How Long Should It Take to Get a Black Belt in Military Martial Arts

How Long Should It Take to Get a Black Belt in MCMAP?

How long it should take to get a black belt is an interesting question in any martial art, let alone in the military.

In Karate or Kung Fu, we are talking four to five years.

Click ont he cover for the truth!

Back in the forties it would take a year. Maybe less, maybe more. And this was for Karate, Japanese styles, and any other style that had a belt system.

Then Kenpo came along and they started selling black belts on what is referred to as ‘car contract’ sales approaches. That way they could keep students longer and make more money.

The actual contract was designed in Kenpo Karate by a dane instructor from Arthur Murray dance studios.

Which brings up the original point of this article, how long should it take to get a black belt when you are studying a military style, like MCMAP, or the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.

Well, in a commercial school at the local McDojo strip mall school, at two hours a week you would put in 100 hours in a year, 400 hours in four years.

The marines, or the army or navy, in their basic training, have you 24 hours a day for up to four months. Four months would be 120 days. At one hour a day every day, using old standards before the car contract system came in, most people could earn a black belt in that time.

Of course they might have to do with a little less parade ground drilling, and look at training in how to survive with hand to hand on a battlefield, but it is definitely possible.

And, you would have to overcome certain considerations that the military might have.

For instance, they want you to take courses on leadership, and go up in the ranks before they teach you more martial arts. Which is sort of silly, because it’s like saying you shouldn’t learn how to survive hand to hand combat unless you have been around for a while.

And, they would have to revamp some of their training methods; put in more kicks, change the structure of their training so that empty hand fighting better aligned with weapons, and so on.

Most of all, they would have to consider that soldiers aren’t fodder, but that every soldier should have higher and higher training, that every soldier should have the highest possible chance of surviving on the battlefield.

All this done, wouldn’t it be wonderful if a recruit could go into basic training and come out, 120 days later, a bona fide and deadly black belt?

About the author: Al Case has 50 years in the martial arts, and is the author of Fixing MCMAP: How to Make the Marine Corps Martial Arts into a True Martial Art. Check out his incredibly quick and efficient Black Belt Course at MonsterMartialArts.com. You can do this course in the privacy and comforter of your own home.

http://www.amazon.com/Fixing-MCMAP-Making-Martial-Program/dp/1503181812/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1415995791&sr=8-15&keywords=mcmap

Why I Chose MCMAP…

MCMAP is for People Who Want to Kill

The reason I chose the marines (MCMAP – Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) to pick on for my latest martial arts book is interesting.

First, the Marine Corps isn’t a McDojo with trophies in their window, they are men dedicated to killing.

Second, on inspecting MCMAP I could see that they had fallen into some of the traps Martial Arts systems fall into.

The basic techniques are drawn from boxing, not Karate or kung Fu or some other martial art.

The grab art techniques were out of order, and selected for reasons that go against the grain of self-improvement.

The relationship of techniques was not well addressed.

Don’t get me wrong, the thing works, and well, and especially in view of the fact that they are training a bunch of fellows that are often short a clue.

But it could be better.

It could be a real martial art where people actually suffer enlightenment.

And one of the questions I entertained, as I tweaked and rearranged MCMAP, was whether the marine corps would want enlightened troops.

On one hand, the soldier would be smarter, he would be prone to analyze, and intuitively, any situation.

But would he follow orders and go into the guns of the enemy?

Man, that was the $64,000 question.

And I think the answer would depend on the quality of leadership, and the information passed down to the grunt.

If a fellow went through MCMAP, and did become enlightened, he would have to be educated as to the value of the mission before charging forth. It would take smart leaders to do that, and the mission would have to make sense.

An enlightened man is as willing to put his life on the line as an unenlightened man. Maybe more so.

But he’s not stupid.

The fellows at the Alamo likely knew they would die, and just to buy a little time for their fellow Texicans to make up an army. They made an educated and enlightened decision.

And, should MCMAP take hold and begin transforming today’s modern marines, they would have to make the same enlightened decisions.

And I think the fellows in charge are going to have to be smarter, and communicate in a complete and thorough manner, their mission goals.

Anyway, it is a conjecture, but it is backed up by the fact that armies of the east have engaged in this type of martial arts training for millennium.

You can pick up ‘Fixing MCMAP’ on Amazon, or here… http://marinecorpsmartialarts.wordpress.com/marine-humor/

Guaranteed, whether you are a martial artist or a marine, or a marine to be or whatever, you will find the work scholarly and effective. After all, it is based on the martial arts of a very unique group of killers.

Publication of ‘Fixing MCMAP!’

Publication of ‘Fixing MCMAP!’

Announcing the release of FIXING MCMAP!
I just finished the two volume set called
Fixing MCMAP
And…since you guys are the newsletter,
I’ll be making a special offer to you
at the bottom of this newsletter.

MCMAP stands for
Marine Corps Martial Arts Program.
It is actually a good program in a lot of ways,
but,
as with any new martial art,
it fell into a lot of the traps
that new martial arts make.
In Fixing MCMAP I fix those problems.

I take out the boxing and put in martial arts drills,
I rearrange the grab arts,
I fix a lot of misconceptions,
present the house forms,
set up a VERY comprehensive format
of freestyle drills,
and a lot more.

And,
here’s the thing,
when I finished the books,
I realized that if I was to be taught the martial arts
from the ground up,
in these modern times,
this is what I would want.
This is the arrangement of drills and techniques
that make the most sense for me.

It’s combat oriented,
it’s got the best and simplest forms,
the techniques are arranged precisely and in order,
it leads to other martial arts,
the freestyle arrangement REALLY makes sense.
Now,
that said,
I am curious what the military will think about it.
On one hand,
I have improved things.
On the other hand,
i’ve made hints and statements
that might be taken in opposition to the military interests,
things about the mental attitude of a warrior,
and so on.

Still,
I am happy with this work,
very happy,
and I know that even if people disagree with me,
they will be thinking about what I have said.
Who knows,
maybe they will come up with something more effective.

That is matrixing, you know,
understanding the art so that you can create it on the moment.
It doesn’t mean everything will be the same.
I’m very curious as to what kind of variations on my work
people will come up with.
In my ignorant pride I think I’m the best,
but,
you know,
Bruce is just waiting to be born again,
some guy is working on a system that will change the way people think,
and so on.

So…we’ll see.

But,
that said,
right now Fixing MCMAP is the latest and the greatest.
It is cutting martial arts,
and cutting edge military martial arts.

Heck, it is GOOD!

Now,
it is a complete system,
but I always tell people that they should get
the original MCMAP,
they can find it on the net for free,
and download it.
then lay that course next to my Fixing MCMAP
and see what shakes loose.

Okay,
you want a deal.
The deal is that the books will be published paperback
within a couple of days.
They will be $15 a piece,
a total of $30.

BUT,
for the guys on the newsletter,
Go to this address,

http://marinecorpsmartialarts.wordpress.com

and you can get the download versions
for $20.

And,
you guys know that i make these deals,
leave them up for a week or two,
and then have to take them down.

And I do have to take them down.
When I finish the KINDLE version,
which takes a couple of weeks,
the Kindle people insist that 
I not sell the books in download fashion on the net.
It’s in their rules.

So you have a week or two
to take advantage of this deal.

BTW, the site you are going to is still under construction,
so I am open to any suggestions as to how to better it.

Now,
here’s the URL again

http://marinecorpsmartialarts.wordpress.com

So go there,
let me know if anything doesn’t work,
and have yourself a GREAT WORKOUT!

Al

http://marinecorpsmartialarts.wordpress.com

Military Martial Arts…What Would Happen If You Matrixed Them!

Speaking of military martial arts, here’s my newsletter speaking of this intriguing subject.

All right!
Time for a work out!
Drop everything you’re doing and punch somebody!
Well,
maybe you shouldn’t get that carried away.
Or,
uh,
maybe you should?

I remember when I was young and doing martial arts,
I lived in apartments
with guys filled with testosterone
and we punched each other all the time.
Cooking the eggs and throwing out blocks.
Kicking somebody so he had to drop the towel
when he came out of the shower,
just fun, fun, fun.
But that’s how you know
you’re doing the real martial arts.
It’s fun.

Speaking of which,
let’s talk about the real martial arts.

The universe is just a bunch of stuff
flying through space.
Sometimes something flies at you
and you have to handle it
before collision occurs.
Isn’t that what the martial arts are?
Fists and feet,
whole bodies flying,
coming at you,
and you have to handle them
before collision.
So when you are doing the martial arts
you are just practicing
how to handle the whole universe.

That’s why martial artists are superior,
you know.

While Joe Blow sits on the sofa
and watches reruns of Happy Days
Jim the Martial Artist
is practicing handling
the whole darned universe
one fist at a time.

Eventually,
Jim the martial artist gets so good,
that he can handle anything in the universe,
he is calm,
competent,
and in charge.
No wonder the martial arts are fun.

Anyway,
I didn’t mean to go all philosophical on you.
It’s just that
a fist to the face
is so beautiful
(choke)
that it brings a tear to my eye.

Now,
I received the greatest win.
I love wins
that come out of the blue,
they blind side me.
I’ll be running full tilt,
trying to get the job done
and…
Wham!
Big old win
knocks me sideways,

win deleted…sorry

You can see why I love this win.

I love a compliment,
and,
I really love a compliment to the matrixing method.

Thank you, Dan,
for those kind words.
Thanks to you and the guys and gals
for being America’s muscle.

Now,
one of the things I look for
is people from different systems.
You see,
I am always saying
that Matrixing works
for every system.
While I have presented it as a martial art,
and shown it working in a variety of martial arts,
it is really a method for organizing data.
Doesn’t matter where the data comes from,
all that matters is that it is put in order.

And,
here’s something for you to think about.
What if you took a soldier
matrixed his training,
matrixed his way of operating on the battlefield.
This would be a quite an undertaking,
because the modern soldier
is more than a march and shoot boy,
he is a technical wizard
with a variety of disciplines to use
before he gets to march and shoot.
but,
the question remains,
what if you matrixed him?

Well,
he goes into battle
and he will know what his teammate is doing,
will have an intuition about it,
even if he can’t directly see or communicate.
He will be working off the same data base of knowledge,
a streamlined and simplified data base,
and he will know what his team mate is doing,
how he is responding,
just from the sounds,
just from the knowledge of where the bombs are dropping,
and the lines of fire.
He will know
and he will know how his team mate will respond,
and he can adjust his actions
so that he
and everybody in his squad,
platoon
and even company
are totally in synch.

Man,
that would sure make a sergeant’s job easy.
You know?

Okey dokey,
just thought I’d throw that out.
A lot of orders have gone to men and women
in the military,
and I sometimes think about
what would happen
in a matrixed world.

Perfection,
you know?

Now,
next week is thanksgiving,
so I need you to
break out the ax,
throw a rope over one of those turkeys
and get ready for
the yearly turkey slaughter.
Never thought of it that way, eh?
But it’s true.
It’s us against them!
Who will win…
read blooded ‘muricans,
or them thar turkey busturds!

I think we know the answer.
So,
throw another log on the barbie
make sure you have lots of adult beverages
and someplace to hide the keys
until you sober up.

Hey!
I just thought I’d put out a public service announcement, okay?

And,
while you are thinking and drinking,
think about this:
if you ordered Matrix Karate,
or any matrix course from Monster,
right now,
you could have it in time
so you could practice it over the holidays!

Think about it,
lock yourself in a room
with a DVD player
and a change of underwear,
and you could learn a whole art!

You think you can’t?
Ha!
That was one of the things I did with a fellow
when I was first discovering matrixing.
We locked ourselves in the dojo for a week,
and we worked out,
and a week later…
he knew Karate.
And he eventually became a third dan
in a Japanese system.
Just walked in their door,
freestyled their boys,
and received his belt.

True story.

So,
put your order in now,
change your life,
handle the universe,
learn an art over the holidays.

I mean,
what’s the alternative?
Reruns of Happy Days?

You guys and gals have a great weekend,
and I’ll talk to you next Monday.

Click here to check out the Matrix Karate Course.

Al

“So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.”
~ Sun Tzu

That’s what Sun Tzu, the greatest military mind in history, thought of when he thought of military martial arts.

Matrixing and Army Martial Arts

Martial Arts Awareness Turns on the Body!

All right!
TGIF
because
I get to work out!
Actually, I already worked out.
Went up to Mulholland Dr,
went through Karate, Pa Kua and Tai Chi
and I was done an hour before the sun came up!
Ha!

Man,
I could feel the energy warming my body,
shoving through my veins.
I felt like an elephant on Chi!
Well,
maybe that isn’t the best analogy,
but I did feel
like I had an elephant’s worth of Chi
swimming through my corpuscles!

Anyway,
I was reading about the army the other day.
One article described their martial arts program.
Very interesting.
You practice for forty hours
(One week)
and you know enough to kill
and not be killed.
And,
if you practice another eighty hours
that’s two weeks,
you become a trainer.
If you do another eighty hours,
you get put in charge of the trainers.

Now,
do the math.
Five weeks
to becoming some sort of expert of experts.

Mind you,
I was just scanning,
don’t know if this is a new or old program,
but their premise of training
is no nonsense,
get it done,
don’t waste time,
here are the requirements,
just do them.

Do you get it?

So,
curious,
I googled the marines.

Their training,
while I’m sure it is hard core,
is a bit mixed up.
They have some four or five belts to black belt.
And it takes about 140 hours.
And that includes striking,
grappling,
handling weapons from knives to bayonets to whatever.
This is cool.
The mixed up bit,
is that at a certain point
the belts go along with rank.
So you have to be a whatever sergeant or officer
to qualify for the next training.
Well,
that sucks.
For at that point
they have deviated from the concept of
rank for ability
and gone to a political structure.

Still,
up to that point
I like it.

And,
compare the hours to matrixing.
I keep telling people
a couple of months of training,
six months at most,
and you should be expert
in any art.
It all depends upon experience,
and ability.

Now,
I am not saying you should join the army.
That’s individual choice.
But to join the army to learn martial arts,
it’s not cost effective.
You’re in for three or four years,
you’re paying for those cheap lessons
(if you rank high enough to take them)
with a lot of time.

Matrixing
on the other hand
is a lot more cost effective.
Start off with one course,
thirty bucks,
see if it works.
When it does,
zingo bingo,
you are in martial arts paradise.

A whole system
with all the forms and techniques,
two man drills and methods of freestyle,
for thirty bucks.

Now,
instead of paying six or eight hundred
for lessons at the dojo,
and having to go and suit up
and use gas and find parking
and pay extra fees for gear and testing and whatever,
you simply pay thirty bucks,
save $570 or $770,
get a few friends
have a ball in your backyard or garage or whatever,
and,
a few months passes,
and you are there.

Mind you,
I’m not actually telling you not to go to a dojo,
there’s good stuff happens at some of those places,
what I am telling you is to maximize your time.
Learn faster,
save money.
And for those who think it can’t be done,
look at the army programs,
see how fast they do it,
and they don’t even have matrixing!

Really,
its a matter of
making up your mind,
being a martial artist,
picking your program,
and doing it.
Period.

You want to be expert in a martial art?
Get the course
and do it.
Stop wasting your time,
start making yourself better.
Period.

Want to know more arts?
Want to fix the arts you’ve got,
and make them more efficient,
streamlined,
easier to use?
Then spend thirty bucks,
and do it.
Period.

Okay,
enough rant,
I’ve made my point.

So what is happening in the world of the Monster?
I’m crafting a new website.
I’m actually not doing any kind of advertising for it,
I’m just putting all my articles there.
That’s around five hundred articles.
I’ve got a hundred up so far,
and I just put up a couple a day,
work on it,
tweak it,
and,
just like matrixing,
a few months,
and I’ll have it.
Period.
Grin.

And,
there is going to be other stuff on it.
I’ve got free books,
free lessons,
and I’m just going to go crazy on it.
There will still be the option to buy,
to support the movement,
to contribute to
the Great Matrixing Tour,
Monkeyland,
and whatever follows,
but,
the main thrust
is to revamp all my articles,
especially those out of print,
get all my books,
all the neutronic books,
everything,
in one location.

And,
since I’ve written near two million words on the martial arts
it’s going to be big.

Anyway,
the website is
Free Martial Arts Online.
Google that,
let me know if it was hard to find,
make any suggestions you wish,
let me know of any mistakes,
and remember that
as I grow this thing
there will be mistakes.
Forgive and enjoy.
That’s all I can say about that.

Now,
what else is happening.
Hmm.
Not much.
Still working with EW on the Three Month Shaolin course.
He keeps having to earn a living,
what a dog, eh?
Why can’t he be rich and famous,
like all us other guys.
Right?
(groan)

Anyway,
it’s coming,
be patient,
it’s going to be good.

And,
I think that is about it.
Here’s the obligatory
and demanding your attention link…

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

And have some great and awesome work outs this weekend.
Al

“When you see a worthy person, endeavor to emulate him.

When you see an unworthy person, examine your inner self.”