Posted by Chris on November 13, 2011
I’ve recently bought “Jeet kune do: Bruce Lee’s commentaries on the martial way“, which is basically an extended version of “Tao of Jeet Kune Do“.
Both are compilations of how Bruce Lee thought about Martial Arts and how he was trying to figure it out for himself. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned from all his notes. It’s not just about Martial Arts and fighting, it can be applied to every day life as well.
One of the notes I read involved the cognitive behavior theory involving a centipede.
The fluidity a martial artist seeks can be best described by the story of the centipede. The many-footed creature was asked how it managed to walk on all its feet. When it stopped to think about how it managed its daily function, it tripped and fell. And so, life should be a natural process, in which development of the mind is not allowed to throw the natural flow of life out of balance.
More about the theory can be read on Centipede’s dilemm.
It’s definitely worth taking note of this and how “thinking too much” can hinder you. Instead let life take it’s course with you, and accept things that happen around you for what they are.
Posted by Chris on November 10, 2011
Master the Grace of the Cat – Practice the light, easy and graceful movements of the Cat.
Master the Anger of the Tiger – Overrun the courage of your enemy, advance harshly and retreat without confusion, estimate the situation then heavily punch with a sharp rush.
Master the Step of the Dragon – The Dragon is a symbol of strength and power, steps must be strong, powerful and resolute, the step is the source of the power generated by the movement, a non-confident step means a slipshod fist. When one step is over the movement of the body is over to.
Master the Speed of Lightning – Learn to instantly react to any changes.
Master the Sound of Thunder – The most powerful strike is delivered with a shout to obtain more powerful “effort-jin” emission.
Master the Movement of Wind – If you started fighting with a frontal attack, use your force on the left and right following the principle of ‘The fist is visible, the strike is invisible’ and ‘If you do not see your hand striking the enemy, you will never see this enemy’.
Master the Stance of Mountains – Your Stance must be impenetrable, train with Mabu, The Riders stance and Pole Standing stance. This will train strong feet and regulate breathing.
Master the Swiftness of the Goose – One must move quickly, lightly and instantly to respond to enemies actions, like the goose moving to the slightest whiff of wind.
Master the softness of Cotton – Before full exposure to rigidity, one must avoid vividly.
Master the hardness of Iron – Train the body to bear great pressure and power to overcome attacks with metal objects.
