I've just received my copy of Bruce Lee's Fighting Method, and I'm salivating over it! I'm only on the first page, but this book is already stirring up concerns and uncertainty I have about certain aspects of martial arts training. Bruce Lee geared his training towards being "fighting fit". If an exercise improved his endurence, power or speed, he would perform it. I'm currently reading about the aerobic element of his workouts, and it seems that he thought this a very important part of anyone's martial arts training.
Training Conflict
This contradicts my club's philosophy on training in which "cardio workout" has no place. Don't get me wrong, our training can be very physically demanding, but the exercises we do are in the traditional "standing on one leg until it hurts" school of pain. And also, I'm not dismissing the benefits that these kind of exercises bring. Our physical training comes from doing, among other things, 20 minute siu lim taus, standing on one leg whilst circling the other slowly, performing one legged siu lim taus etc. Yet many other wing chun practitioners include a lot of physical exercise that isn't necessarily "martial". Bruce Lee did massive workouts and was a great advocate of building functional muscles.
Personally, I've always loved doing exercise. From the age of 13 I would do press ups and sit ups every night without fail, and I used to sprint round my paper round. About 8 years ago I discovered weight training and so I replaced my daily pressup/situp routine with a more structured and rounded weight training plan. I've dabbled in other martial arts in the past (tae kwon do, tang soo do, some weird made up style of kung fu and ju jitsu) and they all, without fail, placed importance on the physical exercise side of training. Strength and stamina are important in a fight.
At my club, the emphasis is placed squarely, even solely, on developing skill. Muscle power is taboo. In one way, this does make a lot of sense as the whole wing chun concept enables the smaller person to beat the bigger, stronger attacker. But surely there is something to be gained from training to become more powerful. I mean, Bruce Lee did it with great success. I'm in a quandary at the moment. On the one hand I want to continue training for strength and size (I know, pure vanity!) but on the other, my sifu discourages this kind of training. He says that all the exercise you need is in Wing Chun itself.
I used to accept that, and I used to think that Wing Chun included all the training I needed, but perhaps simply accepting without testing is a little narrow minded of me. I liked Bruce Lee's approach. He questioned old masters and tested traditional ways of doing things. If something didn't work, it was rejected. If it did work it was absorbed. Bruce Lee also spent a lot of time researching the benefits of different types of exercise and he kept what worked. Through his training, he developed massive amounts of power.
MMA Training
Look at the training that the top dogs in MMA endure. OK, I know that they are training for extreme situations, but they are living proof that the fitter you are, the better you will fight. And some exercises are better than others at preparing you for a fight
I'm not suggesting that Wing Chun students incorporate Wanderlei Silva snorkel style methods into their training routines...
... but I think training to improve endurance, speed and power is a good thing.
Call me cavalier, but I'm going to have a look around at other training methods. I don't believe that Wing Chun is enough - from a training point of view anyway, and certainly not at my low level of skill. It may be enough from a skill/technique/efectiveness point of view, but something inside tells me that if I were to supplement my forms and technique drills with exercises designed to develop speed and power, I will fare better in a fight.
With that in mind, I'm going to be paying a lot of attention to Part 1 of Bruce Lee's Fighting Method. It's all about basic training and the table of contents includes sections on aerobic, warming up, flexibility and abdominal exercises, stances and footwork. But the two sections in Part 1 that have me drooling the most are those on power training and speed training. And there are 60 whole pages on those two subjects. If doing extra curricula exercises such as these will improve my power and speed, then I want in!
There are plenty of Bruce Lee quotes all over the internet. I thought I would do something a little different here and use them as a starting point for discussion (albeit a small discussion!). I think it's interesting to explore ideas, and Bruce makes it easy for me to do that because he was so interested in the philosophy of being human.
It's sometimes misleading to take quotes out of context, so I'll bear that in mind.
Bruce Lee Quotes For Exploration
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.
This is similar to the contrast between being a Jack of all trades and being a master of none. There is little use in being able to execute many kicks ineffectively. It's a kick's effectiveness that will stop your opponent, not your dazzling array of poorly executed kicks.
Simplicity is the key to brilliance
So often human beings complicate even the simplest of things. Wing Chun is the essence of simplicity and uses the philosophy of "just enough", be it movement, effort, whatever. We should just concentrate on achieving our objective in the most efficient way possible.
using no way as a way, using no limitations as a limitation.
I think Bruce Lee is talking about throwing off self imposed limitations here. Often we allow preconceived ideas about what we can achieve to shape our performance. It's well known that you have more chance of succeeding if you belive that you can succeed. Even if you have no shred of evidence that you can achieve something, you have a better chance of succeeding if you simply believe anyway. The "using no way as way" - is that a reference to the style-less Jeet Kune Do? That is, don't conform rigidly to a particular style if it is not as effective as some other response? I think he is talking about the limitations present when conforming rigidly to a particular style. Wing Chun has no ground game, so it might be a good idea to incorporate some BJJ training into your routine, for example.
Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.
Isn't the whole concept of Jeet Kune Do built on this? It certainly makes sense. There is little advantage to be gained, in the context of fighting, from clinging on to traditional ways of doing things if they are ineffective. Better to learn from other successful practitioners. Look at what they do and how they do it, then test it yourself to see whether it works for you. Just don't tell sifu!
Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.
I think the idea of adapting existing forms and building your own is (possibly) viable if you already have a good grounding in the martial arts. This fits in with Bruce Lee's tendency to take on as Jeet Kune Do students only those people who were already competent in a martial art. Building your own form would obviously be too daunting a task for a complete beginner who has no basis on which to build. Testing is a necessary component of adapting and building your own forms, so that effectiveness is safeguarded. Before something new is incorporated into a form, it needs to be tested to see whether it works. Whether or not it works is a crucial factor.
Be water, my friend
Yes, yes! Be water! This has to be about fitting yourself perfectly around your opponent, responding appropriately to what they do. If they collapse their guard, you fill their space. If they push, you deflect. Flow easily with what is going on and don't resist - until it's time to crash.
Some quotes are taken from these videos:
Bruce Lee Interview Part 1
Bruce Lee Interview Part 2
Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there.
I think that this is a very good point, and I'm glad Bruce made it. He made a habit of challenging tradition, testing existing practise, keeping what worked and rejecting what didn't. You would be mistaken if you thought his intent was to simply abandon tradition. Instead, it was to abandon what was useless. If something traditional is effective, it should be kept. It is the pattern of accepting without testing that should be rejected.
Take inventory of everyone with whom you have contact.
Everyone has something you can learn from. Even those who have a low level of skill can help you learn something new. I used to get annoyed (and still do if I'm honest) when chi sauing with partners who used too much strength. "It's just not chi sau!" Instead, I could be using this chi sau as an opportunity to improve my ability to deflect force and to use my partner's strength against them. Taking inventory of everyone with whom you have contact is also linked with Ip Chun's advice to touch as many hands as you can. Everyone has something you can learn from.
Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.
The master of positivity! Doing this not only has the effect of moving you closer to achieving your objective, it also makes you feel more positive and more empowered. Personally, I've made a commitment to practise my Wing Chun for an hour before work every day, and to attend 3 classes a week. This means that every day except Sunday I'm making that one definite move towards my goal of Wing Chun mastery. Damn that Sunday!
Are you making at least one definite step towards your goal?
A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.
The goal is not always the point. Often, setting an unrealistic goal and working towards it can improve your performance more than setting a goal you know you can achieve. The real goal is self improvement.
Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.
While it's true that graciously admitting your mistakes will endear you to your friends and colleagues, this practice has another benefit. You can only begin to correct something once you have acknowledged that something is wrong, or could be improved.
Real living is living for others.
I agree wholeheartedly with this. This reminds me of buddhist teachings and also the psychology of living a fulfilling life. Even Zig Ziglar advises that you can get everything you want in life if you'll just help enough people get what they want. There is a whole book's worth of content in exploring this one simple sentence!
To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.
I interpret this as not being bound and limited by your circumstances. It's easy to feel like a victim and blame your situation for not being able to do this or not having that. It's then easy to think that you have no influence on your situation and must just endure it. However, there is always something that can be done (in most situations) even if it's "merely" changing your attitude. Examine what you can do to change your situation for the better.
If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying.
Better to say nothing at all! And that is spot on. What if I say something about my ability that directly contradicts my actual performance? If I say I'm good and I then get beaten up, my words are irrelevant. Similarly, if I say I'm rubbish and then go on to defend myself successfully against someone bigger and stronger than me my words again are redundant. It's better for the opponent on the receiving end to judge
If you want to learn to swim, jump into the water. On dry land, no frame of mind is ever going to help you.
Is this a warning against thinking you can fight because you have practised martial arts? I think it might be, and if so, it makes sense. High level martial artists sometimes cannot protect themselves and conversely some people who have no formal martial arts training will whoop yo ass. The best way to get better at fighting.... is to fight. But I'm not suggesting you go and start a fight to test your skill!
It's not what you give, it's the way you give it.
I'm sure he missed the "baby" off the end!
Bruce Lee Quotes For Admiration
All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns
Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.
When you're talking about fighting, as it is, with no rules, well then, baby you'd better train every part of your body!
Boards don't hit back.
Classic!
The happiness that is derived from excitement is like a brilliant fire — soon it will go out. Before we married, we never had the chance to go out to nightclubs. We only spent our nights watching TV and chatting. Many young couples live a very exciting life when they are in love. So, when they marry, and their lives are reduced to calmness and dullness, they will feel impatient and will drink the bitter cup of a sad marriage.
In Jeet Kune Do, it’s not how much you have learned, but how much you have absorbed from what you have learned. It is not how much fixed knowledge you can accumulate, but what you can apply livingly that counts. ‘Being’ is more valued than ‘doing’.
There is no such thing as maturity. There is instead an ever-evolving process of maturing. Because when there is a maturity, there is a conclusion and a cessation. That’s the end. That’s when the coffin is closed. You might be deteriorating physically in the long process of aging, but your personal process of daily discovery is ongoing. You continue to learn more and more about yourself every day.
I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine.
