The Essence of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune

I wrote

a couple of newsletters ago

about the essence of Bruce Lee’s Art,

Jeet Kune Do.

Let me expand just a bit on that.

Bruce was concerned with the initial point of contact,

the entry into the fight.

So he figured out that there were five places

where you could ‘attack an attack.’

And that one concept

really sums up

The Way of the Intercepting Fist,

right?

You can interrupt an attack before it starts,

you can stop an attack on the way in.

You can attack and attack at the point of contact.

You can attack when the attacker is on the way out.

You can beat an attacker after the attack.

Obviously, each one of these points

has certain considerations.

Number five, for instance,

attack after it is over.

That’s like saying start anew,

but i fully understand Bruce putting it

with the five points of attack.

Now,

his attack could be summed up 

with three steps,

kicking, punching and kneeing/elbowing.

So his basic drill was

kicking,

punching the pads on the way in

and closing for the knee elbow.

Now this is simplicity,

and it is genius for its simplicity.

So where do I differ from him?

I analyzed lots of arts like he did,

but I decided the essence of the martial arts

was not to obsess on attacking.

Yes,

you have to throw the punch

or do the throw,

but you should see it coming

before it happens.

This idea,

seeing something before it happens,

was a product of the karate style I studied.

It’s very zen.

I often wonder 

if Bruce had studied Karate,

I mean in a ritualistic setting,

he would have come up with similar idea.

Maybe.

But the point is this,

I decided that the time to handle the attack 

is when it reaches a certain physical point,

and that point would be when it enters ‘slapping’ range.

I structured Monkey Boxing around this idea.

Don’t charge in a fight,

rely on the sla[ping distance.

Part of it was that I’m 6 foot and 200 pounds,

so I encountered smaller guys

who were faster.

When I stopped trying to get them,

and relaxed and waited for them,

then I started winning.

I was no longer the big ‘sitting duck,’

but a guy who’s punches they ran into.

Now,

obviously,

there are many different ways

of looking at this matter of fighting.

Bruce isn’t right or wrong,

neither am I.

We’re just people with strategies,

tactics,

and preferred methods.

And the real point is that you

have to look into each art

and play with the techniques

until you understand the concepts,

then put what works for you together.

The martial arts are not a set in stone methodology.

They are a changing, adapting tactic.

Now,

obligatory ad…

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

My method.

amongst all my other studies and methods.

It sets you up for weapons, hands and feet and takedowns.

Check it out.

Okay,

one last thing…

I get wins from people all the time,

and ometimes I like to share them,

hope somebody else’s wins 

can inspire oyu.

So here is Justin Harris…

I just had a hell of a workout with my Matrix Karate forms plus House 1, House 2, and Moon form. The interesting thing about a matrixed form is how well it stays in memory. I hadn’t practiced these in a while but I busted em out today and let me tell you they are so natural and intuitive, they just flowed right out of me. I can’t remember many classical forms I learned years ago. But the interesting thing is that the logic of a matrixed and organized form sticks in the mind and body better than random stuff. Not saying classical forms are bad, I do quite a few of them sometimes but logic and a clear sense of how to make the art True makes things so much easier. 

Many thanks!

Sifu Justin Harris

Dragon Palm Tai Chi and Kung Fu

Thanks, Justin,

I appreciate the kind words,

and I love it when Matrixing works for people.

Now…everybody…

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,

you will find some startling matrixing going on in

THE SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT!

Bruce Lee Died Because of One Thing!

Newsletter 977

How Bruce Lee Died

One of the biggest questions I get,
year after year year,
is how did Bruce Lee die.
At first I didn’t know.
I searched through all the theories,
his family was cursed,
he was poisoned by jealous masters,
he had a bad reaction to
marijuana, tea, speed, aspirin, etc.
None of these worked,
all the theories fell apart under close examination.
Recently,
however,
I found out the real reason Bruce died.
It is totally logical,
backed up by facts,
makes sense,
and I fell it is the real reason.

Did you know that Bruce had his sweat glands removed?
That’s right.
He was trying to get rid of ‘underarm blotch,’
which looked terrible on the camera.
Now,
sweat glands are important,
and the ones under the arms VERY important.
It is a way of cooling down the body when it is overheated.
Overheated like working out,
shooting films in 100 degree heat under lights,
and so on.
In the months before Bruce died
word has it that he had fainted several times.
His brain is supposed to have swollen.
Again,
a byproduct of heat.
So Bruce Lee died through overheating his body,
which was caused by his having certain of his sweat glands removed.

Can I be totally, 100% sure?
No.
But I can be 99% sure.
His history,
the condition of his body,
the effect of removing sweat glands,
it all makes sense.

I would love to have a doctor exhume the body and find out for sure.
Except,
it’s done.
Whether it is misadventure
through the removal of sweat glands,
or Triad masters giving him repeated overdoses of aspirin.
Bruce is gone.
Thank God he was with us for a while,
he sure left us some gold.

Here’s a link to a site filled with Bruce Lee info.

http://freebrucelee.com

Have a great work out!

Al

A WIN!

I’ve come to the same conclusion as Bruce (Lee):  I no longer believe in ‘styles’.  I believe every martial artist has to create their own personal martial art.  Even if they are a die hard ‘traditionalist’ they still do it their own way or their own interpretation. ~ Matt R

“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”
– Bruce Lee

Was Matrixing Ever Done in the Martial Arts Before?

Newsletter 906

Is Matrixing actually New?

I get this question every once in a while.
Some fellow writes in, makes a comment,
and the question is:

Has matrixing ever been done before?

Valid question.
So,
let me give you a couple of instances
so you can totally understand whether Matrixing is new.

In the original hard bound ‘Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere,’
(not the soft bound or kindle)
by Westbrook and Ratti,
there is a fold out which sort of matrixes Aikido techniques.
It is actually quite brilliant,
but it is not a true matrix for several reasons.

One, it pertains solely to Aikido,
therefore, it lacks the viewpoint necessary to the whole art.

Two, it doesn’t provide for a gradient list of techniques,
advanced or basic, you figure it out.
This makes it VERY difficult to learn.

Three,
it doesn’t demonstrate the ‘basic-basics’ of Aikido
(those body motions which construct the basics themselves)
rather it espouses a singular concept (giving way)
this results in a student going down a singular path,
and not being able to develop certain attributes and tendencies necessary to quicker understanding,
if not more thorough understanding.

Another example of ‘almost matrixing,’
is in the book ‘Wing Chun Kung Fu’
by James Yimm Lee.
This book was supposedly authored by Bruce Lee,
but I’ve read nothing to substantiate this,
other than the fact that Bruce was teaching out of Jame’s house in Oakland.
So, who knows on this point?

The specific matrixing would be the ‘four doors and eight gates’ theory
with the resulting drills.
This is quite genius,
explains the blending of hard and soft admirably,
and in a mostly mechanical manner.

BUT…
One, it is, same as Aikido, specific to an art.
It is readily applicable to other arts,
but most people don’t understand the basics of their arts
well enough to understand the how and the why.

Two, it is specific to the Wing Chun method of controlling the contest through the arms.
Thus, several other theories are ignored, or at least not mentioned.

There are other things which influenced me,
but these two were key.
Important to note,
when you consider them,
is that I was studying several other arts at the same time,
writing extensive records (to be books) concerning them,
and really examining them from a ‘whole art’ point of view.

So,
is matrixing new and unique?

It is totally new and unique.

It is not just a new model of car,
it is a new and incredibly faster type of vehicle.

It’s like comparing a Mustang to a Tesla.
Really different.

Of course,
you won’t believe it till you’ve tried it,
and the best place to start is the basics,
as in Matrix Karate.
Not just the basics of karate,
but the basic theories of matrixing,
and a completely different way of looking at the arts,
of being able to combine all arts so that they make sense,
don’t fight one another,
and join into one whole art.

Here’s the obligatory link…

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

Oinkly Doinkley,
Next Monday is HanaKwanMass,
stay tuned for the yearly rendering of a Martial Artist’s ‘Night Before Christmas.’

Have a great work out!
Al

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

What Bruce Lee Knew

Published a new paper on academia.edu. That’s an ‘upper brow’ type of website. I like it because I get thinkers there, and not the normal ‘low brow’ Beavis and Butthead type.

The paper is on What Bruce Lee Knew. Not actually, but the steps necessary to get his ‘mindset.’ It’s an interesting theme, with a lot of videos and graphs to back it up.

Here it is.

https://www.academia.edu/31518624/Would_You_Like_to_Know_What_Bruce_Lee_Knew

Enjoy. And hit the tweet and like buttons and all that.

Have a great work out!

Al

The Problem with Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do Martial Art

Bruce Lee’s Martial Art Defined

Bruce Lee, the Martial Arts icon of the last century, created his own martial art, which is called Jeet Kune Do, or the Way of the Intercepting Fist.

Bruce wasn’t just a movie kung fu item, he knew what he was doing, and this is especially obvious when one examines Jeet Kune Do.

What most people miss, and this includes martial artists and even the students and instructors of Jeet Kune Do, is that there is a weakness in the art.

This weakness is understood only when one understands what Bruce did. He codified the initial punch of a fight.

The initial punch is the most important, but it ignores other strategies, which strategies are presented in more classical martial arts, such as Karate or Kung Fu.

To explain this further, Bruce dissected the initial punch of a fight. He looked at the specific stages of the punch, so that one could understand how to ‘beat’ the punch. This one item can be understood thusly:

Do you punch before the attack?

Do you punch during the attack?

Do you punch after the attack?

To be precise, he breaks it down further, i believe there are five specific stages at which one could ‘attack the attack,’ but this will simplify for the purpose of this article, and make it easy enough to understand.

And, he followed this same, simple logic in describing methods of attacking the attack.

Do you attack directly?

Do you attack by combination?

Do you attack indirectly?

And so on.

The result of this magnifying glass approach is that one REALLY understands the opening punch of a fight.

The problem comes about when the fight goes past one punch. (Or one kick, one strike, etc.)

Now one must consider strategies of setting up for the second strike, strategies for handling two attackers (two potential first strikes), and so on.

To be honest, Bruce understood this, and this writer has no doubt that the advanced practitioners, which means the ons trained by Bruce himself, understand such points.

But as the art of Jeet Kune Do expands there is degradation, concepts are lost, and these advanced theories are ignored.

This highlights just one of the many potential problems in Jeet Kune Do, the Art of Bruce Lee.

Al Case began martial arts in 1967, became a writer for the magazines, and had his own column in Inside Karate. If you wish to explore more concerning the strengths and weaknesses of Jeet Kune Do, from the viewpoint of one who has studied martial arts for nearly fifty years, take a look at his book, ‘How toMatrix Jeet Kune Do,’ which is available on Amazon, or at Createspace. The author’s website is monstermartialarts.com.

Language in the Martial Arts

Newsletter 766
The Pure Language of Matrixing

 

I was reading the other day,
and a fellow was remarking
how important it was to understand
the language of the martial arts.
The particular phrase being discussed was ‘Oss.’
Which everybody says and nobody knows.
Heck,
I didn’t know,
and I’m still not sure of the spelling.

Bruce Lee would not have stood for GMOs!

So the Japanese had small frigates and subs,
the aisles were narrow,
so narrow it was hard to salute.
So the crew member would nod to an officer,
and the officer would say,
‘Oss.’

Which means…
‘carry on.’

Now,
does that help you do a side kick better?
Does that improve your form?

It might make you smarter,
especially if you were on a Japanese frigate
from many years ago.

Heck,
I believe you should learn everything you can,
but,
does knowing this make you a better martial artist?
And,
wouldn’t it make you better if the person,
instead of saying ‘Oss,’
said ‘carry on?

Which brings us to ‘appropriateness.’

I see students bowing manically,
slapping their thighs as they do s o,
and shouting ‘Oss,’
to their instructors.
So they are taking the role of the officer,
and telling their instructor he is a crewman
who better get to work.

Hmmm.

And,
that all said,
do you have to understand Japanese to learn Karate?

I heard people say this back in the sixties,
and they backed it up with such observations as,
‘there are concepts in the Japanese,
that Americans can’t understand.’

Hmmm.

So you have to be raised in another culture,
‘Muricans are too dumb.

Sounds like racism to me.

And,
in fifty years of study
I have not found ANY concept in the martial arts
I couldn’t understand.

I did find that the more difficult concepts
were actually a problem
of being misrepresented in the original language.
When I translated to English,
and used physics,
EVERYTHING resolved.

Which brings us to matrixing.

My purpose in the martial arts
is to make them simple and easy to understand.
To get rid of barriers to learning them.
To unclutter the mess,
to unmix the confusion,
to translate the bushwah into physics.

Want to learn another language?
Go for it.
It’s good for you.
And,
overall,
if you know more you will learn faster.
BUT,
don’t think that learning a language is a requirement.

And here’s something to think about…
every system is a dialect
of the pure language
of matrixing.

Okay,
I’ve been working on the Binary Matrixing book.
It’s getting close.
Probably your last chance to get the Blinding Steel course,
before I take it down
and re-market it
and at a higher price.

So,
check out this

column I wrote when I was with the mags.
I wrote it in ’96,
and UFC was barely hanging on…

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-art-column/better-ultimate-fighting-championships/

Now,
have a super fantastic work out!
Al

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-art-column/better-ultimate-fighting-championships/

http://www.amazon.com/Matrixing-Tong-Bei-Internal-Gung/dp/1507869290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423678613&sr=8-1&keywords=tong+bei

Release of Book Matrixing Bruce Lee!

New Book on Bruce Lee!

Man!
Beginning of the week,
and it is looking good!
I mean,
good for a work or ten.
In fact,
perfect for a work out or ten!
So get started!
The only thing you have to lose is your slovenly ways!
Yee haw!

Okay,
the big news,
the release of a book matrixing Bruce Lee’s art,
Jeet Kune Do
(the way of the intercepting fist).

Now,
I released it,
then decided to change the title,
and released it again,
all within two days.
It should be available on Amazon this week,
probably wednesday.
BUT,
you can always pick up the instant download PDF here…

http://freebrucelee.com/martial-arts/new-book-on-bruce-lee/

Now,
this is a most interesting book.
First,
JKD is an advanced art,
so while I present a few matrixes,
and discuss how Bruce came close
to achieving matrixing on his own,
he was a VERY thorough cat,
I have to go into neutronics
to really give his art its due.

And this is why I released it
and then re-released it within two days.
The word ‘Neutronics’ was in the title,
and I IMMEDIATELY had people saying
‘What? What’s that?’
So many didn’t know what it was
I knew they would be scared off.
People are scared of what they don’t understand.
And,
it reminds me of when Karate first came
to the shores of the US.
It was advertised as Judo,
people didn’t know what Karate was,
so they equated it with something similar.
And,
the same thing happened with Kung Fu.
Kung Fu schools,
back in the sixties,
would advertise themselves as Karate.
People just didn’t know what Kung Fu was,
and,
as I said,
people are scared of what they don’t understand.

So,
what is the book about?
I explain matrixing and neutronics very quickly,
then I go through the JKD system
point by point,
comparing and contrasting,
showing where JKD almost matrixes,
discussing how Bruce created something
that requires neutronics to understand,
and so on.

I also give a couple of drills,
one of which hasn’t been seen,
except in the small book I wrote
‘Amazing Fighting Drills.’
Been out of print for a while.

Now,
the book goes for $19.95.
It is advanced,
deserves a slightly higher price.
BUT,
if you know about this newsletter,
then you know how to score this book
for $5 off.
That’s right,
the instant download,
the digital version (PDF)
is available at this address.

http://freebrucelee.com/martial-arts/new-book-on-bruce-lee/

So,
check it out.
Whether you’re interested in Bruce Lee or not,
it is a real charge to actually see how I use neutronics,
let alone matrixing
in the analysis of what is,
undoubtedly,
a very advanced martial art.

Now,
that all said,
one other thing,
it is a beautiful day for a work out or ten…

Have a great work out!
Al

http://freebrucelee.com/martial-arts/new-book-on-bruce-lee/

http://www.amazon.com/Matrixing-Tong-Bei-Internal-Gung/dp/1507869290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423678613&sr=8-1&keywords=tong+bei

Release of New Book on Bruce Lee!

Bruce Lee Book Just Published!

The name of the book is ‘Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do, and Neutronics.’

Written by Al Case, a martial artist with near fifty years experience in the martial arts, this book takes an outside viewpoint of Bruce Lee, and his martial art (Jeet Kune Do).

Click on the cover!

Bruce Lee is often considered, specifically as to what drove him to his martial arts theories. The main focus of the book, however, is to compare and contrast Jeet Kune Do to the more classical martial arts, specifically, the author’s art of Karate.

This is a hard core book. While it is respectful, it is obvious that the author holds Mr. Lee in high esteem, there are some very hard questions asked concerning the formation of JKD, and the real purpose of the art.

It is also an intelligent book, going into Matrixing Technology, which is the first and only science of the martial arts, and Neutronic philosophy. The author claims that because JKD is an advanced martial art only advanced methods of thought can be used to analyze it.

Which is to say that if you are Beeavis or Butthead, you may want to avoid this tome. It won’t teach you Jeet Kune Do, and it may hurt your head to actually start thinking about it.

Mr. Case has, as said, near 50 years martial arts experience. He began Kenpo Karate in 1967, quickly became an instructor, and went on to study virtually every martial art that came down the pike during the Golden Age of Martial Arts. He became a writer for the magazines in 1981, and had his own column in Inside Karate. Thus, Mr. Case doesn’t enter the picture as a newbie, but an experienced fighter and writer. His compare and contrast with JKD should provide the most enlightened student with much thought.

Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do, and Neutronics, will be released and on Amazon within the week, and students interested in the paperback version should do a search on Amazon probably by the last week of April 2015.

Students who would like to save $5 and purchase the instant download of the book should go to FreeBruceLee.com.

http://freebrucelee.com/martial-arts/new-book-on-bruce-lee/

Finding the Truth of Bruce Lee

Newsletter 747
The Difference Between Bruce Lee and You

Good morning.
Awesome day for a work out.
Just fantastic.
Enjoy yourselves!

Okay,
so what is the difference between Bruce Lee and yourself?
Let me list some things,
and we will see how you fare.
Remember,
however,
this is to be used only to point you in directions,
to make you think about your work outs,
and what you want to do in the martial arts.
Other than that,
comparisons between people are sort of silly.
We are each unique,
you know?

So,
The Little Dragon studied a classical martial art.
Wing Chun.
Have you studied a classical martial art?
Bruce Lee wasn’t satisfied with that martial art.
Are you satisfied with your martial art?
Bruce found it not as workable as he wished,
found it lacking in conditioning,
and many other things.
Have you isolated your exact dissatisfaction
with your martial art?
Is it conditioning?
Is it too much freestyle, or forms, or…?
You need to know this so you can decide
what you want to do about it.

Bruce researched some 26 different martial arts.
How many martial arts have you researched?
Not just read an article about,
but delved into and found books and videos
and even talked to people from those arts?

Bruce Lee made connections between various Martial Arts.
He was mixing and matching between not just techniques,
but training methods,
and in this way he came up with his own training methods.
Have you gone through a variety of martial arts?
Looked for training methods that you can import
into your own martial art?

The Little Dragon was not politically correct.
He talked the talk,
and he was willing to put it on the line.
Fortunately,
he only had a couple of fights,
but he was willing to mix it up
with any fellow who came into his studio
and had a serious question.
Further,
he was willing to learn from what he observed,
and even to the point of fixing his own system.
This is an important point:
are you willing to let yourself be proved wrong?
And then learn from it?

The Dragon read voraciously
and his library of philosophical volumes
was supposed to number up to 5,000 books.
And he had read,
and could even quote
from those books.
How many books have you read?

Mr. Lee did what he wanted.
He started and stopped teaching,
had schools,
went to Hollywood,
went around the world,
talked to whoever he wanted.

He was,
in a word,
dedicated.
He was dedicated to finding the truth of his art,
and the truth of himself.
He succeeded by incredible willpower.
Are you wiling to make that commitment.

Interesting questions, eh?
And I’ve just touched the surface.

The thing to understand here
is that Bruce wanted matrixing.
Heck,
everybody wants matrixing.
Everybody wants a logic
that will make sense of their lives.
Everybody wants a method
by which they can understand the world.

Look at the ways he was organizing the martial arts.
He would list all the potentials of timing.
He lacked a matrix,
and there are doubtless still holes,
but this can be credited to the fact
that he was slanting himself
towards a certain combat efficiency.

He tried to list all the potentials for ways of attacking,
he developed new ways of training chi sao (sticky hands),
and on and on and on.

And all because he was dedicated,
and dedicated to learning everything he could
about all martial arts.
He just lacked matrixing
to make sure he got it all,
and to make sure the organization was correct.

Here’s an interesting concept,
when I matrixed time on the Matrix Kung Fu course,
I left out split timing
because it was too obvious.
Yet Bruce’s understanding of timing
doesn’t include what is on my matrix
on that course.

I tell you,
I really enjoy going over what Bruce did,
and comparing it to what I did.
Lot of food for thought there.

Anyway,
think about the questions I’ve posed here,
and consider whether you have sufficiently
compared and contrasted
enough martial arts,
and more important,
whether you have a method
by which you can make sure your art is logical,
and fits together as a whole.

Here’s the link to Matrix Kung Fu.

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

It has a matrix for timing
that will totally educate you
as to what timing is,
and how to use it.
The funny thing is,
accept for the fact it is about timing,
it addresses an entirely different subject,
but without that subject
you can’t really understand what timing is.
Odd.
But that’s what matrixing does,
it makes the connections you never would have seen.

Have a great work out!
Al

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

http://www.amazon.com/Matrixing-Tong-Bei-Internal-Gung/dp/1507869290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423678613&sr=8-1&keywords=tong+bei

Which is Better, Jujitsu Throwing or Karate Punching

Striking v Grappling

When it comes to Jujitsu throwing or Karate punching I will always take karate punching.

I know this is going to ruffle a few feathers, but let me state my case.

Back in the sixties and seventies there weren’t many organizations, no protective gear, no mommies worrying as they watched their seven year old learn Karate. There were so few schools that I had to travel fifty miles to class, and the only people I trained with were VERY dedicated.

Dedicated people who didn’t sign up because they had seen a Bruce Lee movie (Bruce Lee wasn’t around when I began Karate, he was yet to come), but because something inside them was driving them.

Over the next few years protective gear was introduced, chain stores started up, people who had studied for a couple of years were promoted and went off to start their own schools, and the worth of Karate sank.

But before that happened I saw people do things that people today simply cannot do.

Can you break a standing brick with a half fist? How about sticking a hole in a board with a single finger? How about taking a full power kick to the groin?

Such things are virtually unheard of these days.

And I am not just an old fuddy duddy hearkening back to the ‘good, old days.’ The things I speak of happened, were verifiable, and the level of Karate was much higher.

Here’s the interesting thing: people can do more back flips and fancy kicks today. People can do more difficult forms.

But they are showing the fat, and the real meat hasn’t even been cooked.

Flash forward…the Ultimate Fighting Championship is the most popular arena in the world. People crowd into MMA schools so they can ground and pound, and classical karate, and Kung Fu and many other arts, are fairly well ignored, or taught to children in large chains, which merely exacerbates the problem.

Yet I have never seen anybody step into the ring and do the type of Karate punch I was trained in. I have never seen anybody who could punch an arm and break a bone with perfect focus and a calm mind.

MMA, you see, is using boxing.

Many claim that Karate punches are too stylistic, won’t work. But none of the people who say such thing trained back when these Karate did work, when students were trained until they could make Karate work, and only the dedicated survived.

About the Author: Al Case began martial arts in 1967. Check out his Outlaw Karate course. There is also an Outlaw Karate book (same material but no video) available on Amazon.