The Return to Caveman Karate!

You Have it Too Darned Easy These Days!

I know, there ain’t nobody tougher than Matt Hughes. Until he got beat.

Oh, maybe it was Anderson Silva that was the toughest…oh. He got beat, too.

Hmm. Maybe we oughta rethink this thing of who’s tougher in the martial arts.

Come on! Grow a pair!

Here’s an interesting thing to think about. Old time martial artists had to work a full day. And I mean herding cattle, digging crops, fixing sheds, fences, houses, whatever…and then they worked out.

I mean, we have it softer now. We go to the dojo with the soft mats so we don’t hurt ourselves when we fall down.

And we take a break when our muscles get all tired, and we wipe all that horrid perspiration off our brows and drink our designer water and…

No soft mats in old times.

And, for those snidely kickers who crow, how about doing your kicks barefoot on splintered planks, planks that you had to pick up and carry to the next dojo because the North Korean communists were right over the ridge. Heck, the bombs are dropping in the next field so we’d better hurry up!

I was trained in a dojo that was pretty rude. No amenities, and we froze in the winter and dripped in the summer, and we loved it. And we kept doing it when sane people would look at us and shake their heads.

But now I am healthy, and those headshakers are out strolling in their walkers and pulling their oxygen canisters behind them. If they aren’t on their battery powered government issued SUVs for seniors.

So what is tough?

And what is smart?

It’s tough to train all day, no matter what temperature it is, on whatever terrain you’ve got. In fields, watch out for that cactus, forgot my water.

It’s smart to train so that you don’t get injured.

Now, mind you, while I have always had a certain caveman mentality about all this, I should say that I have grown a bit more pointed in my observations since moving to Monkeyland.

We have to get up early here, and we do so because there is no TV to bore us to sleep in the evening, so we go to bed early.

We eat hearty because there are no snacks.

And we work out long and hard, and are grateful for the respite from all the work.

And I want you to think about this…when you do the martial arts because you love them, not because it is conveniently located at a strip mall….

When you do martial arts because you love them, and not because your mother signed you up to a contract….

When you do martial arts even though you are tired and beat and worn, and for the simple reason that…well…there is no reason. You just do them, they become a part of you, and then it’s like they do you.

When you get out of the convenience of fantasy and into the real world of martial arts, then you start digging deep, and then you find out what they are all about.

Take a trip to the Kang Duk Won if you want some old time Karate!

Check out Buddha Crane Karate if you want some incredibly ground breaking Martial Arts.

Five Steps to the Best Karate Strike in the world!

Best Karate Strike Achieved Through Five Points

The Best Karate strike is the one that knocks out the other guy. But, how do you develop that perfect Karate punch or kick that will knock them down…first time every time? How do you build the Perfect Karate strike? Interestingly enough, there are five point that must be implemented. Do these points, and you will have the hardest karate punch and the fastest karate kick ever, and you can even implement these points if you study another art, such as Kung Fu or Kenpo.

A Strong Punch is Filled with Spirit and Conviction!

First, you must sink your weight. Sinking your weight gives you power, it stops you from having your own body move back from the impact. Remember, a karate strike, where it impacts upon the other body, is basically an explosion. You don’t want to be pushed back from the force of your own explosion!

Second, you must turn the hips into the strike. The best biomechanical study indicate that the more weight you put into the strike, the more effect that strike will have. Doesn’t matter if it is a slamming elbow strike, a fast karate strike, or whatever…to move the hips is to move the weight.

Third, full power comes at full extension. Mind you, you don’t your karate hand strikes over extending, this could result in bone bruises in the elbow if the bones slap together. But you do want the muscles to have the chance to fully extend into the strike points.

Four pick your target. Heck, buy a karate strike points poster, study these points, figure out how to hit those points, and alter your techniques until you can hit those karate strike points every time. A karate strike, the best karate strike, is near a pressure point , and it can do vastly more damage than a karate strike near what seem to be good and big targets.

Fifth point, imagination. Whether you do a palm strike or a ridge hand strike or whatever, you must practice that strike, and you must visualize, imagine, and get the idea of that strike before you ever try it. The best karate strike is built with imagination, and will have more intention, and will do more damage.

The trick, if you are going to have the best karate strike you can, is to put these five points together. Further, you must educate yourself as to such concepts as timing, focus, and so on. Simply, you must become a scientist of Karate, and that is the story of how to have the Best Karate strike you can.

If you like this article you should check out Monster Martial Arts. Here is a fascinating page about having a Perfect Strike.

This has been a page about having the best karate strike you can possibly have.

Karate Throws That Nobody Knows…

Karate Throws to Warm Your Heart!

Speaking of Karate Throws…
It used to be
people learned Karate
so they could one punch a sucker.
Put him to sleep for a week.
Then,
people couldn’t do it,
and by the time the nineties rolled around
they were ready for Mixed Martial Arts.
Ready to throw and lock,
ground and pound,
smash and trash,
and all that.

Best Karate Throw

Now,
first,
you can one punch somebody if you do it right.
It has to do with depth of punch,
time of actual contact (impact)
and delivering an idea.

But,
this is not about that one punch idea,
this is about throws,
and a lot of people gave up their karate training
because there weren’t any throws in it.

My, my.
Ain’t we silly.

Gichin Funakoshi got together with Jigaro Kano.
Gichin was asking about throws,
Jigaro taught him some.
Then Gichin did a throw
that he had not been taught by Jigaro.
Jigaro was surprised and asked him about it,
and Gichin replied…
‘Oh, we have throws in Karate.’

We have throws in Karate,
what an interesting statement.
Yet the whole world thinks we don’t!
Yet the founder of modern day Karate says we do.
So why don’t we see many throws in Karate?

One reason is because it is easier to teach punches
to huge classes.

Another reason might be
the Japanese had throws,
so why teach them what they already had?

Another reason might be
the Okinawans didn’t want to teach their samurai busting techniques,
to the culture that created the samurai.

Heck,
there could be a lot of reasons.
My personal favorite reason
the Okinawans didn’t teach a lot of throwing techniques in Karate
(they did teach some),
is that the specific physics of Karate
don’t favor the particular mechanics of the body
when doing throws.

The reason I say that
is I learned a few throws,
but they relied on violent karate style motion,
and we didn’t have any ‘judo techniques’ style of motion.

Anyway,
consider all that as you wish,
let’s talk about throws.

In Pinan Three.
The spear hand technique,
you can translate that into an arm wrapping technique,
and take a guy down easy squeezy.

Or,
in Pinan Three,
when you are doing the foot raise
elbow and backfist
on the way back down the center of the form,
you can slide into an opponent,
insert yourself under his arm,
and effectively ‘split’ him.
Bottom half goes one way,
top half goes the other.
And, voila…a throw.

Or,
Pinan Three,
at the end,
when you do the horse stance,
punch over the shoulder.
Perfect for a grab from behind,
you grab his arm,
sideways movement with an arm throw.

Now,
that’s just three off the top,
the truth is,
I could easily find a dozen throws in that form alone.

However,
I don’t bother.
I was interested,
I looked,
I saw,
but I found that it was much better
to matrix the body,
isolate specific lines of energy,
and therefore to isolate the throws and present them as a matrix.

I don’t teach big massive arts,
I don’t teach Karate with all the techniques of all the other arts,
I teach karate as a specific and ordered set of principles,
as a science and not an art,
and then I teach throws
as a specific and ordered art
in Matrix Kung Fu (Monkey boxing).

To try to teach all the arts
through one particular art’s viewpoint
is how we got in the mess in the first place.
Somebody learns a concept,
say it is the clinging energy of Mantis Kung Fu,
then they try to include every single concept
they have ever learned
under the mantle of preying mantis Kung Fu,
and suddenly they are trying to teach the elephant style of Mantis.

And it doesn’t make sense!

All the concepts don’t fit together
if you try to teach them from a single viewpoint!

But,
if you teach each martial art
from the unique viewpoint of that art,
then the arts become small and bite sized.

The problem,
of course,
is that people have never really isolated
the specific concepts of their arts.
Karate is ‘hard,’they say.
But that’s not the unique concept of Karate!
That is a generality,
it points to art,
and not to science!

‘Tai Chi Kung Fu is soft,’ they say.
But all kung fu is not soft,
and so there is misunderstanding,
concepts are mushed together,
and people are left to dig their way through the mess.

Do you understand?

For an art to be considered as a science it must be made logical,
pried apart form other arts,
aligned within itself,
kept separate form other influences.

Then,
when it is understood,
it can be put together with the other arts,
which is to say,
other arts can be taught in similar fashion,
and put together
and made into a whole.

Studied as a mush,
it takes decades to lifetimes
to master the martial arts.
Taken as small, bite sized, and logical matrixes of information,
the whole art can be absorbed quickly and smoothly.
Mastered in a couple of years.

But,
don’t believe me.
Try Matrix Kung Fu,

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

See for yourself.
Matrix Kung Fu is virtual all the standing up takedowns in the martial arts.
If there is a takedown not there,
it is invariably able to be figured out
from the throws that are there.

Oinky donkey,
nuff said.
I hope I’ve said enough
to bring you out of the dark ages,
because the golden age of the martial arts
is about to open.

Matrix Martial Arts shows you where the doorknob is,
and all you have to do is turn and enter.
That simple.

Now,
before I go,
Check out The Map.
It’s on the menu of Monster Martial Arts.
I used to have one of these a long time ago,
and I’ve brought it back,
very interesting,
especially if you are on it.

Okay,
remember…

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

And I’ll talk to you next Friday.

Al

What Is the Best Martial Art?

Yeah! What IS the Best Martial Art?

I have had people ask, and tell, and discuss what is the best martial art since I first began my studies. There is a fascination with being the best, and, to tell the truth, I can’t fault it.

Come on! All of you! At once! I know the best martial art!

Heck, if you don’t believe in something, why are you doing it? Right?

So when somebody goes on a jag about some art being better than another, I just smile and go along with it.

Heck, the Ultimate Fighting Championships were started to answer this question.  Every week people from different arts would get in the ring and discuss the matter. Kung Fu went against Jeet Kune Do. boxing went against Jujitsu. Muay Thai went against Karate, and you know what we all found out?

Brazilian Jujitsu was the best! Couldn’t be beaten, and…and time passed, and suddenly Ju Jitsu was no longer the best.

Hey, all arts are good, and all arts have their moment in the sun, but it really isn’t about which art is better. It is about which art makes you better.

So maybe kung fu works for you, or Karate, or some Mixed Martial Arts dog.

And, who really cares?

When I watch the UFC these days it is merely for the spectacle, to see a couple of grown men punch the daylights out of each other, to choke each other, to bleed a little bit, and then stand up and shake hands.

Isn’t that better than war?

And the real best art these days, as demonstrated by the gladiators of the UFC, is a generic thing that is unique to the fellow who studies it. Some guy focuses on kung fu drills, speeds up his hands, and he becomes best for a while.

Another guy works on his kicks, or his takedowns, and suddenly we have a new ‘best martial art’ in town.

But, as I said, what you work on is what you need, and the art you study is the best martial art for you, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

What Forty Years of Pinan Five Means!

Let’s talk about Pinan Five.
the shame of it is that some people think
it is just Karate,
one of those basic kids type of things,
doesn’t have the energy of the real stuff,
the mysterious kung fu,
the intrinsic chi power,
and all of that.

I have to grin when I see that attitude.
Let me explain.

I was an instructor in Chinese Kenpo
back in 1968.
I loved it.
I was in one of those wheels,
I didn’t know enough to teach,
but I was a teacher,
and I was getting sacred lessons
from another guy,
who had maybe two months more experience than I did.
It was like a tube,
the information being shoved
down the tube,
school owner to head instructor
to slightly advanced instructor
to instructor (me)
to student.

I was God!

Or,
in my fevered adolescent imagination
I sure felt like one.

Anyway,
there weren’t any publications on the martial arts back then.
I think Black Belt was at issue 9 or 10,
something like that.
And it was always sold out.

And there was Bruce Tegner,
which I poured over,
absorbing commonalities,
trying out my sacred techniques
in his never ending geometries.
But,
past that,
there wasn’t anything.

The martial arts were new!

Then,
one day,
I don’t know how it happened,
or where I found it,
but I found a book.
A book of real Karate,
and it was the Best Karate.
It really was,
because it said so on the cover.
Best Karate,
by M. Nakayama.

And the first one I got was on a form called
Heian Five.

I didn’t even know what a Heian was!

But,
I moved the furniture back,
held that book in one hand
and punched with the other,
and I learned the form.

Now,
I liked that form.
I felt power in it right from the get go.
A power I didn’t perceive in Kenpo.
Well,
that’s all right,
I knew even then,
that there were different sides to the art.

But,
when I showed it to my instructor,
the guy with a couple of more months experience than I,
he was less than impressed.
And,
actually,
it was my first experience with the ‘rivalry’
of the martial arts.
Shotokan thought the kenpo fellows were ‘magic finger’ boys.
Kenpo,
thought Shotokan was dull and boring.
All you do is go back and forth on the mat. Punch and kick,
and that’s all.

But,
I didn’t care,
I actually just sort of shoved
all the contention and rivalry
right out the back of my mind.
And for one simple reason,
I was having fun.

Now,
let’s fast forward a couple of years.
About five,
to be exact.
I had learned all the Heians,
which were called by the original name
Pinans,
at my more traditional minded school.
And I practiced them every day.
Wake up in the morning,
couldn’t wait to get up,
pull on my gi
and punch back and forth,
working those pinans,
and a few others,
looking at how to relax
to get more power,
trying to still the shake in my moves
and attain perfect stillness,
thinking that there was someone in front of me,
and what it would really feel like,
to crunch that backfist down
and split some serious skull.

And,
fast forwarding more,
I taught my first students,
and I taught them,
you guessed it,
Pinans.

Then,
I learned other arts,
and while I was meandering through Tai Chi,
or whirling through Kung Fu,
or trying to master the myteries of
Taikiken
or going ourobouros
with the Pa Kua,
I was still doing those pinan forms.

I was learning the mysteries,
but I couldn’t give up the pure movements,
the clean energy,
the simple geometry
of classical Karate.

As I learned other arts
certain energies transferred back and forth between them.
The power of Karate
began to infect Tai Chi.
Pa Kua took on a reality I would never have suspected even existed,
and karate changed for me,
but it wasn’t always the effect of other arts,
it was just changing me.

Last night,
before I went to bed,
I went through Pinan one through five.
Focusing on the inner stillness,
by getting my body to be still
totally and absolutely
at the points of focus,
through the pieces of my body
figuring out alignments,
taking my time.
This morning
I woke up,
laid in bed for a few minutes,
then,
like a child at Christmas,
I got up and went to the other room,
no gi,
no anything,
I am blushing to admit,
but I couldn’t wait to cloth myself,
the lure of the pinans was too great.

I do other karate forms,
my own among them,
I do lots of tai chi,
and I do other things,
but those Pinans,
they are the pip.

Now,
do I have mystical power?
Probably.
I can do the candle trick
from over a foot,
and there is a commensurate ability
to concentrate.
but I am far beyond seeking mystical tricks,
I just want to do Karate.
Never forget it,
have it next lifetime.
And I will.
Of that,
you can be sure.

So,
that’s pinan five,
over forty years of pinan five,
and I still have some life left in me,
a fair amount,
once one understands
that the length and quality of life
is related
to the length and quality
of karate you have in you.

And,
to be fair,
I totally understand
if you have a different base art,
and feel similarly
towards that art.

Ours is not to argue,
ours is merely to glory
and to luxuriate
in the blessings of a life
immersed in martial arts.

So,
obligatory URL.
I put the Pinans
and six other forms
that I ‘evolved’
after them.
I demonstrate how they were done originally,
and the tweaks
I have personalized them with,
and why.
Which,
because of my matrixing background,
gets pretty interesting.
And,
of course,
applications.
Love them applications,
and there are a lot of them.
So Temple Karate…

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

Three DVDs,
135 minutes of fist smacking fun,
and over forty years
of hard fought,
day by day accumulation of,
martial arts knowledge.

Here’s a section of one of the forms, The Iron Horse

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter yourself.” ~ Unknown