ENERCHI Magazine by Kyle Pitman

FROM THE

EDITOR But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?

Kyle Pitman Lead Editor

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BRUCE LEE

THE STORY OF HOW ONE MAN BECAME A LEGEND

MATTHEW LUBBERS

INTERVIEW

ROBERT LEE: BRUCE LEE’S BROTHER

CLAYTON TEAMER

JEET KUNE DO

THE HIDDEN STRUCTURE BEHIND THE ART

JESSE McNEAL

MERIDIANS

A GUIDE TO DISCOVER YOUR OWN

LANCE PILLA

26 -3 -

HOW WELL DO YOU THINK THIS GUY

Sifu and Founder of The Dragon Institute

Sifu and Founder of Orange County Martial Arts

Well Bruce Lee inspired a lot of people, most of them are fighters... Even Bernard Hopkins said that he was a big fan of Bruce Lee and was inspired by him... I also believe that Bruce is a genius, a unique individual, physically and mentally...Its not really me that says this but I’ve seen a lot of great boxers say that if Bruce Lee was a boxer, he would knock out a lot of fighters because, he was so quick and strong...

Bruce Lee would beat Manny Pacquiao, and most other humans on the planet, in a street fight. However, Pacquiao is probably the closest thing to Bruce Lee that you’re likely to see in a boxing ring.

I’m a Pacquiao fan, but I think Bruce Lee will beat him in a street fight...Bruce lee is a street fighter, Dana White said Bruce lee is the father of MMA...Bruce lee has a lot of technique to beat any fighter p4p in a street fight... He was a master of technique.

of humans have, Lee was a man of very strong will. You are right. He would likely clean out the lighter divisions. However, he wasn’t that small. I think he would start at featherweight and cut a clear path straight to the welterweight division, weighing between 125 and 140 lbs. from start to finish.

Lee trained in Wing Chun among other things so he would have other experience, and massacre Manny as manny only knows boxing.

Sifu and respected practicioner of Wing Chun

Bruce Lee was a physical marvel,

How would Bruce have done in boxing? Well, I doubt he’d need a trainer, more like a corner. He was self taught, for the most part. He invented his own forms of martial arts. In addition to the many fighting styles he mastered, he also mastered boxing and incorporated it into his fighting style. Bruce Lee had a great deal of respect for boxers and for the sport. He took everything he could, from every form of fighting and mastered his own style. In addition to his perfect symmetry, something less than one percent

and combat expert who possessed

Sifu and Founder of Atlantic Warriors Gung Fu

He would be the Manny Pacquiao of his time. I forgot who said it but that person said Lee would be the best featherweight in the world. Bruce lee trained like a spartan, and was very physically gifted. He would have been the champ. He probably could have moved up in weight probably up to middleweight since Bruce Lee wasn’t a bodybuilder, he just didn’t have that much body fat. He probably would have been a multiple weight class lineal champ. Bruce Lee would kill Manny Pacquiao in a street fight. Bruce

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legendary fighting skills. Had Lee focused his efforts strictly on the sport of boxing, he likely would have been one of the greatest welterweight, or middleweight, champions of all time.

There’s no doubt in my mind that if Bruce Lee had gone into pro boxing, he could easily have ranked in the top three in the lightweight division or juniorwelterweight division,” said Dan Inosanto, a martial arts instructor who focuses on Jeet Kune Do Concepts. Quickness is such an important quality for a boxer.

Couple that with his strength, and there’s no telling how much he could have accomplished as a boxer. Lee was so supremely fast that many of his movements were periodically too rapid to be captured clearly on film. The Chinese-American’s surreal quickness was renowned and his punching speed alone would have enabled him to smoothly transition into a dominant pugilist if he had so desired. Lee was extraordinarily strong, abnormally fast, and he owned the mentality of a scrapper. Considering his litany of gifts, if Lee solely dedicated all of his preparations toward “The Sweet Science,” he could have earned induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in Canastota, New York. At the absolute least, Bruce Lee would have been an overwhelming force in the squared circle during any era.

Sifu and Founder of San Jose Wing Chun

I’m sure he could have. He had great physical attributes and dedication, if he had applied his dedication to boxing instead of martial arts I’m sure he would have been successful. Look how successful he was in martial arts, he invented Jeet Kune Do and became the first martial arts film star.

: ER

W S N

Also he boxed as an amateur and in one of his bouts knocked out a young man who’s name I forget but who later went on to become British light welterweight champion as a professional. {

AFT

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W ING

T HA

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. . . N O

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E R A E E F G!! B LD E RIN U WO N TH E I H

M ’ C

THE STORY OF

BRUCE LEE HOW ONE MAN BECAME A LEGEND MATTHEW LUBBERS

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ruce Lee was born in San Francisco November 27, 1940, in the hour and the

year of the dragon.

He was born Lee Jun Fan to parents Grace and Lee Hoi Chuen,a famous Chinese actor,on tour with a Chinese Opera troupe when their son came into the world.The senior Lee’s acting talent passed down to a young Bruce Lee who began appearing in Hong Kong films when he was about six years old. At ten he acted in the comedy The Kid, and acquired the nickname Siu Lung, or Little Dragon, and altogether he made over twenty films by the time he was eighteen.

As a teenager Lee was getting into fights and getting into trouble. He was also developing a deeper interest in the martial arts, after having learned tai chi from his father and then Wing Chun kung fu from the famous Yip Man. 1958 marked the year that Bruce Lee became the cha cha champion of Hong Kong, and that same year he came to America. Settling into Seattle Lee worked as a busboy in a Chinese restaurant owned by Ruby Chow. He also pursued an education and enrolled in Edison Technical College and then the University of Washington, where he majored in Philosophy. Here he met his first students Jesse Glover, Ed Hart, Skip Ellsworth, and not much later his assistant and life long friend Taky Kimura. He also had a student named Linda Emery who shortly became his wife. Lee became more and more serious about developing his theories and philosophies of kung fu, and his burgeoning ideas were shaped in his first book Chinese Gung-Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense.

“...acquired the nickname Siu Lung, or Little Dragon...”

Bruce lee at age 11

Becoming Popular The 1964 Ed Parker International Karate Championships shone the spotlight on both Bruce Lee's talent and charisma. He demonstrated his one-inch punch and two finger push ups. The event was to bring Lee together with Chuck Norris, Bob Wall and Mike Stone, who later became good friends, and Lee soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career.

“as lee’s kung fu and family developed, so did his film career.”

Between Seattle and Los Angeles, however, Bruce and Linda stayed for a short time in Oakland with his friend James Yimm Lee. It was during this time that Bruce Lee was challenged by Wong Jack Man for teaching non-Asians the "secrets" of Chinese kungfu. Lee won the fight, but realized his Wing Chun was not perfectly effective. It was perhaps the turning point in his evolution of thinking, and the beginnings of his philosophy and theories of Jeet Kune Do. These theories developed as Lee opened his LA Chinatown school headed by Dan Inosanto. In 1965 his son Brandon was born. And as Lee's kungfu and family developed, so did his film career. 20th Century Fox signed Lee to co-star with Van

Bruce Lee in LA Chinatown

Williams in the TV show The Green Hornet in 1966. The show lasted for one season, but got Lee good exposure in Hollywood and a cult following in Hong Kong, where the program was called The Kato Show. Lee also began teaching a number of Hollywood celebrities including Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Blake Edwards and Roman Polanski.

MORE FAME MORE PROBLEMS A

serious back injury from lifting

weights kept

Lee

bedridden for

nearly six months .

As one of his students has noted, Bruce Lee never wasted time. During his convalescence he filled nearly seven notebooks with notes and thoughts on all types of martial arts, and this material eventually became The Tao of Jeet Kune Do. After The Green Hornet Lee made various appearances on TV shows and collaborated with writer Sterling Silliphant on a mythical screenplay called The Silent Flute. Warner Bros. was considering him for the lead in a series actually developed with Lee in mind, called The Warrior, which eventually became Kung

Fu and went to David Carradine instead. In 1968 Bruce and Linda's daughter Shannon was born. Lee went back to visit Hong Kong and discovered he was a local hero there because of The Kato Show. He made an appearance on a talk show and demonstrated his martial arts skills, catching the attention of Raymond Chow - who was starting up his film studio Golden Harvest. Lee received offers from both the Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, and he decided on the two-picture contract from Golden Harvest. He flew to Thailand to shoot The Big Boss (Fists of Fury in the U.S.), a film which subsequently broke all box office records in Asia. His next film Fists of Fury (Chinese Connection in U.S.) was even more successful and broke his previous box office record. The movie was so popular it ran for six months straight in the Philippines and had to be cancelled in Singapore on opening night because the thousands of fans rushing the theater caused a major traffic jam. And of course in Hong Kong Lee became not only a hometown hero, but also a hot commodity. Bruce Lee's success afforded him more power with Golden Harvest,

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and for his third film Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon in the U.S.) he was the star, the director, producer, writer, and fight choreographer. The film ends with the famous fight scene between Lee and Chuck Norris at the Roman Coliseum. Lee then began to shoot Game of Death, which was put on hold when the offer came to do Enter the Dragon, the first coproduction between an American and a Chinese company and the first American studio produced martial arts action film. With Enter the Dragon Lee took the genre to a new level, and even today the fight choreography is some of the best ever created. The movie remains a standard by which others are measured, a testament to Lee's talent, drive and dedication. The movie put an enormous strain on Bruce Lee. During the editing of Enter the Dragon he passed out in the studios of Golden Harvest and flew to Los Angeles to get a complete physical exam. The doctors found nothing wrong. Weeks later, July 20, 1973, Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong of a cerebral edema brought on by an allergic reaction to a prescription painkiller.

GONE BUT

NOT FORGOTTEN streets of

Hong Kong

were

IVES O

The

jammed with grief stricken fans wanting one last glimpse of their at his wake . Lee’s body was then flown to Seattle for a private ceremony and buried at Lake View cemetery. His brother Robert, Steve McQueen, James Coburn and Dan Inosanto were the pallbearers. His son Brandon is buried next to him.

hero

“if you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made of.” - Bruce Lee

Though Lee did not live to enjoy it, his vision of becoming the most famous martial arts star in the world became reality, and, particularly in the West, the name Bruce Lee became synonymous with kungfu. Today we are left with his words, his memories and the living legacy of Jeet Kune Do continuing through his students into the next generations. In his philosophy, his deep sharing of his art, and his intense passion for living Bruce Lee’s spirit lives on. { Bruce Lee on set of Game of Death

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INTERVIEW WITH

ROBERT LEE BRUCE LEE’S BROTHER CLAYTON TEAMER

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ROBERT

Based on his own recollections, Robert Lee talks about the Blu-ray and DVD documentary titled Young Bruce Lee, starring Aarif Rahman, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Christy Cheung, and the highs and lows of having one of the world’s most famous movie stars as a brother…

The

Bruce Lee is 40 years after you think that is ?

enduring appeal of

undeniable , even nearly his death .

Why

The reason why I feel Bruce is still so popular to this day, and will continue to be for generations to come, is because he was 50 to 100 years ahead of his time. In my opinion, there has not been anyone before him or after his passing that has captivated an audience in a way that transcends even the phenomenal martial artistry he is known for. Some like Bruce because of his physicality, while others like him because of his martial arts; then there are others who like him because of his philosophical and metaphysical views. Bruce is someone that people aspire to be; he was and is multi-dimensional. Bruce was also PURE ENERGY and that is an attraction that is hard to deny. What he achieved is something that people long for. The barriers he broke down were not just for him but for all of us. So, I think the key to Bruce Lee’s popularity is that he truthfully expressed himself to the masses and also gave them hope to achieve their own greatness. Robert Lee in New York City

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How did you come to be involved in the film? How much input did you have? Simply put, this is a project that my family and me have been developing for a few years now. When the planets aligned with all the right elements, we felt it was time to proceed with our dream. My family oversaw the decision making related to all the content within the film, and we also were part of the casting process. We worked with others who shared our vision and made this film possible. There have been several films about Bruce Lee’s life; what do you think the filmmakers were able to bring to his story that hadn ’ t been told before ? D o you think the involvement of you and your siblings make this as much about the

Lee

family as it is

Bruce

himself ?

The films made about Bruce Lee’s life followed the same ingredient: namely, his physicality and martial arts prowess. Yes, Bruce was incredible in these areas, but he was also so much more. This film is a love story about family and what it was like growing up in a home that made Bruce the legend that he

“The barriers he broke down were not just for him,

THEY WERE FOR EVERYONE.”

would become. No one knows truly where it all started and this is what we wanted to give the world: our story. This is my family’s story, yet it is an important one for those who appreciate who Bruce really was. To know Bruce more, you must know where he came form and what influenced him in his formative years. The movie is far more concerned with Bruce Lee the man than it is with Bruce Lee the martial artist, unlike many previous films ; how important was it to paint an accurate picture of your brother and growing up in the

1950s?

We all have a beginning, an origin, and a foundation that groomed us into who we would become when we enter adulthood. So, yes, it was important to show Bruce Lee the brother, the son, the cousin, more so than the fighter, though those elements are there as well. The fighter side of Bruce Lee will truly come out with the future planned projects.

The film also sheds more light on Bruce’s early career in Hong Kong films, revelling

of the time

–

the

filmmaking

industry

which other biopics have

rarely touched. How important was it to include this part of his life?

This was truly important, because it shows that even at such a young age Bruce was groomed for his future experience as an actor. Many don’t know that even at that young age, Bruce exhibited a precocious professionalism that even his older co-actors praised him for in the media. Bruce was who he was from the day he was born. He was destined for greatness. There is no BY CHANCE in life; there is only MEANT TO BE. And hopefully, this element will have the old and new Bruce Lee fans research Bruce’s early career as a child actor. Even then, he had so much charisma.

What was it like having an older brother like Bruce? It was great at times, hard at times, scary at times and funny at times. It was a normal sibling relationship. Having said that, Bruce was very Robert Lee with his sister Phoede Lee

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Christy Cheung, Aarif Rahman, and Leung Kai-Fai

What do you miss most about him?

Everythingâ&#x20AC;Ś - 16 -

Aarif Rahman starring as Bruce Lee

protective of me and the rest of our family. He was such a cool brother to have. Funny though, I can’t ever remember him sleeping; it was like he was always up creating something special. Did you know how special he was? When did you realise he had the potential to become an international superstar?

We knew Bruce always had a special talent, but it was not until I saw his film, The Big Boss, in Los Angeles that I realized that I too had become a Bruce Lee fan. My mother and I

were amazed at his skill and were overwhelmed with his talent. At that moment, I realized that there was no one like him and would never be another like him. It was truly surreal at that time and still is to this day. I mean: its hard to realize, even now, that he is one of the most iconic action stars of all time, and is appreciated worldwide by people from all walks of life. It’s truly wonderful! All my family can do is give the time to others who want to know more about him; that is the best praise we can give to our brother.

What’s your favourite Bruce Lee film? All of them! I truly love them all, but Way of the Dragon is my favourite, because of what it meant for Bruce. Plus, I had a lot of communication with Bruce around that time and knew what he was trying to accomplish. Is there a scene in the film that really captures your relationship with him? It’s hard to think of that in terms of just one scene. It’s the overall re-creation of a united family and Bruce’s part

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therein that most clearly defines our relationship. I loved just being able to create a film that brought our whole family together again in spirit and captured those wonderful times and the feeling behind them. My father taught us all that family is most important, and this film is just as much a tribute to my father and mother as it is to Bruce. 

THE HIDDEN STRUCTURE OF BRUCE LEE’S

JEET KUNE DO Jesse McNeal

THE MEANING BEHING HIS TRULY UNIQUE MARTIAL ART SYSTEM

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a Wet And Wild With the passing of Bruce Lee July 20, 1973, many inquiries have been made about his unique art of jeet kune do. Twenty-six years have passed since that dreadful day and yet many questions

unanswered.

remain

This

article will attempt to answer some of the questions which continue to cause problems.

Though

some

will

interpret

this

article as critical, it is merely meant to educate.

The

true objective is to

assist the open minded martial artist in understanding

Bruce Lee’s

intentions

in creating jeet kune do. There is a new generation of martial art students today who know nothing about

Lee’s JKD. This

Bruce

article will inform

anyone else who wishes to know the true meaning of this unique martial art system.

First,

you may be asking with what

authority

this

article.

JKD

goes

knowledge

back

experience

1973,

write with

when

began to thoroughly research and experiment with this unique art. Fol¬lowing Bruce Lee’s advice in his early articles, I broke away from tradi¬tional martial arts and began training with full¬contact sparring, utilizing

equipment

such

focus

mitts, heavybags and kicking shields.

In regard to training, Bruce Lee responded to a magazine reader’s letter by writing,“Hang a heavy bag in your basement and use your legs as you would your hands. Of course, practice as much sparring as you can. You have to get wet in order to learn to swim.” So I “got into the water” and began experiencing martial arts instead of practicing prearranged situations. My actual first-hand training into Jeet Kune Do with an instructor began in the 1980s with what is now known as the “JKD concept method”. Though I was practicing this concept method (since it was the only available means to learn some of Bruce Lee’s theories first-

James Lee, who was teaching for Bruce in Oakland, Calif., in which he states, “I’m having a gung-fu system drawn up. This system is a combination of chiefly Wing Chun, fencing and boxing. As for practice, I have other ways of training. I’ll have them written down when it is finished. Boy, it will be it!” To find someone who was actually teaching Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do was no easy task, since many of his L.A. students had evolved on their own into other styles of combat using the JKD philosophy and were concentrating more on these styles than in Bruce Lee’s original techniques. Many of these instructors hit the seminar circuit in which jeet kune do or Jun Fan gung-

‘‘...You have to get wet in order to learn to swim.” hand), it barely resembled the JKD art I had experimented with, researched, and expe¬rienced back in the 1970s. The very reason was because I found myself swinging escrima sticks, practicing kali movements and drilling in Thai boxing techniques that were not found in Bruce Lee’s JKD. The Jeet Kune Do I had researched and experimented with in the early 1970s had none of these arts in its arsenal. My research taught me the three main martial art systems Bruce Lee used to develop his jeet kune do were wing chun, fencing and boxing. In fact, Bruce Lee wrote a letter in 1965 to his pupil

fu would be advertised, but the JKD techniques taught were only a small fraction of a larger concept curriculum of different styles of combat. The participants of these seminars were accumulating a mixture of different-structured martial art styles and techniques. There is nothing wrong in learning this way if this is your preference. But I desired to learn the philosophy and structured foundation of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do techniques, and unfortunately there was no one teaching it. Or so I thought. I met Ted Wong in 1990 when I attended the Bruce Lee 50th

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Anniversary Banquet Dinner in Los Angeles. At this event I also met Linda Lee, Brandon Lee, many of Bruce Lee’s students and friends. Ted Wong was just beginning to teach to the general public. Previously, he had trained with Bruce Lee from 1967-1971, when Bruce went to Hong Kong to make movies. Wong stayed away from the public limelight and continued training privately on his own. But when he saw the physical structure of Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do disappearing, he went public and began to spread the teachings he had personally learned from Bruce Lee himself.

He is quoted as saying, “You have to preserve his “in at some point to prevent it from completely disappearing. So right or wrong, that’s my desire to preserve Bruce’s jeet kune do. I’m doing it to honor him.” It is important to note that Ted Wong is one of only two people to receive a jeet kune do certificate directly from Bruce Lee. The other person is Dan Inosanto. After six months of private training with Bruce Lee (June, 1967-December, 1967) Wong received second rank in jeet kune do: The following year, Bruce Lee did away with all ranking structure in JKD. Wong continued training privately with Bruce Lee for another four years. One can only imagine which rank he would have achieved had Bruce Lee continued ranking in JKD. {

The Birth Of JKD Training with Ted Wong, I learned about Bruce Lee’s teachings in creating jeet kune do. But more than learning the philosophical aspects, I learned that jeet kune do does have a structure and a foundation from which to build upon and evolve. There are many exclusive techniques and drills found in this system including the phasic-bent-knee fighting stance, the lead straight thrust power punch, the five ways of attack, the JKD footwork, the lead legs hand attacking tools, the strong side forward theory, the intercepting punch or kick application and drills, the study and application of kinesthetic perception, the broken rhythm/half-beat training, the economic tight structure in attack and defense, the JKD directness application, the JKD in fighting strategies, all out full contact sparring, balance in motion training, combat flowing, simplified trapping hand techniques and bridging the gap drills can be found exclusively and collectively only in Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do. Many of the apparatus contact training drills, used to enhance attributes are also exclusively JKD. For anyone to claim to practice or teach jeet kune do and have little or no knowledge of actual JKD techniques, drills and terminology is to falsely represent the art Bruce Lee founded.

Jeet Kune Do adapts many Wing Chun concepts

We have been bombarded with JKD philosophy through books, videos and magazines. But applying this philosophy to any art does not make the art JKD. First, evolving in JKD does not mean to accumulate complex knowledge of many different styles. This is the opposite of Bruce Lee’s intentions in creating jKD. As Bruce Lee wrote, “Jeet kune do is simply to simplify while hacking away the unessentials.” Learning the essence of many different styles of combat does not make you a better JKD man. JKD is concerned with the essence of fighting as expressed by the human body without deviating from the truth in combat. As Bruce Lee wrote, “The essence of fighting is the art of moving

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and relating to your opponent. The way of combat is not based on personal choice and fancies. Truth in the way of combat is perceived from moment to moment and only when there is awareness without condemnation, justification or any form of identification.”

Directness in JKD refers to instantaneous reaction without the thought process. Bruce Lee would describe it as, “Happening all by itself.” In attacking or counterattacking, the tools emerge without repositioning and directly explode into action from point A to point B.

So proficiency in this system comes only through simplicity, where experience teaches you to simplify

The non-classical aspect of JKD techniques refers to not having traditional stances, unrealistic

“there is no more technique, it happens all by itself.” techniques to the utmost efficiency. Every technique in JKD is simplistic in nature, yet effective; the main goal being to use the minimum amount of energy and effort to achieve the maximum amount of effective¬ness. JKD searches for the effective simplicity of fighting without complicating efficiency with styles or complex movements. This sim¬plicity in both offense and defense must be utilized in all fighting ranges. A true JKD man uses simplicity, effectiveness, and economy of motion for kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling.

Addition By Subtraction The simplicity aspect of JKD is concerned with daily decrease of unessential movements instead of daily increase of techniques. As Bruce Lee wrote, “In JKD, one does not accumulate but eliminates. Being wise doesn’t mean to add more, but to be able to get off sophistication and be simply simple.”

footwork or memorized responses (which involves thinking), found in many traditional styles of martial arts. Aliveness is lost in this manner and “something that was once fluid is now solidified.” JKD is concerned with truth in combat and does not follow tradition blindly, for tradition’s sake. Bruce Lee described three different stages in the cultivation of jeet kune do. The first stage is the primitive stage, in which a person is totally ignorant of martial arts knowledge and uses natural instinctual response to defend or attack in a fighting situation. At this stage, natural instincts alone prevail without thought process of right or wrong techniques. The second stage is the mechanical stage, in which a person learns controlled techniques by training. At this stage, the person trains the mind into new habits of thinking (the mental) and the body into new habits of action (the physical). Unfortunately, the fluidity found in the first stage is lost and

learned techniques (the mechanical) prevail over the instinctual response. The third and final stage is the stage of formless form. At this stage, the martial artist understands his techniques where they become part of his spontaneous reaction. Without losing the technical knowledge of the second stage, his experience from constant practice has allowed him to evolve and become simplistic and efficient in his techniques. He regains the fluidity of the first stage with the learned techniques of the second. By combining both stages, the martial artist has gone full circle with his training and returned to his original freedom. He is no longer unsci¬entific, as was the case in the first stage. But neither is he a mechanical man, as was the case in the second stage. The successful harmonizing of both stages has allowed the martial artist to become “naturally unnatural,” obtaining the “artless art” or the “formless form” (yin/yang). “There is no more technique,” Bruce Lee would say. “It happens all by itself.” He illustrates these three stages with the following statement, “Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just a punch, a kick was just a kick (the first sage). After Id studied the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick (type second stage). Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch, a kick is just a kick (the third stage). The jeet kune do emblem represents this yin and yang effect with the gold half representing softness or natural instinct, and the red

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half representing hardness or mechanical response. In softness (natural instinct) there is a little hardness (mechanical), and in hardness (the mechanical) there is a little softness (natural instinct). This isrepresented with a gold dot in the red half and the red dot in the gold half. The oneness of these two halves represents the fluidity of JKD. The JKD emblem also includes the two arrows around the red and

Economy Of Motion It is not unusual to see someone describe JKD in terms of the four ranges: kicking range, punching range, trapping range, and grappling range, and name particular styles that they can use in each range. For example, they may say that when they are in kicking range, they can choose styles such as Thai boxing or French savate. Unfortunately, they use the techniques of these styles in the com¬plete framework of these particular systems, instead of the JKD framework of economy of motion, simplicity and directness. It is not unusual to see someone choose a savate technique and flair his hands up while kicking, instead of maintaining his guard in front of his body to cover up while kicking as is the structure of JKD. Sometimes they may completely go against JKD principle and put their strong side back (instead of forward), raise their lead heel (instead of their rear heel for explosive-ness) and keep their centerline exposed when they are

attacking or defending. All this because they are choosing to add other styles of combat to their regiment and allow themselves to fit into these styles, instead of thestyles fitting into them and the JKD framework. On this subject, Bruce Lee writes, “The man who is clear and simple does not choose.’’ What is, is. Action based on an idea is obviously the action of choice and such action is not liberating. On the contrary, it creates further resistance, further conflict. Assume pliable awareness.” The ultimate goal in JKD is to, “Float in totality, to have no technique, it happens all by itself. The act is so direct and immediate that intellectualization finds no room to insert itself and cut the act to pieces.” True JKD does not divide martial art techwniques into styles, but emphasizes finding the most effective and simplistic truth in each range. In reality, can you look at an all-out realistic streetfight and know what “style” each fighter is using? Each fighter is looking to survive oblivious to styles. This does not mean that a JKD man is ignorant of other styles of combat. But efficiency in motion supersedes technical knowledge. Though knowledge is power, the proper use of knowledge is wisdom. When Bruce Lee was interviewed by Ted Thomas for a Hong Kong radio program, he was asked to describe the most effective martial art style. Bruce Lee answered, “Unless there are human beings with three arms

and four legs, unless we have other groups of beings on Earth that are structurally different from us, then there might be a different style of fighting. Why is that? We have two hands and two legs. The important thing is, how can we use them to the maximum? Physically, how can I be very well-coordinated? How can I honestly express myself at that moment totally and completely? That is to me the most important thing. That is, how can I in the process of learning how to use my body, to understand myself.” A good JKD instructor helps stimulate his student into finding the truth

In a telephone interview with Alex Ben Block, Bruce Lee reiterated the same idea, when he said, “You have two hands and two legs. The thing is, how do you make good use of yourself? And that’s about it. Styles restrict you to one way of doing it. And therefore, limiting your human capacity.” Many people who are “style hopping” are searching for the truth in combat via nationalities and cultures. No one nationality has a monopoly at a certain fighting range. On this subject, Bruce Lee commented to Alex Ben Block, “Many people come to an instructor. They say, Hey man, what is the truth? Hand it over to me.’ So therefore, one guy would say, `I’ll give you the Japanese way of doing this.’ And the other guy will say, “I’ll give you the Chinese way of doing this.’ To me that’s all bologna because unless there are men with three hands or

Bruce Lee sums it up best when he writes, “Jeet kune “do does not beat around the bush. It does not take winding detours. It follows a straight line to the objective. Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points.” It is this simplistic nature that allows the struc¬tured foundation of jeet kune do to be effec-tive. As I mentioned before, Bruce Lee used wing chun, boxing and fencing as the primary arts to form his system. In his book entitled, Jeet Kune Do, The Art and Philosophy of Bruce Lee, Dan Inosanto wrote, “Wing chun does in fact form the nucleus of JKD. For only with a basic foundation that is already stripped down practically to the essentials could he havemade such rapid and amazing strides in the development of his own art.” In 1969, when he was teaching for Bruce at the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, Inosanto wrote, “An individual

“...Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points.” Uniting movement of arms and legs

within himself, through his own inquiries. The student may ask himself, “Which is the most economical, efficient and direct manner for me to execute a punch or a kick? How can I be totally selfsufficient and effective?” Through this evaluation process, the student begins to understand himself. It is a step-bystep process of learning techniques.

there are men with four legs, then there are different ways of doing it. But since we (all) have two hands and two legs, nationality doesn’t mean anything. When you go to a Japanese style, you are expressing that Japanese style, you are not expressing yourself.”

cannot learn the principal roots of jeet kune do through the accumulation of many different styles. For that would be like a singer trying to improve his voice by accumulating many songs. Rather, it is by understanding the roots of the problem.”

JKD does not concern itself with adding style upon style into its regiment, but “hacking away the unessentials” to gain simplicity and effectiveness of techniques at any range.

The greatest problem in trying to understand jeet kune do is to misunderstand its philosophy and apply it incorrectly. When Bruce Lee writes that, “JKD uses all ways and is bound by none, many people

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interpret that as meaning that to understand JKD, you must learn the essence of many different styles of combat. This accumulation of styles Bruce Lee refers to as “halfway cultivation. The height of (complete) cultivation always runs to simplicity.” Through the drilling and training of the structured foundation of the JKD system, a student begins to understand this principle. He is then encouraged to evolve within himself and use what works for him. JKD uses the same principle found in Western boxing on evolving

Just like a boxer, a true JKD man does not evolve within his art by constantly adding new fighting systems into his regiment. His shedding process allows the simplistic natural movements to prevail directly without choosing which style to use in a given moment. In reality, style belongs to the individual since everyone has his own style of fighting: Mike Tyson has his own style of fighting, Muhammad Ali has his own style of fighting.Yet they both remain within their framework of Western boxing. We live in a microwave society, where many people think they can

is that the skilled fighter takes the basic techniques to a higher level because of his experience. The best example to illustrate this principle is to compare it to a child who is learning to write script. The instructor teaches the child the structured way of properly writing each letter of the alphabet. After

“...Everything begins to happen by itself through instinctual directness, where no thought process is involved.” in this fighting method. A boxer learns from his trainer some basic five punches, evasiveness, some footwork and a couple of blocks. From there, the boxer is encouraged to train in these few techniques in a consistent effort, honing his skills and evolving within his fighting art. The boxer begins to form his own personal style of boxing, yet remains within the framework of his learned techniques: In JKD, the student is encouraged to hone his skills by consistent training and practice of his newly learned techniques. It is through this constant experience that the student begins to understand these movements, where a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick. Everything begins to happen by itself through instinctual directness, where no thought process is involved.

learn the essence of a fighting style and become proficient in any style of combat without putting in their time to master the techniques. Masters of many martial art systems have evolved within their system because of the constant training in their particular system. We see this type of proficiency constantly in boxing, muay Thai boxing and Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do. They minimize their tools to the most simplest and efficient form and evolve from there. The time put into the training has allowed them to evolve. But evolving does not mean to add more techniques from other styles, but to remain within their framework foundation and sharpen the simple tools and simple basic techniques they have learned. The difference between the novice and the skilled fighter

Travel the shortest distance to oppenent

the child completes his learning and understands writing in script, he begins to freely express himself within his own personal signature. But even though the child has his own expression of each letter, he must still remain within the framework of the alphabet or his signature will not be recognized by anyone,

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in turn, losing its effectiveness. In JKD (just as in writing script), selfexpression, liberation and freedom can only be taken so far without deviating from the JKD structure and the truth in combat. How many times do we hear people say that their way is their own personal JKD, and that their JKD is not your JKD? But how many truly understand what they are saying? Your signature is not their signature, yet you both must remain within the framework of the alphabet if each letter is to be effectively recognized. Anyone who claims to practice or teach JKD must remain within the structure and principles of Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do, even when they evolve into their own self-expression. To violate the basic principles of JKD and still call it JKD is to do an injustice to its founder, Bruce Lee. Though Bruce Lee did not create a new style of combat, the principles he discovered in regard to the human anatomy, the physics of executing techniques for maximum speed, power and directness, the philosophy, the training methods and techniques that he developed, formed a unique martial art system that cannot be pushed aside or regarded as outdated. Bruce Lee always referred to jeet kune do as his system and remarked back in 1973, “Jeet kune do is something that no serious martial artist can ignore.” Even though Bruce Lee described jeet kune do as “just a name,” and later had some regrets in giving his fighting system a name, he

b found it necessary to identify it. This martial art system with its own complete structure of techniques; training methods, principles, and philosophy, resembled no other martial art in existence. He

combat. So the partialities of style become insubstantial and the simplistic fundamental essentials of the JKD structure evolves into the underlying truth in combat. Bruce Lee stated it well when he

“Jeet kune do is something that no serious martial artist can ignore.” emphasized on the theory of the stop-hit from fencing in his system. The stop-hit played such a major role in this art Bruce Lee chose to name his art “the way of the stopping (or intercepting) fist.” In Cantonese, this translates to jeet kune do. Today, JKD is more than just a name and unfortunately, many people use it as a major marketing tool for self-gain. Since jeet kune do is Bruce Lee’s personal expression in martial arts, anything identified as JKD should remain within the structure and principles of the founder. Any deviation from this structure and principles does not make it Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do, but someone else’s invention. Bruce Lee’s main goal in forming JKD was to create an ultimate martial art system that expressed martial truth, yet was flexible enough to allow the martial artist to evolve into his own truth in combat. But even though your truth is different from my truth because of size, weight and attributes, the underlying similarities of the human structure (two arms and two legs) still allows for a common underlying truth to exist in human

wrote, “Many a martial artist likes `more’, likes `something different’, not knowing the truth and the way is exhibited in the simple everyday movements, because it is here they miss it. If there is any secret, it is missed by seeking. To understand combat, one must approach it in a very simple and direct manner.” To begin to understand JKD, we must find the cause of our own ignorance and evolve from there.

IN CONCLUSION If you are involved in a martial art system that continues to add on a new “style of the month” to its regiment, you may be increasing your arsenal of techniques, but it is not the simplified and direct method of Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do and should not be labeled as such.There is nothing wrong in training this way, if this is your preference. But remember, the only way one becomes a master of his system is to continue training in that system. One technique well-mastered is better than ten halflearned. For natural reactions will always be hampered when given too many choices: keep it simple and continue to grow from there. {

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Stay rooted through the center

GET TO KNOW YOUR

MERIDIANS AN EASY GUIDE TO FINDING YOUR OWN LANCE PILLA

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Get

Know Your Energetic Physiology

Dan tians Literally “elixir field” in Chinese, the word dan tian refers to those areas in the body where energy is stored. There are three major dan tians in the body: lower, middle, and upper dan tian. You can think of a dan tian as a cup, and the energy that is stored there like tea. Analogous to the way tea fills a cup, energy fills a dan tian.

perineum and runs internally up the front of the body, up the front of the neck, over the chin, ending

Channels and Meridians The Microcosmic Orbit is the circulation of qi along two major meridians: the Governor Vessel and the Conception Vessel.When qi flows freely and in abundance along the Governor and Conception vessels, the entire body is nourished with qi. As shown at right, the Governor Vessel begins at the tip of the tailbone and runs internally up the spine, up the back of the head, over the top of the head, and down the face, ending behind the upper lip at the frenulum. It is also called “the sea of all yang chanels”: it is like a river in that it is the primary source of qi for the smaller channels that take qi to all the other parts of the back of the body--its “tributaries.”As shown at right, the Conception Vessel begins at the Visuals of the different meridians

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The Conception Vessel

at an acupoint in the hollow of the chin. It is also called “the sea of all yin channels”, and the same analogy describes its function as the primary source of qi for the smaller channels which take qi to all the other parts of the front of the body.

All this said, there are two basic types of qi in the body which are important to know about:

• Prenatal qi (xi tian qi):

• Postnatal qi (hou tian qi):

There are more than 30 varieties of qi in the body. For example, there is a different variety of qi stored in each of the three dan tians. Within the lower dan tian is considered to be stored a type of qi called jing (the conjugal qi); within the middle dan tian, qi (also known as the qi of the chest); within the upper dan tian, shen (the qi of our consciousness). Another type, wei qi (“protective qi”) flows just under the surface of the skin and functions as the immune system’s first line of defense. Additionally, each of the twelve major internal organs as defined by Chinese Medicine has its own qi (liver qi, spleen qi, etc.). To further complicate matters, each variety of internal organ qi has a yin and yang aspect to it. Someone who has received treatment from a practitioner of Chinese Medicine might have been told they are “spleen yin deficient” (not enough of the spleen qi’s yin quality, which could lead to digestive difficulties, for example) or “liver yang excess” (too much of the liver qi’s yang quality, which could lead to a variety of physical or emotional issues, including irritability).

Each of us receives from our biological parents a finite of prenatal qi at birth. Prenatal qi is your congenital vital force and is responsible for establishing your constitution. Prenatal qi is stored in the kidneys.

This is the qi we acquire after we are born and throughout our lives. We are constantly acquiring postnatal qi without realizing it: from the food we eat (“gu qi,” translated as “grain qi”), from the liquids we drink, and from the air we breath (each time you inhale, your lungs absorb fresh qi, and each time you exhale, you expel spent qi). One of the most efficient ways to acquire postnatal qi is through qigong practice. The type of postnatal qi we are most concerned with in qigong practice is that which is stored in lower dan tian. The postnatal qi in lower dan tian is like your energetic checking account. This is the qi your body uses first as you go about your day. When there is not enough postnatal qi available, the body takes a little bit of prenatal qi and converts it for use, much like the way the bank transfers funds from the savings account if we make a mistake in our checkbook’s math and don’t have enough money to cover a check we’ve written. The more postnatal qi we have and the higher quality it is, the less the body needs to rely on the prenatal qi.

“It is like an energetic savings account, but one to which you can not make a “deposit”. What we come into life with is what we’ve got. According to Bob Flaws (author of The Tao of Healthy Eating), each of us is estimated to have enough prenatal qi at birth to live 500 years. If we think of the maximum human life span as approximately 100 years, this means we are using our prenatal qi five times faster than necessary. We can help to preserve the prenatal qi through qigong practice. But how? The answer in part lies in the second main type of qi:

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As shown to the right, the knowledge of internal meridians is not new. The Chinese have been studying such things for hundreds of years.

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Qi is responsible for five major tasks in the body:

• Qi is the source of all movement in the body • Qi warms the body and regulates its temperature • Qi protects the body from external pathogens and combats them when they manage to enter the body • Qi is the source of transformation and distribution in the body’s systems • Qi keeps the organs, tissues and substances in their appropriate places in the body

s you can see, the question “What is qi and where does it come from?” cannot be answered in a few sentences. To truly understand qi and how to develop it

to improve your health and martial arts performance takes an in-depth study and knowledge base. Your studies must be accompanied by meditation

O Y F

R U

will understand not only the martial applications but also the healing applications. There cannot be one without the other.

I unction F Q

and exercise. Once you have discovered qi and developed it you

G Y

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