Stop worshipping Bruce

[HelloweenVc]

"The Key To Immortality is first living a life worth remembering". He wasn't just a fighter, he was a visionary and an inspiration to many people. Bruce Lee was just a man like everyone else, but he had a dream and he fulfilled it, worhshiping him wont accomplish anything. Learning from how he lived may inspire you to achieve your goal/dream, I believe he enjoyed acting in/producing movies just as much as he did training.

[ciscodog]

ok after 14 pages of reading this i'm putting in my 2 cents(not that it matters.) I actually just finished his "diary " he wrote while laid up with a back injury. Im not sure why JKD is considered a style but rather seems like a philosophy. What I got from the book was some thing I have believed all along, that there is no one unbeatable style, no specific move for a particular situation but rather what willl work for the person. Bruce seemed to harp on that all people are built diffrently, therefore how can one style fit all those diffrent people.For martial arts to be practical in defense, the user or student must know what techniques work for them. Learn everything then use what feels right for you.

[Oraenor]

Everybody praises Bruce...Bruce this, Bruce that.... What about his teacher Yip man and his elder mentor Wong Shum Leung? These 2 particularly influenced Bruce greatly and the philosophies along with it (I am so sure he got famous with most of WSL's ideology) and without these 2, bruce would just be another punk.Dont get me wrong. bruce is a good fighter but I think not enough credit goes towards Yip Man and WSL who are the true genius behind it all.

[shaolin-warrior]

ok after 14 pages of reading this i'm putting in my 2 cents(not that it matters.) I actually just finished his "diary " he wrote while laid up with a back injury. Im not sure why JKD is considered a style but rather seems like a philosophy. What I got from the book was some thing I have believed all along, that there is no one unbeatable style, no specific move for a particular situation but rather what willl work for the person. Bruce seemed to harp on that all people are built diffrently, therefore how can one style fit all those diffrent people.For martial arts to be practical in defense, the user or student must know what techniques work for them. Learn everything then use what feels right for you.

So true, it's not the art thats better than any other, it's the artist.

[Oraenor]

ok after 14 pages of reading this i'm putting in my 2 cents(not that it matters.) I actually just finished his "diary " he wrote while laid up with a back injury. Im not sure why JKD is considered a style but rather seems like a philosophy. What I got from the book was some thing I have believed all along, that there is no one unbeatable style, no specific move for a particular situation but rather what willl work for the person. Bruce seemed to harp on that all people are built diffrently, therefore how can one style fit all those diffrent people.For martial arts to be practical in defense, the user or student must know what techniques work for them. Learn everything then use what feels right for you.

come to think about it karate is not a style nor is kung fu and tae kwon do yet they are treated as if it was a style like JKD is. I guess its just western misconception.

[Jamie"Spitfire"]

JKD is not a style!!!

I have not got time to dealve into it right now but other will tell you. JKD is a system, which alows you to adapt and accumlulate. A style reflects an idea of limit and method. Just as my sig says, and Im not bruce lee but, to go into a fight with method, means you are seeking to govern the sittuation with your predetemined plan. To Meet objective(fight) then method follows. We should look at Bruce as a respected elder, he brought new things to our eyes that masses did not approve of. He was indeed ahead of his time, but his message was that if we want something, the propeganda of this and that, styles and masters and I know this and that, font matter. His free thinking is what stirs me on, I dont want to be good, I want to be great. When I show them technique, they are astonished. Thats the kind of goals we need.
He would rather the name JKD didnt come into it. Its like saying that peice of air is called "jimmy". He only wanted to share the fact that in order to achieve our goals we must understand them. You want to be a great martial artist, you have to define it. You want to be a fighter. I want to be an authority on my chosen field, and I am exactly that. The more you know about everything that relates to what you do the better. respects

[JkD187]

I have not got time to dealve into it right now but other will tell you. JKD is a system, which alows you to adapt and accumlulate. A style reflects an idea of limit and method. Just as my sig says, and Im not bruce lee but, to go into a fight with method, means you are seeking to govern the sittuation with your predetemined plan. To Meet objective(fight) then method follows. We should look at Bruce as a respected elder, he brought new things to our eyes that masses did not approve of. He was indeed ahead of his time, but his message was that if we want something, the propeganda of this and that, styles and masters and I know this and that, font matter. His free thinking is what stirs me on, I dont want to be good, I want to be great. When I show them technique, they are astonished. Thats the kind of goals we need.
He would rather the name JKD didnt come into it. Its like saying that peice of air is called "jimmy". He only wanted to share the fact that in order to achieve our goals we must understand them. You want to be a great martial artist, you have to define it. You want to be a fighter. I want to be an authority on my chosen field, and I am exactly that. The more you know about everything that relates to what you do the better. respects

I wouldnt really say jkd is a system either...its more of a philophsy with many different concepts.Jkd as a style will differ by whoever is utalizing it.JKD is about the procces of constantly through life absorbing what is useful....rejecting what is useless and adding what is specifically your own.Everyones jkd is whatever they make it....it will never be bruce lee's jkd because no one is bruce lee but bruce lee! you may have his teachings or lessons but you will never have his attributes...no one will.The only part of jkd that is an art or a system is jun fun gung fu.JFGF was the core system bruce used to teach people what works in a fight in all ranges....from there they were supposed to grow and expand and create their own jkd.Some people now call JFGF "orig" jkd which is not only incorrect but also stupid at the same time....you are trying to make jkd classic which is what bruce was stearing away from.Dan Inosanto said himself there is NOBODY that has all the "orig" jkd material so they must all be bluffing using the name to attract people who dont know any beter.

[blitz]

Too bad the philosophy is deteriorating with all those fakes out there who try to teach it as a style
I love this philosophy, it will fit with anyone since thats what its about, your own fighting way.

[shasan]

I can't believe this thread is still going.

[Jamie"Spitfire"]

There is a lot of funny bussiness in terms of JKD. He himself believed he named it to soo, and wished he had not named it at all. But it stands that JKD is a system for aquitring liberty and freedome of expression. Its in the book. Im sure most of you have read it. The other interesting thing is that the book TJKD has been edited. He said it himself JKD is a system. Style relates to character. This is a good thread.

[bartjam]

Nobody should be "worshipped". However, he was great. His tao of JKD suggests everyone to challenge his/her own dogmatic thoughts, and to experience different styles to incorporate what one may find useful.

That is exactly what great fighters of today are doing.

[PFC_Kurtz_John]

"i know alot of folk discredit bruce lee, think hes underrated"

If only you were being sarcastic.

Actualy I think the people on this forum are a bit obssessed about him. He is OVER-RATED.

"I think bruce lee would have become a great scientist if he had studied science"

NO, to be a good scientist you need to be good at science. Bruce was good at fighting. Science is not the same as fighting.

Bruce was not a god, or an alien, he was not ressurected and now working as a secret agent. He was just a guy.

He also had many bad points (I don't care if you call me a heretic). He could be angry and violent. He was OBSESSED with training. He wore a silly yellow tracksuit in one of his films.

Bruce never was and never will be perfect. Trying to copy him won't make you as good at fighting as him. Praising him and saying how great he was and how much we all must respect him won't make him come down from heaven and grant you wishes.

This forum may as well be called the "wasn't bruce great, how can I be more like him?" forum.

Follow the tracksuit, the holy tracksuit of Bruce
No the gourd, follow the gourd
He has left us his sandal, it is a sign that we must do the same!

Great film, life of brian. (quest for the holy grail was good too though)

blasphemy

[aseepish]

Brian: I'm not the Messiah! Will you please listen? I am not the Messiah, do you understand? Honestly!
Girl: Only the true Messiah denies His divinity.
Brian: What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right! I am the Messiah!
Followers: He is! He is the Messiah!
Brian: Now, f**k off!
[silence]
Arthur: How shall we f**k off, O Lord?

[Al~Qiyaama]

You-- for one are being personal. What does what he wore in a film have to do with his skill? His obsession was the determination to bring about a change, which is revolutionary. Many are afraid to go against the status quo. And he above all, challenged each one of us to individually seek the correct path to self elavation through MA. There aren't too many people born everyday like Bruce Lee--though he had a short visit on this planet. His impact on many of us will last for 1,000 yrs.

Here is some advice--Look at the principle for which he dedicated his life for and then your conclusion may be genuine.

Long Live the Legend, the Dragon...........

[47MartialMan]

Chinese National Wushu Championship: Childrens Division once, Adult Division four times, quit competition after that and entered the movie business soon after. To this day no single person has won as many Chinese National Wushu Championships.

To the best of my recollection Bruce held no official competition record and had a legacy of questionable challenge matches (such as Wong Jack Man) I admit I could be wrong.

So-winning championships qualifies someone as a grand martial artist?