World Of Swords

Now it could be Kung Fu Lessons, or Karate Instruction, or Kenpo online, or any number of beasts, but it is all the same. It could be the backs of comic books or late night infomercials, but you know what I mean. You can have the power to destroy eight skinhead neo-nazis with a single secret technique that has never been seen before!

Now, the weird thing is, some of these things you see on the web actually have worth. Some of them are the product of dedicated martial arts senseis. The sad truth, however, it is still a 'buyer beware' game out there.

The plot line for these productions is pretty predictable. First build some empathy with the crowd. Since everybody grew up and encountered bullies, telling the crowd that you used to be picked on by the bullies is a pretty safe bet.

Now, you've put the idea of being picked on in the rube's head, the second step is to help him solve this problem. You've got to convince him that if he studies your style or gimmick he will be capable of fighting back. This magic formula, if you think about it, is at the heart of every kung fu movie, from Gorden Lui to the Karate Kid, ever made.

Now, except for the final step, actually taking the bucks, you've basically got it figured out. It is all that quick and easy. Convince him he has a problem, give him the solution, take his dollars. Or, if you want to define it in other terms, suspend his reality, give him a fantasy, take his hard earned moola.

Now, let's be honest, some products should be sold, and some should be avoided like smelly, day old garbage, and the way to figure out the difference is easy. If the pitch follows a certain format, you might want to avoid it. A guy who follows an exact scriptline has done his research as to what works, and he is trying to build his bankroll on your back.

The better alternative is the guy who doesn't follow a script, but who actually talks to you. It is not a selling format, but a voice that has substance and belief. It is a guy who believes in what he is practicing, and is selling out of compassion and love for what he does.

This is not to say that there isn't sometimes some good stuff in some of the Snake Oil Kung Fu Lessons, or Karate Instruction, or Kenpo Online, or whatever. Be it prison fighting or ghetto blasting, or secret spetznatz techniques taught in secret by an ancient voodoo witch doctor...there could very well be some juicy stuff, or even a new way of understanding things. Sometimes, you know, Snake Oil delivers the goods!

You won't find Snake Oil Kung Fu Lessons at the Monster. Mouse to Monster Martial Arts and learn the real science behind the Martial Arts.

It is commonly held that Gichin Funakoshi is the father of modern Karate. Well, he could be considered such, except that something odd happened a century ago, that puts forth a slightly different idea. We've got to give him credit for sharing karate, but was his karate the true art?

I know what I write here is not going to be what a lot of people want to hear, there will be a few people who are going to argue and oppose me. However, the history that I am about to relay did occur, it is the real story. That said, please know that I do respect Gichin Funakoshi, one cannot underestimate his importance.

In turn of the century, last century, Japan, people, same as people all over, loved the human cockfight. It wasn't uncommon for people to gather to watch gladiatorial contests between different arts and artists. Certain of these gladiators even offered open challenges to the audience, step up if you think you can beat me.

One night a Russian strongman threw down the gauntlet to the Japanese audience. One can imagine the outraged audience, and the surprise when a frumpy, old Okinawan stepped up to the ring and prepared to fight. The year was'21, and Karate was about to become famous.

Motobu Chōki was 52 years old when he stepped into the ring that night. He had studied with virtually every Okinawan Karate master in Okinawa, and he had, when he was young and impetuous, honed his art in the violent red light districts of his island home. This history, and a daily regimen of makiwara, and perhaps the hint of royal blood and pride in his veins, served him in good stead.

One punch later, a punch almost too fast to be seen, Motobu climbed out of the ring, the Russian strongman lay sprawled and snoozing the fist snooze. Reporters went wild, wrote their stories, and submitted them to the editors. Editors went wild, and, since they didn't have any photos of Motobu, but they did have a picture of a guy doing karate, they popped in the wrong picture.

So Gichin Funakoshi, a mild school teacher from Okinawa, got credit for the violent knock out and ultimate karate prowess of Motobu Choki. And Motobu, though he did teach karate and have an effect, because he wasn't fluent in the japanese language, and because the media did such a bang up job of reporting, got no credit. And Funakoshi is credited with spreading Karate to the world, yet, it wouldn't have happened without Motobu's one punch one kill competence and attitude.

Now, you have to ask yourself who has the true art, a school teacher who benefited from the wrong picture, or a rough cob who walked the walk. Yes, Funakoshi's karate is excellent, and generations of karateka have contributed to the art. However, there is still that one incident, provided by a man who could do the one punch one kill technique, which presents a different argument for who had the True Art.

Al Case has analyzed traditional Karate for 4O+ years. He has written hundreds of articles for the magazines, and had his own column in Inside Karate. He is the originator of Matrixing Technology, and you can argue with him, pr perhsp pick up a free ebook, at Monster Martial Arts

Whap, bam and yippee! We eye the big screen, and we see kung fu flips all over the place in the Matrix movies and we watch pai mai sword standing and grown up girls eye gouging in Kill Bill and we know we have seen the real masters! Smell the coffee, dude, that's a a bunch of actors, and what the real masters have done would put those cinema heroes to shame.

Gichin Funakoshi is considered a pivotal karate master. He brought karate to Japan, and thence to the world. If that isn't considered feat enough, why don't you go stand on a rooftop during a hurricane and hold a sheet of plywood?

That's right, to make his stance totally immovable in every way, he battled the very elements, and word has it he never sailed off to Oz. And, if you want one of the older masters, try Sokon Matsumuri, an Imperial bodyguard of old Okinawa, who made a bull run away just by giving the bull a serious stare. The trick was that he went out to the bullpen during the dark hours and jabbed a pin smack in the middle of that old bulls nose!

Of course you may not think the intelligence to figure out how to best a bull without bashing him is not much of a deal. So try something that doesn't take much intelligence, like grabbing the beams of a ceiling, not hooking the fingers over, but just grabbing them, and hand walking across the ceiling. This is something that people were doing in old Okinawa just for kicks!

My favorite old karate master is Mas Oyama. Mas had this little trick of chopping the horns off bulls, and he ended up killing three of the poor brutes. Now, that was a while ago, and we certainly don't want to talk about killing poor animals, but the muscle, the intelligence, the brute strength, and the sheer artism required to kill a bull with your bare hands! I wouldn't try it if I were you.

Okay, you've heard enough of the tales, so let me give you a simple trick to do, and you can start being your own legend making master of Karate. Learn a karate form, something like Bassai would be great, but you might want to start off with a simpler form like Pinan One. Now, take the garden hose and run it for an hour on that bare patch of earth in the backyard.

Now, the ground is wet and soft and mushy and messy. So it is time to practice that karate form you just learned, heh heh. Whap, bam and Yippee!

Your feet go over your butt and your face plants in the mud. Up on your feet you lazy good for nothing! Did you think the Karate masters of the legends would whine just because they got a little mud on their face?

Al Case has studied Karate, and shaolin and a lot of other arts, for 40 years. A writer for the mags since'81, he is the originator of Matrix Martial Arts. You can find out about his training methods, and even get a free ebook at Monster Martial Arts!