THE SECRET OF MARTIAL ARTS ALSO MEANS UNLEARNING MARTIAL ARTS!

Some are so locked into styles, systems, masters, tournments, MMA, etc. that they cannot see b eyond the walls that comprise their mazes which they run in like rats and mice,scurrying for food and sex and water, etc. Some are totally fascinated by the glitz and glamour of martial arts and bedazzled by cinematic representations of such, they appear like zombies shuffling through life listening to the 'control commands' of others, su;h as parents, teachers, politicians, governments, instructors, etc. and do not know themselves always relying on promises of an immortal soul and a future heaven or paradise to solve everything for them.

THE SECRET TO LEARNING MARTIAL ARTS ALSO DEPENDS ON RELEARNING MARTIAL ARTS!

Sometimes, everyone thinks and strongly believes they have 'learned' martial arts of some kind or many kinds when in fact they have merely scratched the surface, despite al the hours spent in the dojo,kwoon, etc. and kneeling at the feet of'masters' and undergoing various rituals and trials and garnering a wide variety of medals and trophies at tournaments or studied a vast collection of DVDs and read magazine and books by the midnight oil,etc. All well and good, but sometimes all of this stuff merely clutters up your original intentions and understanding and basic experience which led you to martial arts in the first place. Again, you may be so crusted over with opinions and practices that you stumble through the 36 CHAMB ERS of actual martial arts initiation, if you know what this is, then you may know what I am talking about, or end up dying b efore you reach your goals. DEATH COMES AT ANY TIME and martial arts are simply put, another way of dealing with death, anticipating your death, preparing for death, and remembering youself because you may die at any given time, and if you die unaware of your death etc. that might be of great importance. How you die,whether like a dog or a man depends on you not so much when you die or where you die, though these are not to be ignored if possible. Too many try to escape the world, avoid suffering and pain, and settle for 'WE ALL HAVE TO DIE SOMETIME'! The way you die, how you die, are just as important. Martial Arts can prepare you for this in many ways.

http://maillive.com/default.aspx?wa=signin1.0

DO NOT MISTAKE THE TECHNIQUE FOR THE GOAL!

THE SECRET OF LEARNING MARTIAL ARTS

The secret to learning any kind of martial arts issimply this: 'ONE LEARNS MARTIAL ARTS BY LEARNING MARTIAL ARTS'! There is no other way! That is the 'secret'! Think about this carefully,deliberately, slowly and surely. You might be surprised at what you discover about yourself!

SOMETIMES ONE LESSON IS ALL THAT IS NEEDED

Over the years I have accumulated a number of brief,one-time, on- the- spot, occasional backyard, lessons in martial arts, where I have learned and retained the method(s),the technique(s),the ideas, the concepts if any, and other things either shown to me by various unknown(to the larger world) and whose names I have forgotten but not the place or the experience, little known, and some well-known martial artists or experts while others have been gleaned from being the recipient of many 'impromptu' matches,especially during childhood and some teenage days,no doubt. I have to say that many of these lessons were given to me by people not usually considered 'martial arts experts' per se or by those who might have thought they anything but, who still knew how to defend themselves in various ways,either 'approved' or 'unapproved'! I also learned a number of things about certain weapons and a lot of them from the movies, of course, like carrying a knife concealed in a shoulder holster that a good many of use began to do,although we never attempted to kill anyone. I also learned to carry a thing that could be described as 'a brass knuckle' a copper ring that was from some electrical area that I have either found or was given. I also carried a chain,old and rusty, that I have on the farm and which might have been taken from an old trap or something similar, and this was a good 'whip' to strike at 'bullies' who accosted me at times, for I was a sort of small,frail looking child for many years.

ROUTINES

Do you have a routine? This question is not as simple as it might seem to those who think that routines are boring and sometimes completely useless. Recently, I have been watching a number of movies, those of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby(ON THE ROADS) and ABBOTT & COSTELLO, and you can add the Bowery Boys( DEADEND KIDS ,EAST SIDE KIDS,ETC.) and Laurel & Hardy,etc. all comedy teams to be sure, coming out of vaudeville in some instances. Routines are interesting and martial artists can learn a lot from watching such,rather than just watching for the sake of mere entertainment. All performers,whether circus, carnival, acrobatic, gymnastic, tournament attendees/participants,etc. as well as con-men, pick-pockets, magicians,etc. all have ROUTINES. NOW WHAT IS YOUR ROUTINE?

MARTIAL ARTS DEMOS, TRAINING,EXHIBITIONS,ETC.

Most of you have seen,if you have an interest of some kind in martial arts,numerous demonstrations, exhibitions,tournaments, and any number of instances including DVD's,movies, films, and have read books,etc. talked with people, and so forth and have quite a good idea or notion about martial arts,especially if you have spent years at such. BUT MY QUESTION IS: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SOMEONE DO SOMETHING IN MARTIAL ARTS THAT RAISES THE HAIR ON THE BACK OF YOU NECK OR HEAD? I don't mean anything that just interest you, is an outstanding TECHNICAL performance , an exciting performance, or 'crowd-pleaser' but one in which you realized you were standing in the very face of death? Of course, it was not done to kill you or scare you or the like but to instruct you, to show you what the art really is? I suspect very few persons on the contemporary martial arts scene have ever had such an experience and never will. I suspect that most will never have such an opportunity for many reasons. But if you should be fortunate enough to have seen such a thing and experienced the hairs rising on the back of your neck as you observe such, then you will know what I mean. No about of verbalisation on such will prove anything or give you any insights.

TAPI-TAPI & ARNIS DE MANO

"TAPI-TAPI" is perhaps the 'essence' of ARNIS DE MANO, sometimes spelled as: ARNIS DI MANO, ARNES DE MANO, and sometimes as ARMAS DE MANO. "Tapi-Tapi" can be considered the 'essence of arnis' just as the strikes can be considered the 'SOUL' of Arnis. This is because Arnis De Mano translates as 'HARNESS OF THE HANDS' and the term refers to the fact that Arnis is a hidden art, that is, openly done in the past under the very noses of the Spanish Conquerors and rulers in the Philippines, where Arnis is now being revived and resurrected by many groups. ARNIS was hidden or 'encoded' in themethods of harnessing horses,carabao(Kalabaw),etc. to carts or placing the elaborate trappings, halters, saddles, etc. on horses,especially for pageantry and fiestas,etc. While some consider that the term refers to the protective gauntlets worn upon the wrists,which are/were useful,no doubt, especially in European countries, in hot tropical countries such were not used too greatly by the general public probably. Many of the tactics and maneuvers of Arnis were perhaps concealed,of course, in pageantry, plays(dramas) and theater etc. especially in celebrations of a religious nature, which fiestas were. Arnis,despite the fact that 'the strikes are the soul of Arnis' is considered to be a 'defensive' art especially in it modern form(s) and the basic substitution of the stick for the blade,though many may take a good deal of exception to this notion, off the battlefield, Arnis tends to be this" defensive,even if vigorous in nature.

EXPERTISE IN MARTIAL ARTS

Being an expert means being INTELLIGENT about your martial arts! This also applies to any efforts you make, any work you do, any endeavor you undertake. In another blog, I have mentioned that people often start out strongly and do what seem to be wonderful things and to have a 'bright future' and then everything peters out! People often stasrt out well and then they lose the line of their efforts, much as in thinking, they lose the line of thought! This is because of the THREE FORCES: A,B,& C.

THE 'FATHERS' OF MARTIAL ARTS(that I have met)

It has been my privilege to meet some of the Founders and Creators of certain systems of martial arts, and especially some of those, who have been considered as "THE FATHER OF A CERTAIN MARTIAL ART" by others or certain groups and writers. Of course, there are many 'self-proclaimed' creators,originators, and masters of systems nowadays. Well, of course, everyone has to start somewhere and in martial arts there is no exception to this rule, to get somewhere, you have to make some kind of effort!. v e

BALANCE & TIMING

Two important aspects in martial arts are BALANCE & TIMING!

Lolo Halford.

Click here to view these pictures larger

THE PRINCIPLE OF LEVERAGE

The Principle of LEVERAGE is important in all forms of physical confrontation and is either overlooked entirely or overstated and exaggerated form any reasons. Personal, careful, and controplled applications using LEVERAGE will prove far more convincing than verbal discussions of this most important principle. While this may seem obvious upon reading,THE PRINCIPLE OF LEVERAGE is too often ignored especially when it TOO LATE TO APPLY! DISTANCE & BALANCE FACTORS will also influence the application of LEVERAGE in any encounter, many of which are face-to-face, unrehearsed, 'mano-a-mano' between 2 opponents .

THE IRON PALM

Interest in developing the IRON PALM,IRON BODY, and so forth is currently developing as more information, some of it excellent and some of it erroneous or misunderstood, is being released by certain groups,who often combine such with attacking or stimulating the varous vital spots of the body.

THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR

If you have read other blogs by myself, you will see that several PATHS are available to people but schools that instruct on these paths may not be readily available or if you encounter numerous teachers, gurus, instructors, classes, and the like, you will have much difficulty is separating those that can and those that can't! Of course, some instruction may be valuable to you but one must exercise caution as there are many that would seemingly get you onto a Path, perhaps what seems to be an extraordinary path and also a very benevolent path, but which turns out to lead you astray, far off course, and you end up with bitter discouragement or something that saps your very energy and time, that is, consumes your life, rendering you to various storms and byways that leave you lost in desert or wasteland or in some other perilous environment. The Way of the Warrior is certainly not for everyone and while those who are in warlike arts or occupations may consider themselves in the popular context as being warriors, which they well might be, those that are simply part timers, will have to work much harder to maintain their status as warriors. Of course, 'Old Warriors' Never Die, they just fade away'.

FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS

Since this seems to be the first blog on this subject I am doing, I hope readers will be patient and bear with me, especially if I tend to ramble and reminisce on things. You can read about me at the HAWAII KARATE MUSEUM website at http://museum.hikari.us/ where the President, Charles C. Goodin has kindly set up a FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS COLLECTION there for me. There are many interesting topics found at this website, including rare books, CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS COLLECTION and other things, including blogs by Charles C. Goodin, a noted martial arts scholar. Thank you for your time. Yours in martial arts. Halford E. Jones