These are writings concerned with strategy in martial arts.  If you wish to contribute to the page, send us an email, and I'll post your comments.  We reserve the right to make the final decision of what to post.

• When you know how long a moment is, you are on your way to becoming an advanced martial artist.                        - Matt Cook 2005

• If you must win, then you must necessarily lose. - Matt Cook 2004

• I embrace hardship. - Matt Cook 1986

• The hardest hard comes from the softest soft - Joe Ragan & Jeff Heckman

• To hit someone, you have to be close enough to get hit.  - Joe Ragan & Jeff Heckman

• Before you can gain control of others, you must first control yourself. - Joe Ragan & Jeff Heckman

• The best way to win a fight is not to fight. - Gichin Funakoshi

• When people talk, they tell you a lot about themselves.  - Matt Cook 1999

• Do not call out the tigre unless you are prepared to be eaten.  Do not call out the dragon unless you are prepared to be consumed by his flame. - Kung Fu: The Legend Continues

• [Budo is a Japanese word translated as "martial art" or "the way of the warrior".]  The word "bu" in budo is written with a Chinese character for "stop" within a character signifying two crossed halberds meaning to stop conflict.  This meaning should be deeply considered, and the fists should not be used heedlessly. - Gichin Funakoshi

• The Nature of Conflict: I was listening talk radio (Bob Franz show Sept. 2007 on WTAM 1100 in Cleveland, OH), and the host discussed school-yard fights versus more serious fist fights where legal consequences may ensue.  Many callers conceded they participated in several fist-fights.  One person on air said he never participated in fighting because he didn't want to kill anyone.  The host and others said they got into fights but never had any intent or end goal during the fight.  They just fought - there was no thought of purpose for injuring or killing another person.  This caused me to reflect on the nature of fighting: if even the participants did not know why they fought others, what is it about the nature of a fight?
  • What is Conflict? It exists when the will of one opposes (or is not in harmony) with the will of another (others).
  • How does discord lead to a physical manifestation, e.g. fighting?  When one or more parties lacks skills, power, or resources to bring the wills into harmony, he or she may seek more immediate physical ways to change the will of other(s) to conform to their point of view. 
  • The stronger a person's desire is to conform the wills of others to follow their own, the greater the potential for intensified conflict.  Couple this with a limited skill set, and the likelihood of fighting will increase significantly.
  • When are you unable to extricate yourself from a situation?
    • You are physically impaired, restrained or impeded from doing so
    • The will of the other has crushed your own, e.g. others can manipulate you
    • Your conflict resolution skills are undeveloped (or inferior) and your judgment regarding the situation is poor and uninformed
    • You have invested yourself in things or ideas that are contrary to immediate good judgment, e.g. victory at all cost, acquisitiveness, poor choice of friends, bad political alliances, and lies (or other things you feel compelled to hide)
  • What does it take to end conflict?  You must either change or crush the will of the other.
    • It is preferable for one to peacefully (and permanently) change the will of another.
      • This usually occurs prior to a physical conflict.  During a conflict reasoning powers on both sides may be impaired, lessoning the likelihood that the will of others will change.  After a conflict, hurt egos may further prevent others from willingly changing their minds.
      • Keep in mind that you must completely change their will, not just appease them for the moment.  Otherwise, they will have the opportunity to change their mind and revive their efforts. 
        • For example, managers often use the trick of getting employees to think the idea of change was their own idea to begin with.  If employees feel duped, they may then sabotage product to retaliate against the managers.
        • Tyrants attempt to use fear to break the will of those whom they oppress.  However fear is a manageable response to a stimulus.  If there is any will left in the oppressed, they will find ways to resist the will of the tyrant.
    • If non-physical attempts to change the will of the other fail, and one is unable to extricate themselves from the situation, you must resolve to crush the will of the other. 
      • You must act with the determined ferocity to completely crush your opponent's will to continue the fight.
      • If you merely try to avoid injury, you will fail to affect your opponent's will.  The best one can hope for is a draw or to hold them off until someone else comes to your aid.  The most likely outcome, however, is that you will lose.
  • more thought to come ...  - Matt Cook 12/2007

• What does Karate mean?  Funakoshi was responsible for changing the meaning of the word Karate-do.  Karate-do, formerly translated loosely to 'Chinese hand', now translates to (the way of the empty hand'.  
  • He changed the 'kara' symbol in Karate from the old symbol, meaning 'China', to the new symbol, meaning 'empty'. Funakoshi wrote: "Just as an empty valley can carry a resounding voice, so must the person who follows the Way of Karate make himself void or empty by ridding himself or all self-centeredness and greed. Make yourself empty within, but upright without. This is the real meaning of the empty in Karate.
  • "...Once one has perceived the infinity of forms and elements in the universe,  one returns to emptiness,  to the void. In other words,  emptiness is none other than the true form of the universe. There are various fighting techniques - yarijutsu (spear techniques) and bojitsu 'stick techniques),  for example - and forms of martial arts,  such as judo and kendo. All share an essential principle with Karate,  but Karate alone explicitly states the basis of all martial arts. Form equals emptiness; emptiness equals form. The use of the character empty in Karate is indeed based on this principle."   - Gichin Funakoshi

• Why study karate? After reading the preceding text on conflict, you will understand that you interact with a great number of people in the world who will be at odds with your will and the wills of others. Given that each of these people will have varying levels of conflict resolution skills, you will need to be prepared for encounters with deficient conflict skills. As Musashi wrote, learn the ways of as many people as you can until you understand the ways of people and their intentions. This will become your heiho (or way).
  • Learn ways to resolve conflict without fighting
    • In your training you will practice discipline (self-denial), learn to size up opponents, and quickly ascertain targets and opportunities.  Reading this broadly, you will know what issues in life are important and which ones are not.
    • When you encounter issues that are not important, use your discipline to avoid unnecessary conflict and "sabre-rattling".  Know yourself and control yourself.
  • If a fight is unavoidable, you will have the tools you need to end that conflict too.
    • According to Funakoshi, you may use karate once (if ever) in your lifetime.
    • On matters of great importance, do everything in your power to correct injustices without hesitation
  • Be a true expression of yourself rather than a result of how you react to your environment (based on your conflict skill set).

                                                                             - Matt Cook 10/2007

   

• Sizing-Up Opponents - Outside-the-box perspective: In life one must be able to size up potential opponents quickly. Native Americans used the idea of the totem to relate certain animals with people.  We presume that there is a religious significance to the totems.  I suggest interpreting the animals' spirit in the martial sense (versus a religious sense) to explore this example.
  • Each animal possesses predominant characteristic(s) that we attribute to that specific animal.  Because man is complex, each person exhibits different (and thereby less predictable) personality characteristics.  By assigning people certain animal totems, their predominant personality characteristic(s) are more readily identifiable.  In a society with a predominant warrior class, this provides a practical method for quick assessments of potential opponents.
  • When we see a totem pole, our Western European perspective allows us to see only grotesque or crude animal figures arranged vertically and assume it is a religious symbol.  We need to broaden our vision. I suggest seeing how all of the characteristics of man meld into the totality of man by combining all of the totems into one.  I see the totem pole as a symbol not unlike the yin-yang: more than one nature combined into a greater and perfect entity.  Understand the meaning behind the symbol and understand the nature of man.                           - Matt Cook 11/2007

• Sizing-Up Opponents by Master Azato: Human nature can be described in terms of three basic types: Full, Contracting and Penetrating.  Kanna is of the first type - matchless in bravery and courage.  Because of this, he overwhelms his opponents, seeming to almost swallow them up.  In order to face this type, one must be either contracting or penetrating. As soon as Kanna faces his opponent, his mind is filled with nothing but the idea of attacking.  If the opponent shows the slightest opening, Kanna arrogantly charges in, not caring whether he is being baited or not.  Consequently, he is easily trapped.   - Gichin Funakoshi

• Target Acquisition:  I have often heard people tell you to aim your punch at the back of the target.  I do not agree with this, because you're training to miss the target.  For example, an artillery gunner does not "aim at the sky" even though his gun appears to be pointing upward.  He is aiming at the target while accounting for bullet drop (gravity), wind factors, etc.  Understand what factors influence your attack and aim for the target.  - Matt Cook 11/2007

• Mushi No Shin (No-Mind) What it Means to Me:
  • First I would like to make a differentiation between the brain and the mind.  The brain is the organ that receives all of the stimuli from our nervous system and sends commands to our body via the nervous system.  The mind is our spirit, our will or sense-of-self that interprets the signals collected from the brain and directs the brain to act per our mind's value system, learned experiences, fears, desires, etc.
  • The mind cannot collect and process all of the stimuli quickly enough in a conflict situation to stay ahead of your opponent.   The analytic process creates "stopping moments" for the mind.  I allow the mind to provide both strategy and guidance without it (the mind) being active in the conflict. 
  • When attacking a target, I use Mushi No Shin so that my conscious mind does not contemplate the physical properties of the target.  It is as if the target has no physical mass - just a presence.  For example, if I attack a heavy bag with a bokken, it does not occur to me that I cannot cut it in half.  I attack as if I were cutting it in half.  As the bokken travels into the bag, the bag begins to resist.  Now is the time when No Mind comes into play.  The bokken does not travel through the bag in terms of distance - it travels through the bag in terms of Time.  As each moment passes, the bokken will continue to transfer energy, and the bag will increase its resistance.  As the bag resists, the attack must adjust and continue to deliver its energy, just as gravity causes all objects to continually seek their natural place of rest.  The attack stops only when the resistance is greater than the amount of energy expended to overcome the resistance.  The mind cannot process all of the adjustments needed between energy transfer and energy resistance. 
  • By removing the "stopping points" created by conscious thought / analysis, you can place yourself a fraction of a second ahead of your opponent.  When you consider all of the energy transactions between a simple bokken attack on a bag (example above), a fraction of a second may be all the edge you need.  If you rethink our western concept of Time's being linear in nature, each of the available moments that exist in that fraction of a second provide an opportunity to overcome your opponent.  - Matt Cook 11/2007

• State of Mind: As part of my Shodan test, I was asked to write an essay regarding an observation of the moon, clouds and a pool of water.  As I continue to reflect on this, I learned several things:
  • I am the body of water.  If I am calm throughout, I am able to see the reflection of moon as clearly as the moon itself.  As the body of water becomes more turbulent, the less we are able to see the reflection of the moon in the water. The implication is that anything that causes "turbulence" in me causes my perception of things to be different from reality.  Not only does the turbulence distort my view of my surroundings, it also affects the way others view their environment.
  • The surface of a body of water is easily influenced by the weather.  For example, windy conditions create a more turbulent surface.  The deeper the water is, the more stable the body of water.  Deeper bodies of water resist freezing and have smaller waves on the surface compared to other bodies of water in similar circumstances.  A spring-fed body of deep water is more stable yet, enjoying a flow of constant temperature and deep currents to distribute it.
  • Be strong, vigilant and deep with an inner source of energy.  You and those around you not be buffeted by the trials of conflict, thereby maintaining your sovereignty.
  • As the clouds move from a position of obscuring the moon to exposing the moon to full view, the pool of water must be calm in order to immediately reflect the image of the moon.  When you are attacked by an opponent, e.g. the clouds come between you and the moon, a clear mind will allow you to act instantly as the clouds are removed.
  • Consider things of nature broadly and learn from them.  

                                                                                     - Matt Cook 11/2007

• What is KU, emptiness or the void? Musashi's fifth scroll is the scroll of KU, the void or emptiness.  Funakoshi references it in KARA as the "empty" in Karate.  The 5 elements of ancient Japan refer to it: earth, wind, water, fire and air.  Our western culture makes little distinction between wind and air, other than the fact that wind is air in motion.  To get at the heart of it, we Westerners must dig deeper into what is meant by "air" as the 5th element.
  • Before we understood that the air is made of millions of different gas molecules mixed together, the ancients simply regarded it as nothingness. It would be similar to what we consider "space" - an unquantified gap between objects with no real properties of its own. If you think of physical objects as "form", the space between them is the Ku. 
    • For example, when we draw a square on a piece of paper, geometry allows us to calculate the area in relation to the lengths of the sides.  In geometry, the sides, lines, points, etc. are the focus and become the self-appointed focus of this mathematic arena.  The space itself assumes little relevance of its own in the West.
    • When traveling, the KU is the "fly-over country" if you have an East-coast / West-coast mentality.  Robert Piersig said in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, "It is better to travel than arrive." Piersig discovered what it is to live in the Ku.
    • It's the mountain between the base and the summit. "Because it's there" is more Zen than we know.
    • When your opponent extends an arm or leg to attack in the form of a punch, grab or kick, consider what they have left exposed to counter-attack.  This indefensible area is KU.
  • Because this Nothingness was left unquantified, it assumed a quasi-divine status.  The more we make an area "ours" by filling it up with our bodies, objects, etc., the less divine (KU) it becomes.  The more we are filled with our Selves, the less room we have in our Selves for the divine. There are many touch points shared by East and West:
    • In meditation, we strip away our Selves one piece at a time until we eventually arrive at Nothingness, or the divine - this is the enlightenment sought by many.  In prayer, Westerners subjugate their will and directly communicate with the divine.
    • Eastern architecture form seems plain with a few elegant lines, leaving room for KU in the design.  Western Christian churches (especially older European ones) curiously house an incredible amount of "Air' with the lofty ceilings, long naives, and broad walls.  Even though these churches have ornate form, they contain a fantastic amount of KU, even when people fill them to capacity.
  • more thoughts to come - Matt Cook Jan 2008

• Cook's Theory of Interference: No more than one real body (with mass that can be empirically measured) can occupy the same points in space and time.  Furthermore in a situation where two bodies exist such that body A has a greater mass than body B, A will tend to displace B, given that all other factors are equal.
  • If a body wishes to displace another body, it must satisfy at least one of the following conditions:
    • It must exert sufficient force to overcome the inertia of the other body.
    • Simply stated, the Law of Inertia asserts that a body at rest tends to remain at rest, and a body in motion tends to remain in motion.  If a body is at rest, it will take a certain amount of force to overcome it.  Force = (Mass) X (Acceleration): F =ma; Momentum = (Mass) x (Velocity): P=mv
    • If body A has less mass than body B, it will need to gain sufficient velocity to displace B
    • This is the principle on which the One Inch Punch is predicated.  A punch coming from a long distance usually travels at a constant rate of speed and has a good deal of Momentum.  A punch that is accelerating will create Force.  Someone who punches with only momentum will punch harder, thinking they are generating more force.  By easing up the muscles, one can punch faster and accelerate the punch to the target, thereby increasing the force delivered to the target.
    • The force delivery system must be sufficient for the incident body to impact the object (affected) body. As the object body resists the force, the force delivery system must be able to adjust in kind in order for the incident body to continue affecting the object body.
    • A bullet is propelled by an almost instantaneous event (explosion).  Once the bullet is stopped, there is no more force for the bullet to affect its target, the object body.
    • A club's energy is focused, but many users reduce the force immediately after impact, thereby reducing potential damage.
    • Used properly, a sword cut is delivered with continuous force.
    • The unbendable arm application delivers continuous force to the target by providing continuous energy flow to the target with a rigid force delivery platform.  Unbendable arm utilizes"push" vs. "pull".  This pushing increases the mass behind the fist by putting the mass of the arm into the force delivery system.  Increased mass increases the amount of force delivered to the target.  One can also use less energy to deliver the same amount of force by using unbendable arm in certain applications.
    • The incident body must have more mass per unit of measure (more density) than the object body at the point of interference; therefore the point of interference must be strategically selected.
      • If the body mass of A=B and A (incident body) wishes to displace B (object body), A must decrease the area used to impact B relative to the impacted area of B and increase the amount of Force sufficiently to displace B.  The result will be part(s) of A will extend into some of the space previously occupied by B, and B will appear divided with part(s) of A inside its former boundaries (or occupied by space if B is divided completely by A).
      • When we sharpen a knife edge, we reduce the surface area of the cutting edge, thereby reducing the amount of force required to use the knife (body A) to penetrate and divide the object being cut (body B).
      • A bullet will penetrate a body because the bullet has more density at the point of impact per square inch, and it has sufficient force to overcome the body.
      • This is why we make a fist a certain way where the first two knuckles make initial contact with the target.  This reduced area allows the fist to have more impact on the target versus spreading the impact over the entire surface of the front of the fist.
  • more thoughts to come regarding interference.  - Matt Cook 12/2007

Reality vs. Illusion

Reality or Illusion, the experience is the same.

If we dream and become afraid in our dream, are not we truly afraid? The experience is the same. The same
holds true for [erotic] dreams. This is a way for students to visualize encounters.

Reality is what you perceive it to be.

If I get into a fight, and my breathing and heart rate increase, if I perceive it as fear, it becomes fear. But if I perceive it as an adrenaline rush, as my body's way of giving me energy for the fight, then it becomes that reality.  - Berny Alvino 2007

Books that have helped shape my martial arts journey:

• Zen Combat - Jay Gluck: This is the book that helped start my journey.  It was given to me by a friend who knew I was interested in studying martial arts.  After having read this book, it was only a matter of finding a good school in my area.  I have read it several times over the past 15 years since I first read it.  It was through this same friend that I began studying with Sensei Heckman and Sensei Ragan.
• Book of 5 Rings - Miyamoto Musashi: Read this broadly, and you will discover more in this book than just strategic words on swordplay.  It is also helpful to read more than one translation.
• Karate-Do Nyumon - Gichin Funakoshi
• Karate-Do Kyohan - Gichin Funakoshi
• Iai, The Art of Drawing the Sword - Darrell Craig
• Theory of General and Special Relativity - Albert Einstein

Special thanks to Dan Strub.  When Dan and I were exchange students in Innsbruck, Austria, we had many philosophical discussions.  I developed a great deal of respect for Dan.  He introduced me to Eastern Philosophy, and he subsequently mentioned a desire to study Taekwondo.  This idea stayed in my mind like a dormant seed that has been planted in the field.  When the time was right, I also pursued a study in martial arts.  My western analytic methods of understanding the world around me has been significantly enhanced by Eastern methods of experiencing my existence.  My hope is that one day, my path and Dan's path will cross once again.