perfectly transferable to Karate?

And, once you understand this, and if you are in a real style of Karate, you will understand how the concepts of grounding and deep stances must be used. And, if you are in this style of hung fu, and come across Karate, you may realize ho more effective, especially the early training, would if you deepened the stances and worked on the grounding and alignment.

Thus, these styles of Japanese Martial Art and Chinese Martial Art do have more than surface similarities, and it is even of high benefit to study both systems. You must not try to blend them however, past what I have said here. That would muddle either art, cause confusion, and detract from both Wing Chun and Karate.

If you wish to go further with the concepts outlined in this article on Wing Chun and Karate you should examine Matrixing at MonsterMartialArts.com, a specific course that would apply would be the Master Instructor Course.

The Karate Gi that Wouldn’t Smell

Karate Gi…and How Clothes Make the Man

I put on my first gi back in 1967. It was pretty cool, my school had actually found a company that could supply us regularly. Very difficult to find sometimes, back then. We didn’t mind the $15 we had to pay.

It was yellowish, too short, looked ridiculous, but I found something interesting: it taught you how to focus. When you punched right it ‘popped!’

So I made everything I did pop, every kind of kick and punch and even block that I could…I popped.

I bought my first Tokaido, and it was a day in heaven. I’m not a clothes hound, but when I stepped on to the mat in that Tokaido, I felt…BIG!

And, my techniques were better. It took more power to pop, the material was thicker.

Of course, I had to buy the Tokaido, I had been made into an instructor, and I was told to look the part, or else!

I wore that uniform til it literally disintegrated. I went through the ‘don’t wash’ period, for a couple of weeks. Then the smell made me realize that I wanted to wash it, and I used to wash it and press it and fold it with absolute devotion and respect.

Yet I knew, always, that it was always in my mind. It was my uniform, my way of ‘preparing’ for my mock combat, my lessons in mortality and immortality.

Don’t want to wear one? That’s cool. Choice.

But look inside the uniform first, look under the skin. Check out to see whether you have the requisite pride, and in the proper degree and form, before you hold them in disregard.

As for me, they’ll have to pry my gi from my cold, dead…body.

Have a great work out! Al from monstermartialarts.

Don’t forget to check out the new Kenpo Karate Instruction Manual!

Greatest Day in Martial Arts History!

Happy Martial Arts Memorial Day!

Happy work out!
And happy you!
Why should you be so happy?
Well,
you’re about to get a fantastic deal.

First,
it is my birthday.
Got to be the greatest day
in the history of the martial arts,
right?
And,
two times a year,
my birthday and Christmas,
I ask you something.
I ask you to forgive me.
This is a serious thing.
If I said the wrong thing,
offended you somehow,
didn’t deliver exactly what I promise,
forgive me.
And let me know if there is something
that I need to do
to make it right.

Here’s the deal…
people make mistakes.
I deal with thousands of people a month,
so I have a lot of opportunity to make mistakes.
I have a lot of opportunity to build up ill will.
So,
if I messed up,
and I can erase ill will
even if I don’t know what it is,
then it keeps my personal universe
happy and functioning.

So,
forgive me.

Now,
that said,
let’s talk about why you should be happy!

Birthdays and Christmas,
time for presents,
right?
Everybody should get lots of presents
all the time.
Heck,
life is short,
we should live happy,
and why not?
Right?

So the present is this.
Until June 5th, 2014,
all download courses
are two for one.
You buy a course,
you get an extra one.
FREE.
My thanks for forgiving the world,
and forgiving me,
for any mistakes or ill will.

I can’t do this for courses I have to mail.
And the courses should be of around the same value.
You pay 30 bucks,
find another course for thirty bucks.
Order,
then email me with a happy birthday greeting,
and say you want a second course free.
I’ll send the second course
probably within 24 hours.
I’m on the computer a lot,
I check my mail,
so I’ll get back to you,
probably within 24.
If I don’t,
email me again,
mama google messed up.
My email is

aganzul@gmail.com

And,
if there is a small difference between course prices,
ask me.
When I’m celebrating
and all happy
it’s pretty easy to start talking about blinding steel
with a thirty dollar course.
Or the Black Belt course,
if you’ve already order a forty dollar course.

Okey dokey?
Did it make you happy?
Excellent!

So,
read it again,
make sure you understand,
then pet the dog,
shave the cat,
or whatever,
then…
order.
And,
no limits.
You want more than one course,
go for it.
It’s two for one,
no limits.

Happy birthday to me,
and happy memorial day to you,
and…I guess that’s it.

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

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

two courses for the price of one,
of comparable or almost comparable value,
no limits on number of courses,
no physical mailing courses,
no books from Amazon,
only downloads,
send me an email if you have questions.
aganzul@gmail.com

Practicality of Combat Style Karate Kata, and…

…What a Modern Classical Karate Kata Looks Like

With the advent of Krav Maga, Systema, Sanshou, Jeet Kune Do and MMA people don’t fight like they used to, and one has to examine the functionality of Combat Karate Katas.

People are faster, more vicious, more likely to use power base kicks rather than simple jab type front kicks, and worse they like to go to the ground.

What does this mean for the traditional combat style kata?  Does this mean they are useless?

Personally, I don’t think so.  However, other people do.

While I do not suppose I can speak for him,  Kancho Joko Ninomiya, the founder of Enshin appears to feel that kata are necessary but the old ones don’t quite cut it in the modern world.

If you are unfamiliar with Enshin, here is a quick run down on it.  Kancho Joko Ninomiya won the 1974 All Japan Karate Championships (a Kyokushin bare-knuckle full contact championship).  Then he moved to America and founded his own karate style, using his own bare-knuckle tournament to evolve the style.

When he started to create his own kata, he kept the traditions of kata, but made them fit the new style.  He also didn’t bother with fancy names, instead the names are things like “shiro obi no kata”, or “ao obi no kata”, literally they are “white belt kata” and “blue belt kata” respectively.  However, they include things that were heavily used in Kyokushin, but don’t exist in the original katas like Sanchin and Seisan, things like boxing style jab/cross combinations.

So, this is what a modern kata looks like, and following that are its bunkai (application).

Interested in more combat style Karate? Check out Temple Karate at MonsterMartialArts.com

Pitting One Martial Art Against Another…

Points to Consider When Comparing Martial Arts.

The following is a guest blog by Alaric Dailey

A discussion with a co-worker caused me to have to explain some things, and address a couple of issues. I thought I’d share my thoughts.

The conversation started with him stating “I saw a documentary last night where they pitted Wing Chun against other arts and I was surprised at how poorly it did, especially against the grapplers”.

My response was as follows.

The big problem, more than ANYTHING is EGO. I hear people say “we don’t spar because we don’t teach sport karate” or “we only teach killing techniques” or “our punches are so powerful we can break your ribcage” or other various BS claims. They fall into the trap of “my style is best, and NO ONE can defeat my style”. This hubris leads them to not train with other styles, not visit other schools, not practice full contact. Thus when a real situation happens, and their magic technique doesn’t work, they don’t know what to do, or worse, when they get hit, they forget EVERYTHING they know.

As a side note, this is why Krav Maga doesn’t train pretty technique, all of their techniques are based on natural reactions, and gross movements that apply to many situations. These gross movements, are primal, requiring very little practice once mastered. Think of it this way, if you did martial arts when you were a kid, and haven’t practiced since you where 15, it is now 25+ years later, can you still do the form? The crazy flying kicks? No… but I bet you could still punch and break a board, or kick someone hard and solid in the groin, or blast someone in the head with an elbow, because these primal and easy to use skills don’t require constant practice.

In short if you want to be able to use what you know in a REAL situation, you need to know how it feels to get hit, how to deal with unexpected situations, how to adapt when people move in ways that your partners in class don’t etc. You need to know your movements to the point where they work without thinking, because in the panic of the situation, especially after getting hit, your adrenalin rush starts, your butt puckers up, your eyes shutdown, and you forget all but the most basic gross movements. This is true whether the response to being hit, is anger, panic or whatever, unless you have trained, and trained and trained and trained, and been hit, so you know how it feels, and know that you can take it and continue to fight.

All of this applies to my original statement in the following way, if a Wing Chun stylist, is convinced that they are the next Bruce Lee, and won’t practice hitting AND getting hit, and practice against other styles, they might be able to out do everyone in their school, but then a jiujitsu stylist is going to tie them in knots, a Judo-ka will toss them like a rag-doll, an Aikido-ka will toss them and put them in locks, but all martial artists can benefit from training with others. Go with an empty cup, learn, be quiet and listen rather than be ego driven, even if you disagree, even if they are doing the worst slop you have ever seen, you can at least be prepared for what others might do.

Thanks to Alaric. Good points, well thought out.

Check out The Ultimate Martial Arts Encyclopedia by Al Case.

The Karate Low Block

Let’s start right from the beginning.

Right from the first block you ever learned…
the low block.

First off,
people are trained to block kicks with it.
Not a great idea.

Yes,
it is for kicks,
but you have to be careful in how you use it.
It is actually better for low punches.
It fits,
it makes sense.
And if you use it on a kick,
before you are ready,
you can hurt yourself.
Like…
break a bone hurt.

So here’s the deal,
Kicking is a certain range.
Punching is a certain range.
And so on.

If somebody kicks at you,
you should step back.
They are at their longest range,
a simple step back
keeps the range extended,
makes them reach,
makes them have to overcommit
if they want to get anywhere.
So you step back,
side step,
and just watch.
Calm your mind,
take your time,
and observe.
Finally, they will over commit,
and here’s the trick.
When you do the low block
DO NOT
block a fully extended limb.
Full extension means full power.
So you have to block their kick before it reaches extension.
This means sliding in to punching distance,
blocking,
and launching your counter.
If you counter a kick with a kick,
you will both have bruised shins,
and the fight will go on.
But if you counter a kick with a punch,
you are closing the distance,
and making him blink,
jamming his space and threatening him.
He now has to recalibrate.
He has to reset his thinking.
Set his body up for a whole new potential of motions.
A simple change in range will do that do an attacker.

I remember really messing with people’s minds,
simply shifting my weight an inch forward,
or an inch back,
right in the middle of their kick.
If they kept kicking,
they would be jammed, or overextended.
A kick is that slow,
that you can do that.
Especially if you calm yourself,
sit back,
and watch.

I would do this,
jamm or back back up,
just a little bit,
and people would stumble,
almost fall,
from trying to keep up with such a small motion.

So here’s the key,
for leg attacks,
which are further away,
and slower in coming,
you simply change the range.
Shift forward or back,
lift the leg as if preparing to kick,
but not kicking,
and just throwing the guy’s general sense of timing
into the dumpster.
When he closes,
a low block is what you do for a punch.

Don’t block a bigger bone with a smaller bone,
until you have enough experience.

Instead,
mess up his distance,
which will mess up his timing,
(Time is a measurement of distance),
and save the low block for the lower level punch.

NOW,
let’s say you’ve got the experience,
and it is time to use the block on the leg.
Remember,
time is distance,
and if you practice your forms and techniques
you will reach a stage,
where your sense of time is different from his sense of time.
He kicks,
and you will feel time slow down,
and you will be able to slip your arms forward
and block the kick
in the middle of it all.
You won’t block bone to bone,
but rather move in on his slow and predictable motion
and block as if apart from his sense of time.
By your own sense of time.
That’s when your low block will start to work for blocking kicks.
This is really a zen thing,
a mushin no shin thing
(Mind of no mind),
and the way to get it is not by fighting,
but by doing your forms and techniques,
endlessly,
and analyzing fighting.
Examining fighting,
looking at it,
until it stops being fighting
and starts being a science of motion.

Okey dokey,
you guys and gals practice.
The Matrixing Karate series
has four volumes published,
white belt, green belt, brown belt, and black belt,
and you can find them on Amazon.

Here’s the link to the BLACK BELT volume.

You can findall of the volumes if you google

‘Al Case Matrixing Karate’

Have yourself a GREAT work out!

Al

 

Matrixing Karate: The Series!

The Release of Matrixing Karate

Good week!
It’s only Monday,
and I have already had a work out
and
released a five volume encyclopedia.
Not bad for a Monday morning,
eh?

Well, maybe I haven’t completely released it.
But I have started.
And this is not
The Ultimate Karate Encyclopedia,
which came out last month.
This is…

MATRIXING KARATE: THE SERIES

Yep.
I rewrote Matrix Karate,
expanded the single volume on the course,
into five books.
Put more complete instructions in them,
detailed all the techniques of the matrixes,
and all sorts of other stuff.

Now,
if you have been a long time student of Matrixing,
you might not need it.
But,
if you have been wondering,
scared you’ll get taken advantage of
by an internet charletan…grin.
Then here you go.
Easy,
bite sized pieces.
More complete descriptions.
More details.
A whole new media to spread the word.

First book is out,
Matrixing Karate: White Belt.
But it’ll probably be a few hours till it shows up on Amazon.
If you know your way around createspace,
you might be able to find it,
but…probably Tuesday morning
it’ll be somewhere on Amazon.

And,
of course,
as soon as it shows up
I’ll have links to it
from my websites.

And,
over the next couple of weeks I’ll release the remaining books.

Now,
Matrixing Karate: White Belt,
deals with basics.
Some people think they know their basics,
good for them.
But I’ll tell you this,
after almost fifty years in the martial arts
I don’t worry about learning new techniques,
I just work on polishing my basics,
and this book should change the way
a lot of people look at basics.
I mean,
there’s a lot of poorly understood information out there,
and this book will fix it.

The fact of the matter is,
there are no new and better techniques,
there are only better basics.
Heck,
techniques won’t work
without better basics.
That’s the total truth.

Now,
the real matrixing starts with the next books in the series.
Green, brown and black belt matrixing levels
deal with making matrixes and applying them.
This will enable you to analyze techniques
so that you thoroughly understand them,
and know all techniques,
so there are no missing pieces
in your martial arts education.

Now,
I have missed the last newsletter,
that is because I was knee deep in this stuff.
There is a TREMENDOUS amount of work
that goes into publishing a book,
let alone five of them.

So,
sorry about that,
but I think you’ll understand.

So,
that’s it,
check it out on Amazon
probably tuesday morning,
and I’ll let you know
whent he other books come out.

Now,
Got to run,
I’m still knee deep here,
but I knew I had to write a newsletter
and let people know
I hadn’t dropped off the face of the earth,
and that good things were really happening.

Have yourself a GREAT work out!

Al

Outlaw Karate Training Book Released!

The Release of Outlaw Karate

Time for a March work out!
Everyday
all March
when April comes
you will just laugh.
Guaranteed.
You’ll be powerful,
strong,
light on your feet,
and having so much fun…
you’ll be laughing.

I’m releasing the Outlaw Karate book on Amazon.
So let me tell you about Outlaw Karate.

My son came to me,
he was around 16,
and he said,
‘Dad,
I want to learn Karate.’

There is a particular joy
about passing the art
down to one’s own flesh and blood.

It continues the saga of enlightenment,
and improves the race
on a VERY personal level.

So I told him to get a partner.
He got his friend Josh.
Then Mike called me up,
one of the first guys I taught in Los Angeles,
and he was actually mad at me.

“What do you mean having a class
and not letting me know?”
And he brought his son, Tracey.

Then a guy called me out of the blue,
asked if I taught Karate.
Hmm.
So I gave him directions to my house.
Then,
the very first night,
Charles knocked on the door.
He had been one of my models
for one of my early videos.
He had just dropped by to see what was up.
He looked past me
at the guys stretching.
He didn’t even ask me,
just said,
‘Oh,
you’re teaching again.’
And he walked past me and took his place.
‘I knew there was a reason I wore my gi today.’
And he laughed.

So,
out of the blue,
odd,
not a plan,
but it was started,
and here is the thing…
have you ever had a class
where not one single person
missed a class
for an entire year?

UnFINGbelievable.
And,
I have to say,
I was a bit inspired.
I was absolutely and delightfully brutal.
Toughest class I ever taught.
If somebody didn’t punch hard enough,
I stepped in and knocked somebody up against a wall.
‘Not hard,’
I would say,
‘but thorough.’
Don’t damage,
but make sure you push him hard enough
so that your punch will work!’

If a throw didn’t work,
I would step in
and bounce somebody’s body on the floor.
‘Merge with the planet!’
I would say.
And I would grin.

And,
the class responded.
Mike had broken fingers for a solid year.
Every time they started to heal,
somebody would break them again.
I just laughed and said,
‘you’d better learn when
to keep your fists closed.’

Tracey ended up crying almost every night.
He hates it when I tell this story,
but we broke the little boy
and ended up with a man.

Somebody,
don’t know who,
cracked my son’s sternum.
Got an X ray
and it was actually chunked in
about the size of a knuckle.
Doctor said,
‘No more Karate.’
Aaron ignored him,
told me to go shove it
when I tried to keep him out of class,
and continued.

Everybody was hurt,
injured,
beaten,
and grinning.

I always remember the night
Josh had had enough,
he actually turned around,
ran out the door,
and ran up the street,
tears streaming from his eyes.

He was back for the next class.

The weirdest thing I ever experienced
during that year,
was when working with my son,
I would look at his body,
and think,
I’m doing this with my own body.
Really freaked me out.

And,
lots of things happened
to the guys because of that year.

Josh went to a party,
a riot started,
and he positioned himself,
and stood there
in the middle of a total riot,
and nobody attacked him.
Nobody came at him.
Everybody left him alone.
They just looked at him,
solid,
capable,
in control,
level eyed,
and they went away.
He became a rock star,
was in several bands around the LA area.
Said he loved to pound the drums,
reminded him of Karate,
and that Karate inspired him.

Aaron,
he was on his way to work one day
and he got jumped by two muggers.
He knocked one to the ground
and totally one.
One punch.
Then turned and kicked the other one so hard
that he flew through the air
and hit a parking meter
and bent the pole.

All the guys had something weird and wacky happen to them.
Five of them made it to Black Belt.
Charles was already past Black Belt
from his previous studies with me,
so it didn’t matter with him.
He was just there for the class,
anyway.

You could probably find things about Outlaw Karate
if you searched my blog.
Some rewrites of this,
some other stuff.

Outlaw Karate was a combination of arts.
I took Kang Duk Won
and Kwon Bup,
and I threw out the repeat techniques.
I boiled the forms down to six,
very simple,
direct to technique
patterns.
And,
here’s the thing,
this happened about 1991.
I had written most of the graphs for Matrixing,
I had sorted through hundreds of arts,
looking for the best stuff.
Inside Karate had asked me to write a column for them,
simply because they liked all my articles.
They liked the way I phrased things,
gave things the earthy feel,
and communicated to the individual.

So I was on the edge.
It was still a few years,
but Outlaw Karate
was the toughest Karate I ever did.
And it was sleek and powerful,
and there was no fat,
just brute, raw power.

Most important,
it was probably the ‘spring board’
to matrixing.
Right after that,
I put together the perfect forms of Matrix Karate,
and evolved the art.

But I had to get down and dirty,
roll in the mud and the blood and the beer,
so to speak,
to evolve out of what everybody thought
Karate is supposed to be.

I named the system Outlaw
not because of all the Hells Angels and other bikers
I trained with back at the Kang Duk Won,
but because I was going outside
what people thought Karate was.

So,
that’s the story.
And,
I am releasing,
officially,
the book I wrote on Outlaw Karate.
Includes all the forms and techniques.

It was previously only available in PDF
with the Outlaw Course
at the Monster.

It’s right here on Amazon at…

http://www.amazon.com/Outlaw-Karate-Secret-Ultimate-Encyclopedia/dp/1496049527/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393865022&sr=8-1&keywords=outlaw+karate

Check it out,
and have a great work out!
Al

The Seven Things My Karate Instructor Told Me

A Study in Silence and True Karate Teachings

I studied Karate for some seven years, and in that time my Karate instructor told me seven things.
I should say first that he didn’t tell me anything else.
He was a silent man, and he would sit in his office, students clustered around, and the students did all the talking. He would give a yes or no, but even a lot of that. He would just smile and enjoy.
Big difference from most people, who really don’t know when to shut up.
And, the odd thing I noticed, the more people talk the less they say; they are like radios set to some station of static and left to chatter.

‘There are many roads to the top of the mountain.’ He told me that one when I asked him which art was best.

‘A tight fist is a heavy fist.’ He was admonishing me to understand the ‘loose-tight’ concept of the fist. We of the Kang Duk Won, you see, were not encouraged to make our whole bodies rigid. The better a student was, the less tight his body was, and the more tight his fist, and only his fist, was. Surrounding that fist was silence. Emptiness. A dearth of chatter. No talk.

‘How’s work?’ He used to ask everybody that when they entered the school. It was his way to get us to start the conversation.

Once I asked him what the difference between ‘The Way,’ and a method was. He asked me if there was one, and he did it in a way to let me know that there wasn’t one. How interesting. It was the death of mysticism for me, or at least let me know that he wasn’t bent on the mystical approach.

‘I just do the forms. Everything is in the forms.’ I had asked him how he got so good, and it was part of a larger question about what he studied, how did he keep learning now that he was at the top.

‘Want a drink?’ A real ice breaker if there ever was one. But it was an ice breaker for us, not him. He was already totally and truly comfortable with himself; he lived, and he knew it, and he loved it.

‘Wham!’ Yes, he would actually say ‘Wham! when he was emphasizing a point. He would set up the technique, glancing at you to make sure you were paying attention, and then he would do the technique, liquid lightening, and say ‘Wham!’ instead of kia-ing.

That’s it.
When he taught a form he did so almost completely silently. He just showed, repeating as needed, in small sections for the white belts, and almost whole forms, and only once or twice, when we were black belts.
Past that, he instructed by example, by doing intently and with more focus than any human being I’ve ever seen.

Here’s the thing, people who talk haven’t done the forms enough, haven’t sunk their awareness into the forms deeply enough to become the forms, and to have the forms speak to them. Believe me, this is not mystical, it is hard work, and the secret to everything in life.
The simple fact is that people who teach by speaking are usually trying to explain what they don’t know. They are making up reasons to bolster their lack of understanding, and their reasons are usually wrong. I say this after almost fifty years of watching people teach.
The really sad thing is that they are going to try to explain this article, have a dialogue about it in their head.
What they really need to do is do the forms until all dialogues stop happening in their head.
They need to create silence, first of the voice, then through their forms.
This is the only way to really learn true Karate.