INTRODUCTION

How does a physically insubstantial person effortlessly defeat a seemingly physically superior foe?

That is the great mystery. Is it not? We're all familiar with the scenario. Most practitioners commonly encounter this situation, if not in actual combat, then at least in training.

At some point, we all encounter an adversary or training partner who is larger, stronger, or faster. As young, strong, and healthy individuals, we tend to train harder in an attempt to increase our athleticism. We study more diligently to increase our ever-expanding collection of "techniques". We look to multiple disciplines, systems, styles, anatomy, geometry, trigonometry, physics, structural engineering, psychology, philosophy, and many other domains of knowledge in our seemingly endless quest to solve this one common riddle.

Generally, we find partial answers from a wide range of various sources and we integrate each little piece into our expansive body of knowledge. We find ourselves constantly collecting little pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and fitting them together in an attempt to see the whole picture. Eventually, we learn that nearly everyone possesses pieces of the puzzle, but it seems that nobody has managed to collect all the pieces. It seems that nobody perceives the whole picture. It seems that nobody can genuinely answer this one basic question.

As time, injury, and entropy deteriorates our aging bodies, the issue becomes increasingly more urgent. At this point in our lives, it becomes undeniably obvious that we can not continue to rely on athleticism or our ability to "muscle" our way to victory indefinitely. So, what are we to do?

There must be an answer, right? Something deep inside our consciousness insists there must be an answer. We only need to find it.

Rest assured, my friend. There are no true secrets in the Martial Arts. All is hidden in plain sight.

So, let us continue on our journey. We shall travel the same path side by side as brothers. Perhaps together, we can find the solution.

"When a student is ready, the teacher appears."