Health & Fitness Blog

When you learn real martial arts fighting, there are certain truths about how to survive. One of the truths is that the human mental apparatus doesn’t usually work well when it is getting bashed, and survival mode kicks in. Fighters who survive by the amount of adrenaline kicked in would have you believe that this is the point of it all, but it is not, it is the worst thing that could happen.

As a species we don’t have claws, or jaws, or quills, or smells, or any particular characteristic that would help us survive, except the mind. It is the mind that creates invention, it is the mind that adapts to survive. It is this thing called a mind that we must enhance if we are to reach our full potential as humans, and as humans on the fighting level.

One must control the distance in a fight, by controlling distance we have choice as to what weapon we choose to use. The way to do this is to tie a string from your belt to his, and practice moving so that the string stays taut without breaking. Now, move in this fashion, and within a short time your body will move with the other persons body because it likes the fact of harmony.

Second, we must control the harmony of the leg movements. The best leg positioning is when the legs match, which is to say his right leg is forward and so is yours, the second best position is when they oppose, which is to say his right leg is forward, and your left leg is forward. The way to train yourself to always have matching stance is merely to walk with the string, and practice matching your stance to his.

We must control how the arms move, again, in a matching or opposing sense. No string needed for this particular exercise, but you do have to be aware of distance, you have to match the movement of your partners arms as he closes distance. The way to do this is merely to control the set up of the stances and to practice matching arm motions.

We must analyze movement and positioning for the techniques that work best for matching, and for opposing. Yes, you want a matching stance, but whatever happens, you should be able to train yourself to handle it. The trick is in a basic matrixing principle, to realize that whether matching or opposing, your arm will be either inside of his, or outside of his, and then find that technique that this position can grow into.

We must make everything work together. This would appear difficult, except that if you have worked on the individual exercises in this article, then the whole thing comes together rather intuitively. The body, you see, even in the middle of combat, likes to work as a well oiled unit with a plan.

Control distance, control positioning through the stance, control arms through inside or outside, this is simple stuff, but entirely overlooked by todays martial artists. But if you do understand what I have said here, then you will move to the head of the pack, for you are putting the mind, and awareness and the ability to think, into combat. Whether you study kenpo or tae kwon do, Aikido or Arnis, Uechi or Krav Maga, the truths in this article, the hint of matrix martial arts that I have given you, will make you a better fighter…an immensely better fighter!

Al Case has studied martial arts for 40 years. A writer for the magazines since’81, he is the originator of Matrixing Technology. If you want to learn how to fight like a thinking maniac visit Al at http://blindingsteel.com. If you already know how to fight, take advantage of his free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.