Bruce Lee

[timmyman]

Stevie jj is right bruce is not even near the grand master of wing chun but only someone yip man trained and didn't even hold in much regard.. thats why bruce chose to develop a new branch of wing chun and gave it a new name.

I have nothing but respect for the man but who really when talking about wing chun one should be talking abaout mr. Man and his direct student Leong Ting.

this form of martial arts is very fascinating to me as it brings together maditation and sensing ones surrounding, fighting blind and bridging energies... witch of course is very advanced and i am yet to get there:) but is absolutly perfect for someone wanting to control body and breathing:)

 

[sitting]

Bruce Lee was good at his style, and very good at the box office. But there is a deeper and more profound tradition. The internal martial arts. These high level adepts are quite amazing. Below is a clip of what's possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26pJkYhHGek

Lama Dorje has a foundation in the external martial arts as well. The following clip shows his early years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EMZjuyaTbU&feature=related

Interestingly, many external arts practitioners eventually gravitate to the internal, as part of their natural growth. A good example is the renowned Japan Karate Association instructor Kanazawa...who took up taichi along with his Shotokan.

A most insightful comment was made by the C's in one of the sessions. That all martial arts (using physical technique) was merely attempts at energy mastery. The taichi principle of "using intention in place of force" is I think a good reflection of that description.

 

[The_Seeker]

Also, do not forget that there is now a sequal to Ip Man (story of Yip Man's life). Although it reminds me of a sort of Rocky (WAY BETTER) nearing the end, it is a beautiful movie, that inspired me to pick the work back up. Guess that was the subconscious going... nudge nudge... Do you really want to be a 3? Why not a 4! Once again, Kudos to IP Man and Ip Man 2.

The_Seeker

 

[timmyman]

kudos the seeker:)

wing chun is very cool and the best part is that before i started learning it i always got into fights and havent been in a single on ever since... i always hear people sayong that after starting to learn martial arts they got this itching in theyr fists but havent met one wing chun practitioner with that issue:)

martial arts for good people:)

 

[Eongar]

Bruce Lee died young, and that was an impediment to their esoteric development. I have some of his books and there are certain phrases that really do what to think about who was or might be this man:

"The Path to Truth
1. FIND THE TRUTH
2. KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH (and existence)
3. PERCEPTION OF TRUTH (its substance and direction, as the perception of
movement)
4. UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH (A first-class philosopher practice
to understand-TAO. We must not divide,
but view it in full-Krishnamurti)
5. EXPERIENCE OF TRUTH
6. DOMAIN OF-THE TRUTH
7. FORGET THE TRUTH
8. FORGET THE BEARER OF TRUTH
9. BACK TO THE SOURCE WHERE THE TRUTH Ancient HAS ITS ROOTS
10. SLEEP IN THE NOTHING"

"The Jeet Kune Do favors the form, without shape so that takes all forms and since JeetKune Do has no style, you can adapt to all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do uses allways and is not limited by any, therefore, uses all the techniques or means which serve their purpose."

That is, not dogma, not religion, not a way to set standards, anything that helps us become aware of us will be welcome. everyone has their own style and time

The blows and kicks are tools to kill the ego. The tools represent the force of intuitive orinstinctive directionality, which, unlike the intellect or the ego complex, not divideyourself, blocking their own freedom. The tools move forward without looking backward or sideways.

Every man belongs to a style that claims to possess the truth, to the exclusion of all otherstyles. These styles are institutionalized in their explanations of the "Way", dissectingand isolating the harmony of firmness and gentleness, establishing rhythmic forms as a particular state of their techniques.

Knowledge is fixed in time, while knowing is a continuum. Precedes knowledge of asource of a collection, a conclusion, while knowing is a movement.

The film written by him "The Iron Circle" also shows beautiful Zen lessons.

 

[kenlee]

Many years ago my instructor (who was a student of Bruce lee) would ask us to hold the heavy punching back while he kicked it. Well, we had to hold on to it for dear life since after he kicked it we (which included 200 pound grown men) would fly halfway across the room! To this day I still don't know how he developed such power.

Wing Chun was always one of my favorite styles since it always fights from the inside and I think it's about the most "defensive" of martial arts styles since (if you consider the fact that Martial Arts are basically lethal weapons) the Wing Chun practitioner will initiate an attack response only unless their "center line" or personal space is violated or crossed.

I remember a scene in the movie Enter The Dragon (probably the most famous scene in the movie) where Bruce Lee squares off with Bob Wall during the tournament fight and he "explodes" into his punch. It was, I think, a good representation of Wing Chun but slightly modified at point of contact. I think that at point of contact it was all classic Wing Chun (punching from the inside) but at point of contact he (Bruce Lee) positions his fist from vertical to horizontal and then kinda shifts his entire body into the punch increasing it's power (seemingly exponentially) while maintaining his centerline and all the while conserving his inside space.

Found this about Wing Chun:

_http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/airline-recommends-new-flight-attendants-learn-hand-to-hand-combat

 

[Bar Kochba]

Bruce took from different fighting systems what he thought worked best in combat reality and called it Jeet Kune Do. That's my understanding. When I studied karate at age 18, I bought all of his books that were available, and absorbed his opinions. This in turn caused me to start learning a more reality based style, western boxing. This worked much better on the street than did the series of techniques I was learning in Shotokan karate. Or any other system I encountered at the time. Learning wrestling, boxing, Thai boxing, and ju jitsu gave me tools I knew from experience would work in a street situation. For example, how would "sticking hands" work against a wrestler who would simply tackle you to the ground? Bruce Lee knew this and if you read the Tao of Jeet Kune Do you will see he was beginning to study ju jitsu and wrestling. He never really mentioned ground fighting, where 95% of all street confrontations end up.
I guess it depends on the reason why one is learning martial art. I learned it as a self-defense system, a way to defend myself and/or others in rare but very possible situations that sometimes occur in this society. I did not begin martial art for spiritual enlightenment. But it has given me an inner peace, knowing that the tools are there as long as I take care of them.

 

[sitting]

Shotokan karate is highly stylized. And unless you get in that first blow, it really isn't that good for self defense. I've studied with Okazaki and Mori and that's the conclusion I've come to. Once on the ground, karate players are often clueless. If you watch videos of their tournaments, this becomes very apparent. They get way too tensed generally.

For self defense, jujitsu is better. As is judo. Royce Gracie ran off an amazing streak of wins against many different opponents and styles. In my local dojo, police get trained in grappling and joint locking techniques. These are far more useful in real life situations.

 

[dannybananny]

Shotokan karate is highly stylized. And unless you get in that first blow, it really isn't that good for self defense. I've studied with Okazaki and Mori and that's the conclusion I've come to. Once on the ground, karate players are often clueless. If you watch videos of their tournaments, this becomes very apparent. They get way too tensed generally.

Shotokan karate is sport, not so much about self defense. Like every combat sport there the goal is to get first blow and not wait to getting it because you have higher chances of succeeding. I agree that they are clueless on the ground, but the reason for that is that they don't practice it and on the street experienced kyokushinkai and maybe shotokan karateka would have more chances then brasilian jiu-jitsu guy, because on the streets the worst thing you can do is to get on the ground because then is whopping time by multiple opponents. Brasilian Jiu-jitsu is best for one on one and it's all about technique, strenght doesn't play a great deal like it has in stand up. Many fighters that went to K1 and later to MMA have trained karate, like Andy Hug, Sammy Shields, Francisco Filho and many other fighters trained karate in their childhood before going to something stronger, so karate builds very good technique and base that is later more developed. In the end it all depends from person to person. From my view the best self-defence is systema, krav-maga, muai-thai, Brasilian jiu-jitsu is only applicable for MMA, one on one, and is very important in these situations, it requires much flexibility and strength also.

In my local dojo, police get trained in grappling and joint locking techniques.

They train but how much do they can apply it in real fight situations, mostly only when the suspect raises their hand after they aim the gun or teaser on him do they use it, in real multiple opponent situations it's different story, you don't have time for that, you go with one punch one hit aiming for groins, throat, etc... and for Bruce Lee, he was an actor, today's martial arts became so advanced and professionalized that today it's all different story then then.

 

[sitting]

In my own experience, I found karate training very useful as a foundation, it's shortcomings not withstanding. I was at it for nine years. Knowledge of this "hard" form gave me a better appreciation and understanding of the taichi and baqua "soft" form. This I've been doing for 10 years now. The experience has been richly rewarding. In all that time, I've never gotten into an altercation. I hope it stays that way. I believe it has more to do with "mindfulness" than anything else.