As time went on, I realized that having gone to a Martial Arts School, I was not the same as other people. I don’t think I realized how much martial arts had made me different until the day I ran a social experiment where I had a martial arts student fart on food. FYI, no food was actually harmed in the conducting of this social experiment…grin.
You don’t need such arts as Karate, Taekwondo or Aikido if you need a good gun defense. Though, to be sure, grin, it would help. That said, let me tell you an interesting tale of a friend of mine in Mexico City.
I have said that the Eight Catchers are the epitome of the Martial Arts. And, I have said that you should study extensive fighting disciplines, Karate, Tai Chi Chuan, Shaolin, whatever, before you begin your minimum of two years of practice on solely the Catchers. That said, here is a description of the Sword Catcher, which is an Aikido based technique, and images of it can be found in Monster Martial Arts newsletter X-5.
No matter which art you study, Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Ninjitsu, or whatever, you must be able to perceive the idea behind any attack. I have written about this subject since I began writing in the martial arts magazines over thirty years ago. I find it bizarre that nobody else writes about it.
I’ve been waiting for the definite proof that Matrix Martial Arts doesn’t work. Glad to say, there is no proof. All the proof seems to indicate that it does work, and better than people expect.
The name ‘Aikido’ is produced by the grouping of three characters in the Japanese language. ‘Ai’, which signifies ‘joining’; ‘ki’, which means ‘spirit’ and ‘do’, which which means ‘way’. These three words in fact actualy do encapsulate the essence of Aikido as a type of martial art: ‘the joining of the spirit to find the way’. It was only in the period from 1930’s to the 1940’s that the name Aikido was formally accepted as the name of this martial art type.
I was talking with one of my students the other day, and we were discussing condensing body calisthenics into maybe a half dozen simple motions. Think about it, five martial arts exercises that help you be stronger, faster and more powerful. All you need to do is these five exercises!
People shouting and yelling, it is like a riot, and fifty teenagers are grabbing everything they can and heading for the doors. This kind of thing doesn’t happen? It is happening, and in major cities everywhere, and the only solution is to use a little Karate or Kung Fu or some other Martial Art, or whatever martial art you know, to survive the situation.
My official beginning in the study of the martial arts was back in the late sixties. I walked into an Ed Parker Chinese Kenpo Dojo, signed a contract, and began to learn Martial Arts. The truth, however, is that I had been getting free Karate Lessons for a long time before I walked into that school.
The Secret of the Martial Arts is how to achieve Awareness. The Secret of All Life is how to achieve Awareness. Thus, the Secret of Life is within you, and all you have to do is figure out how to grow awareness.
