Many of the martial arts, like karate are fiction. Slam somebody on the nose with a palm and bone shards will spear into his brain and kill him, except there isn't any bone in the nose, its all cartilage. And all those old legends, a lot of them are good for washing the hog, if you have a willing hog.
But, there is a certain science that has proven applicable in the realm of the martial arts. This is the science of how to apply concepts of geometrical energy potentials. I discovered this field while consumed by a book series called the Lensmen Series.
I suppose the first time it hit me was when E. E. Smith, the author, described spacemen fighting on the hull of a space ship. They were hooking their feet under hand grips so they would not fly into space when they hit somebody. They were anchoring themselves so they could apply force, and not have the force dislodge them.
Soon I was totally immersed in a universe where weapons created incredible geometries of force. A death ray created a mattering splattering beam, and it could be deflected by a well built shield. And if a shield could deflect that beam, then another shield used like a disk could slice the first shield apart.
Soon I was imagining entire fleets of space ships creating their own particular brand of strategy. Armies of space ships would form globes around other armies, and cones of spaceships would swallow globes of entire armies. Each time a geometry was described, my mind struggled to imagine the wave of new concepts.
Then, shock of shocks, fleets of spaceships gave way to the exercising of mental powers. Those same rods and globes and cones and shields, made real in the extreme of space combat, became the stuff of minds battling minds. How do you slide your awareness through the grid of another mentality, especially when that mentality is utterly alien?
And, ultimately, having finished the series of books, I began extending those outer space alien mind warfare strategies to my chosen field of the martial arts. I sank my weight into deep horse stances so I would not fly away from the projection of my own force. I described cones with the movements of my limbs, and went after globes of fists as they flew out of space at me.
When I tell people about this they generally think I am a bit crazy, or they know me a genius. Reading sci fi for inspiration, who would have thought. Yet, isn't the martial arts an art, and shouldn't it be filled with creativity and expression and beams of force and mind to mind conflicts?
But, there is a certain science that has proven applicable in the realm of the martial arts. This is the science of how to apply concepts of geometrical energy potentials. I discovered this field while consumed by a book series called the Lensmen Series.
I suppose the first time it hit me was when E. E. Smith, the author, described spacemen fighting on the hull of a space ship. They were hooking their feet under hand grips so they would not fly into space when they hit somebody. They were anchoring themselves so they could apply force, and not have the force dislodge them.
Soon I was totally immersed in a universe where weapons created incredible geometries of force. A death ray created a mattering splattering beam, and it could be deflected by a well built shield. And if a shield could deflect that beam, then another shield used like a disk could slice the first shield apart.
Soon I was imagining entire fleets of space ships creating their own particular brand of strategy. Armies of space ships would form globes around other armies, and cones of spaceships would swallow globes of entire armies. Each time a geometry was described, my mind struggled to imagine the wave of new concepts.
Then, shock of shocks, fleets of spaceships gave way to the exercising of mental powers. Those same rods and globes and cones and shields, made real in the extreme of space combat, became the stuff of minds battling minds. How do you slide your awareness through the grid of another mentality, especially when that mentality is utterly alien?
And, ultimately, having finished the series of books, I began extending those outer space alien mind warfare strategies to my chosen field of the martial arts. I sank my weight into deep horse stances so I would not fly away from the projection of my own force. I described cones with the movements of my limbs, and went after globes of fists as they flew out of space at me.
When I tell people about this they generally think I am a bit crazy, or they know me a genius. Reading sci fi for inspiration, who would have thought. Yet, isn't the martial arts an art, and shouldn't it be filled with creativity and expression and beams of force and mind to mind conflicts?
About the Author:
Al Case has examined martial arts for 40 years. A writer for the magazines, he is the creator of Matrixing Technology. You can find out about Matrixing by getting his free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.
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