Good evening! I just finished teaching, 2 1/2 hours of bliss, and I am in heaven. Let me share a little of that heaven with you. Here’s one of the things I was thinking about, which relates to the martial arts. Specifically, how Pa Kua Chang relates to the stealth skills of the native American Indians.
The most important Martial Arts book ever written.
Incidentally, I am going to write five articles on this subject, so if you want all five, subscribe to the newsletter. The other four articles will be coming out over the next month.
The American Indians were arguably the greatest light infantry in the world. They could outrun horses, they had thoroughly mastered such weapons as bows and arrows, knives, hand to hand, and so on. And, they were masters of stealth.
Think about this: to put food on their table they had to be able to sneak up on wild animals. This meant they walked with no noise, don’t rustle a leaf, or step on a twig. Do it so well that a deer won’t hear you. Have you ever seen how big a deer’s ears are?
The way they walked was very specific. They did not walk heel to toe, they did not place their heel down first, the placed the front of their foot down first, so they could feel a twig, or any other surface that was going to cause noise sufficient to alert an animal. So they placed the front of the foot down first, then rolled to the heel, and they were aware, feeling with their feet, sensitive to whatever they were walking on. And they walked fast enough to close on an animal before the animal went elsewhere to feed, and without alarming the animal. That takes incredible skill.
Interestingly, this method of walking is very similar to the way students of Pa Kua Chang walk. The precise way of walking in Pa Kua Chang is to place the whole foot down, gently, sensing the ground through the feet. This eliminates slippage on icy, grassy, wet whatever surfaces. Further, it breeds silence. Further, it enables the student to grip the ground.
This method of walking is commonly called ‘Mud Walking.’ Walk so you won’t slip in mud. Walk silently, with no wasted (as in audible) energy.
There are differences here, but here is the point: both methods are used to build awareness.
It is awareness that makes a better martial artist, not muscles, not speed, not anything else. It is awareness, of environment, of the opponent, of whatever is going on around you.
It’s funny, when I hear people refer to Indians as savages I have to suppress laughter. They adapted to their environment, they built a technology that made them possibly the finest warriors in the world.
If you just study them, if you consider how you might use their methods, how you might improve your awareness, you will find that they were geniuses of combat.
Now, let’s be honest, I haven’t studied Indian combat methods in depth, but I have studied methods that closely align. Here’s the link to Pa Kua Chang.
Defeating Distractions to Find the True Martial Art
Good afternoon! Special day tomorrow, I’ll tell you about it down the page, but before we get to it, remember this: the only way to celebrate this special day is to… work out!
Okay, hope your interest is piqued, but before we talk about that special day, let’s take a moment to talk about emotion.
Ultimately, you don’t want to have any emotion in your martial arts. You don’t want to cry, or feel fear, or anger, or any kind of emotion.
Emotion is a distraction. It gets in between the thought of what you are going to do, and the reality of what you do.
There is this thing called emotional content, Bruce Lee mentions it in ‘Enter the Dragon,’ but even that, ultimately, is a distraction.
To get to the pure state where you can read the mind of the attacker, see what he is going to do before he does it, and move with perfection, you must get rid of ALL emotion.
There is a problem, however. The problem is that nobody really knows what emotion is.
If you can stick with me through a couple of points I can help you understand, which is to say that I can help you understand something that nobody understands.
Here’s the dictionary definition for emotion: a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others: she was attempting to control her emotions | his voice was low and shaky with emotion | fear had become his dominant emotion.
But that doesn’t tell you what emotion is. That is like saying electricity goes through wires, but there is no mention of where electricity came from, what a generator is, or how electricity ‘flows’ through a wire.
It is an inadequate definition.
Here are three more definitions: 1 she was good at hiding her emotions: feeling, sentiment; reaction, response. 2 overcome by emotion, she turned away: passion, strength of feeling, warmth of feeling. 3 responses based purely on emotion: instinct, intuition, gut feeling; sentiment, the heart.
Again, these don’t tell you where emotion comes from, what has generated it, and how it really works.
So, here we go, here is what emotion actually is.
Emotion stems from motion inside the head.
And here is a truth, there are only people in this universe. Everything else in the universe, all the objects and non-living things (or ‘low living’ like animals) are the effect of motion in the universe.
A bug sits on a stalk, a frog sees the swaying stalk and must flick his tongue. A coyote sees the motion of the tongue, and is compelled to eat the frog.
The universe happens like dominoes. And, the ONLY thing in the universe that can upset the dominoes, can change the path of the falling dominoes, can change cause and effect, is a human being.
A human being has choice, and that ability, that decision making ability, is apart from the universe, and can cause the path of the universe to change and change and change.
So a human being can change the universe, but how does he change it? by having a thought first. So he thinks, and does what he thought about, and what he thought about comes to be.
But, in between the thought and the accomplishment, is emotion. Think about it:
A man wants to accomplish something, he sets out on the task, then he gets angry, or fearful, or otherwise emotional, and his ability to make accomplishment is lessened.
He was distracted.
Which brings us to the crux of the matter, why does man create these (his own) distractions? Why does he create emotion and waylay himself? Why?
What happens when you squeeze an lemon? Juice squirts out. Gets in your eye and you cry.
So a man creates emotion when he is squeezed, like a lemon, and ‘things’ squirt out.
things like fear, anger, hate, and so on.
And these things disrupt the mind, cause distraction, and obscure the basic thoughts that one may have.
When I was a child I was spanked, which is to say I was squeezed. I experienced fear, and pain, and anger, and that stuff, because I didn’t know what it is, it stayed with me for a long time.
It would even be fair to say that, like dominoes, certain of those emotions caused me to study martial arts. How weird.
So when you feel pain and anger and all those unpleasant things just say ‘no’ to them. Just refuse them. Refuse to dwell on that emotion, refuse to have motion inside your head, refuse to feel the lingering effects of being squashed (squeezed), and go about your life. Refuse the distraction and accomplish your thoughts.
Of course, it is not always easy to do that. Sometimes what is big in your head is greater than your ability to ignore.
That is where the martial arts come in.
The martial arts train you to accomplish an attack, no matter the distraction, and the heck with emotion.
No other practice on earth does this more efficiently or to greater effect.
You face your partner on the mat. He growls, people yell, you are tired, but because you have endured training, and pain and other distractions, and gotten to your black belt, you are able to ignore the distractions, move forward, and accomplish the thought of the strike, or the lock, or the takedown, or whatever.
You simply train yourself to ignore the motion inside your head, to ignore anything in the universe that tries to stop you, and you accomplish your thought.
Here’s a cruel trap, people who start the martial arts, then quit, were distracted. They let something squeeze them, and they quit. And the cruelty is that if they had kept going they would have found the ability that would have enabled them to ignore distractions, and accomplish their thoughts.
Catch 22. Yes?
One last thing I want to say about this. There are many people who fail, and, there are many people who are studying something thinking it is a martial art, when it isn’t.
You have to study the true martial arts. You have to find forms that work, and you have to make them work. You have to cleanse your techniques so they become pure and can show the thought that created them.
That path creates the discipline.
Just fighting does not. Fighting teaches you to fight. Doing the real martial arts, practicing techniques until you can make them work, that is the discipline of ignoring distractions and getting yourself to the point where you can make your thoughts work.
The best method, because incorrect movements (which are distractions) have been removed, is Matrix Karate.
Okay, that special day I was talking about. For me it is the most important day in the universe, for it is when I decided to have physical presence on this planet. Birthday.
And, if you have been following this blog for the last couple of decades, then you know I always ask for one, specific present.
Forgive me. If I have sent out the wrong order, didn’t answer an email, didn’t answer an email quickly said the wrong thing, didn’t understand something, failed in some way, if i have done ANYTHING that might have offended you, or caused you ANY sort of distraction…
Forgive me.
Help me clean up my universe, help me not have the distractions of bad service, poor communications, or ANYTHING else.
Newsletter 788
Congrats to a New Martial Arts Master instructor!
Good morning!
Fantastic morning,
actually,
for I not only get to work out,
but there is
A NEW MASTER INSTRUCTOR!
Congrats to
Garib De Kwaadsteniet
Hello Master Al
My name is Garib, I am a Bujinkan Taijutsu instructor from Amsterdam, as well as studying Matrixing thru the master Instructor course, and the Monkey boxing system with my Master Instructor, Will Sess. A lot of the finer points that you mention in the course, were subject in passing in my old system, without being explained the reason behind them, whereas just thru your solid and clear and concise explanations, the reason /concept or theory behind them became immediately obvious and a lot of the random data, as collected thru the various techniques, started to fall into place and made sense from a pragmatic point of view. What I have learned from matrixing is to look at every conceivable angle, to look for the universal truth/reality in any given motion, be it passive (evasive) or active (advance/attack/counter). By that i mean if it is a balanced, body natural motion which contains all the elements of the basic basics…in alignment. Technique over strength, mobility over forced movement, softness over hardness, working with the whole body (Taijutsu),… this way, just a minimum effort, is enough for maximum protective efficiency. Those are the elements i have taken from the master Instructor lessons, which makes my approach to movement now a whole lot more scientific based, than the randomly collected heap of techniques i was taught before. In other words, Matrixing is the art of getting to the heart of the matter, in a much shorter time than it would take with the traditional or common way of Instruction. I compare the matrix method to a compass, not only because of the directions (angles) but also because it gives me a starting point, a reference from where i can easily spot and connect the energy lines, in harmony with my opponents motions and intentions…
Thank you very much for this really compact and comprehensive block of Instruction on how to execute and transmit movement and energy, in alignment and under pressure, as well as making the theory behind them clear.
Sincerely,
Garib De Kwaadsteniet
Thank you Garib,
and well done!
Your win is a very concise and excellent summation
of matrixing.
Garib was assisted by Master Instructor Will Sess,
and I believe he is non-English speaking,
which makes this win all the sweeter.
It proves that matrixing goes beyond language,
that it is a concise set of scientific principles
that transcend speech.
It is the way the universe works.
So thank you again,
Garib,
well done for your hard work,
and thanks to your instructor
Will Sess.
Okay guys and gals,
wouldn’t becoming a Master Instructor be
the greatest HanaKwanMass present
you could ever give yourself?
Do the course and submit your win,
and you have made it,
you have gotten that knowledge,
that martial artists from around the world,
and throughout time,
have wished to get…
You have gotten the ultimate knowledge of the martial arts
you have gotten the knowledge
that is on The Master Instructor Course!
Man, what a great Saturday! deep horse, meditate, glow all day. You know?
I want to say something, you might find it interesting:
Everybody on this planet is insane because there is war on this planet. If ONE person understood this, war would end, and the planet would be sane.
I came across this idea many years ago. Found it interesting, thought I’d pass it along. Let you guys think about it.
And, I want to say something else, I’ve been working a lot, newsletters are fewer, but, if I don’t answer an email, or say something that doesn’t quite work, let me know. I make mistakes. But a mistake is wasted if I can’t learn from it.
And, while you’re thinking about that, let me talk about the point of this newsletter.
The most important thing you can do is practice. I’ve been practicing for near 50 years. I do forms for maybe fifteen minutes at a time. So let’s say 15 minutes a day, 365 for 50. So I have done 273,750 minutes of forms. Or over 4500 hours.
Now it helps if you are doing the forms matrix style, with perfect form. But still, even if your form is all messed up, that is 4500 hours of controlling my body. Which means 4500 hours of learning to control my mind. Or 4500 hours of refining my spirit. Of polishing myself.
And, of course, I have so much more to go.
But it’s a start.
I just wish I had matrixed forms right from the get go.
Now here’s an interesting thing.
People stop doing a form, stop repeating a form, because they feel they aren’t getting anything out of it. But a form is how you control your body, which takes control of the mind! So you are getting humungous amounts of benefit. It just takes a while to feel it. To understand and appreciate it.
People stop at Black Belt. Short sighted.
Martial Arts are not a quick school, you graduate and never have to do them at all. They are a long school. You might learn them fast, but that should be to teach you how to do them for the rest of your life.
When I was having shoulder surgery. I couldn’t do my forms. But I visualized them. Doctor’s ready to cut me, and I am far away, perfectly relaxed, occupied with important things. With the control of my mind. With learning to be me.
And, people stop doing forms because they think they know them. How silly. You might know what a glass looks like, but that’s not the same as pouring liquid into it every day, washing it, using it, appreciating all the different tastes of life.
All right. I could go on forever. Literally. For a form opens the door to you, and you last forever.
But, I need to go do them, not just talk about them.
So, have a fantastic day and a great work out! Al
BTW Next book is almost done. ‘How to Matrix the Martial Arts, and the universe and life and everything else.’ Until then, get this one…
Finally, I get to sit down and write a newsletter. It has been REAL busy around here! So let’s talk about Binary Matrixing.
Click on the cover to find the source of the martial arts…
Now, when you know the secret of the martial arts, when you know what the yin yang really means, then you can establish a pure art based only on the principle of the yin yang.
No, it’s not sun and moon, or day and night, or male and female, or anything like that. It’s not even balance between complements or one of the other definitions you’ll find in wikipedia, or elsewhere.
But, once you know the principle, and how it works, then you can grow the martial arts from the ground up.
First, you understand how matrixing came to be, you see it as a science, you see how each art is a piece of the whole.
And, after that, you understand how each specific art is grown. How they shape themselves to certain ideas and concepts.
Now, here’s the trick… when somebody learns the martial arts they are learning a highly evolved construction. And that means they have skipped all the stuff, that made it evolve.
Everybody wants to learn advanced material… But the truth, the secret, is in the basic stuff from which the martial arts grew.
So everybody looks for complex forms, hidden secrets, mysterious and mystical ‘stuff.’ But they should be looking the other way, back to the beginning. Back to where it all came from.
Let me make a point. If you study an art created by somebody, then you are duplicating their thought pattern, their artistic bent. But what about your own artistic impulse? Your expression of spirit.
That’s the truth of the martial arts, you see… to create. To be an artist. Beyond fighting others.
Yes, learn what others do, and did, but only to spur on your own creation.
That is the truth of Binary Matrixing. It is the seed from which the science of matrixing grows, and from which all the variations of the martial arts grow.
And, I will probably beat this to seat, you ll hear me say it again in other form, and the whole point is to make you more than a monkey see monkey do… to make you into an artist.
And now I’ve got to go. When I say I’ve been busy, it is an understatement, and if I am going to realize my goal, of every martial person becoming an artist, then I have to do what I have to do.
So have a great work out! And I’ll try to get this newsletters out more frequently again, and give you all the skinny on how these things fit together.
Happy June!
Perfect month for working out!
All you guys and gals out for the summer,
have you set your goal?
Do you know what martial art
you want to learn this summer?
This guy understood Zen!
Okay,
there was a question I read
on a forum the other day,
the question was
what martial arts book is the best?
Interesting question.
What was more interesting
was that people didn’t understand it.
There were a few answers,
no matrixing books,
unfortunately,
but that will eventually happen.
The Book of Five Rings was there.
Moving Zen was there,
but that was as close as they got.
And at the bottom of the scroll was the most amazing comment.
‘I don’t underestand.’
That was it.
I don’t understand,
and therein lies the problem of mankind.
When I don’t understand something,
I usually go out and find some written material,
find out what it is about.
So here is a guy who studies martial arts,
doesn’t understand.
So he doesn’t read books,
doesn’t know the relationship of zen and Tao and all that,
to the martial arts.
Really doesn’t understand
that an art is the manifestation of spirit.
He just goes along,
day after day,
monkey see monkey do.
What is the value of his life?
Does he just drink beer and think the stars are cool?
Does he even know where he is going?
For that matter,
does he even know that he is?
What is the point of his life?
Without understanding,
what is the point of anything?
Might just as well be a monkey,
swinging from tree to tree.
I remember reading ‘Zen Flesh, Zen Bones,’
and being so totally away,
lightening in the skies,
you know?
And when I read these books,
I somehow tapped into more resources.
I had more energy.
I had the idea
that if i could master myself,
if I could control myself,
I could find out the truth.
And here’s a guy,
might even be a black belt,
for all I know,
and he doesn’t understand.
Mind you,
there’s nothing wrong with not understanding,
but there is something wrong,
if he doesn’t want to solve it,
doesn’t want to find understanding.
No understanding and you are pavlov’s dog,
drooling on command,
buying what the advertisers want you to buy,
accepting what the government says,
never objecting,
just nodding and…and drooling.
Ah, well.
I’m probably preaching to the choir here.
If you guys ordered any matrix courses,
then you wanted to understand the martial arts.
Of course,
the real shame of it,
is when some guy thinks he understands,
thinks he knows what I’m saying,
and hasn’t done a matrix course.
Then he’s just delusional.
So,
not sure where to go with this rant,
I was just so blown away,
hate to give anybody a bummer,
but the real solution,
is to find out.
To get a little light in your skull,
to read,
to work out and figure out
the relationship between reading and working out.
To find understanding
for what it is you are really doing in the martial arts.
To find the mystery of Chi
to cement your understanding of history
to collect ‘volumes’ of forms and styles,
to be quite and incisive in your thinking.
And that’s all pretty easy if you matrix.
Have you taken a look at:
Matrixing: the Master Text?
You should.
It has all the data on matrixing.
It has matrixes I for the various arts,
taken from the various courses.
It shows you the complete geography of the MartialArts,
and how I figured it out.
One thing is sure,
if you read
Matrixing: The Master Text,
you will understand.
You will understand the martial arts
better than all the people
who have not matrixed.
Hey Hey and Hi! I’m just about to work out, gonna do it right after writing this. So when you finish reading, make sure you work out, too.
Be silent, my friend, and hear yourself think…
I received a great win, and I want to share it. Then I’ve got something to ask you. Here’s the win…
Hey Al! First off: all the technical stuff (downloads and video access) worked perfectly. Thank you very much for your (professional and courteous) concern. I want to apologize for the delay in my response. I saw your email, and wanted to be sure to give you an honest response, so I decided to check all the downloads first. And then, while I was waiting on the other downloads, I thought I would read a little bit… Now, three days later, I’ve read everything, and I’ve gone back to your site to read about all the courses you have available. Why? Because, put simply: After 24 years of Martial Arts training (including instructor certification in three different arts and several years of teaching professionally in both a storefront and through seminars), Matrix Karate is THE SINGLE BEST PEDAGOGICAL METHOD (for the martial arts) I have EVER had the pleasure to encounter. And you are welcome to quote me on that, or anything I have to say here, in whole or in part, should you find it convenient or beneficial to do so. I was thoroughly shocked to find your work, because I have been trying to ‘get’ the True Way through studying many arts. I have found some pretty awesome things while comparing Karate to Wing Chun, practing Aikido weapons before Tai Chi play, and incorporating Qi Gung into my Krav Maga. But I felt there was something more, something deeper… And I believe I have found it in Matrixing! Jeff
Thank you Jeff, wins really make my day. And, this one hit me good, because, IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!
It’s always nice to get a little present, eh?
And, that brings us to the thing I was going to ask you.
Forgive me.
I ask this twice a year. Birthday and Christmas. Simply, if I have messed up, offended, done something wrong, said something that rubbed you the wrong way, or ANYTHING, forgive me.
It is important to live a clean life, and this one thing helps keep me clean. Keeps the thoughts pure in my universe, and keeps my martial arts popping.
So thank you.
And, I guess I should say one other thing about this.
Many people walk through life looking for people to tell them they are great. I go through life looking for my mistakes. You learn ten times more from a mistake, than you do from a pat on the back.
Nothing wrong with a pat on the back. I heartily recommend them, but, shove my face in a good mistake. It will teach me much more, and I will be better for it.
Okay, Last thing. It’s the beginning of summer. Kids are getting out of school, people are planning vacation, so what martial art are you going to learn this summer? The three month Karate course will work nicely. Set that goal, a Black Belt by september, plan out a daily work out, a couple of hours will do well, and then make that goal happen.
Look, you see that PX90 thing on TV, three months to a totally changed body. And the military takes people and totally changes them in 3 – 4 months, so why the heck can’t you learn something like Karate? Or kung fu or whatever? In three months! It will not only change your body, make a completely different you, give you the ability to self defend, but it will give you an accomplishment of knowledge like nothing else on the planet. Being a black belt is simply the best knowledge you can have. It is the best thing you can be.
So, why not? What the heck else you got going? Eh?
The name of the book is ‘Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do, and Neutronics.’
Written by Al Case, a martial artist with near fifty years experience in the martial arts, this book takes an outside viewpoint of Bruce Lee, and his martial art (Jeet Kune Do).
Click on the cover!
Bruce Lee is often considered, specifically as to what drove him to his martial arts theories. The main focus of the book, however, is to compare and contrast Jeet Kune Do to the more classical martial arts, specifically, the author’s art of Karate.
This is a hard core book. While it is respectful, it is obvious that the author holds Mr. Lee in high esteem, there are some very hard questions asked concerning the formation of JKD, and the real purpose of the art.
It is also an intelligent book, going into Matrixing Technology, which is the first and only science of the martial arts, and Neutronic philosophy. The author claims that because JKD is an advanced martial art only advanced methods of thought can be used to analyze it.
Which is to say that if you are Beeavis or Butthead, you may want to avoid this tome. It won’t teach you Jeet Kune Do, and it may hurt your head to actually start thinking about it.
Mr. Case has, as said, near 50 years martial arts experience. He began Kenpo Karate in 1967, quickly became an instructor, and went on to study virtually every martial art that came down the pike during the Golden Age of Martial Arts. He became a writer for the magazines in 1981, and had his own column in Inside Karate. Thus, Mr. Case doesn’t enter the picture as a newbie, but an experienced fighter and writer. His compare and contrast with JKD should provide the most enlightened student with much thought.
Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do, and Neutronics, will be released and on Amazon within the week, and students interested in the paperback version should do a search on Amazon probably by the last week of April 2015.
Students who would like to save $5 and purchase the instant download of the book should go to FreeBruceLee.com.
A fellow wrote me a couple of weeks ago, and told me of an interesting situation. He has a friend, and the friend practices martial arts. Day after day he goes to the dojo, and receives the lessons of pain and bruises.
He’s dedicated. Martial Arts are the monkey on his back, and he firmly convinced that without pain, there is no gain.
Interesting viewpoint. Pain is a warning sign, means some part of your body is in danger, change what you are doing.
Of course, there is the good pain, going through fatigue, pushing yourself through hard work outs, risking a few bruises or a bloody nose just to learn a little extra. But…be careful. Pain is definitely a warning bell.
Now, that understood, the fellow who wrote me, who studies matrixing, sat down with his friend and explained the facts of life. He explained that pain is a warning sign, and he told this fellow about how to use energy, how to move without risking the body, and all sorts of things.
The fellow was blown away. It made sense, and he really started examining what he was doing, and then he made a rather bizarre statement. He was afraid that matrixing would undo what he was learning, and he was afraid that his instructor wouldn’t like what he was learning.
He’s being taught to take a good kick in the balls, but he’s afraid that getting out of the way will end the experience of being kicked in the balls. And he’s afraid that the guy who is kicking him in the balls won’t like that he is learning not to be kicked in the balls. Think about it.
The Chinese did not have logic, nor did any of the Asian Martial Arts. Over the millennium they devised amazing systems, systems based on the memorizing of random strings of data. Sort of like running a two mile maze to get from A to B, which, in truth, was only a 100 yards apart.
These systems really are amazing, but, they are easily replaced by this thing called logic. Good logic, interestingly enough, looks like common sense. But, you know common sense, it’s not common.
Anyway, the point here is that when you matrix you are supposed to unlearn things. You are supposed to take apart these random strings of data, and put them together in a more logical format.
To be afraid that you aren’t unlearning, is to be afraid of learning (logic). Is to be trapped by mysticism.
And, what is going to happen if you actually unlearn illogic, and learn real logic? Are you going to turn to stone? Is your instructor going to take away your belt? (you didn’t really learn anything, you fool!) What?
Anyway, i wish I had a good end to this tale I have just told you, but my understanding is that the fellow went back to systems of pain and randomity. He didn’t pursue matrixing, and you know what happens now… in a few months or years he will start figuring some of the stuff out that he was told, and he will say the incredible ‘We have that in our system.’ He won’t associate what he was told, with what pops up in his head in a few months or years.
Heck, people will probably even be in awe of him, such brilliance.
Ah, well, that’s life.
But, for those of you who aren’t afraid, who have the ability to take things apart, and simply fix them, the name of the place is MonsterMartialArts.com.
If you’re new to this stuff, check out Matrix Karate. If you’re old to the game, just go through the site and figure out your next step.
The gimmicks I refer to are martial arts internet scams.
I opened up my email today and found a little gem about ‘family self-defense. It opened with the usual, a scary scenario where a guy’s whole family is at gunpoint. Then proceeded to state that anybody could kill you anytime because of the internet (burglars are getting smarter!)
Then, of course, the solution: this guy had studied 13 different arts, but couldn’t defend himself. So, now that he had lain like a victim while his family was terrorized, he had had epiphany. He boiled down his 13 arts, his 1800 useless self defense techniques, and had come up with a ‘family self defense systems.’
Anybody for a little hard work?
This person talked about how useless classical martial arts are, and how he could now train anybody, even if they were fat, lazy, diabetic and in a coma, to drop a gorilla with a simple one finger pressure point strike, leverage the Gracie Brothers with a simple fulcrum principle, have mental powers that would shield them from an attacker, and all with out using their hands.
And in one hour.
The price, of course was a number ending in 7.
I used to read these ads on the back of comic books, and it appears that the internet is the new comic book ad venue. Back in the sixties it was a guy who kicked sand in your face, but you took this miraculous weight lifting course, beat up the bully, and got the girl.
Now the target for these ads are old men who sit around and worry about Obama, ISIS, and the home invasion that is going to happen to them.
Here is the truth concerning these ads.
You can’t learn anything of value in an hour. Especially not without tons of hours of training to learn about the body, the leverages, the construction of the skeletal structure, and the way people react in combat.
Now, the fellow is right, in certain ways. The Martial Arts can be considered useless conglomerations of techniques that don’t always work…but only if you don’t work at them.
You have to make them work if you’re going to make them work.
Now, I haven’t boiled the martial arts down, I’ve organized them so that techniques become easier to learn. I’ve put logic in them so that intuition can happen faster.
But if you think you aren’t going to have to work, you’re a fool.
So, do the people who buy these internet marketing martial arts gimmicks deserve to die?
Nobody deserves to die.
But these fellows who buy gimmicks, instead of applying themselves to better conditioning, a knowledge of how to defend themselves, will probably be the first to die, or to at least lie like a trussed up pig while bad guys ravage their homes, their daughters, and so on.
IF, home invaders do happen to call on them.
Big If.
Anyway, if you are a success at anything, you know it took long hours and hard work. Sure a few people got lucky and hit the lottery, but the majority of people who have success earned it the old fashioned way: hard work over long hours.
So why not apply that principle to the martial arts?
About the Author: Al Case has been studying the martial arts since 1967. A writer for the magazines, and the originator of Matrixing and Neutronics, he has produced a score of martial arts training videos. All of them take work and intelligence, and not one of them is a gimmick. If you really want to protect yourself, in a logical and efficient fashion, check out Matrix Karate at MonsterMartialArts.com.
Matrix Martial Arts 