Master Al Case' Matrix Martial Arts

[TaiChiTJ]

Anyone have experience working with the approach Master Al Case is presenting?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXDQipVaUzY

[Chris Parker]

(Ahem).... Do you really want an appraisal here? Okay....

Starting with the rather unrealistic attacks on the you-tube clip, through to the overly defensive ("He is the real deal, I know because I work on movies!") comments there, it's not looking good. Follow that through to the website, and things get worse.

There is a lot of heavy-handed selling aspects (the drill no-one knows! The only perfect karate!), a lot of rather bizarre claims (Aikido in months, if it is "matrixed".... whatever that means, he learnt this in 40 years of training, and you could train for 40 years and maybe be okay at some things [?], and so on), through to the very removed-from-reality statement that only people who create their own art are actually "artists" (?!?!), which just tells me that he is protecting his own history of not really getting any of the arts he claims to have studied, as well as that he doesn't really seem to get what the term artistry refered to, nor what it entails here.

Not a recommendation in the slightest.

[Supra Vijai]

Not much I can add to the above post really, I saw Chris Parker had replied already and almost didn't bother :P

Funny thing is I came across his website last week and shared the link on my facebook with the caption wtf... The guy claims to be able to teach you Aikido and get you competent in 80 minutes and help you master it in a couple of months... all for an astounding fee of $10. Not to mention the multiple forms of Kung Fu, Karate etc. With the Aikido aspect at least, it would probably be a better sign if he learnt to spell the name of the founder correctly....

Just my thoughts

[xfighter88]

Not much I can add to the above post really, I saw Chris Parker had replied already and almost didn't bother :P

Funny thing is I came across his website last week and shared the link on my facebook with the caption wtf... The guy claims to be able to teach you Aikido and get you competent in 80 minutes and help you master it in a couple of months... all for an astounding fee of $10. Not to mention the multiple forms of Kung Fu, Karate etc. With the Aikido aspect at least, it would probably be a better sign if he learnt to spell the name of the founder correctly....

Just my thoughts

Yeah not the highest quality if you can't check your own spelling. Did the website ask for a credit card number or to varify your bank account information as well? When in doubt if it looks to good to be true it is.

[Bob Hubbard]

I believe Mr. Case is a member here.

[xfighter88]

Then he should drop by and let the OP know what's up.

[matrixman]

Hi Fellows. My ears was burnin'.
Yes, I'm Al Case. Yes, I do teach a method of faster learning.
I was also a writer for the mags, had a column in Inside Karate.
I was also featured in the November issue of Inside Kung Fu.
I don't usually go on forums, because people tend to dogpile.
I check out MartialTalk out every once in a while because
the honorable Mr. Hubbard does his best to make this a very fine site.
And my apologies for misspelling O Sensei's name.
and you definitely have my apologies for any offense I make in the future.
Do I have a better method for learning?
Look, there are a few answers.
One, I developed a method for learning which is based on Boolean Algebra.
But don't let the egghead bushwah bug you. Just research what a 'truth table' is
and see if you can use it in the martial arts.
I'm the only one to use it. Ever. Took me a few decades to figure it out.
Second, order a course. See if I'm full of bushwah. Money back guarantee.
I recommend Matrix Karate because it tells you about Matrixing basics.
Third, sign up for my newsletter, or, better yet, just follow me on myblog.
http://alcase.wordpress.com
See if I make sense over time. That's the trick, eh?
Fourth, check out the other vids on youtube.
I'm one of the few people in the world who can put out a candle
with a punch from over a foot away. The vid is on youtube.
Fifth, I'm in Los Angeles. Send me an email, arrange to meet.
I'm not shy, I'm polite, I'm not interested in fighting, only learning.
Sixth, if you don't like me, that's fine, just be rude and I'll sign off.
Guys, I appreciate the intent of keeping the martial arts honest.
But I just don't have the time or the thick skin to play with opinions versus facts.
I hope you guys all have a great new year.
I hope you all get everything you possibly can out of the martial arts.
You have my love, and I'm sorry if I have offended anybody.
Please forgive.
Thank you.
Al Case

[Tez3]

Not offended just bemused, I think us non Americans need a translator for what I assume is 'California/movie speak'.:)

[Never_A_Reflection]

Hi Fellows. My ears was burnin'.
Yes, I'm Al Case. Yes, I do teach a method of faster learning.
I was also a writer for the mags, had a column in Inside Karate.
I was also featured in the November issue of Inside Kung Fu.
I don't usually go on forums, because people tend to dogpile.
I check out MartialTalk out every once in a while because
the honorable Mr. Hubbard does his best to make this a very fine site.
And my apologies for misspelling O Sensei's name.
and you definitely have my apologies for any offense I make in the future.
Do I have a better method for learning?
Look, there are a few answers.
One, I developed a method for learning which is based on Boolean Algebra.
But don't let the egghead bushwah bug you. Just research what a 'truth table' is
and see if you can use it in the martial arts.
I'm the only one to use it. Ever. Took me a few decades to figure it out.
Second, order a course. See if I'm full of bushwah. Money back guarantee.
I recommend Matrix Karate because it tells you about Matrixing basics.
Third, sign up for my newsletter, or, better yet, just follow me on myblog.
http://alcase.wordpress.com
See if I make sense over time. That's the trick, eh?
Fourth, check out the other vids on youtube.
I'm one of the few people in the world who can put out a candle
with a punch from over a foot away. The vid is on youtube.
Fifth, I'm in Los Angeles. Send me an email, arrange to meet.
I'm not shy, I'm polite, I'm not interested in fighting, only learning.
Sixth, if you don't like me, that's fine, just be rude and I'll sign off.
Guys, I appreciate the intent of keeping the martial arts honest.
But I just don't have the time or the thick skin to play with opinions versus facts.
I hope you guys all have a great new year.
I hope you all get everything you possibly can out of the martial arts.
You have my love, and I'm sorry if I have offended anybody.
Please forgive.
Thank you.
Al Case

Boolean Algebra? Well, there go my chances of ever checking this out, as I am quite literally an idiot with math--by my senior year of high school I was barely capable of performing 7th Grade-level mathematics, and I was never able to successfully memorize the times tables :P

[Supra Vijai]

Mr. Case,

Agreed with Tez3, not offended in slightest. The comment about the spelling of O Sensei's name was from a business perspective as much as from a MA one. As someone who has run their own business and helped manage several others over the years, the crucial thing from a marketing point of view if P&E - Proofreading and Editing.

You may have found the ultimate secret but if you have obvious errors like spelling mistakes on your site which serves as your primary marketing tool then you are going to lose a lot of people right at the outset.

Mind you, with all due respect to yourself and your students, I'm old school. I believe you don't get anything without working for it and anything you do get won't last. So I'd probably stick to slogging it out for a couple of decades with my Sensei myself :)

All the best.

[Chris Parker]

Hi Fellows. My ears was burnin'.
Yes, I'm Al Case. Yes, I do teach a method of faster learning.
I was also a writer for the mags, had a column in Inside Karate.
I was also featured in the November issue of Inside Kung Fu.
I don't usually go on forums, because people tend to dogpile.
I check out MartialTalk out every once in a while because
the honorable Mr. Hubbard does his best to make this a very fine site.
And my apologies for misspelling O Sensei's name.
and you definitely have my apologies for any offense I make in the future.
Do I have a better method for learning?
Look, there are a few answers.
One, I developed a method for learning which is based on Boolean Algebra.
But don't let the egghead bushwah bug you. Just research what a 'truth table' is
and see if you can use it in the martial arts.
I'm the only one to use it. Ever. Took me a few decades to figure it out.
Second, order a course. See if I'm full of bushwah. Money back guarantee.
I recommend Matrix Karate because it tells you about Matrixing basics.
Third, sign up for my newsletter, or, better yet, just follow me on myblog.
http://alcase.wordpress.com
See if I make sense over time. That's the trick, eh?
Fourth, check out the other vids on youtube.
I'm one of the few people in the world who can put out a candle
with a punch from over a foot away. The vid is on youtube.
Fifth, I'm in Los Angeles. Send me an email, arrange to meet.
I'm not shy, I'm polite, I'm not interested in fighting, only learning.
Sixth, if you don't like me, that's fine, just be rude and I'll sign off.
Guys, I appreciate the intent of keeping the martial arts honest.
But I just don't have the time or the thick skin to play with opinions versus facts.
I hope you guys all have a great new year.
I hope you all get everything you possibly can out of the martial arts.
You have my love, and I'm sorry if I have offended anybody.
Please forgive.
Thank you.
Al Case

Hi Al,

The main problem I'm seeing here is that you appear to be applying intellectual methods to non-intellectual situations. Martial arts are not learned intellectually, they are learned physically, and by applying something like Boolean Algebra to it (and things such as the "truth table") you seem to be implying that you can teach complex martial arts by overly categorising the various aspects of them, which intellectually compartmentalises them for a learning experience. The problem is that martial arts are learned by getting the skills into the body, not the mind, and the way to do that is to physically repeat the skills many times over under more and more stress, ensuring that the mind basically gets out of the way.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of fast-track learning, we utilise it ourselves a fair bit, especially in our self defence curriculum. But it's based far more on working similar skill-sets repeatedly, and ensuring that they carry over, rather than looking to an intellectual method of mentally understanding and categorising it.

I don't really want to start attacking you here, so please take the following comments as respectful, but I'd like to go through some of the claims you list above (note: they are not queried themselves, but the reason they are listed is).

You mention your articles in various publications, to be completely frank I have seen more utter nonsense published in magazines than actual good content overall, and there was no dispute of your writing articles, so I have to wonder what the reason was for you to mention them straight away? My only thought is that it is a way of establishing credibility, perhaps you could offer another reason that you included that part?

Next, the issues I can see with using intellectual methods to create a learning system for a physical endeavour I have already gone through, but your comment (accented by yourself there) that you are the only person to apply Boolean Algebra to the learning of martial arts (Ever!) tells me that there are two possible reasons for this. Either you are truly revolutionary in the way you teach, or no-one else has thought it really is beneficial. I also am unsure as to how you decided that this was a good way of learning martial arts that you had already learnt... did you take completely unskilled beginners and teach them using your method exclusively? Then how did you test them, were they compared with, say, a black belt in the same art to see how they performed?

The next method you have of us telling whether or not what you present is good or not is to buy your program(s), and then join your mailing list. Okay, it's a little marketing-heavy for a forum post, but I agree that actually seeing it would be the better way to go. I'll jump on your blog after this.

The videos. Honestly, that brings me back to the idea of teaching others, as that is your claim, not whether or not after 40 years you can actually do it yourself. And the candle trick? Okay, it's fun, but I'm not sure what it has to do with your teaching concepts here. Again it seems like a way to make yourself more credible, and if you are doing that with what is essentially a martial art parlour trick, it doesn't help there.

LA, well, I'm in Melbourne, Australia, so it's a bit of a commute. I'll leave that for the time being, sure you understand.

Finally, I don't think it's a matter of liking you or not, it's more about some rather unusual claims being given, and some clarification being sought. Honestly, I'm much more impressed with yourself and your willingness to enter into debate than many others, so I would hope that you don't suffer any rudeness from anyone here.

Hope to hear on these issues from you.

[matrixman]

Hi Chris, good to meet you. Points well taken.
I usually get a lot of raised eyes, and I usually just throw the credibility stuff out there to fend off. No offense to anyone, I trawl for the person who is interested.
The real point here, in my mind, is intellectual vs ‘skills into the body.’ You’re absolutely right, an art without the skills into the body is no art at all. Worthless.
But as you point out later, the idea is to get the mind out of the way. I mean, the sooner you get the mind out of the way, the sooner the skills go into the body. Right?
Matrixing provides sufficient data that various questions in the mind are not activated, thus the mind doesn’t get in the way, thus the skills go into the body faster.
Will it work for everybody? Absolutely not. You don’t have to study Boolean algebra, but you do have to be relatively freed from belief systems.
Belief systems are something that the mind erects when the learning process abuses a person. Public schools, classic methods, all sorts of thing can result in belief systems.
But I don’t want to get off the track, so let me say this. The abilities of the individual are more than anybody has ever dreamed.
Horses to wagons to cars to planes to rockets to the moon and beyond...all done within a hundred years by people who put aside their minds and belief systems and started to create, to work, to believe in themselves ( as opposed to a ‘belief’ system).
Speed reading? People a hundred years ago scoffed.
Nothing in my public schooling ever prepared me for the things I would learn in and through the martial arts, and I dare say it is so for you.
If you believe that people can only learn as fast as bruises are put on their body (I overstate, but you see my point), then that’s how fast you learn martial arts. If you believe that human beings are not body, not mind, but something else, some unlimited something else, then the door opens.
Anyway, I apologize for ranting. I get excited.
If this isn’t for you, that’s okay. If it is, I’ll answer any question you throw at me, and be honest about my ignorance. If any of the points above, or ignited in your mind, are unclear, please ask.
And if I have offended anybody out there, I’m sorry. Please forgive me, I’ll try to do better.
Thank you.

[Tez3]

Hi Chris, good to meet you. Points well taken.
I usually get a lot of raised eyes, and I usually just throw the credibility stuff out there to fend off. No offense to anyone, I trawl for the person who is interested.
The real point here, in my mind, is intellectual vs ‘skills into the body.’ You’re absolutely right, an art without the skills into the body is no art at all. Worthless.
But as you point out later, the idea is to get the mind out of the way. I mean, the sooner you get the mind out of the way, the sooner the skills go into the body. Right?
Matrixing provides sufficient data that various questions in the mind are not activated, thus the mind doesn’t get in the way, thus the skills go into the body faster.
Will it work for everybody? Absolutely not. You don’t have to study Boolean algebra, but you do have to be relatively freed from belief systems.
Belief systems are something that the mind erects when the learning process abuses a person. Public schools, classic methods, all sorts of thing can result in belief systems.
But I don’t want to get off the track, so let me say this. The abilities of the individual are more than anybody has ever dreamed.
Horses to wagons to cars to planes to rockets to the moon and beyond...all done within a hundred years by people who put aside their minds and belief systems and started to create, to work, to believe in themselves ( as opposed to a ‘belief’ system).
Speed reading? People a hundred years ago scoffed.
Nothing in my public schooling ever prepared me for the things I would learn in and through the martial arts, and I dare say it is so for you.
If you believe that people can only learn as fast as bruises are put on their body (I overstate, but you see my point), then that’s how fast you learn martial arts. If you believe that human beings are not body, not mind, but something else, some unlimited something else, then the door opens.
Anyway, I apologize for ranting. I get excited.
If this isn’t for you, that’s okay. If it is, I’ll answer any question you throw at me, and be honest about my ignorance. If any of the points above, or ignited in your mind, are unclear, please ask.
And if I have offended anybody out there, I’m sorry. Please forgive me, I’ll try to do better.
Thank you.


I have no idea what you are talking about.
However I do think you should stop apologising, it's weird.

[Flying Crane]

Second, order a course. See if I'm full of bushwah. Money back guarantee.

Al Case

I honestly don't trust a money back guarantee on something like this. Just gives me a bad feeling like there's something in the fine print to make it near impossible to collect on...

how about this one: if you believe so strongly about your method, then make one of your programs available in its entirety, for free, no limitations. Let people see what it is all about unhindered, unhidden. If we see the potential, then we're likely to bite again. As it is, I'd wager most serious martial artists are just too sceptical to blow the ten bucks.

[Bruno@MT]

Money back guarantee... how about we say we'll pay if we are genuinely impressed? After all, it's logically the same, and you are sure enough that we'll be impressed to offer the money back guarantee. Asking for our money first seems to me to be a sign that you want to make sure you have the money first before you are confident to show us what you are about.

[Chris Parker]

Hi Chris, good to meet you.

Good to meet you too.


Points well taken.
I usually get a lot of raised eyes, and I usually just throw the credibility stuff out there to fend off. No offense to anyone, I trawl for the person who is interested.

Within certain communities, there is the concept of sub-communication, in other words, what you're saying when you're not saying it. That is where this feels incongruent, honestly.

Here you are saying that you put out the "here's how good I am" information (what we would refer to as demonstrating value) in order to put off anyone who isn't genuinely interested, and that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Speaking from an analytical viewpoint, it's actually designed to impress someone who doesn't know what you're refering to, but risks coming across as bragging. So you "soften" the message by putting in a lot of overly apologetic language, which is an attempt to appear humble at the same time. It's an interesting balancing act, and can be done if it's done well. But if not, it smacks of incongruence, whether that is present or not in the speaker.

I'm also not sure what you mean when you say you "trawl for the person who is interested". Do you mean that you are looking only for potential customers?


The real point here, in my mind, is intellectual vs ‘skills into the body.’ You’re absolutely right, an art without the skills into the body is no art at all. Worthless.

I think it goes a lot further than that, but yes.


But as you point out later, the idea is to get the mind out of the way. I mean, the sooner you get the mind out of the way, the sooner the skills go into the body. Right?

No, not quite. Really, the more the body is trained, the better the skills get into the body. And that takes it back to my issue about what level is this learning going to (when you claim on your website that you can "learn [Aikido] within 80 minutes"), as it really doesn't appear to be what I would call learning the martial art. It is getting a grip, to a degree, on some basic concepts, and that is all.


Matrixing provides sufficient data that various questions in the mind are not activated, thus the mind doesn’t get in the way, thus the skills go into the body faster.

Hmm, in over 20 years in the martial arts myself, I've often asked questions, and the answers have often been rather enlightening, whether they came from experience, reflection, my instructors, or other students... but not while training. So the fundamental idea of there being questions in the mind to be "activated" doesn't really gel with me there. Can you go into any more detail about what you mean by this?


Will it work for everybody? Absolutely not. You don’t have to study Boolean algebra, but you do have to be relatively freed from belief systems.

Ah, this is where we get interesting....

On the surface here, I fundamentally disagree with you. A martial art is a belief system, so it's more about embracing one than being freed from one. But I think you mean something different, and are talking more about beliefs about how we learn, yes?


Belief systems are something that the mind erects when the learning process abuses a person. Public schools, classic methods, all sorts of thing can result in belief systems.

First, an argument.

No their not. A belief system is what allows you to function, it provides your values, and your behaviours. There is nothing abusive about it whatsoever, in fact, abuse would lead to a perversion of a persons belief system (it's okay to hurt animals, for instance). Your concept of what a belief system is appears to be rather lacking from this end.


But I don’t want to get off the track, so let me say this. The abilities of the individual are more than anybody has ever dreamed.

Honestly, you're talking to the wrong person to say things like that to.... My background and my belief system more than allows for such concepts, and embraces them at all times.

(Okay, the tonality of that line may need clarification. It was said with a beaming smile, and meant in a very friendly tone, without condescention or mocking. Rather agreeable, really).


Horses to wagons to cars to planes to rockets to the moon and beyond...all done within a hundred years by people who put aside their minds and belief systems and started to create, to work, to believe in themselves ( as opposed to a ‘belief’ system).

Well, your history is a little off.... unless you think that cars really came within a hundred years of wagons! But yes, positive belief is a great thing, although that is not the greatest factor in all of these endeavours and achievements, honestly.


Speed reading? People a hundred years ago scoffed.
Nothing in my public schooling ever prepared me for the things I would learn in and through the martial arts, and I dare say it is so for you.

Ha, okay. Counter question would be when do you feel that public literacy came to the fore? How long before a hundred years ago when people scoffed at speed reading? Because if the majority of the public couldn't read, that may say something about the general perception of speed reading a hundred years ago or longer....

As for prepared me, actually a lot of my psychology studies have really come into my training and teaching. But I get what you mean.


If you believe that people can only learn as fast as bruises are put on their body (I overstate, but you see my point), then that’s how fast you learn martial arts. If you believe that human beings are not body, not mind, but something else, some unlimited something else, then the door opens.

As I said, we employ fast-track learning methods in our schools as well, but the way they work is constant repetition of principles or tactics. It's what is refered to as a DefTac, or Defensive Tactics Program. And, honestly, what this all seems like to me is a version of that where you take the basic concepts of the physical approach to a system, and cover that briefy without the necessary repetition. And while that can give a basic overview, and can certainly be done in a very short amount of time, it is far from actually learning a martial art.

Your page on "Matrixed Aikido" has some rather unusual claims attached. For example, you claim that after going through the core concepts on the 80 minute DVDs and in the 50 page book, we will be able to "create" Aikido. To me, that is not correct. You may be able to express something out of the base concepts taken from Aikido, but that is very far from being Aikido itself. The essential aspects that make it Aikido are removed (and no, I'm not talking about any of the metioned "spirituality"... although I should say that Aikido is not "founded on religious principles", rather the Otomo Sect of Buddhism played an increasingly large part in O'Sensei's life and expression as he aged). You also ask us to compare the old footage of Ueshiba with modern practitioners, claiming that the modern members are "faster, more intuitive, more able" (?) than Ueshiba was. Honestly, I don't you and I see the same thing when we look at that footage. Ueshiba, to me, may not appear as fast, but I also see him not needing to, and that is something that the modern practitioners I see are striving towards. So we may be looking at different benchmarks there.


Anyway, I apologize for ranting. I get excited.

Again, no need for apologies, particularly this frequently. I could get into what it says to me, but I'll hold off on that for now at least.


If this isn’t for you, that’s okay. If it is, I’ll answer any question you throw at me, and be honest about my ignorance. If any of the points above, or ignited in your mind, are unclear, please ask.
And if I have offended anybody out there, I’m sorry. Please forgive me, I’ll try to do better.
Thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

EDIT: Oh, just as an adendum, I did check out your blog. There are a few interesting things, but there's also a lot that I would argue with as well (such as the blog on being smarter than a pigeon, the one on rankings, and most particularly the one on the Samurai versus the Tai Chi master... really, that one showed that you don't have much understanding of either weapon or art, frankly, although I must say that, apart from "laughing" at this thread, you weren't "unusually mean" yourself there, although I don't remember anyone here arguing that we "are, uh, not smart". Don't know if it was smart of you to send us there....). There's a lot of gaps in understanding being presented, honestly.

[Bruno@MT]

You also ask us to compare the old footage of Ueshiba with modern practitioners, claiming that the modern members are "faster, more intuitive, more able" (?) than Ueshiba was. Honestly, I don't you and I see the same thing when we look at that footage. Ueshiba, to me, may not appear as fast, but I also see him not needing to, and that is something that the modern practitioners I see are striving towards. So we may be looking at different benchmarks there.


I've seen footage of the heads of the kans, and imo it is only natural for younger guys to be physically faster. That is what youth is all about. Hatsumi sensei is certainly not bouncing around like when he was half his age. The key is: he doesn't need to. If you are good enough, you don't have to hurry because you can do the bare minimum that is necessary.

I've linked this clip several time already and I am going to do it again. Here you see a frail old iaido master decisively beating someone half his age and twice his size. And he doesn't do it by being faster, but just by moving where he has to move without too much fuss or excitement. This is what you earn through years of repetition, not by book learning.

83Xq2p0E07o

[Tez3]

I've seen footage of the heads of the kans, and imo it is only natural for younger guys to be physically faster. That is what youth is all about. Hatsumi sensei is certainly not bouncing around like when he was half his age. The key is: he doesn't need to. If you are good enough, you don't have to hurry because you can do the bare minimum that is necessary.

I've linked this clip several time already and I am going to do it again. Here you see a frail old iaido master decisively beating someone half his age and twice his size. And he doesn't do it by being faster, but just by moving where he has to move without too much fuss or excitement. This is what you earn through years of repetition, not by book learning.

83Xq2p0E07o


Old and sneaky beats young and fit any day!

[Supra Vijai]

Old and sneaky beats young and fit any day!

So says the self titled scary middle aged woman :)

[Supra Vijai]

I've seen footage of the heads of the kans, and imo it is only natural for younger guys to be physically faster. That is what youth is all about. Hatsumi sensei is certainly not bouncing around like when he was half his age. The key is: he doesn't need to. If you are good enough, you don't have to hurry because you can do the bare minimum that is necessary.

I've linked this clip several time already and I am going to do it again. Here you see a frail old iaido master decisively beating someone half his age and twice his size. And he doesn't do it by being faster, but just by moving where he has to move without too much fuss or excitement. This is what you earn through years of repetition, not by book learning.

83Xq2p0E07o

Wow great clip, thanks Bruno :) Was this the Hachidan you mentioned in your reply to one of my other threads about training and humility?

[Tez3]

So says the self titled scary middle aged woman :)

Why thank you sir!

Surely though I can't be the only martial artist who likes things simple? I like plain instruction with plain practising, I can't be doing with messing up things to make them seem something they are not. I like a punch to KO someone not to have a discussion on metaphysics with them. A kick should hurt someone not debate the meaning of life. :)

[Supra Vijai]

I'm going to try steal a quote and quite possibly mangle it here. When you train an art that's primarily based on deception, does it not defeat at least half the purpose if your enemy knows what to expect?

[Supra Vijai]

Wait.. that sounds random. I guess what I'm saying is we'd probably be more like "heeeeyyy want some coffee? how about a movie? let's talk life!" and then kill them when they relax and least suspect it.

[Chris Parker]

Is this what you're talking about Supra?

n2_Z-whRDRk

The first kata in Araki Ryu Kempo Kogusoku is exactly that, invite someone round for tea, get them a nice cuppa, then attack!!! Some nastier versions include repeatedly stabbing the victim after throwing the serving tray in their face....

Oh, and as an aside, this kata apparently comes from when the founder was ordered to kill a friend, and chose this method. The idea is to be able to hide your intent from them until it's too late.... and people think Ninja are sneaky!

[Tez3]

Is this what you're talking about Supra?

n2_Z-whRDRk

The first kata in Araki Ryu Kempo Kogusoku is exactly that, invite someone round for tea, get them a nice cuppa, then attack!!! Some nastier versions include repeatedly stabbing the victim after throwing the serving tray in their face....

Oh, and as an aside, this kata apparently comes from when the founder was ordered to kill a friend, and chose this method. The idea is to be able to hide your intent from them until it's too late.... and people think Ninja are sneaky!


Personally I'd just poison them :)

[Supra Vijai]

Is this what you're talking about Supra?

n2_Z-whRDRk

The first kata in Araki Ryu Kempo Kogusoku is exactly that, invite someone round for tea, get them a nice cuppa, then attack!!! Some nastier versions include repeatedly stabbing the victim after throwing the serving tray in their face....

Oh, and as an aside, this kata apparently comes from when the founder was ordered to kill a friend, and chose this method. The idea is to be able to hide your intent from them until it's too late.... and people think Ninja are sneaky!

Ummm... yes.... that's exactly what I had in mind when I made that example up, I mean recalled that kata ;)

@ Tez - Please see my previous comment lol

[Tez3]

Supra, I have a long standing invite to go out to Australia (well Tasmania lol) when I save up enough money and get there we really will have to meet up........................:lol:

[Supra Vijai]

That sounds fun Tez :) Tassie as we call it is "around the corner" from where we are so it's a short flight/swim over. Maybe you could come see us train sometime as well, might make some difference to how you view ninjutsu. AFAIK no one in our classes wears home made rope sandals and hides in bushes :lol:

[Flying Crane]

you all are invited to look me up if you ever make it to California. San Francisco to be more exact. Consider the invite open.

Just thought I'd throw it out there, since we're gettin' all warm and fuzzy...

[Tez3]

you all are invited to look me up if you ever make it to California. San Francisco to be more exact. Consider the invite open.

Just thought I'd throw it out there, since we're gettin' all warm and fuzzy...

But we aren't drinking tea or coffee with anyone!

[Flying Crane]

But we aren't drinking tea or coffee with anyone!

I always have a case (or partial) of Guinness in the fridge...

[Supra Vijai]

Given the recent discussion, I'd personally think that not drinking coffee or tea is the safer option ;)

[Flying Crane]

Given the recent discussion, I'd personally think that not drinking coffee or tea is the safer option ;)

I wouldn't dream of offering a cup...

[Supra Vijai]

Just a friendly pint?

I feel kinda bad... It seems almost every thread I post in tends to get derailed... Fun derailed but derailed so apologies to the OP!

[Tez3]

Just a friendly pint?

I feel kinda bad... It seems almost every thread I post in tends to get derailed... Fun derailed but derailed so apologies to the OP!


to be honest it's probably me, it's how I have conversations at home, well it's probably how most women have conversations!

Besides I am still waiting for the OP to explain to me what he's talking about , I'm not that dim but it just all seems very complicated and frankly how complicated can hitting and kicking someone be?

[Supra Vijai]

Once again, that proves you're a sweetheart outside the ring but I can't let you take the fall for this one. Happens in threads you haven't posted on as well. For instance I started a thread in the JSA titled 'Why do you train' asking (surprise surprise) why people trained in sword arts, what the fascination was and it was going great for a page and a bit and now we're in a discussion about Sensei... I mean Mr. Parker's devilish good looks and charms....

As for the actual OP, I'm confused. I thought it was just him asking for an opinion of material shown in a video? Or you do you mean Mr. Case's reply?

[Rayban]

You're always involved Supra! haha.

At least no one has mentioned the zombie apocalypse yet.

[Supra Vijai]

You're always involved Supra! haha.

At least no one has mentioned the zombie apocalypse yet.

What can I say? I have free time at work lately... Oh wait, you just did :P

[Tez3]

Once again, that proves you're a sweetheart outside the ring but I can't let you take the fall for this one. Happens in threads you haven't posted on as well. For instance I started a thread in the JSA titled 'Why do you train' asking (surprise surprise) why people trained in sword arts, what the fascination was and it was going great for a page and a bit and now we're in a discussion about Sensei... I mean Mr. Parker's devilish good looks and charms....

As for the actual OP, I'm confused. I thought it was just him asking for an opinion of material shown in a video? Or you do you mean Mr. Case's reply?


I posted up saying I had no idea what he was talking about and was hoping for a simple answer but I'm guessing I have to pay for it?

[Supra Vijai]

Oh right, when you said us non americans needed a translation from the california/movie speak. Totally missed that. Threw me when you said OP though cause the thread was started by TaiChiTJ asking for people's opinions on the video he provided. I blame global warming for all miscommunication

[Tez3]

Oh right, when you said us non americans needed a translation from the california/movie speak. Totally missed that. Threw me when you said OP though cause the thread was started by TaiChiTJ asking for people's opinions on the video he provided. I blame global warming for all miscommunication


Sorry I meant the Original Poster as opposed to original post, my mistake, I posted further on too where I said I didn't understand what he was talking about. As I said I think I'm supposed to pay to find out.

[Supra Vijai]

methinks my forum speak is lacking, I always thought OP meant original post/poster - as in the person who physically started the thread. So it's more about the subject matter raised?

As for paying to find out, I'm sure Mr. Case will be on here when he's able to and reply. He's done it twice already when he really didn't have to so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he's just been really busy over the holidays and is now sorting things out offline.

[Tez3]

methinks my forum speak is lacking, I always thought OP meant original post/poster - as in the person who physically started the thread. So it's more about the subject matter raised?

As for paying to find out, I'm sure Mr. Case will be on here when he's able to and reply. He's done it twice already when he really didn't have to so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying he's just been really busy over the holidays and is now sorting things out offline.

I find it's the time differences too, you'll be just getting up as I go to bed. People can't always be online at the right time to answer questions etc.

Of course when I'm on nights I'm the same time as you lol.

[Rayban]

Off topic.... but on topic.

How do you find a correlation between Boolean Algebra and MA?

-Boolean is a logical programming language described by logic gates.

-MA (IMO) is a journey of self discovery achieved through training, practicing and striving for perfection.

There is a connection between Boolean and learning in a sequential and logical manner, but in MA learning a technique is 5% of the art.

Once you learn the movement you train it and practice it. With time and with subtle adaptations you then (if not straight away) learn the principle of the technique.

This is how I learn MA, but I'm just curious how Boolean plays anymore then a "I do this, then this, then this...etc" role.


Sorry Supra, I hijacked it back from you and Tez :)

You can have it back if you want.

[Flying Crane]

Off topic.... but on topic.

How do you find a correlation between Boolean Algebra and MA?

-Boolean is a logical programming language described by logic gates.

-MA (IMO) is a journey of self discovery achieved through training, practicing and striving for perfection.

There is a connection between Boolean and learning in a sequential and logical manner, but in MA learning a technique is 5% of the art.

Once you learn the movement you train it and practice it. With time and with subtle adaptations you then (if not straight away) learn the principle of the technique.

This is how I learn MA, but I'm just curious how Boolean plays anymore then a "I do this, then this, then this...etc" role.


Sorry Supra, I hijacked it back from you and Tez :)

You can have it back if you want.

I don't know anything about boolian algebra, and this was one of my questions as well.

My take on it is, if you can work in terms like "boolian algebra", and quasi-scientific notions and whatnot, it makes you look really really smart to the uneducated.

[Supra Vijai]

Hijack away! We pretty much hijacked this thread to form global friendships while waiting for Mr. Case's reply so it's only fair someone takes it back onto the topic lol

Again it's probably best to wait for Mr. Case to reply as this is his course we are taking the liberty of discussing but in terms of a logical sequence of learning in this context, I think it works quite well. If you take a look at the website it says that the focus is shifted to the mechanics of the techs rather than the spiritual/philosophical backing or at least that's what I'm getting from the following quote:


I want you to think on something. Aikido is fantastic, but it is founded on religious principles. And this slows it down, makes it significant,and provides a long path.But if you look at it logically,that shouldn’t take away the profound spirituality of the Art! It should just speed it up


Purely based on that, I would guess that Mr. Case is offering a course that is simply the mechanics - I do this, then this, then this - and not the history or principles of why. He doesn't claim to teach the history or the why either, just the techs themselves with the onus being on the students to fill in any gaps if they so desire. If I may, I'd also like to refer you to a thread called 'The Hobbyist vs. The Serious Student' (http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92509)

It's not quite the same but it explores the distinction to a very slight degree between someone who is attending classes for fun, fitness and a social activity as opposed to someone wanting to absorb the art in it's entirety.

[Rayban]

I don't know anything about boolian algebra, and this was one of my questions as well.

My take on it is, if you can work in terms like "boolian algebra", and quasi-scientific notions and whatnot, it makes you look really really smart to the uneducated.

Exactly!

"Big unknown words make smart"

I actually use Boolean pretty much every day in one form or another and its pretty specific to electronics. You can get a logical method of learning out of it, but you kinda need to have that before you can understand it O_O.

And this would be where sooner or later someone who knows will correct you :)

[jks9199]

OP is contextual; it may mean original post or original poster.

It seems Mr. Case has some interesting ideas. I'd like to hear more about his approach without the buzz words that don't seem to be used in their typical definitions. For example, Boolean Algebra is a term of mathematics, and while I get the idea that there can be some use of truth tables to categorize or sort physical movements... I don't see how to tie the two together here.

[Cirdan]

Fourth, check out the other vids on youtube.
I'm one of the few people in the world who can put out a candle
with a punch from over a foot away. The vid is on youtube.


I bet Bruce Calkins and Ashida Kim could do that also..
What is it good for anyway?

[jks9199]

Birthday parties? :D

Blowing out candles with a punch can demonstrate speed and snap, as it only works if you can put that punch out there fast and with enough explosiveness to create the gust. It's also an exercise for focus.

[Bruno@MT]

The boolean algebra thing is a cute way of proving / showing which response goes with which attack, at what moment. It is an intellectual breakdown of the technical side. And as such it has some merit and I can perfectly believe that an experienced practicioner would need no more than 80 minutes to explain a diagram that covers all possible attacks and their responses.

What this does not do is give you any of the physical development that 40 years of practice does. Your muscles, tendons, and bones will still be undeveloped. It also does not give you coordination, balance and reflexes. And it does not ingrain the movements into your muscle memory. It does not provide the psychological training or the experience to deal with adrenaline.

So after watching that DVD and 'understanding aikido', you'd still need 40 years of time to develop your mind and body to the point where you actually have 40 years of experience.
But at least you can feel confident that your skills are 'matrixed'...

[mook jong man]

Check this out , after only 80 minutes of boolean algebra training I was able to do this.


http://www.regrettablesincerity.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/matrix_matrix_117_1-300x231.jpg

[Tez3]

Reckon the England cricket team have been doing Boolean training? :flame:

[mook jong man]

Reckon the England cricket team have been doing Boolean training? :flame:

Don't you bloody start.

They've been doing something thats for sure , just been way to good for our blokes.
England have totally outclassed us.
We need Warnie to come back out of retirement and play again , if we can drag him away long enough from his mobile and texting Liz Hurley that is.

[Supra Vijai]

Don't you bloody start.

They've been doing something thats for sure , just been way to good for our blokes.
England have totally outclassed us.
We need Warnie to come back out of retirement and play again , if we can drag him away long enough from his mobile and texting Liz Hurley that is.

Umm with all due respect, would YOU stop texting Liz Hurley to play a game of cricket in 40 degree heat? I wouldn't and I'm Indian! lol ;)

[mook jong man]

Umm with all due respect, would YOU stop texting Liz Hurley to play a game of cricket in 40 degree heat? I wouldn't and I'm Indian! lol ;)

You've got a point there , Liz Hurley is absolutely stunning.
Don't know what she sees in Warnie though , the mans as thick as a brick.

Although he does look as though he's had a bit of work done dont you think ?
Every time he's on tele I have to turn it off because looking at his new dazzling white teeth with the naked eye nearly burned my retinas out.

[jks9199]

As fascinating as cricket may be -- maybe we can stick to Al Case's approach to MA here?

[Tez3]

As fascinating as cricket may be -- maybe we can stick to Al Case's approach to MA here?

We are waiting for him to post answers to our questions and to explain what it is, we can't discuss what we don't understand.

And on the subject of cricket surely this matrix thing isn't sport specific so if it were that good first class cricketers, athletes, soccer and American footbal players etc etc would all be doing it? In that case wouldn't we have heard of it before? If it wewre martial arts specific why wouldn't those of us who had been around a while have either heard of it or worked it out for ourselves, somebody would have before now surely?

[Chris Parker]

As JKS has asked, let's look a little more at Mr Case's approach here. I've spent the last hour or two going through hsi previous posts and threads to get a better idea of his method of communication, as well as his blog (as suggested by Mr Case on the first page here). And I'm afraid to say that I'm seeing a growing number of issues and misunderstandings of martial arts which appear to have lead him to the approach he's using, including thinking that it's something new.

There are frequent reference to martial arts being "jumbled up", taught in no particular order, with the hope that you will eventually be able to make sense of it all. That appears to be the central reasoning for this whole "matrix" idea. Unfortunately, it's just not the way things are... at least, it's not the way that they're designed. Every art that I have come across has it's own form of structure, but it definately has structure. In karate you learn one kata after another, each building on skill sets and tactics from previous ones. Japanese systems are incredibly systematic in their teaching methods and structural format. Aikido teaches one movement at a time, in fact their naming method indicates the order of progression (ikkyo, nikyo, sankyo...). Chinese systems are structured in that the student is taught as their skill, talent, and dedication dictate. Again, forms are followed in the correct order for the same reasons. Same with Tae Kwon Do. And so on, and so on.

So if Mr Case doesn't think that martial arts have any structure, I can only think of two possible explanations; either he wasn't told, or he didn't realise. If the former, then that is the fault of his teachers. If the latter, well, that's his misunderstanding.

There are threads in the "Articles" section such as one on combining Wing Chun and Aikido, in which the feeling I get is that Mr Case seems to think that all martial arts should be based in the same principles and ideas, a generic "martial art" kinda thing. That, of course, is not the way they work. So his issues in attending an Aikido class, and acting in a karate fashion before trying to apply Wing Chun to it in some way, and then saying that it "takes an extreme common sense to put arts together". No, it takes a lack of understanding to try that in the first place, trying to force them together without understanding the reasons for them to be different in the first place. That article can be found here: http://martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84090

There is also one about reaction time which, honestly, seems rather odd at least. I think he's getting at the concept of Koteki Ryuda within the Japanese systems, however the description (stating that reaction time is one of the biggest "scams" foisted upon martial artists) seems to imply that any art that looks at a reactionary response (defence after an attack is launched) is incorrect. While, strategically, waiting is not the best option, Mr Case does seem to again miss how martial arts are designed to work (starting with basic block-and-counter methods, and moving on to more advanced tactics as time and skill improve).

When we go to the aforementioned blog, there are quite a few things that indicate to me that, despite his 40+ years in the arts, Mr Case appears not to have developed any real understanding of any of the various systems he has experienced. This includes such things as his "Reasons that you should Matrix your Martial Art", which contradicts itself, as well as contradicting how a martial art works, and in fact, what a martial art is.


Here are 8 reasons you should Matrix your Martial Art.
1) Make your art logical
2) Get rid of lame techniques
3) Streamline your Art
4) Learn up to 10 Xs faster
5) Turn on your intuition
6) Learn entire arts
7) Make all arts into one art
8) Find out the truth of the martial arts

If we look at the above list, numbers 2 and 3 indicate removing aspects of your art. Now, if the art is completely understood, then I can go with that... provided the reasons for the "lame" or more "cumbersome" aspects of the art are there in the first place. But of course, if we are removing aspects, how are we achieving number 6, learning an entire art? The first thing we did, without knowing why things were there, was remove bits that didn't seem to make sense. Number 6 also contradicts number 7, making all arts into one... as as soon as you do that, you remove the aspects that make each art seperate, and complete. And as for finding out the truth of the martial arts, I am increasingly less convinced that Mr Case can actually deliver on anything close to that, as there are too many issues with his understanding from the evidence presented.

This is further evidenced in one of the blog entries, where Mr Case describes his learning Karate initially from a book. This is accompanied by a short clip about some bunkai on Pinan Five, in which I can see very little Karate, in posture, use of legs and hips, movement in striking, and so on. Amongst other clips was one entitled: Cool Knife Disarms! The disarms shown lack realism, the attacker lacks any realistic response or attacking methodology, and they are, sadly, far from "cool" to my mind.

In short, Mr Case, although he seems rather successful in his sales endeavours (if his stats and testimonials are halfway true), however the target seems to be people who want a short-cut, and are frankly not well-versed. And while I can appreciate the marketing methods he's employing, the product itself seems to be rather lacking.

Al, I say all of this not to offend, but to offer an honest appraisal of the way your product is presented, as well as the way you present yourself in these forums and on your blog. I hope you take it in the way it was intended.

[stone_dragone]

Not to resurrect a year dead thread, but I have just purchased one of Mr. Case's programs out of curiosity and will review it and let folks know what I think first hand.

I figured for the cost of a dinner out, if I can learn three things that I didn't know, then the $ and time'll be worth it.

I'll let y'all know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oftheherd1]

Not to resurrect a year dead thread, but I have just purchased one of Mr. Case's programs out of curiosity and will review it and let folks know what I think first hand.

I figured for the cost of a dinner out, if I can learn three things that I didn't know, then the $ and time'll be worth it.

I'll let y'all know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking forward to it.

[clfsean]

I'd go for dinner myself...

[TaiChiTJ]

Not to resurrect a year dead thread, but I have just purchased one of Mr. Case's programs out of curiosity and will review it and let folks know what I think first hand.



Good! I have just recently worked through his entire "Forty Monkees". It would be great to hear your analysis.

[clfsean]

Still say better spent $$$$ is on dinner.

Sent from my Thunderbolt on Tapatalk. Excuse the auto-correct spelling errors.

[jks9199]

Good! I have just recently worked through his entire "Forty Monkees". It would be great to hear your analysis.
Maybe you can tell us what you thought about that program?

[Flying Crane]

that's the trick of it. Make the price low enough that if people are not happy with it, they are more likely to just walk away and don't bother to collect the refund. One can get rich off that approach.

I sometimes consider talking to a fortune teller, under the same notion. Hey, it's not really that much money, I'm just morbidly curious, what the hell, give it a go just for giggles and *****. But again, that's probably what the fortune teller is hoping for: someone who is just morbidly curious and willing to part with a few bucks.

[Flying Crane]

Good! I have just recently worked through his entire "Forty Monkees". It would be great to hear your analysis.

what the hell are "forty monkees"?

[clfsean]

what the hell are "forty monkees"?

-Several watchings of the Brad Pitt/Bruce Willis movie

-What happens after drinking with the Beastie Boys

-A buffet from "The Faces of Death"

Any of the above really.

Sent from my Thunderbolt on Tapatalk. Excuse the auto-correct spelling errors.

[TaiChiTJ]

what the hell are "forty monkees"?

Here is my take:

The forty monkees are an organized collection of forty self protection actions that are practiced with a partner. They come from a wide variety of traditional martial arts, encompassing chinna (joint locks), aikido projections, kung-fu / kenpo techniques, and probably some other traditional arts I don’t know the name of.

Case’s organization of these techniques, as they flow from one part of the body to another, has a logical progression to it. Nothing new has been invented, Case just rearranged existing techniques from traditional arts in a manner that respects what fighting range they are performed at and, he feels, makes logical sense and is therefore easier to learn.

Consider the curriculum page on Bill Parson’s Triangle Kenpo site. At the top of the page is a table called “Techniques by Belt”, with the color of the belt on the far left and the techniques belonging to that belt on the right.

Now, scroll down past that section and you will see another table, “Techniques by Attack”, with “strikes”, “grabs”, “sparring”, “kicks” etc., on the far left and a further delineation one column over with “right inside”, “right outside” and what technique the IKCA teaches for that attack and the last column showing just exactly what kind of “right inside” punch it is.

http://www.trianglekenpo.com/curriculum.htm (http://www.trianglekenpo.com/curriculum.htm)


Al Case’s word for “table” is “matrix”.

I am showing my age here but let’s also consider the original hardbound edition of “Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere”, first published sometime in the mid-seventies, I think. Some of my fellow ma elders may remember the book and especially the pull-out section that was bound in the middle of the hardbound edition of that book. This was another table that showed the particular Aikido wrist or elbow lock on the far left and then, in columns on the right, specific Aikido neutralizations or projections that lock was used in. The book is still published, I think, but only in paper back, and that table is no longer included. I looked on the web, hoping maybe somebody had put up a picture of that pull-out section but could not find it.

These two examples are ok, but they don’t quite show the “nth degree” to which Master Al has gone into the analysis of human motion in the execution of a wide variety of traditional martial arts.

His analysis favors large chunks of a particular system, not the system in its entirety. For example, the footwork of a shaolin system, or an analysis of motion in Tai Chi push hands.


hope that is understandable

[Flying Crane]

Here is my take:

The forty monkees are an organized collection of forty self protection actions that are practiced with a partner. They come from a wide variety of traditional martial arts, encompassing chinna (joint locks), aikido projections, kung-fu / kenpo techniques, and probably some other traditional arts I don’t know the name of.

Case’s organization of these techniques, as they flow from one part of the body to another, has a logical progression to it. Nothing new has been invented, Case just rearranged existing techniques from traditional arts in a manner that respects what fighting range they are performed at and, he feels, makes logical sense and is therefore easier to learn.

Consider the curriculum page on Bill Parson’s Triangle Kenpo site. At the top of the page is a table called “Techniques by Belt”, with the color of the belt on the far left and the techniques belonging to that belt on the right.

Now, scroll down past that section and you will see another table, “Techniques by Attack”, with “strikes”, “grabs”, “sparring”, “kicks” etc., on the far left and a further delineation one column over with “right inside”, “right outside” and what technique the IKCA teaches for that attack and the last column showing just exactly what kind of “right inside” punch it is.

http://www.trianglekenpo.com/curriculum.htm (http://www.trianglekenpo.com/curriculum.htm)


Al Case’s word for “table” is “matrix”.

I am showing my age here but let’s also consider the original hardbound edition of “Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere”, first published sometime in the mid-seventies, I think. Some of my fellow ma elders may remember the book and especially the pull-out section that was bound in the middle of the hardbound edition of that book. This was another table that showed the particular Aikido wrist or elbow lock on the far left and then, in columns on the right, specific Aikido neutralizations or projections that lock was used in. The book is still published, I think, but only in paper back, and that table is no longer included. I looked on the web, hoping maybe somebody had put up a picture of that pull-out section but could not find it.

These two examples are ok, but they don’t quite show the “nth degree” to which Master Al has gone into the analysis of human motion in the execution of a wide variety of traditional martial arts.

His analysis favors large chunks of a particular system, not the system in its entirety. For example, the footwork of a shaolin system, or an analysis of motion in Tai Chi push hands.


hope that is understandable

It's understandable as far as you describe it, but the approach is fundamentally flawed.

the movement of the technique is not what is important. Each system has a foundational method in how techniques are delivered and used, and this method can vary widely from one system to another. Simply mimicking the movement of the technique, without understanding and properly using the foundation for that system, will not give you a viable technique. So if this is a collection of techniques taken from many different systems, then I can guarantee the proper foundation for each system is not being used. What is happening is he is presenting physical movement, without understanding what it is that actually makes that movement effective. Those different techniques from different systems are being forced onto one common foundation that is improper for many of them. Square peg, round hole.

It's a collection of unrelated movements. Each technique may be viable when placed within the proper context of its system. But taken outside of that context and training it without the proper foundation, the usefulness and effectiveness is severely reduced, even to the point of being useless.

The fact that someone would create a method in this way tells me that he has very little understanding of how this stuff works.

[clfsean]

It's understandable as far as you describe it, but the approach is fundamentally flawed.

the movement of the technique is not what is important. Each system has a foundational method in how techniques are delivered and used, and this method can vary widely from one system to another. Simply mimicking the movement of the technique, without understanding and properly using the foundation for that system, will not give you a viable technique. So if this is a collection of techniques taken from many different systems, then I can guarantee the proper foundation for each system is not being used. What is happening is he is presenting physical movement, without understanding what it is that actually makes that movement effective. Those different techniques from different systems are being forced onto one common foundation that is improper for many of them. Square peg, round hole.

It's a collection of unrelated movements. Each technique may be viable when placed within the proper context of its system. But taken outside of that context and training it without the proper foundation, the usefulness and effectiveness is severely reduced, even to the point of being useless.

The fact that someone would create a method in this way tells me that he has very little understanding of how this stuff works.

Brilliant... simple, direct, brilliant.

[TaiChiTJ]

You make good points! Keep in mind I don't claim to be skilled at his system or understand everything. There are other "chunks" to the system I know a little about, however I cannot speak with authority.

I just have a sustaining interest in those ma's on american soil who have in some way created offshoots, such as Tak Wah Eng's "New York Nan Chuan" Shifu Mancuso has written about, Tony Annesi's bushido-kai, Sullivan and LeRoux, etc.

With Case, we have something decidedly different, and as you believe, his matrixing has left important foundational elements out.

I did describe it as far as I understand it, and meant it in that vein.

[Flying Crane]

You make good points! Keep in mind I don't claim to be skilled at his system or understand everything. There are other "chunks" to the system I know a little about, however I cannot speak with authority.

I just have a sustaining interest in those ma's on american soil who have in some way created offshoots, such as Tak Wah Eng's "New York Nan Chuan" Shifu Mancuso has written about, Tony Annesi's bushido-kai, Sullivan and LeRoux, etc.

With Case, we have something decidedly different, and as you believe, his matrixing has left important foundational elements out.

I did describe it as far as I understand it, and meant it in that vein.

I understand, and I appreciate your description. My comments are not aimed at you; I understand you are simply taking a look at what he is doing.

The approach that he is taking, at least as far as you have been able to describe it, reduces the effectiveness of a technique to a simple factor of one's physical strength. The technique relies primarily on physical strength, and ignores the physical efficiency that the mother system builds into the methodology. If one is physically strong, he can still find certain things effective because his strength carries him thru. But this masks the fact that he doesn't understand how the technique is really meant to function, and fails to reach the true potential of the technique.

It's not difficult to hurt someone. You do not need to have superior technique, or a sophisticated martial system to do so. One can be a "tough guy" and be able to hurt someone, even tho one's martial skills may not be very high. It's important to recognize the difference. Being a tough guy who can fight and beat people up is not automatically the same thing as being a skilled martial artist.

Personally, I'm looking for a higher level of true skill.

[Chris Parker]

It's understandable as far as you describe it, but the approach is fundamentally flawed.

the movement of the technique is not what is important. Each system has a foundational method in how techniques are delivered and used, and this method can vary widely from one system to another. Simply mimicking the movement of the technique, without understanding and properly using the foundation for that system, will not give you a viable technique. So if this is a collection of techniques taken from many different systems, then I can guarantee the proper foundation for each system is not being used. What is happening is he is presenting physical movement, without understanding what it is that actually makes that movement effective. Those different techniques from different systems are being forced onto one common foundation that is improper for many of them. Square peg, round hole.

It's a collection of unrelated movements. Each technique may be viable when placed within the proper context of its system. But taken outside of that context and training it without the proper foundation, the usefulness and effectiveness is severely reduced, even to the point of being useless.

The fact that someone would create a method in this way tells me that he has very little understanding of how this stuff works.


I understand, and I appreciate your description. My comments are not aimed at you; I understand you are simply taking a look at what he is doing.

The approach that he is taking, at least as far as you have been able to describe it, reduces the effectiveness of a technique to a simple factor of one's physical strength. The technique relies primarily on physical strength, and ignores the physical efficiency that the mother system builds into the methodology. If one is physically strong, he can still find certain things effective because his strength carries him thru. But this masks the fact that he doesn't understand how the technique is really meant to function, and fails to reach the true potential of the technique.

It's not difficult to hurt someone. You do not need to have superior technique, or a sophisticated martial system to do so. One can be a "tough guy" and be able to hurt someone, even tho one's martial skills may not be very high. It's important to recognize the difference. Being a tough guy who can fight and beat people up is not automatically the same thing as being a skilled martial artist.

Personally, I'm looking for a higher level of true skill.

Yeah, I'm with Michael here as well. The description you proffer, TaiChiTJ, just matches the issues noted earlier in the thread, and leveled directly at Al himself. Based on his blog, the descriptions from both himself and yourself, Al's youtube clips, and so on, he seems to be missing quite a fair bit of what makes a martial art work, instead looking at them as collections of techniques, rather than bodies of congurent knowledge, and is angling towards people who want a 'quick fix' answer. He'll get customers, sure, but I'd be very hesitant to call them students (his, or even in general, honestly) as I don't think they'd get what I'd consider an actual martial arts education.