Yeah? Well what does that have to do with Bruce Lee!

[WTG]

Thats what I was asked Saturday at my Gym... It prompted me to write my feelings on the subject here.

What am I talking about? Well, Saturday at the Gym, a person came in asking about the Gym what we teach price etc... The normal stuff. I knew this person had some training in what we do because, he told me of all the seminars he has attended and he "knew" of all the local "jkd" people etc...

Finally he asked. DO you know all of the dummy sets? I said no...
He said he was shown some by someone or seen a video or something. Then he asked if I knew all the trapping combinations. I said, uhmm... no!

He went on asking if we teach the "Jun Fan Progression" I asked him what that was, and he laughed, then said ask your teacher! He then said well what DO you teach? I said I teach what I call functional JKD. And thats when he asked, Yeah, well, what does that have to do with Bruce Lee?

At this point I told him, in MY opinion, Bruce Lee was about FUNCTION. NOT doing jun fan!
I use what actually works and complex trapping does not work for me or anyone else I have personally met. So why keep it?
Because Bruce Lee did it at one time? He also did Siu lum Tao! Why don't we use that?

I invited him the chance to try to trap me, i.e. we could spar, he declined saying simply.. It would work... But not being willing to try it. Interesting...

He left with a bit of an attitude secure in his non tested beliefs.

After he left, I thought about all the others who came in looking for box patterens, hu bud and disarms, chi sao, lots of trapping etc... And how all of those people, when they found out we didn't do it, all of a sudden changed their attitude into one where they felt like oh, I know more than these guys.. Also everyone of them refused to spar!

And all the people who had no experience LOVED what we did and joined on the spot! And they spar all the time! LOL!

It amazes me and also saddens me a little, how people project what they want jkd to be onto jkd! How everyone freezes jkd into what THEY think it should be. And there you have for and against... It is no longer whole but partial.

To me JKD is not bound to anything including Bruce lee! JKD is about function, about freedom to grow, to develop, to change and about always testing yourself, not staying in your comfort zone. About getting rid of ego by failing over and over.
My old Bujinkan Ninpo teacher used to tell me, "you will never know how to stand up, until you learn how to fall down"

To look in the mirror and see JKD. On your good days and bad days Thats JKD IMO and also understanding that JKD is different for others depending on where they are on the path. It is all of this and none of this.

And what does that have to do with Bruce Lee? Well, when I look in the mirror and see this black eye I am now sporting from sparring, When I try the arm bar and my student passes my gaurd... And when I am untouchable in sparring. I can't help but feel that Bruce lee knew this feeling.

So maybe that is what this has to do with Bruce Lee. Somehow I think he would respect what we are doing. And also I must admit, I am more conserned about what this training has to do with ME than what it has to do with Bruce Lee.

I just had to let off steam folks

-Rick

[Stuart S. Igarta]

Attn: Herb Tanton

Sorry wrong area!

[Edited by Stuart S. Igarta on 12-01-2000 at 07:00 AM]

[Jim McRae]

Yeah, Rick, since you aren't from Hong Kong, you aren't married to a woman named Linda, you don't have a dog named Bobo, and your favorite meal isn't beef in oyster sauce, you obviously know nothing about BRUCE LEE'S JKD! What you need to do is go out and buy all of John Little's books and religiously imitate every aspect of Bruce's life so that one day, in a blinding flash of light, Lee's spirit will enter your body and make you the INVINCIBLE KUNG FU MASTER. I hate talking to classicized, anti-intellectual armchair-fighters like the guy you described. I had a similar discussion with a Wing Chun practitioner last year. He was lauding the virtues of trapping, sil lum tao, chi sao, etc as the essential elements of an effective street fighter's training. I politely asked him if he was interested in getting on the mat and trying it with some resistance (OK, a LOT of resistance). He declined on the grounds that "the energy would be wrong." Of course the energy would be wrong! That's the whole bloody point! Unfortunately, when a person makes a mistake and realizes that his actions contradict his values, he will usually change his value system to fit his actions rather than change his actions to coincide with his values. It is hard to be intellectually honest about combat: I trained Aikido for four years before switching to JKD. However, it is better to realize the truth of combat honestly and in the comfort of your living room (or kwoon) than it is to be taught it with your face against a curb.

Take care and train hard,
Jim

[Burton]

Great post Rick, and great reply Jim. So many people have their self-esteem wrapped up in their particular style. We can tell them the truths that we have experienced (not merely theorized), but in the end it is each individual's choice to put the ego aside and test their skills, or continue to hide behind the false shield of superior style. Rick's comment about what his training does for him is more important than what it has to do with Bruce Lee is right on the money. We should be bound by nothing but our personal values; not by style, not by the opinion of others, and not by some misguided loyalty to the founder of an art.
Keep up this kind of discussion!

[Jim McRae]

Great posts, Rick and Burton! If you will allow me to wax philosophical for a bit, I will further use the poor schmuck in Rick's story as a punching bag...

In her essay "Faith and Force," Ayn Rand states that there are only two ways to deal with people: reason and force. A person will only hold a belief for one of two reasons: (1) they can prove that belief to be true or (2) they simply have faith that the particular belief is true. To convince another person of the first kind of belief, I will use logical arguments based upon factual evidence, and the other person can choose to believe me if he thinks my argument is good. However, if I have the second kind of belief, I cannot prove it to another person because there is NO PROOF for it. Thus, any argument based upon this faith turns into a "cause I say so" kind of defense, and a person who holds a faith-belief will ultimately have to resort to force to make the other person change his mind.

What is funny about this is that the classical guy Rick describes holds his belief in the combat validity of traditional JKD purely as a matter of faith -- he hasn't tested it and is continually reluctant to do so. In order to convince anybody that his traditional JKD really is the best way to fight, he would have to use force, not reason, but he is afraid to use force because he hasn't tested his martial art against a resisting opponent. So this poor guy is caught: he can't proove his illogical point and he can't force anyone to believe him. All he can do is stomp out of the kwoon in a huff. People who refuse to think critically and be intellectually honest with themselves should really find a less dangerous hobby.

Take care and train hard,
Jim

[WTG]

Truth through experience... a little long...

Hello Burton Hello Jim!

First I would like to thank Sifu Burton for showing us the Samoan "pimp slap" on This months Vid! I love it! And Jim nice to put a face to the name, I'll look forward to seeing more of you. Next month I want to see you suplex Herb! LOL!

Good stuff from both of you in reply to my post. Aside from the guy in this post I have had more than a few stop in from JKD and Wig Chun and Gracie Jiu Jitsu as well. And what is sad, is that none of them had any intention of joining, they would never participate, just try to take up my time telling me about what they do! So now I have a policy, I'll give you five minutes, after that you may join a class or take home some printed material and you have to go. If I see a person is interested but a little nervous about just jumping in, then I will let them watch.

One interesting thing is that we have a local gracie Jijitsu academy close by and they are known to go into Dojos Gym etc.. And challenge the teachers to "roll". I mean Tai Chi schools Kali schools taeKwon Do... Of course they know these folks do practice that so the intention is simply to make them look bad. For what? They never say "spar" they want to grapple.

So one of my students who used to attend this school and who has a friend who still does, told me that he had "heard" that I was next...

Sure enough three weeks later, two guys come in walk right up to me as I was teaching (some 80 feet from the front door) with attitude. So I went into ready mode not knowing what to expect. And one of them says, "so JKD huh?" I said yes. He said, "so who do you train with?" I said well a lot of people, but right now, I am a member of Burton Richardson's Organization although I have not been tested yet and am not "certified". I have however been doing JKD since at least 1986.

Guy say's "Oh that guy in the magazine, inside kung fu?" I said, well, yeah he writes for that. So what can I do for you? And right away the one who was quiet most of the time say's "we want to roll with you" I said really who do you train with? They said Craig Cramer So then I knew for sure it was them and my number came up.

Now for what it's worth, Craig's guys ARE good and they win alot or tournaments. So I know my limitations and chances were I might lose, and plus, Why play their game? I figure, I am minding my own business, not saying anything bad about ANY teacher or style in town, THEY are coming in here for one reason, to beat me and some how use that to make themselves feel better.

So I said listen, if you want to spar I will, I am not going to just play a game with you, I am going to punch and kick and bite and if I can reach those sticks I will use them too! I train to live friend, if you really want to taste my JKD, then you had better be ready to eat it all!

By this time my students were all ready to go as well, so we waited for their move. They stood there to see I belive, if I was serious, I said well, if were gonna do this then lets go if not you'll find the door the same way you came in. So they looked at each other and BACKED out of my Gym!

Some time later I hear that they decided I was crazy and it wasn't woth them going to jail to prove it too me. But that we were harmless and of course they could have "taken" me...

See, to me this is just stupid and dangerous. What is the point? One day there gonna get killed and for what?

I have to admit folks, it just bothers me, Martial Arts are I THOUGHT about the warrior ideal. Improving your self. Deflating your ego not building it! So many people are just not healthy mentally that do martial arts...

The one guy I was talking about in my first post now takes wing chun, I did as well from his same teacher. His teacher has told us stories of how when he was in Hong Kong, he defeated 7 guys armed with clevers and saws! And other such "amazing" stories... His progression is S L O W! I did Siu lum Tao for 5 and a half months as he knew I did JKD and was taught "bad habits" I was not to lift weights and one time when doing chi sao with a friend, he lost it! NO! NO! Not yet, you want to train, do form! Develop energy!

I know people that have trained five years with him and have the first form and the 1st third of Chum Kiu, some foot work and Don chi! No sparring, no situational self defense nothing. I they are among the most narrow minded wing chun is everything people I have met!

Thing is guys, if people want to train like that fine, so what I don't care. But why do they come bother people who are minding their own bee's wax and try to force their "opinions" at you?

Burton, I am glad you are reading this, because I want you to know, I would train in what you teach regardless of what it was called!

It has nothing to do with Bruce Lee or that you trained with Dan, It is because EVERY single thing you have put on our monthly videos, every technique, *I* can make work! Against someone fighting back! this is the first time in a long time that I am actually LEARNING and actually growing. As well when I pass on what you share with us and what we share with each other (as the JKDU family) it works for my students too!

I used to spen a lot of time wondering if all of these things I knew would work. Despite my multipal black belt degrees seminar certs all of that, I was unsure.

Now I know truly what I can and can NOT do at this point in my development and that to me is worth more than ANY belt or cert. I may not always like what I find out about myself, but man, It's in the open now, I know it, my students know it.. I KNOW that I am very good in some areas and need work in others and that truth through experience is down right spiritual!

If I may, I would like to end with an quote from an old Ninpo teacher of mine. I has always meant a lot to me, and has stuck with me over the years...

"In recent years,I have increasingly come to understand and appreciate the whole life integration of Masaaki Hatsumi the artist. His Ninpo Taijutsu combate movement, his brush strokes, even the way he chooses his words in conversation-all reflect an artist's sensitivities. Beginning with the basics of bodily actions, the artist continues to refine and perfect his crusade for the elimination of the crude, ineffective, inaccurate, and inappropriate. perhaps it could be said that the true goal of the artist is to let go of all aspects that serve as obstacles to his own ability to successfully deliever direct personal self expression.

To commit myself to the perfection of the art of martial technique is to confront myself, and in so doing, confront all those aspects of myself that I have allowed to get in my way for a lifetime. It is a form of art that demands total honesty. It is a form of art in which the relentless search for areas of personal weakness and vulnerability takes precedence over the indulgence of enjoying areas of strength and accomplishment.

I am exposed totally every time I move with another practioner. My body condition is exposed, my attitude is exposed, my fears are exposed, my history is exposed, my vulnerabilities are exposed, my preceptions are exposed and my sense of humor is exposed. I nakedly show all observers how I relate to pressure with my timing, distance, and awareness of the others movements against me.

The martial art is the art of facing truth at the razor's edge. I cannot lie with my technique, I cannot blur the edges, I cannot cover inabilities with clever diversions. I tell the truth every time I move."
-Stephen K. Hayes

Guys, I hope you like Stephen's words. I have found them true every time I step into the Gym..

And so we move on, in support of each other.

All the best,

-Rick

[Burton]

I am impressed! I am fortunate to know Jim, so I have been impressed with his intellect and search for truth for over a year. Now learning more about Rick's quest for personal improvement gives me great hope for our association.

To accept a challenge from people you know may be better than you is indeed courageous and comendable. Part of the Lacoste Kali salutation states: "I am prepared to go against you, even if your skill is greater than mine, because even if my body falls before you, I know that my spirit will rise again, as it is unconquerable." Rick demonstrated this ideal, opting to stand strong for what he believes in, rather than cowering in self-doubt.

Thank you Jim for your insight. It is interesting that the ability to reason or the need to resort to force puts our anti-hero in a quandry. He cannot reason, and although he is a "martial artist", he is afraid to resort to force because of his lack of faith! He must not respect himself much. Too bad. I hope he puts the ego aside someday.

Keep testing yourself, and growing. We all have much to work on, so just concentrate on moving down the road a little more each day. Enjoy!

[Jim McRae]

"So I said listen, if you want to spar I will, I am not going to just play a game with you, I am going to punch and kick and bite and if I can reach those sticks I will use them too! I train to live friend, if you really want to taste my JKD, then you had better be ready to eat it all"
Thanks, Rick. This was great! It made me laugh out loud for five minutes. You should keep a video camera around the kwoon to catch this kind of stuff on tape.

I definitely have to agree with both you and Burton about the necessity of personal development in martial arts training. To train techniques that allow you to injure or kill another human being and not simultaneously train to develop yourself as an ethical person are the makings of a potential psychopath. This is like going to the chimpanzee cage at the zoo and handing one of the chimps a loaded 9mm pistol. The chimp has all the attributes necessary to pull the trigger, and absolutely no moral qualms about blazing away at anything that moves. The same thing happens when an instructor teaches a student violent techniques without the necessary accompanying moral system that keeps these techniques in check. Martial techniques tell you WHAT to do in a violent situation, and morality tells you WHEN you can use those techniques. Plus, the moral structures are something you can use in every moment of your daily life. I have been in the martial arts for only a little more than five years, and have gotten into less than one physical altercation per year in that time (and only one where the cops had to be called). However, in that time, I have made countless decisions based upon the moral structure that is informed by my martial arts training (that, and an @$$load of philosophy). The point is, you use the self-development side of your training far more than you do the self-defense side. Any martial art that does not develop its students as ethical beings cannot rightly be called a martial art: it is a fighting system and the word "art" has no place in the term.

Take care and train hard,
Jim

Hey, Burton, can I be the one to suplex Herb on the next tape? I'll get on the creatine starting tomorrow!

[Burton]

Jim, you have dibs on suplexing Herb, but who is going to fix the floor? Enjoy!