A Summer of Martial Arts!

Yeah, baby.

Set your work out up,

do it every day,

see if you can learn a whole art in one summer.

That’s the game!

And,

I came across a VERY interesting fact the other day.

And I could kick myself for not having the link for you.

But the essence of the article was this:

If you turn your wrist when punching you break bones in your hand.

If you keep the punch stable, 

for instance use a vertical punch, 

the bones don’t break in the hands.

Now this guy had done a job of research,

went back through boxing and martial arts

and really backed the idea up.

About twenty or thirty years ago

I made the point with my students,

practice the twisting punch to learn to snap,

then forget it,

don’t do it again,

go to a vertical punch

and use the snapping closure of the hand for your snap.

The reason i said this wasn’t because I noticed broken hands,

it was because logically speaking

if you twist the hand on impact it is unstable

and weight can’t be properly transmitted it.

There are a few twisting punches,

but they are really rare and mystical.

And I hold that mysticism can be cured by understanding the basics.

Just saying.

So,

that’s my two cents for the week.

And,

the book is getting closer,

It’s getting edited,

about 3/4s done,

and I’m really glad I decided to get edited.

I’m learning a lot,

and the book is going to be a LOT cleaner when it is done.

So,

Let’s repeat the obligatory ad from last week…

Blinding Steel!

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/3a-blinding-steel-matrixing-weapons/

Because your opponent will probably have a weapon!

Okay, everybody,

summer is around the corner, so start now!

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

All the Styles of Karate!

What’s with all the different styles of karate?

I get asked about styles every once in a while,

and this is a tricky question.

It’s tricky because there are no styles.

Oh, there is the appearance of styles, especially for a beginner,

but a kick is a kick,

a punch is a punch,

and they can be fixed with an accurate application of physics.

So what are all these ‘styles?’

They are different methods for becoming expert…

and beyond.

Up to the point of expert a person is often enamored

with styles and differences.

Past expert,

if he really is an expert,

he realizes that no art is better or worse,

there is only better or worse training.

There is only better or worse application of the self to training.

Methods,

or what we call ‘styles,’

are just the means by which we get to expert.

Or beyond.

This idea,

that there are no styles,

is mentioned by old masters,

especially in Okinawa before Karate was exported,

Kanken Toyama states it directly.

Also, Jesse Enkamp has a nice episode on the subject.

One time I was talking to my instructor,

Bob Babich,

He had just left the Korean Karate Association

and was no longer allowed to use the term ‘Kang Duk Won,’ 

so he changed the name to Kwon Bup.

I asked him what Kwon Bup meant.

He had a book on his coffee table,

written in Korean,

which language he couldn’t speak or read.

He pointed at the book and said that his instructor gave it to him

and that the title was ‘Kwon Bup.’

Which means ‘Fist Method.’

So he decided to relabel his art ‘Kwon Bup.’

I asked him what the difference was between ‘Do,’ ‘The Way,’

and a method.

He shrugged and said,

“Is there one?”

He didn’t care about organizations (politics)

or styles or labels…

he just cared about the most efficient way to learn the art.

I hope that illustrates what i’ve said here.

Here’s the obligatory ad…

Blinding Steel!

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/3a-blinding-steel-matrixing-weapons/

Because your opponent will probably have a weapon!

Okay, everybody,

summer is around the corner, so start now!

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

Karate Fighting Footwork

Man,

what a gorgeous day!

Got up at 6,

worked out at 7

and everything gets better.

Hey,

a work out ALWAYS makes everything better.

So there are lots of footworks in the martial arts.

Karate has lots of footworks.

Unfortunately,

the forms don’t usually show them,

so the student doesn’t get the real education.

Usually he gets a straight forward step,

or a spin to the rear,

or something like that

which has little relationship to fighting.

There are two specific footworks

that we used for fighting at the Kang Duk Won.

One is in the forms,

but you’ll never recognize it.

Been hidden pretty good.

The other one is not in the forms,

but we used to use it all the time.

One footwork is the ‘Switch Step.’

The other is the ‘Triangle Step.’

The switch step you bring your front foot back 

so it is next to the rear foot, 

then step forward with the foot that was in the rear.

Now,

this is a tricky one

and requires exquisite timing.

but it real works.

The opponent thinks you’re moving,

but you’re really just setting your legs

for the attack and…

BAM!

You move in…and with the other side,

a side he’s not set up for.

It is best used for making small

forward and back movements.

Subtle movements when you don’t want to reveal 

directions and intentions.

It really messes with his anticipation of distance and timing.

The triangle step is your side to side movement.

the specific triangle might have your right foot forward.

You bring your right foot back and to the side,

and move your rear foot to the position

previously occupied by the right foot.

The problem is that people start moving

their feet forward and back,

and don’t realize it is a side to side movement.

The switch step we just used,

no drills or forms illustrated it.

We just watched our instructor,

that’s what he did,

so we did it,

and it worked.

The triangle step is actually in the forms,

but it has been obscured.

The last move of pinan four,

for instance.

Don’t step forward or back,

or switch feet…

do a triangle step,

and suddenly that move 

will reveal fighting potential in a form.

Now this is a bare hint of the things

I’m writing about in the book I’m working on.

There’s a lot of this stuff

as I lay out the forms

in a manner that is different,

and yet illustrates a core workability

that is often missing,

disguised, and obscured

in most classical karate systems.

Of course

you’re going to have to do the forms.

You‘re going to have to compare and contrast

the old with the new

to understand what is happening.

I’ll tell you right now,

this is not a book for people

who want to read about

and not do the work.

This book is only for people

who want to wade in,

get lost in the pages,

scratch their heads,

kick and punch the alligators swarming in their own heads,

and come the other side of the swamp.

One thing I will tell you, though…

there is matrixing in this book

and if you haven’t studied it,

the basic course on matrixing

will save your bacon.

It is ten times easier to study the classical

if you have studied matrix karate.

I have always told people,

do matrixing,

but DON’T put the classical aside.

There’s gold in those forms,

and hopefully,

with matrixing and this forthcoming book,

you’ll find it.

Probably a couple of months now

until I publish.

And say a prayer for poor Ted,

he’s right in the thick of 400 pages,

well over a thousand illustrations.

As soon as he’s out of the swamp

I’ll throw the rest of you guys in.

Here’s the obligatory ad for Matrix Karate…

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

Everybody…

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Politics is the justification for insanity by a group.

Here’s the link…

Little Karate Things

Good morning!

It really is.

I don’t have a central theme today,

so just let me give you a couple of things

that I have been thinking about 

in the recent past.

.

Emptiness.

I first began to understand emptiness

when I realized that I had to relax totally, 

being in one position,

then I had to be in another position.

I didn’t move from within the body,

I moved from without the body.

I realized this way back in Kenpo days (1967-68)

.

Who stops you.

Two people can stop you.

Either yourself,

or somebody else.

But for somebody else to stop you

you have to let them.

You do not move the hips 

You move the legs,

and the legs move the hips.

This is the secret of ‘pulsing power.’

You push with the legs,

turn the hips,

strike.

.

When a sniper shoots

he relaxes,

and lets his breath out.

When the breath is totally gone,

everything will be still.

In that stillness

he should make the crook of the finger

the smallest thing in the universe.

This is the secret of the martial arts.

.

There is motion

easily seen,

there is emotion

easily felt.

The secret is to see the motion

and ignore the emotion.

To do this,

however,

you must negate emotion within yourself.

.

Anybody who approaches you wants something.

When you approach somebody you want something.

.

And,

let me give you a bigger slice of thought.

One of the most important things I ever read,

came out of a paper written on yoga (raja?)

back in the twenties.

The writer said a human being is encased in sheathes.

There is an emotional sheath.

There are cultural sheathes.

There are sheathes for beliefs,

for education and work and what people tell you…

and so on.

He mentioned several specific sheathes,

and I understood that these sheathes were the filters

through which I viewed the world.

I had understood something of the concept previously,

but this presentation was unique

made me look at the world differently,

and I started doing karate (and the martial arts) 

with the idea of breaking sheathes,

of destroying those things which surrounded me

made me what I am

and imprisoned me.

I found this paper on Gutenburg,

but I sure don’t remember anything more about it.

.

Here’s the obligatory ad…

Matrix Kenjutsu

http://monstermartialarts.com/matrixing-kenjutsu/

When you fill the space around you with weapon,

you extend your awareness into that space

and become a bigger person.

.

A thanks to Kumar this newsletter.

I’ll try not to be such a slackard after this. ;o)

And…everybody…

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

Newsletter 1041

The Tale of the Karate Book

Good morning!

Yes, I’m still here,

and my thanks to those fellows who have written me

and told me to get off my butt.

Kumar, Jerome, Michael,

you know who you are.

Thumbs up!

Now,

let me tell you what is happening and why.

And, before I start,

I’m going to be talking about 

‘The Book!’

And if you’re not interested,

or wanted me to go heavy duty

on the art,

self defense,

concepts,

whatever,

that’s next time.

This time I’ll tell you what my problem is

I’ve studied martial arts for over 50 years,

I’ve written probably a hundred books and training manuals,

thousands of articles,

been a professional writer,

so I know my way around a keyboard.

But this book…

this book has been a bugger.

And the problem is simple,

I’m trying to put too much in it.

One,

I want to cover karate like it has never been covered.

That’s my base art,

and I want to leave it in better shape than I found it.

Two,

I want to show some advanced matrixing.

I want to show where karate can go,

and in the simplest fashion.

Three,

I want to fix karate,

and that means pointing out some serious problems with the art,

and show how to fix them.

I’m not focusing on matrixing,

except by the way.

Right now,

the book is about 300 pages and counting.

And,

it has been a true mess to figure out.

Normally,

I get an idea,

I write it.

I write about as fast as I can talk,

books are usually done within three or four days,

and I’m off on another project.

The books I write are quick and easy and very logical.

Karate is not logical,

so it is like I am untangling this MASSIVE knot,

and retying it.

And,

I have had a terrible time with formatting.

I am trying to write the book so it can be understood on the paper page,

but I want to format the thing differently.

For instance,

I write the forms on the left page

and the techniques on the right.

I don’t do the form,

then show the techniques,

I show the techniques along side the form,

and this makes perfect sense

 if you are scrolling on a computer.

But creating in this fashion

and for the paper page, too,

has been REALLY messy.

300 pages 

and I’ve reformatted it 4 times,

and rewritten it probably six.

I NEVER rewrite.

And now I am stuck in it.

So,

not to bore you,

but that’s what I’ve been doing.

The good news is I actually called on a reader

Ted V,

and he has proven to be a good editor.

Think about it,

the guy was able to tell the arrogant Al Case

that his work is a mess

and I better get back to the drawing board.

I thank him,

and serve warning that it’s coming.

Anyway,

I won’t bore you anymore

with the trials and tribulations of writing

except to say one thing.

I decided,

and this was a conscious decision I made over 50 years ago

to practice two arts this lifetime.

One is karate,

for the external.

One is writing,

for the internal.

A very yin and yang balance.

And they compliment each other wonderful.

I always tell people they should have two arts in their lives.

So if you have a physical job you love,

pick up painting or sculpting or poetry or something.

And if you have a mental job

pick up karate, yoga, dance, whatever.

Seek balance.

Now,

my apologies for yakking on about 

‘The Book.’

It will get done,

I seem to have the formatting fixed,

and my writing is taking on the normal flow again,

and I am hoping this project

becomes the most intense

and thorough examination of karate ever written.

Thanks for being patient,

and have a great work out!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

Newsletter 1040

The Night Before Christmas!

Okay,

it is that time of year.

i am about to offer my rendition of

The Night Before Christmas.

Before I do,

however,

I need to give you the true meaning of HanaKwanMass.

Hana = Hanukah

Kwan = Kwanza

Mass= Christmas

All three in one.

Now,

why do I do this?

Because Politically correct idiots

say I must not offend anybody.

If i say Merry Christmas

I offend others.

If I say Happy Kwanza

I offend others.

If I say Happy Hanukah

I offend others.

Well,

heck,

I can do that.

And if I put all three days

into one greeting…

I CAN OFFEND EVERYBODY!

Yippee!

Now that I have offended everybody

let’s delve into that arcane bit of literature,

The Night Before Christmas.

Go get yourself your favorite beverage,

put your feet up,

and read on!

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

Twas the night before Christmas

I was in my shack

primed and ready

for the red fat attack.

my weapons were loaded

the windows were barred

all would be safe

while I was on guard

The chimney was decked

with concertina wire

I crouched by the couch

ready to fire.

I had an M60

with ammo to feed

I didn’t care

if the red fat did bleed.

A loaded shotgun

and grenades to spare

when red fat came down

I’d blow him out of there.

Throwing stars and knives

and a really long sword

and if that didn’t work

I knew a bad word.

Sitting there late

my eyes started to close

when suddenly I heard

a bunch of ho hos.

Off with the lights

safety off, too

I  watched the fire close

and heard a sound from the flu.

‘Ouch and gosh darn it

who put the wire here

those are my undies

starting to tear!’

Then a shower of soot

and a grunt and a groan

he landed in the fire

and gave out a moan.

He was rubbing the place

where the wire did tear

so I held down the trigger

and lead filled the air.

belt after belt

did I deal the red fat

he danced and he jumped

I knew he felt that!

then quicker than spit

I ran out of lead

but enough was enough

he had to be dead.

Boy was I shocked

to see him stand tall

stepping out of the fireplace

not bothered at all.

So I grabbed up the 16

to mow him down

he had to be hurting

cause I saw his big frown.

Then I was empty

and he came straight for me

I pulled out my knives

and sliced him with glee

He jumped to the side

moving real quick

disarmed my knives

with a well placed kick

then he dropped the big bag

he had on his shoulder

reached forth his arms

and his anger did smolder

He grabbed hard my neck

and held me up high

I tried kicks and punches

but I was like a fly

Not karate nor judo

no art did work

and he grinned a mean grin

and called me a jerk

‘Don’t you know

you stupid little man

Christmas is forever

in spite of your plan.’

Then he threw me aside

and proceeded to work

giving presents to all

and to me a great smirk

And when he left

the great big red fat

he left me a lump of coal

the big red fat rat!

HANAKWANMASS TO ALL

and to all a great work out.

Have a great work out!

Al

Now…

HANAKWANMASS!

And have a great work out!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

Newsletter 1039

Self Awareness in the Martial Arts

I am speaking of the classical martial arts.

some types of Karate,

some types of kung fu

aikido,

tai chi…

that sort of thing.

I am not speaking of MMA

and the various arts 

that fall under that umbrella.

First,

there is sport

and there is art.

Sports are when you try to beat somebody

Art is when you try to discipline yourself.

Huge difference there.

Trying to beat somebody doesn’t make you wise

Disciplining yourself makes you wise.

But,

I’ll be in your face with this,

if you don’t understand the difference,

why this is so,

then you’re just going to be pissed off at me if you’re into the sports

And you’ll be a parrot supporting your art if you are classical.

So,

here it is…

what is the difference?

This universe consists of motion.

Objects fly through space.

Go on,

think about it.

cosmic forces impinge on a planet,

a planet forms.

Gravity and such causes compression,

rocks heat up,

heat rises to the surface

a volcano blows up

people run for their lives.

Living in this world

is like living on a game board.

But,

on this game board we call earth

there are humans

and humans have choices

and can even affect the game board.

They can move away from the volcano.

They can dodge meteorites.

They can step out of the way of cars.

Or they can get into the cars and drive through crowds.

All there is in life

is the analyses of the flow of objects

period.

So how do you analyze the flow of objects?

In boxing you hit the bag

and there are drills for bobbing and weaving.

But the point isn’t to analyze the flow of objects.

The intent is to make the body strong

and to create knee jerk reactions.

Yes,

this is good,

but it does not build the awareness

that will turn into wisdom.

You won’t get wise by being punched,

otherwise we could make Mozarts with clubs.

You won’t get wise unless you pursue awareness.

So,

we come to the martial arts,

and the point I am trying to make here.

Some martial arts,

many martial arts

have gone the way of boxing.

Boxing works, 

after all.

Even though it doesn’t breed wisdom,

or elevate one’s awareness and self awareness.

In the classical martial arts,

the real ones that haven’t fallen to knee jerk training methods,

there is a pursuit of awareness.

There are drills that cause one to become more aware

and more self aware.

Smarter and wiser.

Sure,

boxing works,

and it can be used to beat people up pretty ruthlessly,

but what good is the ability to beat people up

if you keep walking into the traffic?

So,

let’s delve into this subject of awareness in the martial arts.

There are four methods for enlightenment.

scripture

yoga

fakir

martial arts

One can study scripture

and eventually figure out wisdom.

Very intelligent approach,

but not useful for self defense,

but…enough wisdom and one can see a fight coming

and avoid it.

One can study yoga,

which exercises the body

and holds on still long enough

that he might see the motion within his body

and that tends to bleed over to seeing the motion

outside one’s body.

and hopefully the yoga will see the fight coming

and avoid it.

One can deny the existence of the universe

as a fakir does

until he sees himself

and becomes aware of himself.

Sort of a crazy method,

but it works.

But it is difficult to get punched in the face

and say it didn’t happen.

And then there are the martial arts,

which I will describe in a second,

after I have made a brief summation

of the other three methods for pursuing enlightenment.

A scripturalist

learns ABOUT the motion of the universe

until he becomes aware of potential consequences,

and in this method he is enlightened,

which is to say

he is made self aware.

A yoga

looks at the universe inside his body

until he can see the similarities of motion

between the universe of his body

and the game board universe in which he lives.

A fakir says nothing exists 

denying the universe

until he figures out that he is all that exists.

A martial artist

studies the flow of fists

until he understands that the universe 

is nothing but the flow of objects.

He becomes aware that he cannot see the flow of objects

unless he looks at them,

and he can’t look at them,

unless he looks at himself.

Self awareness.

Of the four methods

the martial arts are the best and the surest.

This is because

reality impinges if he doesn’t look.

How many times have you heard something like this…

‘He tagged you,

better open your eyes.’

Yet most martial arts

have put aside the drills that open the eyes,

and gone the way of such as boxing

with their emphasis on knee jerk reactions.

A knee jerk reaction is a jerk of the body to a threat.

It is not self awareness.

And you have instructors touting muscle memory,

instead of teaching people to ‘open their eye,’

or attain self-awarenes.

And there is just enough truth in muscle memory,

that people think there is more.

You are walking through a dark house

a tap on the shoulder

and you turn around and smack the guy.

Wonderful!

Except the guy happened to be your granny

offering you a fresh baked cookie.

That is muscle memory.

You are walking through a dark house

a tap on the shoulder

and you turn and hug your granny,

or smack the guy with the club,

because that is not muscle memory.

That is awareness.

Looking at the flow of objects

on the game board of this universe,

Now analyze force and direction

until you are aware of force and direction

to the point at which you becomes enlightened.

Self aware

Wise.

Now,

if you are still with me,

I have one more point to make.

There are degrees of self awareness,

and these degrees can be arranged in a scale.

A baby walks into walls, falls down.

He isn’t aware of his body much at all.

He/she might be fantastically aware of themselves,

but as the game board of the universe impinges on them

hits them on the nose with enough walls,

awareness of self falls to awareness of hard objects that flow.

A teenager is aware of his body

but not of himself.

He/she is usually out of control

(unless they have VERY enlightened parents)

and deliberately runs into the walls of the universe.

A fellow who has started the martial arts

has taken a step towards self control.

And this is a discipline

and a step towards self awareness.

Unfortunately,

the state of the martial arts,

the obsession with hitting people for fun

keeps them in a very low state of self awareness

A black belt…in a GOOD art,

an art that is logical and based on physics,

has a greater degree of self control.

He has awareness of himself,

but not to any great degree.

He is a baby in a new universe.

The key here is this:

while there is an art to destruction

the true art lays in control.

A fellow who has mastered a true art,

one based on physics and with the precept just mentioned

is aware of himself to a great degree.

He is somewhat enlightened.

But he is like a teenager in a new universe.

How do you become totally enlightened?

Totally self-aware?

Don’t give in to the games of the universe.

Don’t teach to dominate.

Don’t play politics.

And…

Do study other arts,

and study fields outside the arts

with the intent of developing self awareness within those fields.

Most of all…

teach with the idea of helping others.

And here is the fun fact…

there is no end to developing self awareness,

and that is the True Art.

Okay,

time for the obligatory ad.

If you do the one simple exercise in the Matrix Karate course

you will be close to, and might even attain, enlightenment.

That is because it puts the observation of the flow of the objects (fists) of the universe

to logic.

That which is logical is ten times easier to learn

ten times faster to absorb.

But here is the cruel trick.

Most people read the drill,

it is called 

‘The Matrix of Blocks,’

and they say,

‘Oh, I’ve done all those blocks.

So I don’t need to.

I understand what he’s saying,

and it’s enough that I’ve read it.’

Grrr.

I am close to saying a dirty word here.

That’s like saying

‘I’ve been in a car,

so I don’t need to know how it works.’

Or,

and this is a good one,

‘I’ve seen water,

so I don’t have to take a bath.’

Stupid, eh?

So you have to get the course,

and…GET A PARTNER.

And…DO THE MATRIX OF BLOCKS.

Knowing about it is not enough.

Having a surface knowledge of the basics isn’t enough.

You have to experience the blocks

and how they work together

in the Matrix of Blocks.

Just a few times through,

until you can do them as easy as you count from one to ten,

and then you’ll have it.

But please…

don’t read about it and think you know it.

Don’t be a paper tiger.

Be the real thing.

MATRIX KARATE

And,

my HanaKwanMass present to you,

If you order the Matrix Karate course,

you may order any other course you wish,

of comparable value.

That’s the Master Instructor course,

the Matrix Aikido course,

the Shaolin Butterfly

or whatever.

To be specific,

any course that’s $40 or less.

Just make your order,

and write me and tell me what course you would like

and I’ll send you the download link.

email me at aganzul@gmail.com

Write me if you have questions.

Now…

HANAKWANMASS!

And have a great work out!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

Newsletter 1038

13 Reasons People Degrade the Martial Arts

You survived Thanksgiving!

And now it’s almost time for Christmas,

or as I call it,

HanaKwanMass!

Happy HanaKwanMass!

Okay, let’s talk about people who degrade the martial arts.

I’m not talking about people outside the martial arts,

we all know they are idiots,

talking about something they know nothing about.

I’m talking about people inside the martial arts.

People who say things like,

or hold the opinion that…

My art is better than your art.

That art sucks cause it wouldn’t work in the ring.

and,

of course,

the dreaded…

IT’S A MCDOJO!

So I was just sitting around

and popped out 13 quick reasons

why these people say bad things about the arts,

or other martial arts.

Here they are:

1. people who have not studied it completely
2. people who have not been able to make it work
3. people who received inadequate training
4. people who received an incorrect form of the art
5. people listen to other people and aren’t able to think critically about what they hear
6. people of low character (negative people)
7. people who have been trained/influenced by negative people
8. people who think you have to beat somebody up (joy of combat)
9. people who have studied a little and think they know something
10. people who have a need to be ‘the’ authority
11. people who practice putting other people down to make themselves ‘bigger’
12. people who are general malcontents (disgruntled)
13. people who are ignorant and can’t think

Of course,

some of these reasons overlap,

and there are doubtless more reasons,

but they boil down to one basic thing.

People who speak ill

of others, of other arts,

are ignorant.

Go on,

read the list again

and you will find that common denominator.

Haven’t been trained enough so they ignorant…

haven’t gotten a true version of the art so they are ignorant…

can’t make it work so they are definitely ignorant.

Now,

what do you do about ignorant people?

What’s that old saying?

You can’t live with them but you can’t kill them.

So the choices you have are two,

and only two.

First,

if they can be educated

you can educate them.

Sit down, talk with them,

show them where they are wrong.

This one,

quite honestly,

doesn’t work.

First,

you are talking to somebody who is so ignorant 

they are holding on to their ignorance like it was a banner.

Here’s the thinking behind that:

I’m right and if you try to educate me

then you are attacking my rightness and I will kill you.

Go on, 

read that again.

If you try to smarten me I’ll hurt you.

That’s a mantra for idiots,

and yet it is prevalent in the world.

It is probably,

if you think about it,

political rule number one.

But don’t get me started on government.

So,

the first solution,

while it is the preferred,

is only rarely able to be applied.

And that leaves us with rule number two.

Now,

I’m going to speak French here,

just to let the easily offended know,

so they can plug up their ears.

But,

my personal solution,

the way I get through life while surrounded by idiots is

Stay away from assholes.

There it is,

I think this is the first time in over a thousand newsletters

that I have used bad language.

Sorry.

But we can transcribe that to English…

STAY AWAY FROM IDIOTS!

Simply,

if you rub elbows with idiots,

with the truly ignorant,

you risk getting their ignorance all over you.

You will get involved in all sorts of unpleasantness

as they hang on to their ignorant ‘rightness’

and try to hurt you.

Now,

why do I speak of this here?

First,

because people should learn how to survive

the stupidity of this world.

Second,

there might be an ignorant person reading this.

Right now.

And I am really hoping

that they scratch their head,

wonder if I could actually be talking about them,

and perhaps even start the arduous journey

to the land of critical thinking.

Okay,

obligatory ad here,

close your eyes and go nah nah nah

while reading…

So,

it’s HanaKwanMass

everybody deserves a present,

so here’s my present to you…

Purchase the download version of

Rolling Fists

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

I will give you

absolutely free

the Blinding Steel course.

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/3a-blinding-steel-matrixing-weapons/

Just buy one,

email me at aganzul@gmail.com

and tell me you want the rolling fists/blinding steel deal.

I will then email you the link for the second course.

Easy peasy.

And there you go…

HANAKWANMASS!

And have a great work out!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

A Weird Martial Arts Question

Happy almost Thanksgiving!

You know,

violence escalates.

It just goes up one notch at a time.

A guy says something,

the other guy shoves,

the first guy shoves harder,

a guy punches,

a knife appears,

bang, bang.

It just escalates.

So I started thinking,

what would it take to escalate you to fighting.

So here are the questions:

Would you fight if somebody called you an idiot?

Would you fight if somebody called your girlfriend a B word?

Would you fight if somebody was picking on a child?

Would you fight if somebody was picking on a girl?

Would you fight if somebody was picking on a woman?

Would you fight if somebody was picking on a woman and they had a knife?

Would you fight if you surprised a burglar and he tried to flee?

Would you fight if a burglar attacker you and you knocked him down and he tried to flee?

Would you fight if you were caught in a riot?

Would you fight if the guy was a cop and was beating somebody with a baton?

Would you fight if somebody wanted to jab you with a needle?

Would you fight if you went to vote and somebody stopped you?

Would you fight over a political disagreement?

Would you fight if somebody kicked a dog?

Would you fight if the person was a woman and they were punching you hard?

Would you fight if the woman punching you was a trained martial artist?

Would you fight if you were in the army and they told you to?

Would you fight if somebody started breaking all your windows?

Would you fight an old man who was out of shape who kept pushing you?

Would you fight even though you knew you were going to lose?

Would you fight if a guy said he was going to go get a gun and kill you?

Now,

I know some of these questions need context,

maybe a little explanation.

But, just take them as they are.

AND…

don’t quibble.

Don’t weasel out of answering by making up. something like…

‘well, I’d try to talk him out of whatever…’

AND…

no saying something stupid like, ‘Id try to control the situation.’

The situation is what it is,

and you have to make a decision.

At what point do you make the decision to fight?

Simply, at what point would you fight?

And,

there’s no need to really answer these questions,

just to do a little self interrogation

and say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Because while they’re all sorts of grey areas,

the moment you start to fight is and on-off switch.

It is a yes or no.

Of course,

if you have an opinion, 

fill up comments.

I like opinions (not!)

Well,

I hope I made you think,

one way or the other,

and here is the obligatory advertisement…

https://9squarediagramboxing.wordpress.com/order/

Best and fastest martial arts in the world,

easy to understand, easy to use,

and…if you order the whole package,

hard and soft,

you get The Master Instructor Course free!

All right,

‘nuff said,

I hope I haven’t stepped on anybody’s toes this week,

or,

if I have,

that I’ve stepped on them REALLY hard.

have a great work out!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

Have you ever checked out 

‘How to Kill?’

It’s not about the techniques of killing,

it’s about a guy who is so put upon he finally decides to kill.

Calmly,

logically, 

sociopathically.

Here’s the interesting thing,

it’s based upon my own actual experiences.

Not that I killed,

but I was driven to that point,

and totally understand why people would kill.

I just couldn’t take that last step.

And,

here’s another interesting thing…

only two people have reviewed it on Amazon,

but they both give it 5 stars.

That amazes me 

because I just threw it out.

Typed it in a few days.

Spurted out of me like a coffee break.

Well,

if you do read it,

make sure you give it five stars.

HOW TO KILL

Newsletter 1036

What is ‘Fake Karate?’

Good morning!

One of the main things wrong

with karate today

is bunkai.

It’s funny,

I have heard people who believe in 

the more combative methods,

talk about how worthless Bunkai are.

And, 

I have seen a LOT of schools that don’t even practice bunkai.

so people don’t practice making karate work,

and,

as a result,

they don’t know how to make it work.

when I was training we didn’t call the form applications ‘bunkai.’

We called them ‘Promise Fights.’

It was the ‘promise’ of a fight.

But,

as time went on,

it was more.

It was the postulate of a fight.

A postulate is an idea.

If you practice promising enough,

the idea works.

It is that simple,

and that complex.

First,

many of the applications are worthless,

they are either dancers or posers.

Second,

they don’t fit the form.

But the forms have been really screwed up,

so that is understandable.

Third,

when we did the form applications,

or ‘Promise fights,’

as we called them,

we had 1/3 to 1/2 of the class time to do them.

We would face each and get ready,

we stepped forward with an attack,

and the defender did his promise fight.

Class after class,

year after year,

and a strange thing happened.

Because it was the same every time

we began to see where a body would move

before it would move.

We weren’t fighting,

we were looking,

and we would suddenly see the dip of the shoulder,

the turn of the foot,

the glaze of the idea,

and we knew what was coming,

before it was even launched.

So damned simple and workable,

yet it has,

in many schools,

been put aside.

And even if bunkai are practiced,

they don’t make sense,

they don’t fit the form,

they dance and they pose.

Our applications were VERY workable.

No posers,

no dancers.

They looked like the forms,

but they were VERY functional in combat.

I’ve talked about how the upper students

could actually make them work in freestyle.

And people have given up doing applications

across the arts.

It is easier to have a fellow punch a bag,

than think about the turn of the hip,

or the wrist,

year after year.

The sad truth is that most people

think that karate, 

and other martial arts,

are all about fighting.

May I coin a phrase?

If people think that,

they are not doing karate,

they are doing…

‘fake karate.’

And here’s an interesting little item,

the people who say,

‘my art is better than yours,’

are manifesting a fight,

and they are guilty of…

‘fake karate.’

And,

believe me,

Fake Karate is every bit as bad as fake news.

Okay,

just to let you know,

I’m working on a book,

and it’s a big one.

Might even come in two parts.

But it is proving…difficult.

Usually,

when I write a book

I sit down and write it,

takes maybe a week or two.

But this one is just beating me up.

I have rewritten it,

broken it into pieces,

recombined it,

and it is just being stubborn.

So,

my apologies for making you wait,

but,

you might want to make sure

your matrix karate is ready for when this is released.

You are really going to need 

to have your art down,

because this is going to expand it.

Severely.

The book is about what happened to karate,

and i am specifically speaking of the applications.

The bunkai, if you will.

Full of history,

full of applications,

full of matrixing.

So,

I’ll keep working on it,

but you should look into either

Matrix Karate

or 

The Master Instructor Course.

In fact,

I really shouldn’t do this.

there’s no reason to,

except that I’m a nice guy…

Buy one and I’ll give you the other.

Just buy one,

then email me at: aganzul@gmail.com 

and I’ll send you both courses.

This is good until October 31st.

Happy Halloween!

Now, have a great work out!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

BTW

I’m always pushing my novels,

did you know I write other stuff?

If you want to know the truth about government,

why we have riots and why idiots keep getting into office,

why the government seems to do the exact wrong thing

almost ALL the time…

then check out:

THE SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT!

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

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