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.

Okay, we need a warning, like check with a doctor before you do this. Or maybe a psychiatrist. Or maybe just make sure you’ve backed up your brains on hard drive.

Back in 1967, I had just start Kenpo Karate, one of the Tracy Brothers offshoot branches, and the head instructor decided to put on a breaking seminar. I don’t know what he was thinking, maybe he had a side business selling insurance or something. At any rate, the potential for disaster was looming.

There is an old martial arts saying, when the student is ready the master will appear. Sounds neat, eh? You get so good that some ancient master pops out of the woodwork and gives you the sacred teaching!

The truth of what happens, however is not quite as it sounds. In fact, the truth of the matter is an oddity that is hard tobelieve. Let me tell you what really happens.

This is sort of a fascinating question. Nobody has ever come up with a good answer for it, and yet people have tried virtually everything in the world to keep students from leaving. I mean, they were doing good, they were excited, and then they disappeared.

The answer for this problem, and a way to keep enrollment high, is possible through something called Matrix Martial Arts. Matrixing is a technology that introduces logic to the martial arts. The fact of discovering why students drop out came to light because of it.

Zingo bingo! The Strongest Mind ever to exist in the Whole Wide World! Able to woo any dame and beat up any villain, and…sounds a bit too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Oddly, what I did worked, but not in the way I thought it would. So let me tell you what I did, no charge, and see how you do. Are you ready?

The very first move of Karate, as taken from the first Heian or Pinan form, is a step to the side with a low block. But Karate was not designed for blocking. Yes, there are blocks in the art, and it can be adapted to blocking and striking modes, but it was not designed for blocking except by the way.

Karate was designed to guard the king of Okinawa. The Imperial bodyguards were trained to use their art in a room filled with warriors from different countries. Soldiers with different weapons and ways of fighting, while the Okinawans had to remain unarmed.

There are times in life when it seems as if you have read someones mind. Maybe you just blurt out the same sentence at the same time, or have the same thought on a place to eat. Sometimes, however, it is as if you have looked into somebodys actual thought process and know what they are thinking.

The martial arts enhance this procedure, and a good martial art does it fast. Indeed, if you aren’t effectively reading minds after a year or two, there is probably something wrong with your martial art. At the very least, you should look into applying some principles from Matrix Martial Arts and straightening it out.