Sponsored Topic: The Science of Matrixing

[Bob Hubbard]

Note:
Just to chime in a bit here and head off any perceived intent.
This particular thread, think of as an infomercial, or a "paid advertisement" as it were. That's the intent, so you may see "sales" techniques.'
Me, I've got no problems with folks coming to MT to sell their wares, programs, systems, etc. Hell, if Steve Jobs offered me cash to advertise his i-Wheel I'd cash it.

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinions, positions, views, etc as long as they stay within our rules, which from the skim I just did it looks like is the case. Just adding so we're all clear I'm just looking to keep the peace and not that I see anything wrong, etc.

Y'all keep playin nice. I appreciate it.

 

[matrixman]

Hey Bob, not to worry. I love Xue. He’s da man. We’re just growling and spitting and getting to know each other. Now when I tell him about my other invention...super cyber karate downloaded directly into the brain via the iwheel...

 

[blindsage]

Hey Xue and Blind, thanks for the input. There is an unfortunate side to what you are saying, however. I tried for years to sell stuff, failed miserably. One of my students then, almost literally, picked me up by the scruff of the neck and made me look at internet marketing.
I began to sell.
So you say you don’t like my package, won’t look inside, The words I use, the gaudy paper are so-o-o bad...but since I started doing that, thousands of orders.
And, here is the important part...I’ve got over 300 pages of wins, of people writing in and thanking me. Look at the wins on my website, that’s the results.
And here is something even more astounding. Over 60% of my customers order again. Back End Sales. I don’t think I know anybody, anywhere, who has those kinds of stats. So people who get past the gaudy paper and advertising...they like the science of Matrixing.
And, the unfortunate truth, in your case, Xue, is that if you have looked everywhere and not found anything, you are like a fellow who looks at the hills and says, ‘There’s no gold there, I looked already, so nobody else better look.’
Now, thousands of orders, 300 pages of wins, 60% back end sales...or people that don’t like my marketing...my choice is simple, I think I will support places like Martial Talk with my advertising, risk the critics who would have me do things that don’t work, and close with this little thought provoking blatant ad.
Would you like to teach martial arts? Make a few extra untraceable dollars in a bad economy? I encourage people to do that on my website. I have encouraged hundreds of people to do this with a simple book called ‘How to Start Your Own School.’ I wrote it before Andrew Wood came out with his course, and I offer it on CD with nine other books! Ten bucks for ten books! The Master Books. My pitch for ending the depression.
And, one last thing, I want to share one win with you, just in case you don’t make it over to my site and actually look at the wins.

Al,*
I conducted a Matrix Aikido training class for a Security Team at a local*manufacturing plant. I tailored the training according to their Use Of Force policy. As you know they need control and takedown skills. I knew Matrix Aikido would be the answer. The training plan you shared was boss. The class went so smoothly. The participants learned very quickly. By the*end of the class you could see techniques of Monkey Boxing coming through. They were also able to create their own techniques. There was one female officer in the class who asked to become my private student. She was throwing, locking and taking down guys twice her size. The Security Supervisor wants me to come back and with more participants! I'll keep you posted.
Lonnie M

Lonnie is just one of a dozen people out there actually starting Matrix Aikido classes, making money and having fun doing what he wants.

Answer me as you wish, I have to take a day off. I teach on Tuesdays. Maybe I’ll tell you about the way I teach next time, it would really tweak you. Maybe I should look into starting another thread, I know my introduction has been a little rough, and I apologize to all, let me know if I have broken any rules or failed to go over the top.

At any rate, I thank you for your input, I know you guys really have smiles in your hearts, and I look forward to meeting them.

Al

Let's see, you've got the "I WAS A FAILURE UNTIL I GOT (insert whatever claim) TEH INTERNETS!", the "I'M REALLY SUCCESSFUL, LOOK AT MY (completely unsubstantiated) NUMBERS, SO I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT", and the "HERE'S A (completely untraceable) SATISFIED CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL!" All fairly transparent sales methods. I'll give you credit though, you're good. You stay positive, deflect criticism back into positive, aggressive statements about your product, and you're undeterred. All qualities of a good salesman, but that's all they are.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I think if you look carefully at the way you advertise you will find a majority of people with serious training in the martial sciences will be put off by it. They simply know that the "quick fix" is just quick but really without a fix. In other words this type of salesmanship works okay every now and then but it does erode credibility when talking with experts or people nearing expertise in that field. Wish you luck but this style of advertisement just turns me off.

 

[matrixman]

Hi Brian, thanks for the input. I do have to disagree, and this because of my statistics. As martial artists we have to be true to what works.
That said, I’ve got over 40 years in the arts, lived through the most astounding expansion of martial arts on this planet. Heck, the magazines even paid me for my words, made me a professional writer. Forty years of knowledge are on the courses I offer, and I don’t repeat myself much in the courses. Heck, whole arts for ten bucks a disk. Sheesh!
Now, truth, I don’t like arguing, even though it makes me money. Yes, my statistics went up in direct correlation to this thread. And, I notice that you’ve got an URL in your entry on this thread. I hope it works well for you. I am serious.
But I don’t like arguing. I like people who ask questions. And, heck, if I let this thing dissolve into name calling, then I risk the wrath of Bob. Did you notice that guy has fighter planes in his avatar? Scary.
Anyway, if people don’t like what I say, heck, this site has some fascinating forums.
On the other hand, if you think the gaudy advertising is worth looking into...hey, I’ve got a free ebook on my site that will tell you all about what I am doing.
But don’t ask for the ebook if I can’t convince you that there might be a problem in the martial arts, and that that problem can be resolved scientifically.
If we are on different paths, that is quite fine, my friend. You don’t like my advertising? Cool. Don’t go there.
Now, that all said, let me offer something. I’ve had a half dozen schools over my career, run a dozen or so community classes. If anybody is thinking about something like that, let me know. I’ll be glad to help out, point a direction, do whatever, and you don’t have to buy anything from me. Heck, if you’re interested in marketing your own stuff on the internet, let me know. I’ll help. You don’t even have to visit my site.
You see, at the heart of me is this...I believe in you. Beyond salesmanship, beyond name calling and ‘internet gimmickry,’ I believe that martial artists are God’s gift to this planet. It is you guys who provide discipline, make strong bodies and quick minds, stand for morality, and generally show the rest of the world how to act.
Do I wish I could unrun over your toes? You bet. Even though it made me money.
But I am a total and utter zealot when it comes to sharing the art, helping people.
And you guys who don’t like my advertising, or who I have foolishly abused, I don’t even consider you my ‘enemies.’ You just don’t understand what I am doing.
Have a great work out, a truly great work out.
Al

 

[Xue Sheng]

Hi Brian, thanks for the input. I do have to disagree, and this because of my statistics. As martial artists we have to be true to what works.
That said, I’ve got over 40 years in the arts, lived through the most astounding expansion of martial arts on this planet. Heck, the magazines even paid me for my words, made me a professional writer. Forty years of knowledge are on the courses I offer, and I don’t repeat myself much in the courses. Heck, whole arts for ten bucks a disk. Sheesh!
Now, truth, I don’t like arguing, even though it makes me money. Yes, my statistics went up in direct correlation to this thread. And, I notice that you’ve got an URL in your entry on this thread. I hope it works well for you. I am serious.
But I don’t like arguing. I like people who ask questions. And, heck, if I let this thing dissolve into name calling, then I risk the wrath of Bob. Did you notice that guy has fighter planes in his avatar? Scary.
Anyway, if people don’t like what I say, heck, this site has some fascinating forums.
On the other hand, if you think the gaudy advertising is worth looking into...hey, I’ve got a free ebook on my site that will tell you all about what I am doing.
But don’t ask for the ebook if I can’t convince you that there might be a problem in the martial arts, and that that problem can be resolved scientifically.
If we are on different paths, that is quite fine, my friend. You don’t like my advertising? Cool. Don’t go there.
Now, that all said, let me offer something. I’ve had a half dozen schools over my career, run a dozen or so community classes. If anybody is thinking about something like that, let me know. I’ll be glad to help out, point a direction, do whatever, and you don’t have to buy anything from me. Heck, if you’re interested in marketing your own stuff on the internet, let me know. I’ll help. You don’t even have to visit my site.
You see, at the heart of me is this...I believe in you. Beyond salesmanship, beyond name calling and ‘internet gimmickry,’ I believe that martial artists are God’s gift to this planet. It is you guys who provide discipline, make strong bodies and quick minds, stand for morality, and generally show the rest of the world how to act.
Do I wish I could unrun over your toes? You bet. Even though it made me money.
But I am a total and utter zealot when it comes to sharing the art, helping people.
And you guys who don’t like my advertising, or who I have foolishly abused, I don’t even consider you my ‘enemies.’ You just don’t understand what I am doing.
Have a great work out, a truly great work out.
Al

You do realize that veiled references and sarcasm is still name calling...right?

Whether or not we do not understand what you are doing, even after my over 30 years in MA... I still stand by what I said which is you have no idea what taijiquan, baguazhang and shaolinquan truly are.

I could recommend a site you could try and sell your stuff on but then they are mainly hard core Xingyiquan, Taijiquan and Baguazhang people so you may not get the warm fuzzy welcome you have got on MT

As to your statistics... statistics in and of themselves are absolutely worthless without the knowledge of what formulas that were used to get those statistics.... "statistics" is a great word to throw around to impress people but it is pretty much meaningless without the math behind it. In other words they can be manipulated in ones best interest so...statistically.... I am not impressed by the word "Statistics" because statistically 4 out of 5 people agree with me or not depending on the formula.

I will go now, I won't waste my money on your product and I will no longer waste my time here

 

[wushuguy]

Just wondering, how sales are going? was it difficult to get started selling your DVDs, and what kind of people are more likely to purchase your DVDs? How long before your start-up costs were offset and profit was being made... Who are the DVDs aimed at... experienced martial artists or inexperienced who want to get started? IMO, experienced martial artists wouldn't buy your DVDs because what you claim and from the samples of articles and video you have, it isn't anything breathtaking or new... for example some of the claims can also be made by any sensei or sifu who teaches their smaller female student how to apply a throw using body mechanics... so I don't feel there's something new there or something that is fixing a problem with martial arts now...

Out of curiosity, in the number of years you have done martial arts, how long have you stayed with each style to learn it's principles?

Many of the things you are talking about in your online articles are explained very well, but there's nothing really new there as compared with what many sifu/guro/sensei are teaching their students already. rather than claim that something was wrong with a martial art, perhaps it is more accurate to say that learning different martial arts has helped to understand the all the martial arts better as a whole.

As for me, although I'm teaching others, I still consider myself as a beginner, intermediate at most. To master a single style, a few styles, takes decades... and so far from my experience mixing styles, I have the feeling that in the end, each style will come to very similar if not identical principles, and each complimenting the understanding of the other, and the same result of good health and confidence of self-defense, only difference will be the flavor.

As a wise man once said... there's nothing new under the sun

 

[matrixman]

Hey Wushuguy, thanks.
DVD sales are up.
I took out ads in the mags initially, IKF was friendly to me because I had written for them and they knew me. Just remember, when taking mag ads out, never to pay the price they quote, they will bargain.
Mags give just a little profit, not much, but if you have good product then the back door sales (reorders) is where you make your money. I had, and have, fantastic back door sales, or I would have dropped the ads.
The real surge in sales came from internet article writing. I write an article, send it to a directory, and some guy who has a blog or forum wants an article to put in it, but doesn’t have the time or maybe the inclination to write it. Bob H. does that some times. It’s quite respectable, and the articles are mostly of high quality.
I’m still not making much profit because I keep sinking every dollar I make back into the biz. The time will come.
Oh, and the start up costs, except for the ad, were very small, I can give you a list of them if you wish. Of course there is the computer, and a printer which spits out DVDs, and the one big cost, a CD/DVD duplicator, but, still, the costs were manageable, and if you want to augment your income, it is a fantastic way to go. Look, if your martial arts are any quality, if you spend time on both forums and training hall, you might have something that other people want. Think about it.
I’m quite serious when I say I will help anybody get started. Anybody wants the ‘how to’ on writing articles, setting up biz, in any aspect, I’ll do what I can. Free. No charge. The reason I do this is because I believe in martial arts, I believe in people, and I don’t believe in a depression. Period.
I get buyers from all walks.
I studied kenpo for two years, became an instructor, wrote one of the first instruction manuals in the united states (just my notes, but, hey, take what you can) then I studied under Bob Babich (Kang Duk Won Korean Karate) for some seven years. He is the only fellow I have ever known, or heard about in the US, who could the one finger trick. He’d stick his finger through a board and leave a hole. Apparently it is a popular trick, or was, in the orient, Taiwan, I believe, when all the martial artist fled the revolution. Don’t really know, just read about it. I can’t do that. I can put out a candle at about two feet, but...not always. And then, I have to be honest, I use Tai Chi. I keep trying to film it, but...I’ll make it. Just take some time. Anyway, candles are cheaper than boards, so I picked that route.
After Bob I would travel through arts, look for people who could teach me, and times of study would vary. This was back in the seventies, and quality instructors were not always to be found. Besides, I would hold to the yardstick of Bob, get what I could, then practice on my own. The way I really learned was by matrixing. I start matrixing back in the seventies, right after I left Bob, and I taught my first class about 1984.
Now look, I know this has been a free for fall on this thread, and I apologize. I knew it would happen, I feel like I’ve been scratched a bit, gave as good as I got, and thank goodness Bob H. floats around and keeps the law.
And I sincerely hope any hard feelings I might have caused will be shortly forgotten. And, if you think I am kidding when I say I love my fellow man, even so called ‘enemies,’ I would ask you to consider something. The attitude of Xue and the others is what kept the arts going through the hard times. Die hard, crawl through the jungle to study at the master’s house in the dead of night because the authorities might find out and...theirs is the attitude that prevailed and gave us our art.
That said, you knew I would work it around to this, I want you to consider the letter I got this morning. No, I don’t write these myself, yes, I will send you three hundred pages of wins if you want, and you will rapidly see that nobody could make up that many viewpoints, that many different things to say about matrixing.
Here’s the win:
Hi Al:

I read thru the forum and you are quite right that the major problem that many have in the martial* arts is that they are wedded to very old, orally based forms of information transmission.

This is OK for feudal *and illiterate societies but they miss the point that modern analysis techniques such as matrixing, mind mapping, etc., can help in understanding the arts and identifying core principles--especially if you come from a paradigm that there are common principles that apply to all martial arts.

It seems to me that your matrixing *approach gives a tool to analyze an art without having to learn all the forms by rote but once done will help you understand how these forms were intended to work and even work in ways that the founders did not envisage.... in a sense you are making the art your own. Am I on the right track?

I intend to use your matrixing approach and mind mapping to analyze and structure the Japanese Weapons arts I am now studying

Keep up the good work and thanks for the inspiration!!!

Many thanks for all the DVDs ..... I'm working thru the Matrixing Karate DVD and it has inspired me to take up the hard arts again.

I am thinking of applying your teaching to the ITF Chang Hon taekwondo forms as that is what I know best from my university days. Any thoughts on*
how to proceed?

Keep on training.
Cheers--Terry

Now, that’s the win, and I know that all of what I have said in the last few days doesn’t present me in the best lights. Honestly, I felt like a guy on the bottom of a dogpile, and was just doing the best I could, didn’t really know how to get the scuffle worked over to discussion.
But this guy has ordered a few courses, wrote a note of encouragement, and, as often happens, I get things out of the blue, people come to my rescue, deep down, people know that Matrixing is not designed to harm any art, but designed to fill in some gaps, make some sense, and elevate your art, any art, so that you can get full benefit.
I have not invented a new art(s), all I have done is come up with a type of ‘microscope’ whereby you can lay out your art, very logically, and see where the missing pieces are.

And, please, don’t take offense at the reference to feudal or illiterate, there was no way that was designed to hurt, and he was only making the point that things can always get better.
Can your car be improved?
Can you get a nicer house?
Can you become a better and smarter person?
Yes. The martial arts prove it. Especially that last.
And the martial arts can become better, too.

Thank you for offering some redirection to this thread. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know.

Al

 

[matrixman]

Hi Guys,
Did you know that there is no alphabet in the martial arts?
There are lists of basics, but even these, as simple as they are, are usually confused.
And there are no phonics.
Anywhere.
Yet the martial arts are a technology.
A technology with mixed languages, mixed cultures, mixed everything.
And no technical language, and no alphabet, and no phonics.
The first duty of Matrixing, therefore, is to establish an alphabet. I do that on page 42 of the Matrix Karate training manual. But it is page 44 where the bottom drops out, because that is where you see your first matrix, and that is where you get all your phonics.
I’m not going to teach you a new art, or some fancy mind meld technique, all I am going to do is organize your art, and enable you to see things that you didn’t know were there, and to enable you to access your art on a more intuitive basis.
Now, Matrixing is not for everybody, so make sure what I am saying interests you before you look into it. If it doesn’t interest you, if you are on a different road, don’t bother with it, it won’t make you happy.
You have a great weekend and a greater Work Out.
Al