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Artist of Life
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I have studied Bruce Lee very much, and wish to post to give you a small idea of his ideas and philosphy. I'll use alot of his own words to give you a better idea of who he was.
WARNING: Long Post
"I feel I have this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision. It is all of these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand." - Bruce Lee
On Fighting/Physical Fitness...
Bruce Lee was famous for his phisical abilities for a reason; here's a List of some of his "feats of strength." (None of these are exaggerations)
•Bruce Lee's striking speed from 60cm away was five hundredths of a second.
•Bruce did one-hand push ups using only 2 fingers
•Bruce was able to break a 70 kg (154 lbs) bag with a sidekick.
•Bruce was able to hold a 57 kg (125 lbs) barbell at arms length in front of him (with elbows locked) for several seconds.
•Bruce could peirce an unopened coke can with his finger
Bruce Lee worked on balance, speed, and strength. The scary part is that he was not only increadibly strong, he knew how to use it. Most martial artists don't realize that proper technique can inflict much more power than stength alone. During his training sessions it was common to see him side-kick a 200 lbs bag and see it slap the ceiling.
"Telegraphing" a movement/strike is when an indication is sent of your next move; if you are about to punch you might pull your other shoulder back, or widen your eyes, ext. Bruce not only knew how to see these signs, he was keen & fast enough to counter them immedeately. He himself would commonly practice in front of a mirror to work on "non-telegraphing" his own movements, making his speedy movements even harder to counter.
He also studied ways of throwing off the oppenent, such as moving with broken rhythm.
Words from some of his training partners/students...
Jesse Glover:
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•"When he could do push ups on his thumbs and push ups with 250 lb on his back, he moved on to other exercises."
•"The power that Lee was capable of instantly generating was absolutely frightening to his fellow martial artists, especially his sparring partners, and his speed was equally intimidating. We timed him with an electric timer once, and Bruce's quickest movements were around five hundredths of a second, his slowest were around eight hundredths. This was punching from a relaxed position with his hands down at his sides from a distance between 18-24 inches. Not only was he amazingly quick, but he could read you too. He could pick up on small subtle things that you were getting ready to do and then he'd just shut you down."
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Joe Lewis:
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•"Bruce was incredibly strong for his size. He could take a 75 lb barbell and from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest, he could slowly stick his arms out, lock them and hold the barbell there for 20 seconds, that's pretty damn tough for a guy who at the time only weighed 138 lb. I know 200 lb weight lifters who can't do that."
•" I never stood in front of another human who was as quick as him. He not only had the quickness, but he had the inner confidence to muster the conviction to do so. I've seen others who had the speed, but lack conviction or vice versa. He was like Ali, he had both. I stood before both of these men, so I know."
• "If Bruce Lee wasn´t the greatest martial artist of all time, then certainly he is the number one candidate."
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Leo Fong:
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"Yes, I was on the receiving end of his side kick. It was like getting hit with a truck."
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James Rage
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•"I think its important for people to realize that he was not only one of history's greatest martial artists, but also one of the finest athletes period. His devotion to physical exercise and healthy lifestyle was mind-boggling."
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Bruce Lee, toward the end of his life, had actually reached a point where he could no longer spar with anyone; they simply couln't take his punches and kicks.
On Jeet Kun Do...
"Using no way, as way. Having no limitation, as limitation.
Quote:
My purpose in creating jeet kun do was not to compare to other branches of martial arts. Anything that becomes a branch would induce bad feeling. Once there is a formation of a branch, then things seem to stop. Students would labor for regulations and rules. Then the meaning of the martial art would be lost. Even today, I dare not say I have reached any state of achievement. I'm still learning, for learning is boundless. -Bruce Lee
The root of jeet kun do
What we are after in JKD is the root and not the branches. The root is the real knowledge; the branches are surface knowledge. Real knowledge breeds "body feel" and personal expression. Surface knowledge breeds mechanical conditioning, imposes limitations, and squelches creativity.
The root is the fulcrum on which will rest the expression of your soul; the root is the "starting point" of all natural manifestation. If the root is right, so, too, will be all of its manifestations.
The roots are:
1. Physical ingredients
• On-guard positioning
• Footwork and movement
• Postures in relaying force
2. Underlying ingredients
• Balance
• Economy of form
• Intuitive expression of self in applying force and releasing speed
• Organic quiet awareness- continuity of being
• Totality in structure and consciousness of the whole
• Efficient mechanics
• Capability to regulate one's rhythm as with the opponent's, plus the
ability to disturb same
• Strong, dominating aura to flow with or against the "harmonious unit"
• Having no public
• Sincerity and honesty
• To function from the root -Bruce Lee
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Many people today completely misunderstand Jeet Kun Do. The ideas behind JKD are fluid and always growing, making it nothing like a style.
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"Jeet Kune Do: it's just a name; don't fuss over it. There's no such thing as a style if you understand the roots of combat." - Bruce Lee
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Bruce believed that true mastery trancended art.
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We are always in a process of becoming and nothing is fixed. Have no rigid system in you and you'll be flexible to change with the ever changing. Open yourself and flow at once with the total flowing now. -Bruce Lee
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On Philosophy...
One day in early 1970 he loaded up the bar with 135 pounds (his bodyweight at the time)for Good Mornings and, without a warm up, proceeded to do eight repetitions. On his last repitition he felt a "pop" and found out later that he had damaged the fourth sacral nerve of his lower back. The result was that Lee had to endure incredible back pain for the remainder of his life. During his confinment to bead, however, Bruce not only developed his ideas behind jeet kun do, but studied philosphy constantly. He loved the idea of "self strength", and relying on one's self.
Quote:
I wish neither to posses nor to be possesed.
I no longer covet paradise.
More important, I no longer fear hell...
The medicine for my suffering
I had within me from the very beggining,
But I did not take it.
My ailment came from within myself,
But I did not observe it.
Until now.
Now I see that I will never see the light
Unless, like the candle, I am my own fuel,
Comsuming myself. -Bruce Lee
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Bob Wall interview with Bruce Lee
To me, ultimately, martial art means honestly expressing yourself. Now it is very difficult to do. I mean it is easy for me to put on a show and be cocky and flooded with a cocky feeling and then feel, like, pretty cool and all that. Or I can make all kinds of phony things, you see what I mean? And be blinded by it. Or I can show you some fancy movement- but, to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself- and to express myself honestly- that, my friend, is very hard to do. And you have to train. You have to keep your reflexes so that when you want it- it's there! When you want to move, you are moving, and when you want to move you are determined to move. Not taking one inch, not anything less than that! It has to be that if I want to punch, I'm going to do it, man. And I'm going to do it! So that is the type of thing you have to train yourself into it, to become one with it. You think- it is.
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"How can I be me?"
When I first arrived, I did "The Green Hornet" television series back in 1965 and as I looked around, man, I saw a lot of human beings. And as I looked at myself, I was the only robot there. I was not being myself. I was trying to accumulate external security; external technique, the way to move my arm, and so on. But I was never asking what would Bruce Lee have done if- the word "if"- such a thing happened to me? When I look around, I always learn something, and that is: to always be yourself. And to express yourself, to have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate him. That seems to me to be the prevalent thing happening in Hong Kong. They always copy mannerism, they never start from the very root of their being: that is, how can I be me?
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Notes on self-will
Self-will seems to be the only virtue that takes no account of man-made laws.
A self-willed man obeys a different law, the one law to hold absolutely sacred- the human law in himself, his own individual will. What does self-willed mean? Hell, isn't it the exact meaning of "having his own will?" Well, that's a start, knowing, above all, that indeed he is a captain of his soul, the master of his life. Now what causes such a realization and, consequently, brings about a change in one's behavior is, "To be real, to accept responsibility for one's self." Realizing the fact that you simply "live" and not "live for."
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Complete determination
You must be fierce, but have patience at the same time. Most important of all, you must have complete determination. The worst opponent you can come across is one whose aim has become an obsession. For instance, if a man has decided that he is going to bite your nose off no matter what happens to him in the process, chances are he will succeed in doing it. He may be sevearly beaten up too, but that will not stop him from carrying out his objective. That is the real fighter.
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Despair is the conclusion of fools
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When you drop a pebble into a pool of water, the pebble starts a series of ripples that expand until they encompase the whole pool. This is exactly what will happen when I give my ideas a definate plan of action.
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It is sooner than you think- know yourself!
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You learn a lot during teaching; however, seeing is not enough, you must do; knowing is not enough, you must apply.
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Bruce Lee was truly an inspiration both as a martial artist and a philosopher. He completely devoted himself to his training, and his philosophy. And more importantly, he applied those thoughts and ideas.
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Parting Though- in My Own Process
Any attempt to write a "meaningful" article on how I, Bruce Lee, feel and think or express myself, is first of all a very difficult task, because I am still in my own process of learning, constantly discovering and constantly growing.
As though this assignment is not tough enough, I am in the midst of preparing my next movie, Enter the Dragon, a coproduction between Concord and Warner Bros., plus another Concord production, The Game of Death, which is only halfway done. I have been buisy occupied with mixed emotions as of late.
Of course this writing can be made less demanding should I allow myself to indulge in the usual game of role creation. Fortunately for me, I have trancended that, and I've come to an understanding that life is best to be lived- not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and honestly don't know where my ultimate limit lies.
To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new dicovery that I can obtain. However, the most gratification is yet to come: to hear another human being say, "Hey, now there is something real!" Oh I know, I am not called in to write any true confession, but I do want to be honest, that is the least a human being can do.
Basically, I have always been a martial artist by choice, and an actor by profession. But, above all, I am hoping to actualize myself to be an artist of life along the way. By martial art, I mean like any art, it is an unrestricted athletic expression of an individual soul. Oh yes, martial art also means daily hermitlike physical training to upgrade or maintain one's quality. However, martial art is also about unfolding the bare human soul, that is what interests me.
Yes, I have grown quite a bit since the day when I first became a martial artist and am still growing along the process. To live is to express oneself freely in creation. Creation I must say is not a fixed something, a solidification.
So I hope my fellow martial artist would open up and be transparently real, and I wish them well in their own process of finding their cause.
- Bruce Lee
Walk on
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Sources: www.mikementzer.com, "Bruce Lee's Commentary on the Martial Way" Volume Three, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee, personal research
Last edited by Ch'i; 08-30-2006 at 12:35 PM..
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