I ran across an article
from Black Belt Magazine on-line, Learn
the Most Important Martial Arts Lessons Bruce Lee Taught — From His Top
Disciples! [Ref. 1]. The article describes
lessons (concepts/principles) from Bruce Lee as described by several of his
students.
I will expand on
a few of the items discussed in the article that resonated the most with me and
align with Han Moo Kwan principles and concepts.
Off the bat in the
article is the lesson: self-expression
through self-discovery. If you have done
any research on Bruce Lee and his philosophies, you will know he was a believer
in expressing the art form, and that expression comes from self-discovery. An instructor
can state concepts, ideas and be explicit in what one could or should do, but a
martial artist must really take those concepts and expand on them through self-study
to truly discovery how to apply the techniques in ways that are most effective for
them (which can be situational dependent or even change as you age). In Han Moo
Kwan we describe this as an aspect of “Making It Your Own”. I described this concept in more detail in my
September 2014 blog, titled “Making
it Your Own”.
Another lesson described
in the article is to “Take what is offered to you”. For me, the message here is, is you should not
have a preconceived notion on techniques to use but take advantage of the opening
or the vulnerability created by your assailant.
A great example from the article is “If your opponent steps toward you,
he's “offering" you his front leg to attack”.
As I have
discussed in several blogs, Han Moo Kwan is to be used for self-defense only and
therefore one should avoid physical altercation if one can. And if you feel you have no other choice than
use physical techniques you should go all out until you feel safe. Bruce Lee described this as “pre-emption.” As described in the article, “Basically, Lee’s
assertion that you should intercept aggression in stages (mentally, vocally and
physically) is analogous to the combatives approach of first, being avoidant by
using situational awareness; second, warning off by taking some type of early
physical action to avoid an altercation; and finally, in the most threatening
circumstances, launching your attack before your adversary’s attack is fully
manifested.”
The last piece I
think is extremely important and leads to another concept that Bruce Lee called
“interception”. A key to interception is
to “interfere with the assailant’s attack”.
In Han Moo Kwan, we refer to this concept as blocking to break. Blocking to break will disrupt and interfere with
the assailant’s attack.
As described in the
article, Lee also stressed the importance of a method he called “alive
training.” Basically, one must train in situations
to stress yourself that align with more realistic situations. This is why we include sparring and more dynamic
self-defense to our training. As described
in the article, “Particular moves and strategies are very important, but the
most difficult and immediate obstacle to overcome in a real fight is the
pressure and resistance offered by the attacker. If you don’t practice dealing
with them, you won’t develop the ability to automatically adjust to the myriad
of obstacles that a real opponent will present.” I also discussed in two separate blogs how to
better prepare yourself for these pressured situation in two blogs from April
and May 2018, titled “ How To
Physically Prepare For Being Under Stress “ and “How To
Mentally Prepare For Being Under Stress”.
Bruce Lee is considered
one of the greatest martial artists of all time. For me this is not just because
of his physical ability but because of his depth of understanding of the true essence
of martial arts. His lessons are not applicable
to just his style but traditional martial arts in general and lessons for all those
who strive to understand martial arts.
Regards,
Kelly
“Be self aware, rather than a repetitious robot.” ~ Bruce
Lee, (1940 –1973) American-born Chinese Hong Kong martial artist, actor, and
founder of Jeet Kune Do
References:
1. Learn
the Most Important Martial Arts Lessons Bruce Lee Taught — From His Top
Disciples! - Black Belt Magazine
