Newsletter 1017

How to Achieve Instant Zen Through the Martial Arts!

It is absolutely stark raving mad

that people don’t delve into this zen thing

especially in the martial arts,

because the martial arts can make it so simple.

Let me note a couple of things,

and then give you the EXACT exercise

that will transform you as a martial artist…

and as a human being.

First, a precise definition of the term.

Zen is Japanese for ‘meditation,’ from…

Chan, which is Chinese for ‘quietude,’ from…

Dhyana, which is ‘Sanskrit’ for meditation.

And,

I have been told that it is an ancient word for…

‘knowing.’

Zen has been with us for over 5,000 years.

Longer.

Why would it still be here if it didn’t work?

Now,

the reality of Zen is…

a moment of clarity.

A moment in which there is no before and no after.

A moment in which you understand yourself,

what you are and where you came from.

In this moment you become able to move

without earthly restriction.

To understand this think of a movie.

You enter a theater and sit down,

and they have so many Fing commercials

you forget to watch the movie.

You are stuck in the flashy moments

of sating yourself with popcorn

and never really see what is happening.

You wander through the snack bar,

buying things for your belly,

things that do not nourish

and only serve to distract.

Meanwhile,

the movie plays,

life goes on,

and you miss it.

Later,

you protest…

‘BUT I WENT TO THE MOVIE!’

No, you didn’t.

You only thought you did.

You really just went to the snack bar.

That is what your life is

until you experience zen,

and hopeful a real zen moment.

So,

how do you break out of this trap?

How do you ignore the distractions

and perceive what is really happening?

How do you get out of thinking you are alive

and really become alive?

Here is the method.

Sure fire,

designed EXACTLY for martial artists,

that will change the way you freestyle,

the way you do forms,

everything.

But,

you can’t just read about it,

you have to do it.

And, before you do it

I should tell you that this method

is actually in a book

in the Matrix Karate course.

The book is called 

‘The Master’s Handbook,’

and it is one of the first

martial arts books I ever wrote.

 Here are the exact instructions from that book

THE ZEN STICK DROP

Sit facing your partner, each of you with your legs folded in the zen kneeling position. One of you holds a small stick about the length of a pen and the thickness of a broom handle. The stick is held slightly below eye level by a horizontal and gently curving arm. No attempt at concealment is made, and the stick is just barely held by the tips of your fingers.

Sit silently for a period of time. The stick is dropped by the one holding it, and is caught by the one opposite.

Don’t try to build a rhythm for dropping or try to fool each other. Just sit. Let the static in your mind subside as you concentrate upon watching your opponent. Create silence and observe one another. Realize that no amount of tensing will make the stick easier to catch, but that relaxing will.

As you do the exercise you will have ample opportunity to still the jerks and twitchs of your muscles and mind. You will get to go through the pain in your legs. You will get to still the jerks and twitchings of your partner. You will get to still yours and his tendency to guess at when the stick will be dropped.

You will get to still the ridges of readying muscles and energies and you will get to still the focus of the catch. You must reach out and hold the falling stick in one position in space. There should be no slapping or grabbing or sudden tightening of the muscles. There should be the same naturalness and amount of insignificance as when you lift a glass ot turn on a light switch.

The application of the can be very interesting. This would be the practice of not ‘telegraphing your motion.’ This means that you stay perfectly still before a movement, no leaning or drifting in any direction before moving. You must stay in one place and let the stillness build and explode without forethought. Have fun.

Here is the illustration…

Now,

here is the question…

how long will it take?

Totally depends.

If you have a lot of discipline,

which comes from a lot of martial arts practice,

real martial arts

and not the watered down crap sold today,

then it probably won’t take long.

A few hours

a few hours should be enough

to cook your brain

and enable you to break through.

Let’s say you are a newbie,

not much discipline.

Might take a year or two.

But the more you practice the martial arts,

the more discipline you cultivate,

the sooner you break through.

Now,

another thing…

what does it feel like.

people may feel different things,

but here’s what I perceived.

I did not reach,

I was unaware of muscles,

my hand just nonchalantly

spurted forward and held the stick.

I didn’t grab,

it was more like I picked the stick out of space.

Prior to doing it right

I sort of forgot about the exercise,

it just sort of happened.

I was profoundly happy.

I was aware that I,

the being that was Al Case,

was what was true,

and that the envelope that was my body,

was temporary.

Al Case is a temporary vehicle,

a label,

 for an eternal spirit.

And,

I advise you right now…

when you achieve the zen moment I speak of

there is absolutely NO mistaking it.

It happens,

and you blink,

and you slap your head

and blurt something like…

“Oh…FUCK!”

The moment is so stark it can’t be mistaken for anything else.

It is the difference between snoring peacefully

and suddenly being the sun.

Awake,

alive,

understanding life as you never have before.

And yet anything I tell you

will be a severe understatement

of the real thing.

And, a few things to provide context.

Old texts on zen were correct,

but I lacked the cultural background to understand the words.

New texts on zen were absolute garbage.

They were papers on what people

‘interpreted’ zen to be,

they were not by people who had experienced zen.

So,

can you do it?

Can you have the permanent thought

that you can transcend your body

and understand what you actually are?

Can you forge the discipline

to sit and do this simple exercise?

Can you travel through the boredom?

Can you take charge of your life?

They is right here.

So…can you?

And, obligatory advertisement,

if you don’t have it already

you might consider 

the Matrix Karate course.

That course,

and the other early courses,

have a lot of stunning bonuses on them.

Here’s the link…

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

Okay, guys and gals,

have a great zen!

Al

BTW

My novel, Monkeyland,

is on Amazon.

What’s the Difference Between a Martial Art!

Newsletter 936

Why did you sign up for the martial arts?
What reason was ticking away in the back of your skull?
If you’re like me it was probably to get tough,
to be strong enough to fight back against the bullies.
And that is the secret of selling the martial arts.

To sell something you have to find a problem,
and offer what you’re selling as the solution.

The problem the martial arts addresses
is the student’s poor opinion of himself,
his desire not to be victim to all the people who bully him.
And this problem/solution has been selling the martial arts
since time was invented.

I remember a book in the fifties/sixties,
‘Super Karate Made Easy.’
And you don’t have to look for it,
it’s here…
http://monstermartialarts.com/free-martial-arts-books/

In this book situations were presented
in which the reader was addressed as being helpless,
but has fortunately studied a mysterious art.
Here’s a sample…

Your opponent tip-toes behind you and grabs your hair. To stop the hair pulling throw both your hands above your head and grab his hand. Follow thru with repeated smashes of the foot to opponent’s shin or down hard on his instep. That will be the last time this ingrate will get into your hair!

Do you see it?
You were a victim,
now you are offering the punishment.
This book sold…MILLIONS.
Wasn’t a very good book,
but it had the formula down,
present the reader as victim,
offer the solution.

When I signed up for Kenpo
I was fodder for the sales guy,
because I had just come through high school,
which means I had been bullied for four years.

In fact,
my parents told me to
shape up,
listen up,
shut up,
toe the line,
don’t fight back,
do what you’re told
and so on.

Then my teachers said to
shape up,
listen up,
shut up,
toe the line,
don’t fight back,
do what you’re told
and so on.

Even the other kids told me
shape up,
listen up,
shut up,
toe the line,
don’t fight back,
do what you’re told
and so on.

I wasn’t being raised…or educated,
I was being prepared for a life of
shape up,
listen up,
shut up,
toe the line,
don’t fight back,
do what you’re told
and so on.

So when I walked into that karate school,
and they offered me a solution,
man…I JUMPED AT IT!

Want to know a bad secret?
If you want to make money in the martial arts,
start up a website,
put a few techniques down on paper,
and surround them with descriptions of mayhem,
and sell them as a book.
And advertise the book by telling people they are weak,
and your ‘system’ are the solution.
Guaranteed.
You are going to get rich.

You don’t think so?
Go back through the internet scams
of the last few decades.

The guy
(who is described in a way that reminds you of you)
walks into a dangerous situation
(a bar, a party, a convention of skinheads)
accidentally offends
(bumps, is shoved into, makes a joke)
a bully
(a biker, a skinhead, a big drunk)
and uses a secret technique
(fight ender, prison elbows)
taught to him by a mysterious person
(monk, nun, spetznatz operative, green beret)
and he will share this system with you
for a price ending in 7.
(37.00, 47,00, etc.)

So why am I telling you this?
Because the other day I came across a website,
it was selling the same old same old,
a new and efficient system,
tossed out the slop,
focused on brutalizing the opponent.

I want you to think about that.
Brutalizing the opponent.
Isn’t that why you started the martial arts?
To stop being brutalized?
And now people are being sold on brutalizing.
They have become the problem.

The truth is that the martial arts have shifted.
They have gone from ‘defend yourself,’
to ‘beat the crap out of somebody.’
We have stopped seeking the solution,
and started seeking the problem.
Weird.

Now,
here’s the truth.
When I walk into a martial arts school,
I meet people who are not competent.
They don’t know how to teach the martial arts,
so they push fighting.
Not the martial arts,
but fighting.

Instead of drilling until one is aware of how a technique works,
the student is taught to fight…fight…fight!

Instead of learning how to control his body,
and thus the body of an opponent,
the student is taught how to brutalize.
Sure,
it’s all in the name of justice and humanity,
but it’s not in the spirit of justice and humanity.

What’s the solution?
Present the truth,
as best you can,
and hope you can penetrate to the human being
before he catches on fire.

The martial arts are not about fighting,
they are about not fighting.
About stopping the bully without beating the crap out of him.

It’s not about hitting the bag so hard you bust it,
it is about investing yourself with awareness.

Here’s the truth:
it’s not about beating some bully up,
it is about beating yourself up,
working out until you are so strong and competent
that the bully doesn’t come near you.
That is the way you create a peaceful world.
Not by pounding it into shape,
but by pounding yourself into awareness.

Here’s a win to encourage you.

Hello sir, I hope this email finds you in good spirits. I just wanted to give you an update on my progress with the Butterfly Pa Kua Chang training. I have kept up the 3 hours a day training, adding in some training elements such a lion holding the ball and the serving tea cups exercises. On the weekends I’ve been training at the parks here in Philadelphia, while my kids run around playing.

As previously mentioned I have a lot of martial experience, but Pa Kua Chang is unlike anything I had ever done in the past. It took me a good couple of months to get used to, but I have a real firm grasp of all of the basics and have even worked on my own double changes, three in total. I am absolutely addicted to it!!!

I can’t thank you enough for putting the course out there for people like me, who have no access to learning it in person here. I’ve even had several people stop me at the parks and ask to follow along with the movements as I walk the circle!

Thank you sir,
Fred

Have a great work out!

Al

Here’s the PKC course

http://monstermartialarts.com/martial-arts/butterfly-pa-kua-chang/