GrandMaster Art Mason's Martial Musing

Here are the six tenets that we teach our students in our school.

• Integrity
• Courtesy
• Self Control
• Commitment
• Perseverance
• Indomitable Spirit

Our students must know these, live by these and show them in all aspects of life.  So why is it then that so many martial artists and instructor are such egotists? The answer is simply, they practice what they preach. That’s right, they practice what they preach!

OK, now I know you are confused! Aren’t you supposed to Practice What You Preach? Well, if you practice what you preach you practing because this is what you are preaching. Thus the HUGE egos in the martial arts world! What should you be doing? Preaching what you are practicing in your life!

Think about it….

Great news for everyone interested in further study of the pressure point system know as Kyusho Jitsu. My advanced study eBook is almost complete. I am expecting to start officially selling this eBook (pdf format) on August 15th, with a Spanish Edition to follow very soon after wards.

This book is intended for anyone who has completed the Novice programs, or is just interested in learning more! So what is cover in this eBook? Here are a few samples.

• Alarm Points
• Associated Alarm Points
• Advanced 24 Hour Cycle
• Advanced Cycle of Destruction
• Colour
• Sound
• Emotions
• Much, much more!

Yes this is really only the beginning, this volume is full of theories and methods to take your pressure point study to a new level. But here is the great news! From now until the release date you can pre-order your copy for ONLY $25!!! That is 50% off the regular price of $49.99! To pre-order simply hit the order button below. Once the eBook is compete you will be sent a link for download. The book will ship no later then August 15th 2010.

Order today and get this amazing eBook before anyone else does!

When I do Kyusho Course in my school, the novice session is 12 3 hour segments lasting a year in time. We meet once per month. My success rate with these groups getting to Black Belt is very high, but there is a reason for it. We follow certain laws that pertain to learning a new skill or any skill for that matter.

There are 4 major areas we will talk about.

1) Who to listen too. There are many people on the internet who are claiming high ranks and understanding of the art. How do you decide? Find someone who is doing the things with Kyusho you want to learn to do. That simple, but often overlooked.

2) Am I teachable? This is an important question to ask yourself. How badly on a scale of 1 to 10 do I want to learn this information and what I am will to do, change or give up to do it!

3) Technical Balance - There is a certain amount of technical skill needs to be balanced with the information processed from Kyusho Jitsu.

4) Putting it together. There are 4 knowledge states to be considered. Your goal is to the reach the forth. This takes time and much word to achieve.

a) Unconscious Incompetence- This is not knowing you don’t know something
b) Conscious Incompetence – This is know that you do not know
c) Conscious Competence – This is know that you know something
d) Unconscious Competence – This is doing something you know without thinking about it. This is the ultimate place to be in any martial art or skill.

If you apply this these skills to anything you are learning you will find great success in the field in question. Kyusho is a great example of this. If you would like to know more about learning Kyusho Jitsu visit on Kyusho Online Course Website

When you first start to study a martial art you are taught the basics of punching, kicking and blocking. Now in reality there is no blocking, blocks are just strikes. You will train and practice this for years and years until you perfect these moments. Many practitioners think that the perfection of these movements makes them masters, and to some degree this is true, but there is still so very much more to learn.

If we take a look at competition the martial artist will focus on what it is they wish to accomplish in the ring. They practice and drill the techniques they wish to use.  To be a world class competitor you must train hard and get your body into fantastic shape.  This cannot be kept up indefinitely and from a self defense aspect the focus is in the wrong place. As the fighter ages he or she become less and less affective. This is not what the arts intend.

The truth is that the longer you practice, and the older you get the more affective the art should become. This means that it must take a different direction where physical fitness is no longer the focus. A direction where understanding the human body and how it works become paramount.  The focus goes to the attacker.

When a person is first learning to defend themselves they are again taught the basics. Punch, kick and block. The focus moves to defense against grabs, pushes and punches in what is often called a 1 step situation. These are learning tools, not reality. Some of the reality systems will then proceed to practice ‘live’ attacks, often first spinning the defender to take them off their game and forcing adrenaline to flow.  This practice has it’s benefits but once again misses the target. The older the practitioner the less affective this will be.  It relies purely on strength, stamina and timing. Understanding of movement is simply not there.

The true path to advancement is in the study of the opponent and how he moves. Movement is universal and therefore can be understood and mastered. The masters of old, men like Morihei Ueshiba and Gichin Funakoshi were masters of understanding movement, the opponent and how it was to be applied. Once the basics are mastered the martial artist must move on to learning to understand the natural laws of movement and the laws of the opponent. Only then will his or her art become timeless and ageless.  Sport is a great learning tool, but it is not the path, only a fork in the road along the way.

The martial arts is a lifelong path, on in which the learning never stops.

True Martial Art study is a melding of mind, body and spirit.  Ancient martial arts texts will often refer to the ‘spiritual warrior.’  But has this part of martial arts training been lost in the last few decades, diluted by competition and the drive for higher and higher ranks?

When I began my martial arts training many years ago one of the first things my instructor dealt with in me was my ‘ego’.  He said that ego had no place in martial arts training. Being since I wanted to become a Black Belt someday I knew I had to follow his instruction to the letter. I let go of my ego, became quiet and started to learn. Our school at that time was very competitive in nature. He was an international tournament champion, one of the best of the times. My first competition was 5 months into training. I lost, a very close fight, but I lost. Afterward he asked me know I thought I had done in the fight. I grumbled and said I believed some of my kicks were close enough and should have been points. He laughed and said, “winners never complain.”

As time went by I discover that the less I was concerned about winning, the more I won. I went into the ring to have a good time and see how many points I could score. The competition became against myself rather than the other guy.  I was beginning to understand the function of my ego.

My passion in the arts was not found in competition. To me it really showed nothing of the true artist, only how good his physical conditioning was at that time. The better shape I was in the better I did in the ring.  My passion was self defense.  As my fighting days came to a close, my passion for finding truth in self defense began to flower.

Often times self defense in a Dojo is practiced in perfect conditions. Your partner of Uki will cooperate as to allow learning of the required techniques.  Sometimes you would have Uki’s that required tremendous force to control, others were very easy and then sometimes your techniques simply fail.  Every person is different, what was the universal thread to put these techniques together?

Soon came the rediscovery of ‘ego.‘ Once again when the ego is silenced the techniques work on anyone.  The wisdom of martial arts training and study is not found in the style that you teach or learn. It is found in the understanding that all movement is universal and that the true advanced study of martial arts is only about movement. The EGO stands still! Ego fights for position. The EGO resists and holds it ground.  In ego there must be a winner and loser, a right and wrong. No mind (no ego) means only to move, move from moment to moment following the Uki’s attempts at control.

Martial Arts and Wisdom are not found in a ring or in a rank. They are found in the understanding of flow and movement. The mind of no mind.

When I first started my training in the martial arts I was in the Dojo 6 days per week and hour per night. I continued this pace until I reached my Green Belt.  After than time I had the great joy of increasing my time to 2 hours per night. I would train with the advanced class and then stay and train will the beginners class.  Sunday was the only day of rest.

Today as a school we understand better the dynamics of training. Our adult classes are 75 minutes in length and encourage people to only train 2 times per week.  This has proven to be best for student retention and longevity. The benefits of training in the martial arts come with time.

In this day and age even twice per week can be challenging for people. It is not because they don’t want to train. It is because their priorities get mixed up and training is put off. People will give me a million excuses for not being in class. “Sir, I had to do this, or that.” All fine, but essentially all excuses. Sometimes there are good reasons, but this is in the 10% bracket.

Now if you join a gym or health club they really don’t want you to come. They want you to pay. Martial Art training is instruction and the teacher wants you there.  You are missed when not in class. But how important is this training? Think back to how you feel at the end of a class. The high you encounter from the endorphins flowing in your body. You have spent time exercising the muscles, heart, lungs and your MIND. You feel great, the best you have felt all day!

Instead often times students can be found on Facebook playing a game, watching TV or some other mindless event. Yet they wonder why they feel so lousy.

The benefits of training in the martial arts come with time.

Martial Arts connects the mind and the body. Most people live only in the mind and have forgotten their body. The only time they feel it is when something has gone wrong. Your health and state of mind are far to important to be ignored.

Get to class twice per week.

Bruce Lee almost single handedly revolutionized the martial arts around the world and brought it to the forefront in North America. I can remember as a kid going to see Fists of Fury (The Big Boss) at a local theater. I was mesmerized! This movie was quickly followed by The Chinese Connection (Fist of Fury). Finally Enter The Dragon found it’s way to North America, but it was too late. Bruce Lee was gone.

Bruce Lee was an amazing man. He only formally studied the martial arts in Hong Kong for 5 years. He studies Wing Chun under the legendary Yip Man. He stopped to move to the USA to claim his citizenship.

Much legend and folklore surround the life of Lee. The movie Dragon was a good example. The movie was interesting, but not at all factual. Bruce Lee was not well liked when he came to the USA, especially by the martial art community. He was chastised for teaching whites and blacks, giving away ancient secrets to non Chinese. Bruce did not care. Bruce Lee is still a force in the martial arts 38 years after his death.

I think one of the greatest contributions Bruce made to the arts itself in his short life was the idea that tradition need to be changed. In the 70′s, 80′s and 90′s competition between schools for students was fierce. Bruce believed in working with other martial artists, studying their art and incorporating what worked and eliminating what did not. Today the barriers are falling and local schools are working together toward a greater good.

I often wonder what he would be like today at age 70. But that question will never be answered. I thank his wife Linda and daughter Shannon for keeping the memories alive. If you have never seen his movies definitely check them out. Below is a link to one of the only English interview done with him by CBC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=somo_-oW3N0

Long, long ago there was a master swordsman who had trained his three sons in the art of the sword.  He decided that the time had come to retire.  The master balanced a wooden pillow over his curtained doorway in such a way that the smallest movement of the drape would send the pillow falling onto the head of whom ever passed beneath it.  The master then sent word to his sons that this was the day he would choose his successor.

The eldest son was called first. He walked up to his father’s room.  Stopped.  Stood silently for a moment.  Then ever so slowly took down the pillow.  He stepped into the room and then carefully replaced the pillow where he had found it.

Next, the second son was called.  He walked up to the room.  He gently parted the curtain.  The pillow fell. He automatically caught it, and put it back over the door.

Finally the youngest and most skillful son was called.  He had the best techniques of all the brothers and was sure that he would be proclaimed his father’s successor. The proud young swordsman thrust the curtain aside and strode confidently into his father’s room.  The hard pillow smacked him on his head.  He lashed out in anger and sliced the pillow cleanly in two.  He re sheathed his sword before the two halves of the pillow hit the floor.  The youngest son was pleased with his speed and he faced his father with a smile of self-satisfied anticipation.

The old master, however, was not at all pleased with this flashy display,  “You are a disgrace to the art of swordsmanship.  You are a disgrace to this family.  You have neglected all that is important for the sake of technique.  Leave this house and do not return until you realize that intuition is more important than mere technique.”

To his second son he said,  “You must train harder.  You must train more.  Each time you train it must be as if it is your last chance to train.  Do not waste a moment.  You must train as if death was waiting for you around the corner and that the last act you will perform is your training.”

To his eldest son he said:  “I have found my successor.  I can now retire with an easy heart.  You understand what the martial arts is truly about.  Here is my sword.”

A great story to show the tradition and power of the Martial Arts.   I hope it has inspired some deep thoughts.

Recently there were some postings on a message board on LinkedIn about whether a Black Belt moving to another Dojo and style should have to start at White Belt again. The debate on this forum has raged on since last spring. I never participated, only read about it.

If someone comes from another art to learn my root art of Hon Sang Mu Sa Hapkido I do require that they put on a white belt to start training.  The odd person is unwilling to do this and so we agree to part friends. If they are taking a Kyusho Jitsu Certification Course they are more then welcome to wear their rank in the classes. The question is why and am I doing it?

Back when I first opened my school 10 years ago I would make judgments based on a case by case basis. Some people I required to wear a white belt, others I let keep their rank. There was only one case were I allowed rank to remain that I didn’t regret it. This was a father and son and both are currently 2nd Dan Black Belts in my school.

When someone joins my school and is a Black Belt in another art I let everyone know that they are and what art they have studied. A great example is a 2nd Dan under my organization who is also a 2nd Dan in Aikido.  When someone insists on wearing a Black Belt from another art when they are learning a new art it is only to stroke the EGO. And with the ego in full swing real learning is not possible. Our Black Belt Creed states, Learning Through Humility, by Example. Ego has no place in learning, and to truly learn the ego must be in check. You cannot add more to a full cup.

As always I welcome you comment on this post.

I was in London the other day shooting some video footage with my Kyusho Jitsu teacher Grand Master Steve Stewart. GM Stewart has been a full time school owner operator for almost 20 years (Fulltime). After the shooting we went out to grab something to eat and ended up talking about MMA.

What is MMA really? Well we do have the fighters who are the ones who coined the phrase MMA. But what is it really?

I get a phone call per week from people looking for MMA sport fighting. I don’t do it so I will send them to my good friend Hanshi Mady. But it is interesting that so many of us, even if we don’t train fighters are teaching a Mixed Martial Art.

I have Black Belts in 4 different arts, my son Curt also in 4 and my son Scott in 3.  Curt is currently looking at the study of American Kenpo under GM Stewart to increase his hand speed. But lets face it what he learns will become integrated into his teaching.  The art of Hon Sang Mu Sa Hapkido is an eclectic art composed of about 5 other arts. So really it is a Mixed Martial Art.

Martial Arts is about growth, personal growth not just combat. Yes they were once combat systems, but most fights or conflicts on any scale involve some nasty weapons. It is far wiser to avoid these situation.

Have an fantastic and properous New Year.