Kyusho Hapkido Octagon - Hapkido

We must first begin with my root art of Hapkido, or the more accurate name of Kuk Sul Hapkido. Unfortunately there is little information available online, or at least that I can find. The system I come directly out of is the late Chung W Oh from Kitchener Ontario.

Mr Oh came to Canada from Korea as part of the big Tae Kwon Do wave of General Choi Hong Hi. Mr Oh and the General were very close and GM Oh is even found in the Generals Encyclopedia of Tae Kwon Do,  My direct instructor was Master Philip Hollohan, who was one of Mr Oh's first students when he came to Canada. (Philip Hollohan is center picture above)

This is the Hapkido part of the Kyusho Hapkido Octagon connection.

Kyusho Hapkido Octagon - Octagon

The organization Kosho Ryu International does still have its website online. However it has not been updated in years!

Kyusho Hapkido Octagon - Kyusho

The final leg, or major leg of the journey began in late 2001 when I attended a George Dillman seminar at Steve Stewart's Modern Martial Arts in London Ontario.  After this seminar I was hooked on the pressure point science of Kyusho Jitsu and began a 10 year plus journey as a direct student of GM Stewart. 

All of which was incorporated in the root art I founded in 2006 called Hon Sang Mu Sa Hapkido. 

Kyusho Hapkido Octagon in Conclusion

Here is a History of Hapkido from the World Budo Alliance. You can read my full biography here. I will also provide links to all related courses below! Thank you for reading Kyusho Hapkido Octagon.

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Al vostru în arte,
Mare Maestru Art Mason

I watch as martial artists often times attack and ridicule other styles, arts, and Dojo in a egotistical battle of needing to be right! Why is this? Because a core principle has been lost. And that is Chi Development and it link to martial arts.

The Words of Bruce Lee

Chi Development - Martial Arts : It is funny as we allegedly "progress" I see more and more attacks on the memory of Bruce Lee. This is by men who wish to show their knowledge, or in my opinion, how pathetic they are, by attacking Lee, and the things he taught, well what a sad world! There is even a website dedicated to attacking Lee! 

"All knowledge is self knowledge."

In my thought the above is one of Lee's best, if not his best quote. And it exemplifies martial arts training! The training of Body, Mind and Spirit. Spirit is Chi Development! Now in this article on Chi Development & Martial Arts I am not going to explain what Chi is. You can learn that from one of my previous articles on the subject. The article is called Kyusho Jitsu Chi Development.

Chi Development - Martial Arts

This is a disservice to the martial arts industry. Chi development for most martial artists is left for them to explore on their own. And much of the information out there is well, pretty bad.

Chi Development - Martial Arts - Who I am to comment?

There are people who will ask that question. And I am happy to answer it! I was fortunate enough to be trained by a Korean woman, who was a Chi Master having spent her adult life totally in pursuit of this knowledge. She was a close friend of my first martial arts teachers wife.

And we worked together from late 1989 to mid 1996. I cannot even guess at the number of hours. Typically 30 or so per week, much of the time.  The things I learned, did and saw in that time has shaped me into the person I am today.

Chi Development - Martial Arts - What she Taught

Thought the lost art of meditation she taught me many things. I will give you a bullet point short list below.

• Real Buddhist based mediation to open energy channels
• How to feel and follow the Chi in the body for better health
• Pain control
• Using chi to make important decisions
• calming the mind and letting things roll off you like water on a duck's back
• And much much more!

Today the meditation done in the self help world does very little compared to the "real thing." But most importantly chi based meditation teaches ust to hear and understand  the body, to connect with it, and also at the same time connect to the universal intelligent known as God or the infinite.

Chi Development - Martial Arts in Conclusion

Recently I had an email from a man training in some of our Chi Development techniques. He asked me if he could over train. Based on what I have been teaching the answer is yes.

Unless you follow my Chi Master's path, then the answer is never. This is what made me decide to for the very first time teach the things my Chi Master taught me. And the new course is called Chi Lessons of the Grand Master. Thank you for reading Chi Development - Martial Arts.

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Mare Maestru Art Mason

Natural Laws of Motion: At a fundamental level what is martial art training really all about? It is about some style of movement, or that any one style is better than any other? Nor is it about fitness, or survival of the fittest? In my 36 plus years in the martial arts world, with what I have been taught and what I have seen it is about one thing. The Natural Laws of Motion.

Now I am not going to give you a physics lesson here today! While that might be fun I am instead going to discuss the Natural Laws of Motion and how they apply to martial arts and thereby self defense. This will relate back to some Kyusho Principles also.  Specifically Body Mechanics.

Tough Wrong on Purpose

A new martial arts student needs to be broken down. Before anyone gets all bent out of shape about that statement let me explain. Everyone comes in the door with their own idea of how things need to be done. Methods of movement, in punches, blocks, walking, kicking, running, all things, that need to be reprogrammed. 

This is one reason martial arts is a lifelong journey. Because it is discovery of the self. As Bruce Lee said "all knowledge is self knowledge."

What do I mean by taught wrong? First the new student learns very large movement, all in a linear fashion, as to show in great details what is happening. You can look at an Kata and see great examples of this. And this is 100 percent the correct thing to do! The student needs to be broken down!  Then rebuilt, new and improved. 

What is WRONG with linear movement?  What you will see at the beginning level in self defense training is someone being taught to rush in to block and counter attack in a straight line. Why is this a problem? This relies on "timing" and speed, as well as putting the defender at risk rather than making them safe first, then to counter. 

Timing is great when you are 21, but not 50!

As I said this is OK to start out. But most martial arts instructors I see never take their student beyond this state. I see Black Belts training this exact same way as the day they started. That is OK for sport, in fact it is perfect with sport. This coupled with "ring control" makes for a great fighter. But not for self defense or personal safety!

Natural Laws of Motion - Circular Motion

In Aikido circular movement is taught from day one! And this is awesome, and should be the second step in the harder styles of martial arts I am discussing at the inception of this article. 

From the majority of what I see this is also large circles. And that is the best way to start. But once again it cannot stay there! Circular motion is defensive and that is great! But the attack become linear, then the advantage is given back. And once the large circular motion is well learned by the student, it MUST be converted to small circle, so small at times it is not even seen. But today that is also lacking.

Natural Laws of Motion - Zig Zag

Despite what you think, you cannot walk in a linear fashion or a straight line. You walk in a Zig Zag pattern like the image above. As an example if you step to the right, your hip retraces, and you move to a 45 degree angle, then after the step return to the center. 

The next step to the left is the same thing, on the opposite side! So since this is natural movement, the natural laws of motion why would you not train to do this more effectively once basic movements of the style are understood?

If your instructor taught this you are very fortunate! This is also why walking a straight line is a ridiculous test! Most people have issue doing this exercise because it is not natural. 

Natural Laws of Motion in Conclusion

Progressive seems to always be regressive in truth. Where can you go to learn this? I have no idea other than from me. I do not think the man who taught me is still teaching. He seems to have vanished.

I also believe it is overlooked because as complex as it is, it is very simple. Few martial arts taught today are complete. However adding the science of pressure point self defense Kyusho Jitsu to your current training, and then Octagon you will come as close to a complete training as it possible.

I will link more about my Octagon Courses and books below.  And if you have a moment read this important article on natural laws call Kosho Shorei Ryu. Thank you for reading Natural Laws of Motion.

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Today I am going to spend a few minutes taking about a pressure point that works on everyone. This is the "wrist" release Pressure Point HT-06. The effect we are going to discuss with Pressure Point HT-06 also requires it to be used on conjunction with Pressure Point LU-08.

Therefore this is kind of a dual pressure point article.

Pressure Point HT-06 - Location

HT-06 & LU-08 Effects

These pressure points are best used off of a wrist grab. Stimulation of both pressure points at the same time will cause the following effect.

Pressure Point HT-06 when pushed compresses a nerve located beneath the Ulnar bone. This is a "Y" shaped nerve, and when compressed caused the wrist to release.

Pressure Point LU-08 also has a "Y" shaped nerve beneath it. Compression here will cause a weakness in the hand causing the grip on the wrist to loosen. See the video below for more details.

Pressure Point HT-06

Pressure Point HT-06 in Conclusion

But the good news this, that if you follow up with a strike to ST-05 you will get an amplified result at HT-06 sets up ST 05 directly!Thank you for reading about Pressure Point HT-06!

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Do you have a Self Defense Strategy? Or are you working out of anger and ego? This is a very important topic and questions today as we go day by day in the Dystopia of 2021.

this it seems to me that many very talented and wise martial artists, and martial arts Master have lost their path. And I say this because of serious mistakes being made in Self Defense Strategy that 10 years ago would not have happened. 

Self Defense Strategy - Victory of WWII

There is an opinion today that the USA entering WWII was the reason for the Allies victory. While this was an important contributing factor it is not the reason.  The real reason for Allies victory over the Nazi was because England manage to decode Nazi communications and therefore KNEW WHAT they were planning, and where they would strike.

And if this had not happened the world would be a very different place! And we are heaed that way once again!

Therefore today the world faces many very serious issues. The western culture is in serious threat of falling to communism because of extreme views, extreme corruption and the manipulation of people with serious mental illness. And as of this writing Canada certainly has! Violence is condoned by the media and the extreme left as long as it fits their agenda. 

Self Defense Strategy - Be WILLING to lose small battles

And I see today a massive fight and battle of MASKS.  Thus I watch as much time and energy is wasted on this front! In a battle for the United States of America do you send all your troupes to Parma Ohio? Of course NOT! You strategically choose your battles.  

There are much more important battles to be fought and won! And masks is the least of our worries at this time. 

But, in case you do not see it, this was a successful divide and conquer tactic. And has been used wisely by the enemy today with great results! Thus right now this ground is worthless in the grand scheme of things.

Self Defense Strategy - Never Show Your Cards!

Hence, I look on Facebook as people do such foolish things! I was invited to a group called "Questioning Covid." And everyone has a right to question this! But what I found was simply sad. Organization of activities to storm places of business refusing to wear a mask.

Seriously? Do you not see the bigger picture? And here they are telling the powers that be exactly who they are, where they live, what they will do next and thinking this was a good idea!

What happened? So showing their lack of strategy, which is really Self Defense Strategy the group was infiltrated by Antifa shills and rendered useless.  Therefore more ground lost! When you give up your right to privacy, you give up your security. And Facebook is the LAST PLACE on EARTH to plan a resistance!

Self Defense Strategy

Most of all victory can only come when a strategy is made and then proper tactics are imposed. And the problem is people want an easy victory! But this is no longer possible. You must do the work! 

And all communications of resistance today must be ENCRYPTED and NOT on Social Media! Do not ever talk about WHO you will vote for in the coming election!! Give them NOTHING! Your ego is causing you to make BAD mistakes. Serious mistakes! Calm down and THINK!

You can find people of a like mind on social media, then immediately take communications to encrypted email, or a truly end to end encrypted instant messenger like Signal. DO NOT USE WHATSAPP! It is owned by Facebook and therefore corrupted! Do not use gmail or any other email of its type. I have a private server, but you can use Proton mail which is perfect what what is going on!

This mean work! But victory is never easy!

Self Defense Strategy in Conclusion

That quote is true in this situation and so is "Chance Favors the Prepared Mind.  Thank you for reading this article on Self Defense Strategy.

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Al vostru în arte,
Mare Maestru Art Mason

12 Kyusho Jitsu Meridians: This is a followup article on one I did last week that got me a lot of questions and feedback from those interested in learning more about the science of pressure point self defense. [Kyusho Jitsu Pressure Point Anatomy] So today lets talk about the 12 Kyusho Jitsu Meridians on the human body. I will give you a detailed breakdown and a special gift at the end of the article for reading. Above you will see 2 inforgraphics on these 12 meridians. Not this includes the colour, time of day, element and also the number of pressure points. 

12 Kyusho Jitsu Meridians - Upper Extremities

The first basic breakdown of the meridians is to divide the body into upper and lower extremities. This being said there are 6 meridians for upper and 6 for lower. Plus this is further divided into 3 Yin and 3 Yang meridians for each set. If you have not already done so I highly recommend reading the article linked above.  It is a solid article and will help you a lot.

As we look at the 12 Kyusho Jitsu Meridians of the upper extremities we will see the Yin/Yang pair and also an element relationship for each. So lets do this breakdown below now.

Something else to note. The flow of energy in the Yin Meridians is leaving the body. This is sometimes also referred to as traveling "south." Energy on the Yang Meridians is entering the body, or traveling "North." 

12 Kyusho Jitsu Meridians - Lower Extremities

Now we will look at the Lower Extremities. Once again we have 3 Yin and 3 Yang pairs, plus a change in direction for energy. You can also note that the meridian enter the head or not entering the head has nothing to do with this classification. The meridian systems runs very deep in the body and we are only discussing what can be accessed from the surface.

And as I mentioned the energy flow direction is reversed for the 12 Kyusho Jitsu Meridians of the Lower Extremities. Here the Yin Meridians energy flow is "North" or entering the body, while the Yang Meridians is "South" or exiting the body. All meridians are reflected on both sides of the body. Therefore depending on how you look at it, you can say 24 total. However conventional language is to only discuss one side. 

12 Kyusho Jitsu Meridians in Conclusion 

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Al vostru în arte,
Mare Maestru Art Mason

Benefits of Martial Art Training

Thus real martial arts training is not only about the physical. And today most of what is called martial arts are ONLY physically based and are NOT based in ethics or values. They are only based on winning at any cost. Most of all sport is a piss poor example of martial arts, and all you have to do is look at the drug use, abuse of family and other illegal activities running wild in all sports to see there is NO VALUE THERE AT ALL 

And yet people watch them, worship the participants and pay big money to see it. And the value returned is ZERO. If truth is has a negative result on the world.

Benefits of Martial Art Training - Censoring the World

All you need do is look at the TRUTH of China to see it is a repressive Communist Dictatorship working hard to concur the world,  just like the Nazi's of WWII, as well as Japan in the same period. Today however it is done economically, and with bio-weapons.  Most importantly everything is censored, and like in the West now people are afraid to speak out! And afraid for good reason. And yet BIG CORRUPT media like CNN find repression virtuous and wonderful.  CNN loves communism because lies are the order of the day! 

And yes, sadly there are  lot of STUPID people out there who think communism has virtue. But the FACTS speak for themselves. In the 20th Century Communism KILLED over half 300 million people! (That number is lied about today by communist minded people)

Let that sink in fora while.....

Real Martial Arts Training

When taught correctly martial art training teaches the student to connect the mind to the body via strict discipline of movement. The reward is personal progress, self control and a disciplined mind. Not a trophy or fame! 

Self Defense is a bi-product! One of the many Benefits of Martial Art Training.

And one of the most important benefits is the ability to think clearly because the MIND is disciplined and in control.  It is not easily influenced by liars or politicians, (same thing), selling an agenda. You discover the connect of the mind to a strong body and good health! And would certainly avoid all unnecessary drugs being pushed today like candy on the various media. 

Proper martial arts training is like a moving mediation. Quieting and focusing the mind. Once achieved the spirit becomes center. Another of th Benefits of Martial Art Training.

Benefits of Martial Art Training in Conclusion

Thank you for reading this article about the Benefits of Martial Art Training.

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Gall Bladder Cluster: Today we will have a look at a set of pressure points often referred to as the "Gall Bladder Cluster" located on the forehead. This is a cluster of 3 pressure points shaped like a triangle that are excellent for use in Kyusho Neurological Knockouts. These are GB-13, GB-14 and GB-15.

Gall Bladder Cluster GB-13

We will begin with Pressure Point GB-13 located 0.5 cun inside the hairline and 0.5 cun medial to ST-08, directly above the outer canthus of the eye. The idea of a striking to GB-13 is to use an open hand, with 2 way action to also connect with the other 2 pressure points in the Gall Bladder Cluster at the same time.

Striking GB-13 will cause immediate brain dysfunction. 

Gall Bladder Cluster GB-14

Pressure Point GB-14 is located 1 cun above the middle of the eyebrow on a line directly above the pupil of the eye in the depression on the Superciliary Arch. Striking this pressure point straight in can cause neck damage due to impact. Striking in a downward motion which is what is suggested with cause brain dysfunction including memory issues as well as dizziness. 

The uki will feel like he is in a FOG.

Gall Bladder Cluster GB-15

Located 0.5 cun inside the hairline and directly above the pupil when looking straight ahead.
This causes the head to feel as if it is swelling up, or being pumped up like a
balloon. Striking causes the recipient to not know where they are for a second or
two if struck mildly, or KO if struck heavily.

Please Note: Striking ANY pressure point of the head can result in serious injury up to and including death depending on the power of the strike and each individual pressure point in question.

Gall Bladder Cluster in Conclusion

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HPPT and Multiple Attackers 

There are lots of self defense experts out there who will happily tell you if you buy their product you can "defeat any attacker" or any number of attackers. Then they will tell you about their vast experience doing so. But yet none of these people are in a jail cell? Hmmm.... So I call BULLSHIT!  Sadly most of this industry is made up of liars. But rather then knock them let's get into the meat of the situation.

First and foremost self defense is "defensive" while fighting which is what most of these people are talking about is "offensive." There is a time for offense, but I will leave that for another time. A "fight" which is what these clowns are talking about is an ego trip of "who has the biggest dick." It is SAD and PATHETIC and shows how far are society has regressed.

Rant off

HPPT and Multiple Attackers

And under the circumstances I was in, the odds of "winning" were decent. However these guys only wanted money and the potential catastrophic of me deciding to attack was not worth a few hundred Euro. And I am too old for stupid "my dick is bigger" games.  I gave them what they wanted and walked!

High Level Training - HPPT and Multiple Attackers

Multiple attackers is HIGH LEVEL escalation and requires high level martial arts training. This training is hard to come by because of the focus on sport today. And while you can learn the basics from the correct course, you must train it until you cannot move, and then train it more!

Plus the variables in this kind of situation are endless! If you have 5 guys in a gang there are countless variable to consider.

1) Are there any weapons?
2) Who has a weapon?
3) What are the weapons?
4) Are their drugs involved?
5) What are the mental states?

And the list goes on and on!

Where did I learn?

My mass attack training comes from several places. First and foremost is the mastering of the Octagon.This is a defense understanding of pure movement and how to be safe under any situation by controlling the movement of the attacker. 

This is combined with training in Systema also. Which is not a martial art but a combat system. My eclectic root art of Hon Sang Mu Sa Hapkido is founded on all of this and more.

HPPT and Multiple Attackers in Conclusion

You also need to understand many of the psychological aspect of self defense. My best advice? Avoid situations or places you can encounter these scenario. Thank you for reading this article called HPPT and Multiple Attackers.

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Pressure Point BL-15 - Effect

A strike to this pressure point can stop the heart as you will be affecting the actual neurological wiring to the heart at this point. The nerves exit the spine for the heart here. This is also a resuscitation pressure point in case of heart failure.

Striking correctly to BL-15 on the right side of the body on a person whose Heart has stopped has the same affect as jump starting the heart electrically. The left side is also dangerous, however not as much as the right side. Pressure Point BL-15 is an Associated Alarm Point on the left side. 

This resuscitation strike causes the body to release epinephrine. 

Dangerous Pressure Point BL-15 in Conclusion

Also being a pressure point on the back the movement of you root art will depend on how easily you can access it.

My root art of Hon Sang Mu Sa Hapkido because of the implementation of Octagon principles makes accessing the back of the body pretty simple. If you have any questions please use the form below. Thank you for reading Dangerous Pressure Point BL-15.

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