BODYBUILDING NUTRITION BASICS

Morihei Uyeshiba, O Sensei of Aikido Art, is the martial artist who attained enlightenment. It is he who codified his martial art, thus, the aikido Ueshiba originated is the actual Aikido. Uh, sort of.

This question, concerning the nature of the Real Aikido, is the question that confuses students of Japanese Aikido, budo aikido, and all the various offshoots. There are so many different schools, you see, and they can’t all be the truth, right? And this question, of there being many variations and interpretations, does itself question the validity of the Aikido of schools everywhere, for if the founder was right, then how could there be interpretation?

The question, of course, can be answered, if one considers the truth of the universe. Morihei Uyeshiba, you see, saw the truth of the universe from his viewpoint, and he did an amazing job of representing that truth with his art. But if one considers the truth of the universe as a pure datum one can approach the art from a personal viewpoint of enlightenment, and not just from one man’s viewpoint of enlightenment.

Just so you know, I mean no disrespect to the founder of Aikido, indeed, I have the highest regard, and I believe he would want me to question, and not just robot the techniques as the end all. He was not one to do aikido robotically, after all, he was an innovator of genius magnitude. I think he would want real students to duplicate him on that level, as well as the level of endless and intense practice.

That all said, the truth of the universe, as represented by the yin yang symbol, and stated Neutronically, is: for something to be true the opposite must also be true. We can take this statement and dissect it endlessly in the philosophical context. The art being one of action, and action ultimately revealing the true truth, we must consider the truth of the universe as it applies to techniques, from the aikido basics up.

When an attacker attacks, the defender must perceive the attack. To perceive the attack not as just an incoming line, though that is necessary, but as a completed technique in his own mind. Thus, the defender must see the entire picture of the attack, must have the entire sequence of pictures in his mind.

Once the image is complete, and at the same time as it is happening, the defender must mirror it. Right to right or right to left, the mirror of the aggressive technique will fit the attack as a tailored glove will fit a hand, and the defensive attack will envelope the actuality of the aggressive motion. If this is done correctly, then you are doing the Morihei Uyeshiba Aikido as perceived in his moment of enlightenment.

There is perfection in this visualization and realization, you see. Perfection of action, and of mind, and of art. The good news is that this procure can be applied to the art of Saito Aikido, Aikido Aikikai, or any other interpretation of the founder’s vision in existence, the founder’s viewpoint was that close to perfection.

The best DVD for exploring the concept presented in this article is Matrix Aikido, which is available at Monster Martial Arts. 4

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I doubt whether most martial arts training halls, be they Goju Ryu or Mixed Martial Arts or Jujitsu or whatever, have ever had a crazy guy in their school like Mud Car. We called him Mud Car because that’s what his license plates on his automobile stated. That vehicle, more than just about anything else, told the story of Mud Car.

He had tied parachute webbing across the insides of his car because he felt that that material was best for holding his car together on the inside. He had fire extinguishers fastened to every surface on the inside of his car. He had a dial on his dashboard to give extra power to his tail lights, and he turned it whenever he faced away from the sun so that drivers behind him could see when he braked.

This was just the surface of it all, though. The most impressive thing that Mud Car did was commit to memory the times of all the stop lights in San Jose. He could travel across that large town without ever hitting a stop light.

Unfortunately, when it came to Karate, he was just as crazy. He couldn’t stretch, couldn’t control his body, and, because he had no control, it hurt to work with him. Just being around him you could feel the sparks in his mind shooting into the cosmos.

One day, in class, he interrupted the instructor to complain about a pain in his shin. “It doesn’t hurt, but it keeps bothering me, do you know how to make the pain in my shin go away?” My instructor looked at me with rage in his eyes, I suppose he didn’t want to look at Mud Car because he would murder him, and he said, “Hit your leg with a lead pipe…that’ll make the pain go away.”

I suppose the ability to drive the people around oneself crazy is the deciding factor in this matter of whether a person is crazy or not. At any rate, Mud Car was never promoted to Black Belt. He just didn’t have the maturity.

One day, however, a new instructor came to the school, and Mud Car was promoted to Black Belt within a month…and then he left the school. He had achieved his goal, and that was all he wanted, and the new instructor knew that was the best and most efficient way to get rid of Mud Car. Yet, I missed Mud Car.

He was nuts, but so is the guy who goes after you on the mean streets, so if you could last a session with Mud Car without getting hurt, you knew your art was working. Furthermore, there was a shift of standard here, for Mud Car had been promoted to black belt because he could drive people nuts, not because he was a competent martial artist. Finally, I think that is where the True Art started disappearing from the martial arts training halls of America…schools, even dojos like classical hung gar or Parker Kenpo or classical Aikido, did not administer soothing discipline to the insane, they just promoted them to get rid of them.

If you want to go crazy through the martial arts…drop on by Punch ‘Em Out. If you want to go sane through the martial arts…try Monster Martial Arts. 2

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I want the kicks and punches of Jet Li, as athletic and accident resistant as Jackie Chan, and as humble as myself. Now, I’ve seen all the programs out there, I know all I have to do is work through a bone breaking sweat for a few years, and I will achieve my peak potential. Either that or join the spetznatz.

Well, maybe I have taken this a bit far, but there is good news to be had here. The good news is that your body, with a little work, is capable of incredible speed and power and athleticism. The trick is not changing it, but letting it unchange into original DNA structure.

First, you need to change the way you eat. Don’t go insane here, just cancel ALL fast foods, and start eating lots of veggies. When that sugar bowl starts calling, go get a watermelon or a smoothie or something like that. I don’t recommend tossing out all meat, just eating more moderate portions, and maybe ordering more turkey and fish and such instead of those big, juicy T bones.

Now the fun starts. A basic get in shape regimen starts with simple calisthenics, like walking, jumping jacks, a little rope jumping, and that sort of thing, and then progresses into deep squats, dive bomber push ups, and that sort of thing. Actually, I have come to believe in yoga as a very viable and gentle (at least in the beginning) way of putting the body in shape.

Now, the best calisthenic you can do, in this writer’s humble opinion, is the martial arts. The martial arts offer a complete variety of body motion, leaping, twisting, ducking, jumping, skipping, stepping, and so on. Furthermore, they bring you to an understanding of energy, as well as muscle, and this elevates the game to whole new levels.

The message that I am sending your way is that it takes very little work to make your body into what it is supposed to be, it just takes common sense and a modicum of gentle discipline. As you follow the principles I have outlined here, you will realize that you don’t need bulging muscles to get the job done, you just need to streamline your body and make it work the the way it is supposed to work. This concept–using the body in the correct manner–is the key to the matter.

The PE courses in school do not tell you how to use your body, they just get you to throw the ball to your friends, they help you socially. When you start to Matrix your body, which is usually through the principle of learning how the muscles are set up, what direction they are supposed to move in, and, most important, how to make them work together, that is when true efficiency begins, That is when you are going to realize that your body is just a tool, and you can hone that instrument as you wish.

The key, of course, whether you are studying Hapkido, Jujitsu, or any other art, is to apply Matrixing to it. Matrixing is nothing more than the process of studying and analyzing motion …physics. And, when you take apart the martial arts moves of people like Bruce Lee or Tonny Jaa, you are going to find that they are absolute students of physics, which is nothing more than rudimentary Matrixing.

If you want to learn how to utilize your body the way it was designed to be utilized, head on over to Monster Martial Arts. Get a free ebook on How to Matrix while you’re there. Matrixing is the first true fighting science on the planet.

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The first time I ever read someones mind was in San Francisco. My wife and I were wandering through the stores in Chinatown, and we entered a shop where a grumpy faced old Chinese lady sat on a stool in a corner. As we peered at the goods, the grumpy one snapped at her daughter, “Look, look, look, everybody just look!”

We left the store, and I asked my wife, “Did you hear what that old lady said?” “How could I,” answered my wife. “She was speaking in Chinese.”

The old lady had spoken in her old tongue, and I had heard her in English. In essence, I had peered into her mind and perceived her thoughts in my language. And I had this ability, I intuitively knew, because I had been studying the martial arts.

The mind is like a big radio transmitter, but it transmits, and picks up, thoughts. The sad fact, however, is that the mind is always full of static. Children can usually read minds, but they outgrow the ability and don’t even remember it when they are adults.

In the martial arts you use the discipline of the body to clear out the distractions and static. You do this by focusing on making the moves of your form perfect. Eventually, the distractive static goes away, and the original ability to read minds is once again unleashed.

The problem, of course, is that the martial arts are so messed up that it is difficult to find a form, or series of forms, that work well anymore. Oddly, almost any form can work in this manner, if it is properly analyzed, and tweaked so that it is scientific and true. This normally takes a tremendous amount of work, occurring over decades, but the process can be speeded up if one learns the proper science.

Interestingly, the old Taoist writings of such arts as Tai Chi and other Wudang arts, speak of being like a child in your approach to the world. I also saw mention of this concept in works of Zen Buddhism. Unfortunately, by the time one resurrects this ability one has become old.

At any rate, the old tales are true, the martial arts really do work, and in ways far removed from fighting. Indeed, though the martial arts teach people how to defend themselves, things like reading minds is the real start. And the start of this start, for most people, is simply walking through the doors of that neighborhood dojo and learning a little Karate or Tai Chi or Aikido.

Al Case, 4O years studying martial arts, has written a free ebook which explains the Martial Technology for fixing the martial arts. It is available at his website, Monster Martial Arts.

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You can translate your art of Chinese Karate into Power Kenpo fairly easily. Of course, you’re going to have to go against the grain of the old school boys, but this isn’t always bad. In fact, if you do decide to put power into your Kenpo system, you will be following the footsteps of Ed Parker more closely than the old school boys.

The concept of Power in the Fist Law art is something I made up many decades ago, and have never really revealed. It actually grew from an incident in 1968 in which I asked my instructor to take a look at a form I had been practicing. My instructor stepped on to the mat and I took a position and started my form.

I had learned the form from a series of books on Japanese Karate, and the name was Heian Five. It is a traditional kata, with solid stance and big, significant movements. As such, it seems to stand against the concepts of the fast whirling arms of Parker art.

When I had completed the kata my instructor observed, “Yes, definitely a Japanese form.” He didn’t say much more, and I had the feeling that he wasn’t pleased. Many decades later, I understand why, he was trying to teach me one thing, and I was straying in an entirely different direction.

To be honest, Chinese Karate does not compliment traditional Shotokan. Parker’s art, as I have given hint, relies on quick, circling hands. Shotokan holds a disdain for such motion, and advocates a strong stance, facing your enemy squarely, and attacking in a linear manner.

Each system has its strengths, and its weaknesses, but they don’t fit together. It is difficult even to shift from one art to another in the middle of combat. The funny thing about all this is that original Parker system was built upon the Heian forms of classical Karate.

Most people blink when I say such a thing, but it is true. If you can find a copy of one of Ed Parker’s first books you will find that it is nothing more than a sequence of the applications of the Heian forms. Indeed, if you link the applications in his book, you are actually doing the Heians.

In conclusion, now you understand what I mean when I remarked about Power Kenpo and being true Ed Parker’s footsteps. The fact is that true and dedicated martial artists should study as many different arts as they can. The truth of the matter is that if you want to put power in Chinese Kenpo, or accelerated weapons, or better kicks, then study a separate art that has what you want, and let the power of that other art bleed back to your kenpo, and that is how you build Power Kenpo.

Al Case made his Power Kenpo out of such martial arts as Karate, Aikido and Wing Chun. You can find it on the Monkey Boxing pages of Monster Martial Arts.

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Interesting idea, eh? Sounds like one of those old Kung Fu movies, but is it possible? Could it be true that you actually have unlimited potential, and could learn a complete Kung Fu system within a couple of months?

The mind is unlimited, you know, and that means that you are unlimited. The trick of course, is to figure out a Kung Fu program that downloads into your mind with perfect sense and ease. The trick is to find a software program that really works, and that is actually designed to match your mind.

Most Martial Arts take a long time to learn, and there is a reason for this. Actually, there are many reasons. They all have to do with incorrect data, missing data, illogical data, and that sort of thing that crashes a computer.

First, you must realize that the martial arts are taught using ancient oral traditions. They are passed along by the use of songs and poetry. This is incredibly inefficient, and there is no telling how much data has been lost over the millennium.

Second thing to understand, you must realize that the martial arts are communicated by ‘monkey see monkey do.’ This is mimicry, which is the basic and easiest form of communication on the planet. It works, but does not allow for the interchange of ideas, which makes it totally inadequate for teaching Kung fu, Karate, Aikido, or any art you may wish to mention.

Third, you must realize that the martial arts are taught by having students memorize strings of random data. Memorization is totally inadequate, and often has nothing to do with the actual fact of learning. A xerox machine can’t think, it’s as simple as that.

So to learn a complete kung fu system, or to fix any martial art you might know, you must change the way you learn the martial arts, you must change the training methods you commonly use. You must have mimicry and memorization, but the material of the martial arts has to be arranged in the correct order. This is difficult to do, for people have been enraptured, and convinced, that the old ways of learning should not be changed.

In conclusion, the human mind is a perfect computer, but it is liable to that old rule of ‘garbage in garbage out.’ You don’t have to fix your mind to learn more, you just have to align and make correct the martial arts that go into it. Doesn’t matter what system of Kung Fu you know, what I am saying works, and if you don’t know any martial arts, you can learn a real kung fu system, within a couple of months, all you have to do is change your method of training.

Al Case offers aligned Martial Arts Programs that insert into the mind naturally. He has over forty years experience and writes for the magazines. Pick up a free ebook about his programs at Monster Martial Arts.

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The era of the extreme and real gung fu was about 1975 to 1985, give or take a few years. Of course, the time period could probably include the time period of 1985 to 1995, because that is when those movies hit the all night movie channels. And, of course, chop sockies forever, because we can now get them on the internet, though we should make sure it is a clean copy and that we have a good DVD player.

One could make argument that Bruce Lee provided the first kung fu flick, and they wouldn’t be wrong, for his movies started the flood of kung fu flicks in America. The first real chop sockie, however, would have to be Five Fingers of Death, with the amazing and inspiring Lo Lieh. Lo Lieh, who thrust his broken fingers into cauldrons of red hot rocks until he could have his revenge.

The main chop sockie movie maker, though there were hundreds, would be the Shaw Brothers. They churned out hundreds of the things, and they convinced the world that if you had an idea and dedicated yourself, you could learn gung fu. The main man of Shaw Brothers was a fellow name of Gordon Liu.

Gordon Liu knew real gung fu, and rumor has it he was adopted into a family of movie makers. One brother was the director of his magnificent masterworks, and the other brother was involved with stunt work. I think that was how it all worked out.

Among his masterpieces, and I will name three of them here, was The Master Killer, also known as Thirty Six Chambers of Death. Mr. Liu always played endearing fools, tilting at windmills, who, through Kung Fu, managed to win in the end. The Master Killer was his entry into the field, and it propelled him right to the top.

One of his gems was Return to the 36th Chamber, where he plays, surprise of surprises, an endearing fool. The plot is silly, the acting is farcical, but the idea that one can learn kung fu from the common tasks of life is incredible. And, when our bumbling fool returns to his village, entirely disillusioned, only to find out what those nefarious monks have done to him…well, the phrase ‘I Do Know Kung Fu’ becomes a clarion call and inspiration to all kung fu students everywhere.

My favorite of Gordon Liu’s movies is an obscure gem entitled Fists of the White Lotus. Our endearing fool is betrayed, practices his kung fu for ten years so he can have revenge, only to find out that the bad guy has also had ten years to practice his kung fu. This movie inspired Bak Mei of Kill Bill fame (played by Gordon Liu) and far outshadows such movies as Crouching Tiger and Kill Bill and that ilk.

The originals flicks, you see, provide innocence and inspiration that cannot be refuted. You want to learn the real stuff of real Shaolin gung fu? Go find these movies, watch them and be inspired, and live life the way real heroes live it.

Al Case has forty+ years martial arts experience. You can pick up a free ebook at Monster Martial Arts. Find out about http://www.monstermartialarts.com/Shaolin_Butterfly.html while you are there.

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The four main practices used to achieve enlightenment are the way of the fakir, the way of the monk, the way of the yogi, and the way of the martial artist. In this bit of scribbling we shall go over what is special about the way of the warrior. After all, enlightenment is probably a pretty nifty thing to reach, and it would be a good idea to speed up any individuals progress on the way to enlightenment.

It is said, of the four paths to enlightenment, that the way of the warrior is the fastest. This is an interesting look at things enlightenment, for one would think that a path dedicated to things war would be the slowest. After all, learning how to maim and kill would seem antithetical to pursuing enlightenment.

First, the warrior deals with the things of the world. He does not turn his attention inward to seek enlightenment, but does his seeking in a much more overt manner, seeking out conflict and learning to deal with it. This entails, ultimately, giving up the desire for conflict, none of the other disciplines seek out conflict in this manner.

Second, the warrior deals with the real world. We could argue about what is real, but in lieu of that mental exercise let’s just say that the universe is constructed of objects in motion. The warrior is the only traveler of the four that deals directly with a universe filled with objects in motion.

Third, the warrior is much more adamant in sticking to his discipline of choice. I say this because the discipline of studying the martial arts requires an active mindset. Simply, the warrior has something to do on his way to enlightenment, the other disciplines are more concerned with doing nothing.

Fourth, there is a built in guiding factor in the way of the martial artist. Simply, if a technique does not function, the result will be noted as a punch in the face. This ‘feedback’ device tends to make the artist more demanding in his seeking of perfection and enlightenment.

To conclude, let me say that every path has its strengths and weaknesses. Heck, you knew that. So the point of this article is not to speak ill of other disciplines, merely to point out how glorious the one you are immersed in is.

You are the one; you are the karateka and the shaolinist and the aikidoist and…the Tai Chi-ist. You follow a path, and you are in a hurry, no matter how slow you think you move, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Godspeed.

Al Case has studied gung fu for 40 years. If you want to see How Far the Martial Arts Can Go, pick up a free book at Monster Martial Arts.

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There is one thing, and one thing only, that will always stop a martial artist from reaching the True Martial Art. That one thing is called simply…distraction. To the degree that one is not distracted, to that degree he will realize his goals, and to that degree he achieves the True Art.

When one learns the martial arts one learns these strange patterns called forms. On the surface, the form is nothing but an encyclopedia of technique, of having a curriculum which will teach him higher and higher ranges of art, and lead him to deeper and deeper depths. It is under the surface, however, through the refusal of distractions that one must seek the True Martial Art.

When one can refuse to have his attention wander in the middle of form one is cultivating his discipline. When one focuses only on the moves within the form, and does not allow himself to be sidetracked, then he is building concentration. The end result of these endeavors is to be able to keep awareness in the universe of the form, and not in the universe of trees and bushes and rocks and twigs and such.

The bits and pieces of the form, the technical applications, are the middle ground of refusing distraction. This area, applying technique to a willing opponent, bridges from perfect thought inherent in the form to the perfect idea even in the middle of chaos. When one holds to the physics of combat, holds to his mental concentration, holds to the truths he has learned about his fellow man even in combat, then one is approaching a distraction free existence.

It is in the fact of kumite, however, that one must determine his most adamant refusal of the distractions of the real universe. One must focus on the other fighter, refuse the intrusions of a random world, and build the truth of his own awareness. When one lives as if in a tunnel when fighting his opponent, and can hold to the construction of that tunnel no matter the occurrence, then one has found the True Martial Art.

These three arenas, forms, technique and freestyle, are the arena of the true art. To the extent that one refuses distraction, that one becomes pure and able to hold to concentration and awareness, to this extent one enters the True Martial Art. The real key, to all this, however, lies in the realization of one important factor.

The universe goes backward. It is not the debris of the universe that offer distraction, it is the knowledge that one must not go towards a distraction free existence with effort, but, rather, but relax so that no distractions can find purchase in the soul. It is the emptiness of the universe, perceived by the individual free of internal strife, that makes up the Path of the True Art.

Al Case has more than 4O+ years training in the martial arts. you can pick up a good and free ebook on how to become distraction free at his site, Monster Martial Arts.

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The martial arts have long been held up as a way to enlightenment. Indeed, this is the goal at the end of the road of The True Martial Art. This article is about why this is so, and to enable the reader to walk to the end of that road all the sooner.

Enlightenment is when light shines forth from the individual. With that light the enlightened being views the world differently. His perceptions are heightened, and he has a superior viewpoint.

If enlightenment happened because of motion, then the fact of motion would result in enlightenment. Gymnastics, ballet, football, all would result in an enlightened individual, but they don’t, so one must ask oneself, what is it about the Martial Arts that they result in enlightenment?

What is different is that there is fighting, and when one understands what fighting truly is, one becomes enlightened. What is the essence of this thing called fighting? One could sum up the subject by saying that when one finally understands that when he is fighting he is only fighting himself, he becomes enlightened, and a study of the martial arts does result in this realization.

The universe, you see, is a playing field rich with moving objects. Every object in the universe has a direction to its mass. It is only in the martial arts that one actually engages in the study of the trajectory of flying objects as the one who creates the direction of those flying objects.

A fist flies through space at you, and you go through a range of emotions. Eventually, you give up emotions so that you can better analyze the flight of the fist. Thus, you rise above base reaction and become cause over the motion of the universe.

A person threatens you, he holds a knife and approaches you, and you must divine the direction before it manifests. You must look at the world the way it exists, and not through some fantasy, and thus you look at the world you created. Thus, you rise above being the flotsam and jetsam of a universe awash with random motion, and thus you take control of the motions of the universe.

There is no motion in this universe, you see, that you have not created. That star shines for you, because of you, if it wasn’t for you, there would be no purpose for that star to shine. And through the tempering of form, the steeling of will, the martial artist engages in combat, to give up combat and become what he truly is, an enlightened being free to enjoy the universe.

Al Case has practiced martial arts for 4O++ years. A writer for the magazines, he had his own column in Inside Karate. He is the originator of the church of the martial arts, and you can find out about the path to enlightenment by ordering his free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.

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