Thursday, June 2, 2022

Lessons From Bruce Lee ---- Chief Instructor Blog June 2022


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

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