Category Archives: martial arts

How Not to Be A Paper Tiger

How to Avoid Being a Paper Tiger

A Paper Tiger is a person who has a certificate and no real knowledge.

To be precise, it is a person who has bought a certificate, or otherwise convinced some fellow to give him one, and he can’t really do the things listed on the certificate.

We used to call this idea, of bought certificates instead of earned, as ‘Paper mills.’ Some guy would just charge money and send paper, and it was just a money making scheme.

Paper tiger is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zh?l?oh? (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???), meaning something that seems as threatening as a tiger, but does not withstand challenge.

A Paper tiger is something that seems as threatening as a tiger, but does not withstand challenge.


And, it was pretty cruel, because it misrepresented the martial arts, and it misrepresented the individual with the cert in hand.

Now, I don’t particularly like the notion of Paper Tigers. So let me define what is happening here, and what I decided to do about it.

Some fellow goes to a martial arts school, then stops. Maybe he should stop, maybe he shouldn’t, but he is still left halfway through the ranks, he still wants what he was working for, he still wants to earn his black belt.

Or, even worse, a fellow that never went to a martial art school, but still wants the diploma.

Sometimes these fellows look for the short cut.

Sometimes the head rationalization is massive.

‘Oh, I knew what he (the instructor) was talking about.’ Or, ‘I can fight good, I deserve it.’ Or, ‘well, I’ve been practicing, sort of, so I’m at that rank.’

Do you see all the potential variations here?

But the fellow hasn’t done the work!

Now, I’ll be honest, there will always be people who manage to get away with this. Sometimes they’ll just print up their own certificates.

But I want my signature to mean something when I put it on a certificate. So I did several things.

One thing I did was eliminate ‘poser’ techniques from my courses. These are techniques where the attacker has to wait, to pose, while the defender makes the technique work.

Another is to align the techniques so they are more logical. This makes them easier to learn and make work.

And, then there is video. I can tell when a person is faking it. I can spot even a mental hesitation and ‘think’ in the middle of the form.

And it is easy to see when a technique isn’t working.

And, because of The Master Instructor Course, I can give a person spot on instruction that will help him make it work.

I don’t care if a person comes to me and isn’t quite competent, I only care if I can’t make him competent. I just want to make him into a real tiger!

So by the structure of my courses, and video testing, and the VERY high worth of the art I am teaching, I’ve had good results, and, as far as I know, no Paper Tigers.

See, the thing is this, let’s say a guy comes to me with head rationalizations, and he wants a certificate…when he sees the logic, when the error is pointed out without making him feel bad, then the Paper Tiger becomes…a Tiger.

That’s what I want, martial artists who are real tigers, and, truth, that’s what the people who sign up for courses want. They WANT to be real martial artists. And it is my duty to get them there.

The reason I tell you this is so that when you sign up for the Kang Duk Won Karate Course, the Best Online Karate Course in the World, you will know that you are in good hands.

This has been a page about making a real tiger out of a paper tiger.

How Not to Be A Paper Tiger

How to Avoid Being a Paper Tiger

Paper tiger is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zh?l?oh? (simplified Chinese: ???; traditional Chinese: ???), meaning something that seems as threatening as a tiger, but does not withstand challenge.

A Paper tiger is something that seems as threatening as a tiger, but does not withstand challenge.

A Paper Tiger is a person who has a certificate and no real knowledge.

To be precise, it is a person who has bought a certificate, or otherwise convinced some fellow to give him one, and he can’t really do the things listed on the certificate.

We used to call this idea, of bought certificates instead of earned, as ‘Paper mills.’ Some guy would just charge money and send paper, and it was just a money making scheme. Continue reading

Differences BetweenTraditional Karate and the Kang Duk Won

Traditional Karate vs Kang Duk Won

traditional karateNow, there are quite a few differences between traditional Karate and the Kang Duk Won, and I could go through the various stances and point to various things having to do with structural alignment and the correct way to achieve it. But that is included in ‘The Master Instructor Course,’ and I would rather point to a single instance that may be more significant. Continue reading

$2 Karate Lessons? You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me!

I Got Your Karate Lessons Right Here…Only $2!

How much Karate can you learn for $2? Eh?

Well, maybe a lot, especially if you have $2 to spend on the Best Online Karate Lessons in the World.

This Karate Lessons are actually a course, and it takes a person right from white belt through black belt.

Karate Lessons

This guy hasn’t heard!


The question is…is it worth the money.

Consider the contents of the first of the karate lessons, the white belt to orange belt level. On that lesson you get a check list to go through. The checklist is thorough.

You get a section on how to do warm ups.

You get a link to a section on Karate basics, all done in video.

You get advice on how to do Martial Arts Katas and techniques.

You get a part on how to do the first Karate Kata, or form.

You get a section on how to do the applications so they will REALLY work.

And, you get a BONUS section on how to translate the movements into the methods used by the original founders of the art. This BONUS section itself is worth gold! It takes you back to how and why Karate was invented, and what the original moves had to have been.

And, the thing makes so much sense that you can’t argue!

And, even if you are slow to think and do wish to argue, you can’t stop thinking about this totally original take on what Karate is!

Now, with this much quantity, and, to be honest, this much quality, why is the price so low?

Because there are a lot of people out there who a) believe you can’t trust the net, b) believe that you can’t learn the martial arts off the internet, c) that the thing is a scam!

But who can argue if it only costs two bucks to find out?

The good news is that this lesson isn’t a ‘cheapie’ to entice to learn and then gouge, it is representative of a sequence of prices that are UNBELIEVABLE!

And, the ulterior motive here?

To teach people good, solid Karate. To make them think, to realize, to get strong and powerful.

To make the weak strong, and the bullies into non-bullies.

And, who knows, you might get to loving this spectacular art so much you order other courses!

Of course, it’ll cost you $2 to find out.

Al Case has near 50 years of Martial Arts experience, and was a writer for the Martial Arts Magazines. This course can be found at $2 Karate Lessons!

The Best Online Karate Course in the World!

Here’s a Course on Original Karate!

Oinkey Donkey
slop the hogs and shave the chicken,
I have something GRR-REAT for you!
I set up a website specifically for taking a person through Karate.

best karate courseNow,
if you have Temple Karate
or the Kang Duk Won (from Evolution of an Art)
Then you have the working pieces of this site.

I simply took Temple and Kang Duk Won,
broke them down into lesson format,
added check lists
articles,
and included various other items.
So,
buyer beware,
I don’t want to get caught out
accused of just ‘re-packaging.
So I am telling you now,
it is repackaging.

You might want to get it anyway,
because it is in lesson format.

Now,
you go through the belt levels
one belt at a time.
First belt only costs…
$2!

Then you add a dollar for each level.
You download the check list,
you read the material and watch the videos,
and you work out.

Now,
this thing is complete with original drills and exercises.
In fact,
you get some pretty AWESOME bonuses!
As you go through the course
each belt level will have a bonus.
For instance,
the Imperial Karate form applications are on each of the first three levels.
Other BONUSES include…
The Punch (with Kick and Candle)
The Master’s Handbook
Amazing Fighting Drills
The Kang Duk Won

And,
at the end of the course,
free test for Black Belt!

Now,
there are all sorts of other little things,
so you should just check out the site,
see what’s what.

And,
let me tell you,
this price is ONLY going to be for a while.

I am just taking a short time to check all links,
make sure all paypal buttons work,
tweak the text and whatever,
get some feedback and wins,
and then the price goes up.
I don’t know if I’ll go to two bucks every level, or five,
or some other scheme.
But it will go up to about $120 for the whole thing,
which is what the course and all the BONUSES add up to.

And,
as stated,
the course is Kang Duk Won.
This is the original Pre-Funakoshi,
not slanted for tournaments,
not slanted for commercial dojos (McDojos)
not arranged for school children,
Karate!

Do it the way I list on the check lists,
follow all directions,
and you will be visiting Kang Duk Won Karate
the way it was taught to me almost fifty years ago,
just a couple of teachers removed from the original Karate
that existed before Funakoshi.

So,
that is the big announcement.
Head on over and check it out,
and remember,
when the prices go up,
they go up for everything,
no matter where you are on the course,
so…
don’t waste time.
Dedicate yourself.
Take advantage of…
The Best Online Karate Course in the World!

Here’s the URL…

 http://kangdukwon.com/introduction/

So I’ll tell you more about this later,
but,
right now,
I have to get to work and get this site on the map.

So,
have a great work out!
And I’ll see you over there.

Al

Using a Gun Technique in Karate vs Gun Fight!

Karate vs Gun and your Favorite Gun Technique!

I’ve read a lot of stuff about using Karate gun techniques in a karate vs gun fight. Here are some things to think about.

There are three ‘gun shooting’ distances.

karate vs gun

My kind of girl!

 

The Flashsight Picture method, wherein you pull and shoot without aiming, but just aim in the direction of the looming mass of a close target.

Point Shooting, where you draw and point the finger. This is for mid range targets.

Aimed Shooting, where you take aim and squeeze (don’t pull) the trigger.

Obviously, which method you use is going to depend on how close your target is.

Now, if an idiot has a gun jammed up against your skull, you are in trouble, but this is the second best place to work a karate gun technique whatever martial art you study.

Yes, the gun might go off from the pressure of your moving skull as you roll out from under the barrel. But, what you gonna do?

Well, best thing, in this karate vs gun confrontation, is to give him your money and don’t try any karate technique. But, if the gunman is obviously deranged and you know something is going to happen, you’ll be glad you practiced that gun disarm technique in that karate class.

Now, best distance is handshake away. This means no pressure of the body part on the gun, and you can do a slap before he pulls the trigger if you really did practice the technique in that Karate seminar. This, incidentally, might be equated with the Flashsight picture method. If he is close enough to shake hands, then the body is large enough to shoot without aiming, but just by pull and shoot.

Third best distance in this karate vs gun thing is going to be the Point shooting. For point shooting to be effective the range is going to be somewhere between six and twenty feet. Mind you, these distances are estimates, and will change according to the shakiness of the gunman’s hand. So, you’ve got to rush twenty feet. If he hasn’t drawn his weapon, you might make it. An interesting exercise to do in your Karate class is to have somebody rush 20 feet and time them. Have them rush somebody pulling a rubber gun, see if they can close the distance before the gunman says, ‘bang!’

The fourth best distance isn’t a best distance, but a worst distance for karate vs gun. Over twenty feet the guy usually will have time to draw and aim before you can close the distance and do any kind of martial arts technique.

Now, disclaimers.

First, give him your durned money. Who cares? He’ll get his sometime!

Second, never practice these karate vs gun tricks (closing distances, disarms) with a real gun. Brandon Lee thought the prop gun was unloaded, and guess what? No more Brandon!

Third, don’t take anything I say here for solid fact…test these distances for yourself.

Fourth, practice that gun disarm technique in Karate class. Practice, practice, practice. Even if you never use it, you might use those motor skills, that sense of timing, in other areas.

Here’s a great article, called Apprehending the Scissorsman, on the time I saw the police take on a man trying to stab a boy with scissors.

If you want the real skinny on using weapons, not just the karate vs gun situation, but ANY weapons, trot on over to the Blinding Steel course at Monster Martial Arts.

 

 

The Best Kicking Bag for a Heavy Bag Workout

Heavy Bag Workouts are the Way to Go!

One of the most fun things you can do, be it martial arts, kickboxing, or just plain on your own conditioning, is a heavy bag workout.

There is nothing like setting, and whomping that sucker with all your might! Whether you do a heavy bag workout for beginners, women, for weight loss or whatever, there is a satisfaction that comes with watching that bad boy fly to the ceiling!

heavy bag workout

Heavy Bag workouts build real power!


Now, the trick is to have the best bag you can. You have to select a weight that is right for you, and a texture, and so on.

Hard core martial artists will claim that you have to kick something as heavy as an attacker, maybe a couple hundred pounds. The problem is that the bag doesn’t have enough give for you, especially in the beginning. Simply, you kick it, and it doesn’t move that much, and you don’t get satisfaction, and the muscles don’t get that feeling of having pushed something.

Now, we don’t want a speed bag, like boxers use. That’s too light, and the muscles don’t get the feel of resistance necessary for weightlifting.

And it is weightlifting, be it fast and violent, and you need to find the exact weight that will work for you.

A 70 pound bag is perfect. It has give, and it weighs enough that it will fly away, but still last you for a while as your muscles get stronger and stronger.

The next step would be a hundred pound kicking bag. After that, you play it by ear, but a 20 to 25 pound increase is about all you want at one time.

No, it doesn’t weigh as much as an opponent, but you need to raise the level of resistance in accordance with how your body grows, not form an unworkable ideal right off the bat.

Now, a couple of interesting facts, and then I will tell you where I get my kicking bags.

Before he died, Bruce Lee ordered a bag that was 300 or 400 pounds. He weighed 135 pounds, and I have no idea how much fly he was expecting to get out of that bag, but…man! If anybody could do it, it was Bruce.

And, did you know that kicking bags are stuffed with clothes? True. I think a lot of them have furniture filling, but it was clothes for years for many.

And, the way they fill heavy bags is with baseball bats. They just have a couple of guys pile drive the end of the bat into the top of the bag until everything is squooshed down, weighs the right amount, and doesn’t have any…edges.

Anyway, think about what I said here, before you buy anything for your heavy bag workout.

And, if you want to know how I pack my personal bags – yes, I do it all myself – then go to cheap punching bag. The story of how I discovered my method, and the things I went through…it’s quite interesting, and it will help you on your journey to the best heavy bag workout you can have. Pick up some free martial arts books while you’re there.

The Best Kicking Bag for a Heavy Bag Workout

Heavy Bag Workouts are the Way to Go!

One of the most fun things you can do, be it martial arts, kickboxing, or just plain on your own conditioning, is a heavy bag workout.

There is nothing like setting, and whomping that sucker with all your might! Whether you do a heavy bag workout for beginners, women, for weight loss or whatever, there is a satisfaction that comes with watching that bad boy fly to the ceiling!

heavy bag workout

Heavy Bag workouts build real power!


Now, the trick is to have the best bag you can. You have to select a weight that is right for you, and a texture, and so on.

Hard core martial artists will claim that you have to kick something as heavy as an attacker, maybe a couple hundred pounds. The problem is that the bag doesn’t have enough give for you, especially in the beginning. Simply, you kick it, and it doesn’t move that much, and you don’t get satisfaction, and the muscles don’t get that feeling of having pushed something.

Now, we don’t want a speed bag, like boxers use. That’s too light, and the muscles don’t get the feel of resistance necessary for weightlifting.

And it is weightlifting, be it fast and violent, and you need to find the exact weight that will work for you.

A 70 pound bag is perfect. It has give, and it weighs enough that it will fly away, but still last you for a while as your muscles get stronger and stronger.

The next step would be a hundred pound kicking bag. After that, you play it by ear, but a 20 to 25 pound increase is about all you want at one time.

No, it doesn’t weigh as much as an opponent, but you need to raise the level of resistance in accordance with how your body grows, not form an unworkable ideal right off the bat.

Now, a couple of interesting facts, and then I will tell you where I get my kicking bags.

Before he died, Bruce Lee ordered a bag that was 300 or 400 pounds. He weighed 135 pounds, and I have no idea how much fly he was expecting to get out of that bag, but…man! If anybody could do it, it was Bruce.

And, did you know that kicking bags are stuffed with clothes? True. I think a lot of them have furniture filling, but it was clothes for years for many.

And, the way they fill heavy bags is with baseball bats. They just have a couple of guys pile drive the end of the bat into the top of the bag until everything is squooshed down, weighs the right amount, and doesn’t have any…edges.

Anyway, think about what I said here, before you buy anything for your heavy bag workout.

And, if you want to know how I pack my personal bags – yes, I do it all myself – then go to cheap punching bag. The story of how I discovered my method, and the things I went through…it’s quite interesting, and it will help you on your journey to the best heavy bag workout you can have. Pick up some free martial arts books while you’re there.

Teaching Martial Artists and the Inertia of Ignorance

The only thing that stops you from learning is…you

I should say the odd thing about teaching people, not just teaching martial artists. But the fact is…people refuse to accept information.

Let’s say you’re teaching Karate to some fellow. You can say something like ‘twisting the wrist on impact is dangerous. The joint is unstable and you are adding weight to it.’

teaching martial arts

Can you overcome ‘Inertia of ignorance’ and actually learn Martial Arts?


Now, this is a big thing, so many systems use the twisting wrist to teach newbies. But, they don’t teach the newbies why, or how to transition the technique to a more stable punch.

You see, the wrist is unstable, but it teaches people how to focus. Once they learn how to focus their strikes, they need to learn how to snap a vertical punch, or some other variation. But when you tell them that, they go into protest mode.

They shake their head, and continue doing what they are doing, and it is as if you never spoke.

It’s not the martial arts, it’s deeper, it goes to the person’s ability to listen, to actually process information.

That is, incidentally, why the martial arts are so important. Somebody disagrees, and you can show them on the mat. You can make them listen.

But, that doesn’t cure the person of not listening. Even somebody who has studied the martial arts for years has this problem. Here is the EXACT thing they think when you tell them something.

‘Oh, we have that in our system.’

They don’t say it, they just get this smug look on their face. But the truth is this: yes, they had it in their system, every system has everything, if you look far enough, BUT…they were not aware of it before you said it.

This problem, incidentally, I have given a name…‘The Inertia of Ignorance.’

Simply, people hang on to their ignorance. They protect it; they are not willing to admit it because, darn it, they think it will make them look stupid!

But holding on to your ignorance is what is stupid. If you don’t admit your were ignorant of something, then you can’t learn: your protection of your image as somebody who knows something stops you from learning something.

Do you understand?

Now, go ahead and read Monster Martial Arts. Hopefully, what you have read here has removed you from that attitude, and opened your skull to the input of new information. Because, I guarantee…the stuff you read on Monster, this Matrixing concept, has never been seen before. It is brand new material, not done by Bruce Lee, nor written down in Ninja scrolls, not anything.

Brand New, and that makes it very difficult for people who are more concerned with their image of worldliness than their desire to learn martial arts.

Teaching Martial Artists and the Inertia of Ignorance

The only thing that stops you from learning is…you

I should say the odd thing about teaching people, not just teaching martial artists. But the fact is…people refuse to accept information.

Let’s say you’re teaching Karate to some fellow. You can say something like ‘twisting the wrist on impact is dangerous. The joint is unstable and you are adding weight to it.’

teaching martial arts

Can you overcome ‘Inertia of ignorance’ and actually learn Martial Arts?


Now, this is a big thing, so many systems use the twisting wrist to teach newbies. But, they don’t teach the newbies why, or how to transition the technique to a more stable punch.

You see, the wrist is unstable, but it teaches people how to focus. Once they learn how to focus their strikes, they need to learn how to snap a vertical punch, or some other variation. But when you tell them that, they go into protest mode.

They shake their head, and continue doing what they are doing, and it is as if you never spoke.

It’s not the martial arts, it’s deeper, it goes to the person’s ability to listen, to actually process information.

That is, incidentally, why the martial arts are so important. Somebody disagrees, and you can show them on the mat. You can make them listen.

But, that doesn’t cure the person of not listening. Even somebody who has studied the martial arts for years has this problem. Here is the EXACT thing they think when you tell them something.

‘Oh, we have that in our system.’

They don’t say it, they just get this smug look on their face. But the truth is this: yes, they had it in their system, every system has everything, if you look far enough, BUT…they were not aware of it before you said it.

This problem, incidentally, I have given a name…‘The Inertia of Ignorance.’

Simply, people hang on to their ignorance. They protect it; they are not willing to admit it because, darn it, they think it will make them look stupid!

But holding on to your ignorance is what is stupid. If you don’t admit your were ignorant of something, then you can’t learn: your protection of your image as somebody who knows something stops you from learning something.

Do you understand?

Now, go ahead and read Monster Martial Arts. Hopefully, what you have read here has removed you from that attitude, and opened your skull to the input of new information. Because, I guarantee…the stuff you read on Monster, this Matrixing concept, has never been seen before. It is brand new material, not done by Bruce Lee, nor written down in Ninja scrolls, not anything.

Brand New, and that makes it very difficult for people who are more concerned with their image of worldliness than their desire to learn martial arts.