Love and Hate in the Martial Arts

Newsletter 971

Under the Martial Arts

There are people who do the martial arts,
and there are people who wander around
on the surface of the martial arts
and never get to the real depths.

Now look,
fighting is good.
It’s got to happen.
It’s martial,
right?

But what is under that?
What is under the fighting?
Fighting is when two people communicate.
Yeah.
It’s a form of communication.
The communication is pretty basic.
‘I hate you!’
I want to kill you!’
That sort of thing.

So let me ask you,
what do you feel when you fight in the martial arts?
And,
what should you feel?

When you are doing freestyle with friends
it’s all pretty light.
It’s a game of tag.
No escalation,
but the potential is there.
And you are practicing for that potential,
for when you need it.
Except…

Yeah, that exception thing,
it’s right under everything,
nobody gets it much,
but it’s there,
and here it is.

If an insane man comes at you on the street,
wants to kill you,
should you feel hate?
Anger?
Rage?
If you do then you are lowering yourself to his level,
you are just as insane as him.
Even in the middle of a fight for life.

What you should feel is joy.
Somebody is talking to you,
and they mean what they say.
Doesn’t matter if you like what they say,
what matters is that they think enough of you
to communicate such important things to you.

And,
he is giving you a gift.
That fist,
that foot,
that knife,
is the solid part of the communication,
and it is a gift.
He is allowing you to work your technique.
He is giving you a chance to present your art,
to manifest your soul.

So let me ask you,
should your soul reflect hate?
Or should you be grateful that another human being
loves you enough to communicate his deepest desires to you?

This idea,
that a punch is a communication
and an expression of love
is underneath the martial arts.
And you should practice the martial arts
not to feel hate,
or some other emotion,
but to express love.
Except…
uh oh,
one more of those exceptional things…

when you do the martial arts
you shouldn’t feel love nor hate.
Love is a contract to express affection no matter what.
Hate is an out of control emotion,
signifying that the human has stopped thinking.

The best way to understand this is this:
there is no such thing as good,
there is no such thing as evil,
those are terms we made up
to describe things we like or don’t like.
They don’t exist,
except as concepts to describe what we are feeling.

The same thing holds true for love and hate,
love is a contract for affection,
hate is an emotion we use to attack someone.
You are going towards or way,
and to be totally efficient in the martial arts,
you put aside love and hate,
not wasting energy on such emotional expressions,
and focus only on what you are doing.

Have you ever read a book
and lost track of the time?
Or even seen a movie,
and gotten so engrossed
you were unaware of the passage of time?
That is what you should be doing in the martial arts,
that is the martial art underneath
fighting and hate and love
and all that sort of distraction.

When you fight it should be as if
you are in a tunnel,
and the reduction of the situation
is at the other end of the tunnel.
Hopefully it won’t include
the reduction and destruction
of the other person.

Oddly,
I didn’t learn this through freestyle,
I learned this,
became able to enter the tunnel,
and divest myself of distractive emotions
and concepts and such
by doing the forms.
I learned to focus and concentrate by doing the forms.

And that’s what is underneath the martial arts,
and it is easy to get to
if you just focus,
concentrate,
and dedicate yourself
to a higher existence.
Of course,
it is much easier to get there
if you have eliminated distractions from your art,
gotten rid of impure techniques,
unwanted motion and such,
by matrixing your art.

Here’s the obligatory ad;
it is one of the advanced drills I use
for teaching people how to fight without distractions,
emotions, and that sort of thing.

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

Have a tremendous work out!
Al

A WIN!

Freestyle: I have had awful instructors who do and promote a gladiator freestyle event on a weekly basis. I hated it and never came back. What really ticked me off was that it was a TKD class. I felt like he was selling TKD as a viable street defense and I did not agree. As a brown belt in jiu jitsu I would have no problem shooting a single or double leg take down on an advanced TKD practitioner and did so repeatedly but the sparring was only stand up and people were just pounding each other. When that occurs they regressed to gross motor skills and swung and kicked wildly. That being said, your method allows the student to slowly build the skill, grown the fine motor control, and get used to the time dilation that occurs when sparring or fighting. As a person that’s deployed several times I work well in high stress environments but that took years to develop. I think your method is a scientific, controlled, and best of all repeatable manner in which to inoculate a student to stressors. ~ Paul v H.

“If you don’t want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today.”
– Bruce Lee

Martial Arts and the Four Paths to Immortality

Newsletter 970

Last newsletter I talked about the path to immortality.
I mentioned that there were four paths to immortality,
of which the martial arts are one.
Let’s talk about these four paths.
Understanding all four paths will help you better progress
on the martial arts path.

There are fourth paths to enlightenment,
or immortality,
or getting out of your body,
or whatever you want to call it.
With no particular order in mind,
one of the paths is the monk.
Simply,
you study religious texts,
and meditate (pray) on them,
until you blast on out of your head.
Here is the problem.
You have to read a lot of religious texts,
not just the ones from one religion.
This is because you need context,
and context can be had from understanding
different points of view.
Let me explain it this way:
a guy who speaks English knows some stuff,
but a guy who speaks English AND Spanish
(or any other language)
can compare and contrast words and terms.
He has a richer experience in terms of phraseology,
anecdotes and mysticisms,
he will be,
for lack of a better word,
‘smarter.’
And don’t take it hard if you don’t speak two or more languages.
I only speak one,
and sometimes I don’t understand that one to well.
So you have to study different religions
until you understand what the various beliefs mean,
and then you can progress to the deeper concept,
which is the truth.
For instance,
before last newsletter
you were (perhaps) in awe of ‘immortals’ in the martial arts,
or were, at least, impressed by what you didn’t understand.
Now,
because of the last newsletter,
you do understand,
and you understand the concept behind immortality.
Not dying,
which is something a body can’t do,
but which an eternal spirit,
the ‘I am’ that you are,
can do.

A second path to immortality/enlightenment/
knowledge of your true self,
would be the fakir.
A fakir is usually a student of Islam or Hindi.
He denies the existence of the universe,
begging for meals,
not owning anything,
putting aside family,
until he achieves the ultimate realization,
that the universe isn’t real.
Which,
of course,
makes him real.
And it’s true.
But it is a path of no luxuries,
and self denial.
Not much fun,
if you ask me,
but don’t ask me,
because I don’t want to be judgmental
concerning a path that,
like it or not,
has results.

Another path to immortality
would be yoga.
I like this path,
though there is a major problem with it.
You sit in a posture and become aware of your body.
Change your posture and you change the way you are aware,
slowly becoming aware of more and more,
until you are aware of all,
or,
at least,
aware of yourself as separate from your body.
Sort of weird,
sinking into your body,
until you blast on out of it.
But there you go.
A minor problem is that the instructions for this
vary from strip mall to strip mall,
and few wish to study ancient writings,
and then compare schools,
until they have the truth of pure concept.
The major problem is that there is no motion.
Which brings us to the last path,
the one I prefer,
which solves this problem of no motion.

In the martial arts you use the body,
and you look at it,
but only as a tool for your motion.
You deny
as a fakir,
any distractions to your practice,
to your art and fighting.
You read countless texts,
from Bruce Lee to
the Book of Five Rings to
ancient Chinese writings,
trying to understand motion
and the contortions of your body,
what it means,
the energy involved,
and so on.
Eventually,
you understand that the universe is motion,
and you come to the truth:
you are the source of motion.
Which makes you the source of everything
that happens in the universe.

Okay,
I know I have slanted a bit here,
but that is only because I love the martial arts,
and I understand everything
from the viewpoint of the martial arts.
But what I say does make sense,
and makes use of the four specific concepts of the other three paths.

Study concepts,
from Bruce to Lao Tze,
and find the pure concepts of the arts.
deny that which would distract you
from practice or from freestyle.
Contort your body,
finding the nooks and crannies of awareness,
but while in motion.
And study motion,
realizing that it is you,
the spirit,
that causes motion in this universe.

Use all four paths
to propel you through the martial arts
to truth,
to the truth of yourself,
and find out what everybody is but nobody knows…
that you are a spiritual being.

And know it.
Not like reading about water,
but like jumping into the ocean.

Here’s a link to the Yoga Kata.

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/yogata-the-yoga-kata/

Or, if you are feeling gutsy…

Black Belt Yoga

Have an immensely satisfying work out!
Al

BTW
If you like concepts such as are in this newsletter,
check out ChurchofMartialArts.com

A WIN!

Well Al, it has been almost a year since I started working with your Matrix Martial Arts material. I am pleased to tell you that I have improved more than I ever dreamt I could with your courses.
My body is stronger, more flexible, and pain free from the Yogata I learned. My Tai Chi has become a powerful, reliable, and completely energizing martial art. I have taken up the study of Karate again after 28 years of not practicing and the work is invigorating. My Bagua has become an art that is filled with effortless power. My mind is calmed and I am happy…I’m healthier and more aware of my body than I have been in my whole life. ~ Justin H

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”
– Bruce Lee

The Curious Path of Immortality Through the Martial arts

Newsletter 969

What is an Immortal in the Martial Arts?

This is one heck of an interesting question,
knowing the answer can actually change your martial arts,
and your whole darned life.

In many ancient cultures humans could become Gods.
Probably started with some king pumping up his image.

In ancient China there were a couple of hundred Gods,
with a total of maybe 1000 lesser deities.
Interestingly enough,
in todays culture these immortals
are often depicted as knowing martial arts.
Well, duh.
wouldn‘t a God know everything?
But that brings us to an interesting question…
how do the martial arts make one into an immortal being?

The answer is simple,
yet the solution brought about by this answer
is incredible and daunting and more than most people can handle.

The answer is when you work out so hard
that you go out of your body.
I know,
sounds a bit crazy.

The first time I went out of my body doing martial arts
was my third lesson.
I was standing there,
listening to some fellow in cool, black pajamas
describe some technique,
suddenly the world glowed gold,
The clock was timeless,
the floor was an ocean forever,
I could see individual motes of gold
suspended in the air,
glowing.
I looked at the instructor,
my first thought was:
he doesn’t know what is happening (to me).
My second thought was:
I’m going to do this (karate) the rest of my life.
Then I became a meat body again,
and the lesson continued,
but with me paying profound attention.
Before that moment I was a stupid school kid,
with no direction in life.
After that moment I was possessed
as if by a devil…
knowing exactly what i wanted to do my whole life.
To a certain degree
I was immortal.
I had gone outside my body
and experienced the truth of myself.

I didn’t,
to be honest,
really understand what I had done,
what I had experienced.
It would take years for me to understand,
and I would have to study Zen,
and Taoism,
and certain other religions.

But at the time, for the next few years,
I studied the martial arts more and more,
and I experienced being out of body several times,
very interesting stuff.
But the real icing on the cake
came about the time I received my black belt.

I had been in the martial arts close to 7 years.
I was doing them 7 days a week.
Working out,
helping with teaching,
writing and shooting my first MA books.
One day I was in my back yard,
sitting on a cinder block
and tapping on the pavement with a piece of rebar (a type of metal bar).
I had just been working out
and I listened to the tink of the rebar on the cement.
Tink, tink, tink.
Tink, tink, tink.
Tink, tink, TO-O-O-ONG!

I listened to that last tap of the rebar
as if it was a golden bell echoing forever.
Music was playing,
but there was no source.
It was ‘The Horse with No Name,’
and it came from everywhere.
The world glowed golden,
and I had a thought:

‘For something to be true
the opposite must be true.’

I was enlightened.
It wasn’t just the world that had glowed,
it was me.
I understood all manner of things.
I understood myself as a spiritual being,
apart from my body.
I understood that I was responsible for my life,
all the good and all the bad,
I was responsible for creating my life.
I understood that every other person in the world
is also a golden being,
capable of the most amazing things.
They just didn’t know it.
They hadn’t worked out for seven years,
committed themselves so totally to the martial arts
that they had left their body.

So what is an immortal?
An immortal is somebody who knows who he is,
not just as a body,
but as the mote of awareness directing that body.
In knowing who he is
he knows who he was before he was born,
and who he is after he dies…
an immortal soul.
A mote of awareness that travels through this universe
being this and being that,
playing games with the idea that he doesn’t know who he is.

We’re all immortal.

Now,
to be honest,
in the ancient world
there were four specific paths to immortality.
Traces of these four paths still exist,
though in such watered down form,
that nobody understands them,
and usually doesn’t become immortal through their practice.

The martial arts were my path.
and I know they are not for everyone.
They are only for those who are willing to commit themselves.
And when it comes to the type of commitment I am talking about,
who is willing to do the martial arts
not because they are cool,
not because they make people look at you with awe,
not because you can use them to get in the movies
or become some sort of ‘icon’ to the world,
but simply because every time you do them
you experience a profound joy
as if emitting light from your very soul?
Who can change their mind about bruises,
until each bruise makes you shiver with delight and ecstasy
as you realize:
oh, that feels so good!
That bruise taught me so much!
That bruise is like a kiss from a beautiful woman!

Who can change their minds like that?
If you can,
you can become immortal.

Now,
one last thing…
what is the significance of an immortal?
To the immortal…not a lot.
He is still the same old schmuck,
making mistakes and living through them.
To others,
he is the same old schmuck,
making mistakes and living through them.
But doors have been unlocked,
he has more abilities,
unending abilities,
and he is now capable of bigger dreams,
of living a life unfettered,
of creating something that will have lasting benefit to his fellow man.

Am I a good immortal?
I don’t know.
But I do know that if the accomplishments of my life
are effecting mankind a thousand years from now,
then I did pretty good.
It doesn’t even matter if people
a thousand years from now
know who I am.
I know who I am,
and what matters is if,
in a thousand years,
people are using matrixing as a tool.

The thing to remember is this:
in a thousand years I will still know who I am.
The person who is not immortal
who travels through lifetimes as first one person,
then another,
and another…
doesn’t really know who he is.
He is still locked in the education of the day,
the careers chosen for him,
the mannerisms of his parents and friends,
doing the same old same old
again and again and again.

But martial arts can help that.
Matrixing returns the martial arts path
to a more true path to immortality.
The way it was when it made immortals,
the way it was meant to be.
Of course,
you’re still going to have to commit yourself.
People who aren’t willing to work out
until they are out of their body,
until they are no longer a body
will not make it.

Here is the first step on the path…

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

Have a super phenomenal work out!
Al

A WIN!

Hey Al
At the moment my body isn’t well (at first I was going to say I AM not well…which isn’t true).  Both you and another one of my mentors talk about awareness and I am finally getting it.  I’m becoming more aware of my body each day…posture, how my body moves and when my body isn’t functioning properly.  It’s frightening and enlightening at the same time.  What you aren’t aware of is outside of your control.  That point has been driven home to me on a visceral level.  I’m going to do some black belt yoga tomorrow. ~ Jerome

“The word ‘superstar’ is an illusion.”
– Bruce Lee

Wave Good by to the Martial Arts in California!

Newsletter 968

A SHORTAGE OF MARTIAL ARTS!

A fellow showed up at our school the other day,
taught excellent kung fu at the community center here.
And now he was out of business.
After thirty years of teaching for the center
they let his class go.
It was popular,
had long time students,
but they let him go.

But the story only starts there.
I was trying to get a teaching gig at the local YMCA.
Not interested.
Used to use the Y for a feeder.
Taught a bunch of students,
when they were done with the beginning courses
I would transfer them over to the school.
No more.
The Y has canceled all martial arts classes
(and they used to have a lot of classses)
except for Tai Chi Chuan (for old folks)

Hmmm.
And it gets worse.
The city next to mine has canceled all karate classes
in their community centers.
And the ONLY martial arts allowed
are Tai Chi (for old folks, no techniques allowed)
No MMA,
no jujitsu,
no karate or kickboxing.
No judo or Krav Maga.
Just good old wave your hands in the wind
but don’t you dare use it Tai Chi Chuan.

And here’s something interesting,
we have three commercial schools in town,
almost right next to each other,
and we are all doing well.
So something that is extremely popular
and makes money
is being passed over by cities and the like.

So what is happening?
To understand what is happening
you need know only one thing.
I live in California.

If you don’t live in California
you may not understand our plight.
Think about it this way…

In a city filled with potholes…
we build speed bumps.
We tell people
don’t drive fast,
just shut up and pay your taxes.

In a city where we have crime coming out of our ears,
(and we do)
the powers that be want to discourage
the ability to fight back.

Think about it,
good, old, liberal California,
home of so many great ideas,
has decided that people shouldn’t be able to fight back.
We have more illegal immigrants
than anybody in the world,
and this includes some pretty hard core criminals,
and we are supposed to open our hearts
and unclench our fists.
Don’t fight back,
you might hurt some victim from another country.
Don’t fight back against that home invasion,
just think about how fortunate the poor are
to be able to have somebody to plunder.
Don’t fight back.

You know,
when I started Karate,
way back when,
there was unbelievable excitement.
We didn’t have anybody telling us it was wrong,
or trying to shade us into some political belief.
All we had was sweat and blood
and a massive curiosity.
We wanted to learn to fight,
to fight back,
to be proud but humble.

And that’s sort of what I wanted when I started Monster Martial Arts.
Here’s the truth about where the name of my business came from.
I used to watch ‘Monster Garage.’
I would see these gnarly mechanics,
old school dudes,
who would tear apart cars,
put them back together,
make something better,
and I was inspired.
I wanted people to understand the martial arts.
I wanted them to get out of the age old rut,
to take them apart,
to forget about the idiots telling you ‘no,’
or that you couldn’t do something for some stupid reason.
I really wanted a true Golden Age of Martial Arts.
So I started Monster Martial Arts.
And it has been one of the more successful internet businesses.
But at heart is one simple credo…
don’t pay attention when someone tells you it can’t be done.

When the school near you disappears remember this…
Monster will be here.
And when the internet goes away,
my books and vids are out there,
just waiting for somebody to pick them up,
somebody who doesn’t understand the word ‘No,’
and who only wants to say ‘yes.’

Here’s the obligatory ad.

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/evolution-of-a-martial-art/

Three martial arts for one low price!

You guys and gals have a great work out!
Al

A WIN!

Hi,
Just wanted to take the time to thank you.  Having now watched and read through the Matrix Karate system it is exactly what I was hoping it would be when I originally made the purchase.

I have begun working my way through the material and am enjoying every second of it!  I have since also bought (I’ve been treating myself each pay day) your monkey boxing and within the last few days your Aikido course.  Both I have found instantly applicable, and although I have only watched the Aikido seminar once so far, I have quickly identified that together they are so much more than the sum of their parts!

Within just a few days of the monkey boxing course arriving, I found that I was suddenly able to lock and manipulate to restrain far higher grades than myself in the club I attend, and now have found I have members of all levels, and even my own instructor asking me to just go over techniques so they can see what I did.  Suffice to say that the guy (every club has one) that is like an immovable object was lying face down the very first time I tried a technique you had discussed… and I see no reason why my skills won’t take on a similar bound forward as I absorb the Aikido course.
I am sure you hear such stories all the time from people like me (over enthused with what must seem mundane to yourself) but I really felt I ought to say thank you.

Thanks for the recommendation to read ‘As a man Thinketh’ I really took a lot from it.

Anyhow, I’ll leave you be, and stop pestering you with my ramblings.
Many thanks one last time,
Adam.

“Life is never stagnation. It is constant movement, un-rhythmic movement, as we as constant change. Things live by moving and gain strength as they go.”
– Bruce Lee

What is an ‘Anti-Martial Artist?’

Newsletter 967

Defining the ‘Anti-Martial Artist’

I get a lot of questions.
Lately,
a lot of people have been asking questions on Quora.

Some of the questions are less than serious.

‘Who would win a fight,
Bruce Lee or an Orangutang?’
So what would Bruce Lee be doing out in the jungle?
Or did he break into a zoo
just to test his abilities against a fat monkey?

‘I’m 15 years old,
what martial art can I learn really fast?’
Why would you want to learn fast?
Doesn’t ‘slow and steady’ cut it anymore?
Do you really want to miss out on the whole journey?

Or,
my least favorite…
‘Which Martial Art is best?’
And two arts are offered for the answerer to choose from.

Usually,
I’ll call the fellow who asked the question a dope.
Politely, of course.
But still…a dope.

I realize you don’t know anything…
or
For the profundity challenged…

The reason I get rude is simply that I hate the question,
and it reveals a ‘anti-martial artist.’
An ‘anti-martial artist’ is a fellow
who is opposed to the martial arts.
Rather,
he encourages people to fight,
he advocates fighting to establish worth
(now there is an oxymoron if ever there was one)
and so on.

I know,
you’ve heard me rant on this before,
but this sort of thing is so rampant
it deserves an extra say or two.

The real answer to this question,
of which art is best is that
every art is a piece of the larger martial arts.
A puncher has to learn grappling,
a judoka should learn karate,
a tai chi chuanist
should explore boxing concepts,
and so on.

There are
weapons,
kicking,
punching
kneeing,
elbowing,
grappling

Each range results in certain arts,
in pieces of arts,
and all pieces should be explored…
UNTIL THE ARTS MAKE SENSE AS ONE ART

That is the key to matrixing.

think about it.
When the Gracies won with BJJ,
it just proved that they knew something nobody else knew.
As soon as people figured out what they were doing
the advantage was canceled.
And why did the Gracies win back then?
Because people had gone too far in one direction,
explored only one piece of the pie.
So they canceled the advantage.

So remember this:
You need to know a force art like karate or boxing
you need to know a force/flow art like wing chun
you need to know a flow art like tai chi or Aikido

You need to analyze the different arts so you understand
what is the concept behind…
krav maga
hsing i
shaolin
taekwondo
kenpo
or whatever!

Choose the arts that will enable you to understand all the distances,
all the forces and flows,
and how they can work together.

And you need to dig in so deeply
into each art,
that you understand the concepts behind the arts.
Guaranteed,
once you learn the concepts
the art become a unified whole.
All the pieces become a simple puzzle,
easy to understand,
easy to use,
easy to shift from one piece to the other
depending on situation and whim.

Here’s the package I recommend
for putting together the arts as a single, unified whole.

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/5-core-package/

Or check out the kung fu version…

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/kung-fu-package/

Have a great work out!
Al

A WIN!

Guru, Sabunim, Sensei, Shifu, Sijo Al Case;
I just want to tell you that I have had your Core Package plus the Blinding Steel for quite a while. I have only been looking it over until today. Today I decided to start the Matrix Karate and to my surprise I am seeing threads that lead into the other parts of the Core Matrix Martial Arts. So far I have only learned the first six moves from the White Belt form and through the movement of the Buddha palm I can see the correlation of movement within Blinding Steel. This is awesome to see how learning one thing will relate to other things within the martial arts. I am excited and jazzed about learning this new information and can not wait to continue my practice of Matrix martial Arts. Thank you. ~ Matthew F

”Obey the principles without being bound by them.”
– Bruce Lee

What I learned After 50 Years of Martial Arts Forms

Newsletter 966

Fifty Years of Martial Arts Forms

Felt like a work out the other night,
so I went out and did my forms.
I did the basic Pinan (Heian) forms.

I learned those forms near 50 years ago.
I do them near every day,
and for a simple reason:
I learn something from them.

I look at each angle,
adjust those angles according to stance,
and the surface I am on,
if the legs are spread wider
it changes the angle of the arms.
I work on breathing,
focusing on the tan tien
and coursing energy through the body,
making sure I have the correct angles
to support the energy.

As I go through the forms
I imagine opponents,
how the blocks would work,
focusing on the snap and pop
as I loosen and tighten the muscles,

The forms are calisthenics,
a lot of people don’t think of the forms like that,
they are into the mystical and such,
and I am not unaware of the mystical,
but if I am doing a horse,
I am squatting.
If I am doing a front stance I am lunging,
And together with the tightening of the muscles
I am getting a real work out.

The great thing is I don’t have to pay for my work out,
I paid for these forms near 50 years ago,
I bought them,
so I use what I bought.

Almost every day I repeat those forms,
and here is the interesting things.
In the beginning I had to remember them,
work on my memory,
and I did.
But at a certain point they became intuitive,
I could just snap through them,
very liquid.
But I find myself going more slowly these days,
feeding awareness into the forms,
and here’s the odd thing.
When somebody hits me,
they are hitting my energy,
the patterns of energy I have carefully placed in my body.
They are hitting my awareness,
an awareness that makes the body firm and solid,
and quick and fast.
Isn’t that interesting?
That awareness could be mystical?
But mystical comes from mystery,
which merely says you don’t understand something.
But after 50 years of forms I understand them.
When somebody hits me I just run awareness through my body,
to the point where I am being struck,
and energy follows it,
the muscles become hard almost without tensing,
and the fist or foot bounces off my frame.

And,
when I strike back,
I control myself,
because if I put too much awareness in my fist,
the other fellow will be hurt.
But I don’t want to hurt anybody,
I just want to practice my art.
Heck,
if 50 years of doing these silly forms has given me this much,
imagine how much I will from another 50 years!

Here are three arts,

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/evolution-of-a-martial-art/

including the one with the Pinans in it.

Have a great work out!
Al

A WIN!
Al,
When I do my forms now I find myself working less on visualization and more on listening to what the structure of the form I’m doing has to teach me. Have you ever experienced this? A kind of spontaneous learning by repeating the form over and over just being aware? I am almost certain you have, but I like chatting with you about these things cause you invariably give me something new to consider.
A good workout to you
Justin

“A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence.”
– Bruce Lee

Who are the Real Martial Arts Gods?

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The Martial Arts Gods are Pissed!

1967, November.
My very first class.
The instructor said:

you bow when you enter the building
to show respect for all within the building,
and the art taught within the building.

you bow to any instructors you meet
to show respect for their hard work

you bow when you step onto the mat
to show respect for everybody
who has ever studied the martial arts.

‘WAIT!’ I protested.
“Everybody?”
“yes.”
“Who is everybody?”

“The people who taught your instructors,
the people who taught the people who taught your instructors,
the people who taught the people who…and so on.”

“So I’m bowing to everybody who ever studied the martial arts?”

“Yup.”

Silence.

The instructor:
“Do you know how much blood it took
to figure the martial arts out?
Do you know how much sweat it took
to put the techniques into teachable routines?”

“Oh,” I said,
dimly understanding what I was getting into.

The instructor continued.
“When you bow to me it is not because
I wear funny pajamas and have a black belt,
it is because I represent a sacred trust,
handed down through hard work and dedication.
Got it?”

I did.

You know,
in the past I have gotten away from that explanation,
and I shouldn’t have.
I tell people that bowing is saying ‘hello,’ and ‘goodby.’
And it is,
but who you are saying hello and goodby to is pretty important.

When you walk into a church you know it is a church,
there is just a feel to it,
a spirit,
and you can feel that here is a place where people pray,
and the walls and floors and everything
have soaked up that energy.
A martial arts studio is the same.
There is a feel to the mats and mirrors and bags,
a feel different from a gym,
or a school for boxing,
it is a deeply spiritual feeling,
put there by endless ritual,
by respect,
a sense of ‘art’ that is exuded by spirit,
and deeply perceived by people who are in love with that spirit.

The martial arts spirit,
the sweat and blood and spirit
exuded by the trillions of men who ever stepped on to a mat,
who defend self and families with honor,
who believe in a better world.

Bow to it.

Have a great work out!
Al

A WIN!
I see the progressive curve in matrix martial arts, the logic, the feeling, the system (order) and the change from hard to soft, from physical to spiritual, from external to internal and how the both come together. In essence the notion of styles and belts vanishes, as does the delusional importance placed on the external, materialistic side of the martial arts…rank, fame, winning/losing, belt number and color, titles…vanity and ego. For something to be true, its opposite must also be true,… where the external is superficial and limited, the internal, the essential qualities, are deep, bound and limitless, hence the truth, coming from the source, not the human mind. Can’t take the belt with us, but the essence, the wisdom, the teachings, remain, perpetually. At least this is what I have found. On my matrixing journey from basic basics to matrix Karate, to Pangai Noon, to monkey boxing, to blinding steel, to Pakua to Tai Chi.
Now all I care about is to master the material and be the best teacher i can be. So others find their way home as well…
Thank you for all you have given me over the last 3 years.
It is a debt I can never repay in full, but it definitely brought me to the point where I am now and beyond. I humbly bow to you in sincere gratitude and respect, sensei Al.  I always considered you a Grandmaster, my teacher and a good man who cares.
Will S

“If there is a God, he is within.
You don’t ask God to give you things,
you depend on God for your inner theme.”
– Bruce Lee