Category Archives: aikido

The Truth About Martial Arts Belt Ranking

Posted on July 4, 2013 | Leave a comment

Martial Arts Belt Ranking Made Understandable!

Martial Arts Belt Ranking does tend to be a little…strange. There are so many colored belts, what does a black belt mean, what is a master, and so on. In this article i will tell you where belt ranks came from, and what they actually mean.

Martial Arts Belt Ranking came from Japan, where it was originally used in swimming classes.

blind justice

Martial Arts like Karate and Judo picked up on them because it made it easier to arrange the karate class, or judo class, and teach it.

Before then people would join a martial arts school and there were junior students and senior students, and the point was to get your Teaching certificate.

Some people didn’t want to go that far, but the serious students did. After all, why do something half way? And, of course, a person who knew enough to teach would certain have sufficient self defense skills to protect himself.

In 1967 I joined a Kenpo Karate school, and the belt ranks were eight to Black Belt, and then eight after one had achieved Dan ranking, which is what a Black Belt is.

The colors were: white, orange, purple, blue, green, three stages of brown, and black. Black belts usually just put a tip, or a strip of white on the end of the belt for each advanced dan ranking.

Later, 1969, I jointed a classical school, and here was where I experienced martial arts belt ranking as it was meant to be. Sort of.

There were three belt ranks to Black Belt. These were white, green, and brown. But, to be honest, these had been subdivided into an eight and eight system.

The theory (one of the more predominant theories, I should say), was that one started as a white belt, like an unwritten piece of paper. Then one experienced the green of spring, became worn, like autumn, and finally entered winter.

This was an interesting sort of mythos. There was a logic to it, and it did describe the growing process, sort of.

But, what I noticed as the years rolled by was this: Martial Arts belt ranking doesn’t matter to people who have been in the martial arts for a while.

Yes, they are important, if only to spur the beginning student on. And, one should take pride in an achievement. It takes a lot of work, a lot of stick-to-ivity, to progress through the martial arts belt ranking systems.

But the real measure here is whether a person makes it to teacher.

Why do things half way, eh?

And that is the truth about Martial Arts belt ranking.

Here’s a great article on reality martial arts belt ranking. You can get started on Learning Martial Arts right here.

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Posted in aikido, free martial arts books, isshin ryu, karate, kung fu, martial arts, mixed martial arts, pa kua chang, preying mantis, shito ryu, shotokan, uechi ryu

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How and Why Matrixing Will Work in Your Martial Art!

Posted on June 23, 2013 | 1 comment

Learn a Martial Art in a matter of months!

A lot of people read my site, or articles on the web, and they raise their eyes and say, ‘Oh, right. A guy can learn a Martial Art in a few months? Ha!’

Lot of cynicism out there, and I understand it. Some fellow studies for years to learn Karate or learn Kung Fu or whatever, and I come along and say, ‘You could have learned it ten times faster.’

martial art

Don’t just look at the moon…BE the moon!


That guy is going to be upset! He’s going to think I’m full of it, just because if he doesn’t, then it invalidates all his years of training.

But, when somebody actually does matrix their martial art, and this works for Aikido and Kenpo and ALL other martial arts systems, then they find that I am not invalidating all they have done…I am making it count! I am organizing their data, making it more accessible, and that means their martial art is sharper, quicker, more intuitive…and so much more!

So how do I convince the doubter?

Try these facts on for size.

Take two pigeons and put them together for 6 weeks and they will mate for life.

6 weeks, and you cam MAKE a pea brain MAKE a life altering decision. Doesn’t even matter if Mrs. Pigeon is ugly.

Now this is a stupid fact, but it tends to open the door to facts more pertinent to you and the Martial Arts.

The US army takes a common, garden variety man or woman…and MAKES them into a soldier in three months. Another three months and we’re talking about a high tech soldier, able to use a computer, or some other complicated device, right in the middle of a firefight!

That’s a good fact. It speaks highly of dedicated, factual training.

Here’s another one: there are ads on TV that claim you can MAKE your body into a lean, mean muscle machine in three months. Three months and you no longer have a beer barrel, but, instead, have a six pack!

So the point here is this: if you are smarter than a pigeon, then you can change your mind and change your body in three months.

Or, in other words,

You can learn a martial art in a matter of months!

You don’t even have to believe! You just have to get a martial arts course and do it!

So now we come down to choice.

Do you want to sit around and tweet one liners…or do you want to join a brotherhood that has lasted for thousands of years…the brotherhood of the Martial Artist!

Do you want to be sweet meat for that home invader? That mugger? That guy who wants to take your girlfriend?

Do you want to watch Bruce Lee movies and think, ‘How cool!’ Or do you want to BE like Bruce Lee?

Okay. Nuff said. I hope I’ve changed your mind, gotten you to get up off the coach, inspired you to do something that will give your life value forever!

So take a look at this http://monstermartialarts.com site, check out the courses, and decide what you want to do.

Remember, the only person stopping you from being more than you…is you.

This has been a page about how to learn a martial art, and how you can learn them in a matter of a few months.

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Posted in aikido, karate, kenpo, kung fu, martial arts, pa kua chang, taekwondo, tai chi chuan, Uncategorized

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Aikido Ki is the Secret of Life!

Posted on June 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

Aikido Ki and How to Make It

Aikido Ki is one of the most misunderstood things on the planet. Truth, people enrolled in martial arts classes are taught how to fight, how to win trophies, how to pay their instructor month after month and think they are getting something, but they are not learning martial arts ki.

Ki is energy. Ki is the glow in knowledgeable eyes. It is called ki power, or kung fu chi energy, or by other similar terms.

Aikido ki Power

To make Aikido Ki you must make yourself


When you are weight lifting, when you are lifting hundreds of pounds, you are feeding the muscles, your awareness is on the muscles, so the energy goes into your muscles, and not into the tan tien, which is the ki generator of the body.

Weight lifting isn’t bad, it is just for another purpose than building chi power.

When you are learning to fight, to win trophies, to get the gold, you are practicing to beat your fellow man. But beating up your fellow man results in the opposite of gaining martial arts ki powers. Beating up your fellow man squashes him, at your expense, and reduces the glow in the eyes, the fun in the heart.

In the martial arts one should study to the point where you give up fighting.

And learning martial arts just to pay your instructor has nothing to do with ki power.

To build this mythical ki energy thing you need only do your art with certain principles in mind. These principles can be done anywhere, with any art. So even if you have a bad system, or a bad instructor, you can be a good student and make your art give you the glow in the eyes type of chi that I am talking about.

First, as stated earlier, breath to and from the tan tien. Oxygen won’t reach it (it is located two inches below the navel), but air into the lungs starts a wave form of energy that will reach it. Stand with your arms extended and breath deep, you will likely feel a tingle in your fingertips. The energy went into the tan tien, and the tan tien pumped it out to the rest of your body. If you didn’t feel it, then you just need to keep breathing and focusing your awareness until you do.

Second, structure all motion to and from the tan tien. Yes, boxers say throw the punch from the shoulder, and they can put a lot of weight into the strike. But that strike is still as nothing when compared to a martial arts chi powered punch or kick. That punch or kick is going to have a lot more thought and intention and, ultimately, power.

This thing, of structuring all motion to and from the tan tien is the key. So go through all your forms or movements, isolate each motion, and figure out how the energy comes from the ground by sinking your stance, and align the movement and position of your arms so the energy can go out your arms.

Have somebody push on your body postures, find the positions which you can hold with the least amount of effort: that is the key to Martial Arts ki energy.

This thing, of breathing correctly and structuring the body correctly, is the key to all martial arts. Be they Chinese martial arts, Wing Chun Martial Arts, or whatever. So fix your fighting discipline, watch videos and learn from history and do all that you can, because that is what it takes to empower the body, put a glow into the eyes, and become the powerful, enduring personality that you really are.

This has been an article about aikido ki power and how to build it.

Here’s another great article about how ki power unlocks the universe. The most comprehensive book on how to develop Martial Arts Chi Power is at Monster Martial Arts

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Bagua Zhang Technique is Simple to Use!

Posted on June 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

Bagua Zhang Technique is Too Simple!

Bagua Zhang Technique is an easy thing to learn and simple to apply. The problem is that they might actually be to simple.

Too simple to learn because most people don’t have the discipline of mind, the mental ability, to make Bagua Zhang Martial Arts work. They get lost in the endless possibilities of intricacy, and lose sight of the simplicity.

bagua zhang techniques

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

 

When you walk the circle you must do so with an eye to developing Martial Arts Bagua Zhang Technique. These martial arts gems rely on one simple principle: the opponent must extend his arm, and the person doing the circle walking self defense must use the extended limb like a captain’s wheel. That is, he must turn the spoke, that the hub of the body would revolve.

If the punch is fast and hard, this is difficult to do, and what punch is not going to be fast?

The solution is to practice until you see the energy forming, until you see the punch generating, and then be willing and able to use whatever part of the arm you get.

For instance, the attacker launches a strike, and it is a short, circular type of jab. To make a bagua zhang technique work the student must go with the punch, let it pass, and push on the elbow, or even the shoulder.

This means you have to not only walk sideways, but you have to fine tune your distance, so that the opponent misses, passes, and is the right range for your push.

When you push you must not do so faster than the strike, nor slower. The best bagua zhang techniques are going to be the ones in which you harmonize with the motion, and therefore with the attacker.

Think: if he feels you touch him, he will resist, so if you use too much force he will change. But you don’t want him to change…you just want him to be slightly out of kilter, unable to follow up, at a slight disadvantage.

Now, what do you want to do? Continue your circle walking and tie him in knots? Spin him to the earth, circle the arm and reverse direction into a lock or takedown? These are all potential bagua fighting techniques, but the one you choose will depend on one thing: what is the most simple.

What is simple, that is what is difficult. You see, most people train to do something, but when you reach the point where you do nothing, then you can let the attacker guide you to his self destruction.

There is a phrase in The Tao: ‘Do nothing until nothing is left undone.’

Do you understand how this works with a bagua zhang techniques?

The point is that you must practice not the technique, but the concept behind the technique, then your kung fu will work, and then you will have the effortless Bagua Zhang technique that is easy and simple to do.

There is a great piece of writing on how to learn kung fu fast at Monster Martial Arts. Or you could just go to the ultimate bible on Bagua Zhang techniques.

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Martial Arts Training That Is Incredibly Slow!

Posted on June 17, 2013 | 1 comment

Martial Arts Training at its Best!

Okay, heres a shocker for you to think about–you aredoing martial arts training using the slowest method of education in existence in the world. Its true. And it is propagated through the mysticism and awe of attaining something that, should you use an updated method of learning, would speed up your learning up by a factor of ten.

martial arts training self defense techniques

Martial Arts Training makes for Excellent Self Defense!

Martial arts training works on a method that has worked for the history of the world, for monkeys. This is the monkey see monkey do method of education. Using the monkey see monkey do method of education, you are trained to memorize random strings of data.

Thats absolutely right, random strings of data. In fact, to be perfectly accurate, it is random strings strings of random data, and everything is tied together through mystical concept. Not logical concepts, but mystical concepts.

That system of kung fu you’re pracrticing, the one based on an animal–I have never heard of an animal being logical. Oh, you fight like an animal would fight, in concept. What youre saying is that the movements that resemble how an animal would move have been gathered together so you could copycat them.

Copycatting is not a concept, and it is not being logical in any sense.

Copycatting is doing what youve been shown…or, in the martial arts world, sold. Lots of money in selling copycat methodology, because you can just keep rearranging the strings of data and fooling people into thinking they are getting something scientific.

Now, you might think that I am down on martial arts training because of what I have said. The opposite is the real truth, however–I am so in love with the martial arts it is unbelievable. I dont, however, believe in learning through antiquated methods.

What I do is take the mysticism of the martial arts, utilize logic to line it all up, and learn ten times faster than the next guy. This method, a vastly different than any method you have ever seen, is called Matrixing. Matrixing is an actual scientific method–it is not the latest fake-scientific-wordage (cyber cranial digitation, neural brain synapses, and that sort of made up so on) that internet marketers use to sell their gimmicks.

The inquiry I often get is how does it work. Consider: if you had 4, 5, 3, 8 and a shaved donkey, you wouldnt know how to count. If you had 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on through all of your digits…you would know how to count.

What I do is align the martial concepts in the correct sequence, so there are no missing numbers, no out of order numbers, and no ridiculous concepts tossed in. When people learn the martial arts in this fashion it is possible to learn, as I said, as much as 10 times faster. Of course it all depends on the person learning, and whether they have a basic education, and etc.

The above all being said, it was not an easy thing to figure Matrixing out. In fact, it took me over 30 years, as there was no precedent for what I was doing. The job is completed, however, and martial artists the world over need no longer be trapped by–the slowest method of martial arts training in existence.

Here’s a great article on a more brutal form of martial arts training using…a Tiger!

(classic post on martial arts training from 6-1-09)

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Why Every Martial Arts Kata is a Prayer!

Posted on June 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

Every martial arts work out or form, here’s why…

Every Martial Arts Kata, every karate or kung fu work out is a prayer!
So don’t miss a single day!

Do you know why I call every martial arts work out a prayer?
Or every form?
I may have gone into this before,
maybe not,
so here it is.

work out

Your body is a motor

 

The thing that sets you apart
from everything else in the universe is awareness.
Rocks aren’t aware.
Trees aren’t aware.
Dogs aren’t aware…of themselves.
People…
human beings…
are not just aware,
they are aware of themselves.

The ability to look inward and see that you are,
that you are thinking,
that you have the capacity for thought and love and hate and…
and everything.

And the ability to look outward,
and reason…to do…

Sort of makes you the lynchpin of the universe.

Now,
if you go to school
they have you memorize stuff
until your mind stops working
and you learn how to get along,
follow directions,
do what you’re told.

Got it?

There is a deliberate effort
(on the part of some)
to stop awareness
and turn you into a robot.

Which explains why so many people
have such a hard time with school.

So,
in this massive thrust to make people stupid,
what is the alternative?
What can make people smarter…
what can make them more aware?

And that is the key.

Well,
the basics of becoming more aware is to look at something.
So you look at a motor that isn’t working.
Can’t figure it out.
You look closer,
oh,
it’s fuel system.
But,
what part?
So you look closer.
Oh,
it’s the carburetor.
But what part?
So you look closer,
ah!
There’s a rusty spring behind that flap over there!

Bingo,
you are now aware of what the problem is.
And,
you can now grow more awareness
as you figure out how to fix it.

Now,
that is a simple car,
a very low form of awareness,
basic education in machine shop 101.

But the procedure is the same,
you look at a problem,
slice it thinner and thinner,
until you get down to what you are looking for.

You increase your awareness by how hard you look.

That is the key.

Now,
you are doing a martial arts form.
But what does it mean?
So you do it more,
look harder.
Look closer.
Oh!
That sequence of moves!
They could be used to defend against a sword strike.
Then you look closer,
Or against a club attack,
or against a knife thrust!
And you look closer.
But if I do the technique this way it is easier,
if I step sideways as I block
I can use less effort,
good idea if the guy is bigger than me.
And,
you look closer.
Oh!
When I use less energy
I’m actually supporting this chi power thing!
Oh!

Do you understand?
You look at the problem closer and closer
until you understand not just
calisthenics to make you stronger,
or techniques to protect yourself,
but into the workings of the body/mind/spirit.

You find the connections deep within
that make you unique and special.

That is an education FAR beyond a simple carburetor

That is an education into awareness.

An education that is not done in schools.

And that is the education possible
when you matrix.

Look,
a few martial arts will take you there,
but Matrixing makes ALL martial arts work,
and, incredibly important,
speeds it all up!

Matrixing takes an education that takes twenty years
and condenses it into a couple of years.

Instead of four years to Black Belt,
you do it in a handful of months.
Instead of thirty years to master enough martial arts
that have actually become a master…
a handful of years.
As little as a couple of years.
Maybe less if you already have a fair degree of experience.

So that is why I am always saying,
Every work out is a prayer.

Every work out is a chance to look into your form,
into yourself,
find out who and what and why you are.

And my thrust as a martial artist
is to make this all happen faster.

I mean,
a lot of things can get in the way in a twenty year program.
You could move,
get divorced,
get ill,
get in an accident,
all sorts of things!

So you have to hurry up!
Because if you hurry up,
likely those things won’t happen,
or,
if they do,
won’t have much impact on you.

I recommend Matrix Karate as the first course,
though I certainly don’t mind if you follow your interest.
Any matrix course is going to have an effect on you,
so I don’t care where you start,
although,
I do recommend Matrix Karate.

Simply,
it has the template for matrixing,
the actual graphs that I use.
And you can use those graphs for other arts,
and even in other aspects of your life.

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

Oinkey donkey.
Go on,
say that five times fast.
Oinkey donkey.

And while you’re doing that,
I’m outa here.
I’ve got a great work out planned.
First a little Matrix Karate,
then some pan gai noon for my shoulder,
and then we’ll see where else.

Wherever else I go,
no matter what kind of work out,
I’m going to look harder,
grow my awareness,
and become the person I want to be.

You, too!

Al

You can sign up for this newsletter at MonsterMartialArts.com.

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How to have Chi Gung Power by the Barrelful!

Posted on June 12, 2013 | 1 comment

Chi Gung power That Works!

Chi Gung power is very easy to develop in the martial arts, but it also has a tendency to be subtle. You sometimes have it, chi hung power sometimes has built up within you, but you are unaware of it. Here’s a quick primer on exactly how to build Chi Gung power. No matter if you do Karate or taekwondo or Aikido or Tai Chi Chuan, this method will work. Heck, it is nothing but a logical examination of the classical methods for building chi gung power.

First, make sure you are rooted solidly to the earth. We call this grounding in Matrix Martial Arts. The point is to focus your attention downwards in such a manner that even if somebody pushes on you (into your stance, not sideways across your stance) you can just relax and direct the energy through your body and into the ground.

chi gung power

Second, Turn the body into the martial arts movement. This can be confusing if it is necessary that a body part go in opposition to the forward motion. But the idea is to move as many body parts as possible, and at the same time, into the martial arts movement. The term for this is CBM, which means Coordinated Body Motion. This is the key, and should be put into every move you do. No matter whether you do a Karate kata, kung fu form, Taekwondo pattern, you should analyze the motion of your body for CBM.

Third, move the body into the block or strike. This is to thrust or lunge the entire weight into whatever you are doing.

Now, there is a percentage thing that must be taken into account when you do martial arts moves with these three things. How much percentage do you put into the sinking of the weight, how much into the rotation or thrust? You’ve got to figure it out for every single move in your martial arts forms and techniques.

Now, here is the glory, these three things will create Chi Gung power by themselves. But, when you put all three together, when you work this concept called CBM, Coordinated Body Motion, into your technique, and combine all three concepts, then you are going to have HUMUNGOUS amounts of chi hung power start to build. Guaranteed, it will drip off your hands, glow from your body, and permeate the very air about you.

People, when you do this Chi Gung practice for any extent of time, will start to see that you are a brighter, happier person, and they will respond to the chi hung glow coming off you. They may not even see it, but they will respond to it.

But the real joy, as far as this martial artist is concerned, is that your Martial Arts will glow like the dickens. Your Martial Arts will become filled with Chi Gung power that will make your techniques hard to beat!

Here’s a great piece of writing called Chi Energy Defined. You can also look at the book  on generating Qigong Power, it is called Matrixing Chi and it is at Monster Martial Arts.

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Posted in aikido, goju ryu, isshin ryu, karate, kung fu, shaolin, shito ryu, shotokan, taekwondo, uechi ryu, wado ryu, wing chun

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Shaolin Kung Fu, from Choy Lee Fut to the Butterfly

Posted on June 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

Shaolin Kung Fu Spreads a New Set of Wings!

Shaolin Kung Fu is one of the oldest of the Martial Arts. It was started over two thousand years ago, endured through many changes, and is still important and powerful. The question we ask here is: can anything new be added to Shaolin Kung Fu?

The original Shaolin Kung Fu was started during the time of Buddha. Buddha came to the Shaolin Temple and began to instruct the Shaolin Monks in sacred texts. Unfortunately, the monks were of weak constitution. They fell asleep, they were easy targets for bandits, they just couldn’t cut it.

shaolin kung fu

Emblem of the Shaolin Butterfly

Buddha began instructing the monks in traditional exercises to help strengthen them. These were chi building exercises, and the things he was teaching them bears strong resemblance to martial arts drills. Thus, the exercises slowly transformed into forms and techniques that has come to be known as Shaolin Kung Fu. The bad guys in the area around the Shaolin Temple began to finding that the monks were no longer easy targets,and  began to depart the area.

Years passed, and Shaolin endured through many changes. Emperors came and emperors went, but Shaolin lasted, and people who learned the traditional Shaolin Kung Fu lessons came to be in great demand. They would leave the temple and teach the peasants how to protect themselves, train bodyguards how to fend off bandits, and even became involved in training warriors for war.

At last, the emperor had had enough, these Shaolin monks were causing too much trouble, and he ordered the temple destroyed.

Five monks managed to escape the destruction of the temple, and they began to teach martial arts on a broader level. Some of the styles that came about as a result of these monks were Northern Shaolin, Hung Gar, Wing Chun, and so on.

That brings us to the modern era, and the condition of modern Shaolin Kung Fu. While the art is alive and well in some areas, under the hands of dedicated instructors, all too often it has been transformed into tournament arts, flowery systems that mean little, and, of course, the Wu shu of the PRC, which is not true to the original Shaolin Kung Fu. This kung fu was made up by physical education coaches after the Great Revolution, and spread for the glory of the state; not because of a desire for understanding the spiritual teachings originally taught at the Shaolin Temple.

One of the modern systems of Shaolin, a trim and tight system that yet embraces the majority of the original teachings, is the Shaolin Butterfly. This martial art holds to the original principles, such as animal modes of fighting like the tiger, the dragon, the crane, and so on.

It is started with a study of six basic steps, which steps take on a twining, mixing personality, and which are then done upon standing bricks. Thus, the student has to keep balance, all while learning how to kick and strike, how to cling to an attacker, how to entrap and take down with a variety of locks and throws.

There is a science to this approach, a blessing of western culture, that augments the eastern origins, yet enables the student to learn much faster.

That is the history of Shaolin Kung Fu to present times, and while it is a rich history, it manages to sidestep the corruption of art due to influences such as tournaments, commercial interests, and so on.

Here’s a good bit of writing on Shaolin Kung Fu. If you would like to actually take lessons in this incredible art, check out the course at Monster Martial Arts.

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Pa Kua Chang and Entering Insanity to Realize Sanity

Posted on June 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

Pa Kua Chang Makes People Sane!

Pa Kua Chang, or Bagua Zhang as some describe it, is a peculiar martial art where in one participatings in walking the circle till one locates the reality of one self.

Like a pooch chasing his tale till he discovers Buddha.

Like Black Sambo converting leopards into … liquid gold.

Like what, exactly, the race of man racing to?

pa kua chang walking the circle

Dong Hai Chuan was a likable fellow with a fascination for martial arts. He engaged in Shaolin Kung Fu, so the tale goes, and reached a point where he was so great he took to the road and started roaming, seeking instructors able to instruct him more.

His search led him throughout the Wudan Mountains of rural China, back where the mystic sanctuaries stood, and legends had it that old understanding existed in pure design. His search led him to a rare religious sect whose specialists thought that one could certainly uncover the reality of the universe by … walking the circle.

So Dong walked the circle, day in day out, in search of his divine nature. For 9 years he walked the circle, and one might well picture the taunts of passersby.

“Examine the old man chasing his shadow!”

“Hey buddy! Place it on a straight line and you could get somewhere!”

“Har de har har!”

Yet, rain or shine, under blazing sunlight and during freezing snow, Dong carried on his trek, looking for the reality of himself.

At last, some 9 years into his quest, he spoke about to the monks of the mysterious sect that … wasn’t it odd that … the tree he was walking around appeared to be chasing him? That the tree in fact appeared to bending over?

Was the tree bending over? Or was something in his mind bending over? Or was something in his mind simply coming to be … unbent?

The monks eyed one other, and one delicately put forward, “An additional 2 years.”

So on went Dong, round and round, circle after circle, nose after tail. And probably this is where he integrated his Shaolin with the never-ending walking of the circle. Maybe this is where the circle came to be imbued with the art of violence, and came to be not simply a repository of religious fanaticism. Probably this is where the creative mixture of self with the fanatical seeking of God comes to be … whatever it comes to be.

Did Dong at last manage to catch the reality of himself?

No reference of ‘the bolt out of the blue’ striking the formerly young lad is made in the histories. Just what is recognized, nevertheless, is that he accomplished a high degree of skills, that he was so profound at circle walking that he had the ability to defeat the Emperor’s bodyguards, and come to be primary teacher of that celebrated ‘clan.’ And there are tales of him fading away under the attacking hand, of tying up mighty warriors in fragile knots merely to view them fall, of contacting his followers even after demise.

Bolt out of the blue or skills, this author thinks that skills is the more valued. However, that stated, we visit the heart of the fable.

We understand not whether Dong discovered himself, however we do understand that an individual who walks in a circle is insane. Such purposeless endeavor, particularly in this godless earth, is the heart of insanity. Yet … is insanity not just a quality that others can not discover? Does not one have to go ‘in’ sane to discover real sanity?

The guy who pounds his palm upon a stone, hour after hour, day in day out, year after year … does he make solid the hand? Or at last divine that the universe genuinely is created of space?

That young child who will come to be old doing his kung fu forms, does he battle hordes and legions in his mind? Or does he clear his mind of all hordes and legends?

That acorn … will it actually come to be an oak?

The acorn could fall down a deserted gopher hole, and it may root into fertile ground … however it is time that makes the mighty oak, and the unlimited and insane urge to grub into the ground … merely to discover the sky.

We are all grubs … however have we discovered the earth? Will we see the heavens?

Trust Dong Hai Chuan for the answer to that one, yet only ask if you are walking the circle, if you are pursuing yourself with Pa Kua Chang, round and round, year after year, breath after breath.

The writer walked the circle, did Pa Kua Chang for 2 years, till individuals started to bend over, lightening filled his legs, and energy stripes barber poled out his arms … you can easily discover his Pa Kua Chang at Monster Martial Arts. Here is a great course called Butterfly Pa Kua.

 

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Posted in aikido, hsing i, hung gar, nei jia quan, pa kua chang, tai chi chuan, Uncategorized

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To Mix the Martial Arts, or Not!

Posted on May 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

The question, of whether to mix the martial arts is a rather nifty one, but it doesn’t make sense, sort of reveals that the asker doesn’t really know what the martial arts are.

The fact is, whether you study kung fu or kenpo, aikido or escrima, every martial art that is in existence is a put together, a mix of jujitsu or shaolin or whatever.

martial arts

Can you mix martial arts like these? Monster Martial Arts did!


Every one of those ‘ancient’ disciplines is a mix. I quoted ‘ancient’ becuase most martial arts are not ancient at all.

Kenpo was invented (put together from other arts) by Ed Parker some fifty years ago. That’s not long.

Karate is a mix of kung fu styles.

Escrima is a trade off between tribes in the Filipines, and so on.

Simple, every art is a conglomeration and collaboration of other arts.

The latest mixes are quite interesting. They are the ones that pop up on the net. You know the ones I mean, ‘I beat Eight Ninjas Using a Secret Technique Taught to Me by Himalayan Nuns!’

And the guy who is selling this mess puts together a sampling of techniques, ties them together with a loose vrsion of a scientific theory, and calls it by a pseudo scientific name. Something like, Minderg Fighting concepts. Or, Psychop Blitzes.’ Something that sounds scientific, but is just rehashed theory, ancient languages translated into gobbledegook designed to befuddle any who ask.

And those who don’t ask are impressed (they paid money, they have to be impressed, right?) and they tell their friends, and somewhere in there somebody gets a bright idea, starts teaching, and says he has founded a new system.

Truth, sometimes there is a good system. Heck, if somebody puts in the hard work, distills the crapola, he’s going to find the grain of knowledge that started the crapola on its journey.

Well, that’s about all I’ve got to say.

In spite of all the bushwah out there, one should study the various systems, and he should mix martial arts until they make sense, and the best system I have seen is the Matrix Karate system by Al Case…that’s one that works, and actually is scientific!

 

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