Mixed martial arts
Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
Willing is not enough, we must do.
(Bruce Lee)
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee needs no introduction.
His on-screen persona is known throughout the world and many martial artists
have also studied his philosophical writings and ideas regarding the martial
arts.
Bruce Lee showed the world that Chinese martial arts systems could work in
modern times and that the dogmas of the past could be transcended.
His wonderfully pragmatic attitude has inspired generations of martial artists
to learn.
Bruce Lee and tai chi
As a child Bruce Lee studied performance art/health-only tai chi, and was not
impressed.
He saw it as an exercise for the infirm.
Tai chi as a martial art was not widely taught in Bruce Lee's lifetime.
Krishnamurti
Bruce Lee was heavily influenced by the teachings of Krishnamurti and applied
his considerations to the martial arts.
Inspired to explore tai chi and other systems for himself, Bruce Lee
revolutionised the approach to learning a martial art.
By accepting no man as their master, a martial artist could be free to learn
according to inclination and interest instead of being bound by the past.
Jeet kune do (JKD)
Bruce Lee labelled his journey of self-expression 'jeet kune do'. It is not a
school name or style.
He did not create a martial art. JKD is about finding out what works for you.
What Bruce Lee introduced was the notion that a person should explore and train
what suited the individual, rather than adhere to traditional patterns of
learning.
He actually closed every one of his schools for fear that people were following
him and treating his teachings as being the truth or the way.
Jeet kune do: tradition or style?
Given that Krishnamurti was the source of Bruce Lee's inspiration, we have
looked to Krishnamurti rather than Bruce Lee for guidance.
By studying Krishnamurti's writings for yourself, you better understand what was
so significant about his teachings, and why they led Bruce Lee to break from
tradition.
A jeet kune do man who says jeet kune do is exclusively jeet kune do is
simply not with it.
He is still hung up on his self-closing resistance, in this case anchored down
to reactionary pattern, and naturally is still bound by another modified pattern
and can move within its limits.
He has not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all moulds;
pattern and awareness is never exclusive.
Again let me remind you jeet kune do is just a name used, a boat to get one
across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one's
back.
(Bruce Lee)
The danger with seeking to learn jeet kune do is that many people see it as
being a style, or a set of principles associated with Bruce Lee.
This is fine if you are running a business or you are seeking to preserve Bruce
Lee's message.
Unfortunately, the idea of following another person's teachings is the
antithesis of Krishnamurti's work.
Krishnamurti asked questions. He did not provide answers.
Mixed martial arts
One response to Bruce Lee's jeet kune do can be seen by the emergence of mixed
martial arts schools around the world.
Adherents of mixed martial arts pick and choose from various systems and create
their own repertoire.
The drawback with this approach is that students may only learn each system
superficially.
If you really want to learn any given style through and through, you need to
focus on the one thing for a length of time.
Incorporating the internal?
The mixed martial arts approach may work nicely with the external
arts, but not the neijiaquan.
Internal skills cannot be learned quickly and then mixed in with
others arts.
We learn a whole approach to the experience of combat, and every action is an
integral part of the system.
A student may spend a decade learning just one style and still miss much of the
meaning.
Mish-mash?
Our tai chi school adopts an attitude towards self defence which echoes Bruce
Lee's response to Krishnamurti's words but is not the same as what Bruce Lee
did.
We agree that every student must find their own rhythm, their own way. However,
we do not favour mish-mashing different martial arts together.
Mish-mashing martial arts together may be a favoured jeet kune do approach but
we do not follow this.
We have found all the freedom and liberty without looking elsewhere.
Our students start with the internal skills.
Tai chi has one single advantage over any external martial art -
it grows
with you as you grow older.
External martial arts may well be effective in combat but they are never
championed as being healthy.
The journey of the external martial artist involves a lot of injury and damage,
so we chose another path.
A starting place
Students begin by studying basic tai chi skills.
The training is concerned with strength-building, whole-body movement, self
defence and fundamental weapons work.
Jeet kune do and self defence
The syllabus of the our school requires the student to understand and apply
certain physiological principles as part of their learning.
When it comes to applying tai chi in self defence, the system begins to sound
more akin to Bruce Lee's jeet kune do concept.
Each student is encouraged to figure the system out for themselves and utilise
what suits their particular disposition.
Although the body mechanics and the application of internal principles will be
the same for every tai chi student, no two students should use it in quite the
same way.
Jeet kune do and tai chi
Not every tai chi teacher will have the knowledge necessary to penetrate the
depths of the system.
You may not have ready access to a good teacher.
It is important with tai chi to look around and see what other instructors and
styles are doing.
Your class may seem good until you see another.
A jeet kune do journey into tai chi may save you from years of frustrated
practice.
Natural unnaturalness
Bruce Lee spoke of 'natural unnaturalness'.
This was a state of being whereby the martially-trained body and mind can
express itself comfortably and naturally.
The act of training is not natural - although the resultant movement created by
the system is in accord with natural law.
If you cannot move naturally, comfortable and easily, you cannot apply the art
in self defence.
Step-by-step techniques are too contrived to work when you are under pressure.
Page created 19 August 1999