World Of Swords

When you learn real martial arts fighting, there are certain truths about how to survive. One of the truths is that the human mental apparatus doesn't usually work well when it is getting bashed, and survival mode kicks in. Fighters who survive by the amount of adrenaline kicked in would have you believe that this is the point of it all, but it is not, it is the worst thing that could happen.

As a species we don't have claws, or jaws, or quills, or smells, or any particular characteristic that would help us survive, except the mind. It is the mind that creates invention, it is the mind that adapts to survive. It is this thing called a mind that we must enhance if we are to reach our full potential as humans, and as humans on the fighting level.

One must control fighting distances, by controlling distances we have choice as to what weapon we can use. The way to do this is to attach a string from your belt to his, and practice moving so that the string stays stretched but never breaks. Now, practice moving in this manner, and within a short time your body will move in concert with the other persons body because it likes the fact of harmony.

We must control the fact of the leg movements. The best leg positioning is when the legs are in a matching stance, which is to say his right leg is forward and so is yours, the second best position is when you are in an opposing stance, which is to say his right leg is forward, and your left leg is forward. The way to train yourself to always have matching stance is merely to walk with the string, and striving to always stay in a matching stance.

Third, we must control the movement of the arms, again, in a matching or opposing mode. No string needed here, but you do have to be aware of distance, you have to match your partners arms as he comes in. The way to do this is merely to assume a matching stance and practice matching your arm motions to his.

We must analyze movement and positioning and discover what techniques work best for matching and for opposing. Yes, you want to have a matching stance, but whatever happens, you should be able to train yourself to work from within the situation. The trick is in a basic matrixing principle, to realize that whether you are in a matching or opposing mode, your arm will be either inside or outside of his, and you must find that technique that your positioning can grow into.

We must make everything work together. This would appear difficult, except that if you have worked on the individual exercises in this article, then the whole thing comes together rather intuitively. The body, you see, even in the middle of combat, likes to work as a well oiled unit with a plan.

Control distance, control positioning through the stance, control arms through inside or outside, this is simple stuff, but entirely overlooked by todays martial artists. But if you do understand what I have said here, then you will move to the head of the pack, for you are putting the mind, and awareness and the ability to think, into combat. Whether you study kenpo or tae kwon do, Aikido or Arnis, Uechi or Krav Maga, the truths in this article, the hint of matrix martial arts that I have given you, will make you a better fighter...an immensely better fighter!

Al Case has studied martial arts for 40 years. A writer for the magazines since'81, he is the originator of Matrixing Technology. If you want to learn how to fight like a thinking maniac visit Al at http://blindingsteel.com. If you already know how to fight, take advantage of his free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.

When I was growing up, in the middle of the last century, a strange discipline called hte martial arts appeared. People could study the martial arts and defend themselves merely through the use of this strange energy called ki. Heck, women could beat up mugs and rapists, and even children could do the bad to bullies using this thing called Karate.

I explored Kenpo, and Goju, and judo, and several other styles of the combative arts, and I found little trace of this mysterious energy. Mostly, you just took your place in class and hit the air, and I began to believe that ki might be more of a myth than a reality. Still, I heard the tales of people breaking bricks, and doing other things which, even though they seemed a bit muscular, touted this strange energy called Ki.

As years passed, and as I practiced my martial arts techniques thousands and thousands and thousands of times, something strange happened. I began to sense a world beyond myself. I began to understand the world without de[ending on eyes and ears, and with a sense of myself that went beyond body. Slowly, I began to understand there might be truth to this ki thing, and to understand that circus tricks were the icing, and enjoyable, but that real intrinsic energy was something else.

I studied Tai Chi Chuan and Aikido, and other internal arts. I began to feel a strange energy permeate my body, and I began to enjoy a profound health which made me feel more spry than even when I had been young. And I began to realize certain things about this mysterious subject called ki, or chi, which should be understood, should people wish to really delve into the truth of the subject.

When you do your forms you must lower your frame, for this will create a better energy connection to the planet. A better energy connection means more real energy will pass through the legs and into the tan tien. And the tan tien is nothing but a simple generator of energy on the body level.

If you can excite the tan tien through the use of forms, then you can cause an energy to filter upward through the body. This energy will excite a middle tan tien in the upper body, and then cause a person, through the excitation of the upper tan tien, in the head, to view his body from outside his body. Thus, the body is filled, point by point, and becomes a battery charged with supernormal energy.

The energy of the body can be used in many ways, and this provides a whole new education for a student of such things. To explore this education one should attempt to not use muscles, for energy locked into muscles stops the intention which drives the energy, and stops the emission of intrinsic energy. Instead, when striking, one should use ones body like a noodle, not even tightening the fist, merely driving it through the attacker, and occupying the space of his body, and to loosen the motion and sensitivity of the body so it is empty, and able to seek an imbalance of the attacker even in combat, and further the guidance of his energy in a profound and magnitudious manner.

Ki, whether it is called chi or prana or intrinsic energy or pneuma or whatever, is not mysterious. It is simple to develop and use, if one only pays attention to the simple things I have written in this article, and are willing to throw yourself into the discipline. Whether you study uechi or shotokan or goju, whether you practice tai chi or yoga, this thing called ki, or chi, is available to you, and it is The Truth of The Path of The True Art.

Al Case has practiced the martial arts for forty years. He has written dozens of articles for the magazines and had his own column. You can find out if his Ki is worth a darn by getting his free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.

Wowee kazowee! Bruce Lee/Chuck Norris/Jackie Chan was the greatest! My instructor can beat your instructor!

And, now that we have put all those old childish attitudes aside, we can ask ourselves the question, how can you tell if a martial arts instructor knows his stuff. Choosing an instructor, after all, is one of three items in becoming a good martial artist ourselves. The other two things we should pay attention to are whether the system is any good, and whether the student is any good.

The first quality is whether he can communicate. Does he stand off and pronounce from on high, or does he grin right into your face and tell you what he thinks. Cheerful is best, but even abrasive is okay, if he is really talking to you.

Another quality is whether he can get you to understand the points that he is making. When he says circle, do you see circle, or something else? This is especially important when one attempts to share the specialized theory of the martial arts that can get heady and esoteric.

Then there is the question of whether he actually knows anything. Yes, he may be a grand poobah, and know a thousand techniques, but can he tell you how and why they work? Is he a monkey see monkey do instructor, or one that knows the real reasons why the martial arts work or don't work.

Now we come to the all important question, can he knock the stuffings out of people? Okay, maybe I phrased that wrong. But your instructor should be able to make the martial arts work against real attackers.

Now here's one that's going to sneak up on you. Is he too willing to defend himself? Unfortunately, many martial arts instructors breed an attitude which pulls in fights, and it is better to teach people how to fight so that they don't ever have to fight.

Okay, that is what I have to say about it all. You are welcome to disagree, but the fact is an instructor should be able to communicate, have something to communicate, and not encourage people to fight no matter what. Competence, confidence, and all the other martial arts related virtues are their own reward.

Al Case, 4O years instructing martial arts, has written the only bona fide Master Instructor Course in the world. You can see it at Monster Martial Arts.