Al Case
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Posts by Al Case
Learning The Martial Arts Forms Art By Art
When we consider the best martial arts forms we are speaking of those martial arts kata that result in a the most benefit to the student. To be honest, I usually recommend learning as many kata as possible, then working on the ones that the student prefers, although there can be oddities in this approach. I also hold that one should learn whole arts, first taekwondo, then karate, then kung fu, and so on.
The kebons are good, basic forms, and are common to both karate systems and taekwondo systems. Though there are three to five of these, I don't usually count them as forms because they are learning the important but easy ABCs of the martial arts.
The next batch of kata to study would be the Taeguks as taught in Tae kwon do. These are basic patterns, more advanced than the kebons, but not as advanced as the Japanese Heians (Pinans). Though they take a few moves from the Heian forms, they serve them up as straight hand to hand techniques, no secret throws or weapons disarms, and no real generation of intrinsic energy.
After the taeguks one should move directly into the Pinan forms from the Shotokan system, the Isshin ryu system, and other Japanese martial styles. The Pinan forms are actually designed more for weapons and weapon defenses, though not many people know that. The idea here is that one studies the Taeguks for hand to hand, then moves into the Pinans for a basic understanding of weapons disarms, and the beginnings of chi generation.
After the Pinans I recommend the three forms from Pan Gai Noon, which is the base art of Uechi ryu Karate, and which are actually three extremely hard core kung fu forms. These three forms are sanchin, seisan, and sanseirui, though sanseirui is considered more of a show form. These three unique kata are specifically designed to generate internal energy.
The Sanchin form teaches a student to fasten the body/motor to the ground. There are not a lot of moves in it, but the moves are excellent for teaching one to use hard energy in self defense moves.
Sanchin may be the form that builds power, but seisan is the kata which builds technique. This form takes the power of sanchin and creates (probably) 13 specific self defense moves. These are all based on one specific motion called wa uke, which is a circle block with a grab on the end.
So, Kebons to Taeguk to Pinans to Sanchin and seisan; taekwondo to karate to kung fu. This sequencing of martial arts forms provides the student with the absolute best and most complete arrangement of classical training possible. Other forms can and should be learned, but the heart of the art is really in this arrangement of art.
Find outthe correct way to sequence all the Martial Arts forms with the Evolution of Art course at Monster Martial Arts. Mouse to Monster Martial Arts. A1
Three Things You Have To Do To Study From Martial Arts DVDs
Some people might not want you to know this, but it is quick and easy to learn good karate or kenpo, or whatever art you wish to learn, from Martial Arts DVDs. You can learn hard core self defense, fighting taekwondo, classical gung fu fighting techniques. You can learn virtually any art there is, and there are judo dvds, taekwondo DVDs, you can even look into martial arts DVD rental!
Before you purchase that Kung Fu training DVD and start doing the Randy Couture all over the place, there are three things that you absolutely must do. It really is critical, and your success or failure will hinge upon these three things. Indeed, without doing these three items you might just as well give up your martial arts DVD training.
The first thing you need, and this is so simple that it is a no brainer, is you need a place. Even if you don't have a personal Shotokan training hall, or a taekwondo dojang, or a Kung Fu kwoon, you must act as if you do. You have to select a spot in which to train and mock it up as a fighting dojo.
You need to clear out the bric a brac, not just stack it in the corners, because you are going to want to hang shiny kung fu weapons on the walls. You are going to have to check the stability of the rafters, because you are going to want to hang a kicking bag and not break the roof! You are going to want about 15 by 15 of cleaned out floor space, because you want to be able to execute Choy Lay Fut patterns or work on your shotokan karate kata DVD without tripping on things or stepping on anything.
The second thing you will need to have is a regular block of time. I know this sounds silly, but the work a day world survives, people learn things in educational institutions, everything on the planet runs by being in the right place at the right time. So you are going to need to mark a couple of hours on regular days, and never miss an appointment!
Your wife wants you to take her shopping...no! The kids are going to have to keep busy by themselves. And turn that darn cellphone off!
Now, you have the time and the location, and one would assume you have the best martial arts video training tape money can buy (my favorite is Matrix Karate...it was inexpensive, but the information on it was worth ten DVDs), and you must not forget...your partner! You need to have somebody who is willing to do the work out, put in the effort, make the appointment, and wants to have a ball! In a way, your martial arts training partner is the most important thing of all, because without a person to practice your kung fu techniques on it just won't really work!
Now, you know what you have to do, and I want to say one thing: past the cost of cleaning your garage and a few Parker Kenpo videos, this is virtually free martial arts training. You go at your own pace, no one to jack you up or slow you down. And that's my recommendation for how to learn from Martial Arts DVDs.
The best martial arts video instruction in the world is available at Monster Martial Arts. Pick up a free ebook while you're at Monster Martial Arts. 5
Win Every Battle With The Only Three Techniques Of Kickboxing Karate
I know, kickboxing karate doesn't really exist, but it does make a fine translation of arts. When you shift from karate to kickboxing, or shift from kickboxing back to karate, you can win every single contest you are in by knowing the three things I am going to tell you in this article. We are dealing only with the fists, mind you, so you have to control the distance to make sure that you stay at a distance that is comfortable for you to punch at.
If you are going to try to use this information with the feet we would have to set up an art called karate tae kwon do...grin. Or, if you were going to use it with fancy trapping manuevers we might call it shaolin kickboxing. Call it anything you want, the techniques will work, but you might have to make some changes.
Before we get going I should tell you how to set up the three techniques. The set up is to have the hands extended, elbows about 135 degrees, palms facing outward, so that the hands are in front of the shoulders. This, incidentally, is a sign of peace, an 'I don't want to fight,' which is a good thing because it is better to avoid a fight.
The basic concept here is that two objects can't be in the same place in space. Go on, shove one table through another table. You'll just end up with fire wood.
First Technique, he is going to have to go around your fist and arms, and you can defend with a hard block and punch. This isn't a counter strike, this is done simultaneous with a slight body shift/sidestep maneuver. You will have taken the initiative of the fight and can follow up with an attack on the inside line.
Second technique, he is going to try shifting to the front and leading with a jab, and you can just let him pass and punch on his body. With either of these two techniques your opponent is trying to go around you, and this will set him up by shutting his weapons down, or opening his targets up. Either way, you win.
Third technique, and this is the one we want, is when he tries to go between your hands. He can be blocked easily, and, the potential for trapping him, simply by closing your hands, is large. You trap his elbow and his wrist and work an arm bar, and when he tries to back out, or otherwise wiggle, you elbow roll him, and you can work elbow spikes and secondary punches, all while keeping him trapped and unable to fight back.
This freestyle technique can further be enhanced by shifting the body or changing the distance between the hands, thus encouraging your attacker to do exactly what you want. In other words, you will make him totally predictable, and nobody is easier to beat than a fighter who is totally and utterly predictable. So, there you go, that is how you actually matrix the initial entry into a fight, and when you win that fight just tell everybody you were doing kickboxing karate...heh.
You can get more fighting concepts that work, and find out about Matrix Martial Arts at Monster Martial Arts. Pick up a free ebook about Matrixing while you're there. 2
