Bruce Lee

[ivi0nk3y]

Originally Posted by yuujirou

x]
more than just a "little'' power, lolz

You are only as weak as you make yourself think you are

[yuujirou]

Originally Posted by ivi0nk3y

You are only as weak as you make yourself think you are

martial arts are half mental, half physical >.>''

[ivi0nk3y]

Originally Posted by yuujirou

martial arts are half mental, half physical >.>''

That really depends. Its like when i'm training and am at my limit, my mental takes over. Like to keep doing a certain pushup/take a punch to the stomach/kick to the shoulder, I have to go into my "zone" where I accept the pain as nothing significant.
Till then however, i'm almost 100% physical.

[tokyoscgirl21]

well theres a rumor going round that the chinese mafia loaded the gun that killed Brandon Lee.

[Ronin4hire]

Bruce Lee is probably my all time favourite Martial Artist. The Jeet Kune Do philosophy is very inspiring in my opinion. Not just in Martial Arts but spiritually speaking also.

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

But I have never been a fan of those people who say like "True masters do not compete in tournaments" and so on. I reckon people who say this are just afraid of humility. Bruce would have known if he got into a kick boxing ring he would have gotten smacked in the head a thousand times, even if he won every fight, which some do, he still would have taken a few beatings to win it. The best and most refined skills are the ones that are put to the test and mastered in a proper fight. I know I trust my teachers because they have paid for their mistakes with blood and tears, as will I soon. Someone saying this is a bad thing is either afraid of being hit, for whatever reason, or knows their skills are inferior and cant bear the shame of looseing.

Seriously... not everybody cares about the fighting.

For example my friend's Wushu teacher is amazing. She trained with Jet Li as a kid and is respected as a master by many top wushu practitioners throughout China. Her reputation as a master comes not from beating up people in a ring but via her speed, athleticism, skill and grace as a martial artist which she displays. Even at 50+ years old!

[yukiNnight]

Originally Posted by ivi0nk3y

Huh, the way you've described it, that is like a boxing punch not the way they are taught in Kung Fu. I'm trained to focus my energy in my arms when I punch so EVENTUALLY I can have the maximum strength available in the minimum distance. My Sifu can do it and make it look effortless. He did it semi hard to me once because I was punching wrong and it seemed like my intestines fell out my ass.
So yes, I believe it is possible.

As for 2 finger push ups, that isn't THAT amazing to me anymore, especially since I am currently training Eagle Claw pushups which require 2 fingers and a thumb. Of course my Sifu can use just his thumbs >.>

wow u know some chinese

[yuujirou]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

I would say that it is 99% mental, 1% physical. However, that 1% physical takes up 99% of your training, and only a small part of training is dedicated to sitting around thinking about it.

At the end of the day it does not matter what skills you have collected, it is power of will, determination and resolve that is going to keep you on your feet, but only if this 1% of physically has consumed your every day beforehand, and you are ultimately trained. It is not a simple thing.

Anyway, Kung Fu means 'martial technique that takes time to master' or something similar. It is a lifetime devotion. I doubt Bruce Lee trained only 2 hours a day. I do at least 6 hours a day of physical training, and he is still better looking than me. Plus, you can not learn Kung Fu and then say "I know it now, all I have to do is keep my physique up and I will be a master for forever" that is stupid. You have to continue to practice your skills all day every day to keep getting better. And I was told this is what he did do, and he trained late into the night and early every morning.

But I have never been a fan of those people who say like "True masters do not compete in tournaments" and so on. I reckon people who say this are just afraid of humility. Bruce would have known if he got into a kick boxing ring he would have gotten smacked in the head a thousand times, even if he won every fight, which some do, he still would have taken a few beatings to win it. The best and most refined skills are the ones that are put to the test and mastered in a proper fight. I know I trust my teachers because they have paid for their mistakes with blood and tears, as will I soon. Someone saying this is a bad thing is either afraid of being hit, for whatever reason, or knows their skills are inferior and cant bear the shame of looseing.

kung fu ish hard work, or a skill obtained through hard work >.>'''

about the fighting thingg~~~
there are people who have achieved such a personal level of skill that they fear to fight, for both the safety of themselves and others. >.>'

personally, this one ish too scared to fight people ^_^
for the same reason stated above.
i'd much rather just run away than to risk hurting myself or the opponent~
(then again, there are those fights that you can't just run from...but then again, you don't have to "enjoy" such fights)

and meh~ martial arts isn't just for fighting. >.>'''
the system is based on the fighting arts, but there are usually philosophies involved with the art...usually peaceful ones x]

[ivi0nk3y]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

I would say that it is 99% mental, 1% physical. However, that 1% physical takes up 99% of your training, and only a small part of training is dedicated to sitting around thinking about it.

At the end of the day it does not matter what skills you have collected, it is power of will, determination and resolve that is going to keep you on your feet, but only if this 1% of physically has consumed your every day beforehand, and you are ultimately trained. It is not a simple thing.

Anyway, Kung Fu means 'martial technique that takes time to master' or something similar. It is a lifetime devotion. I doubt Bruce Lee trained only 2 hours a day. I do at least 6 hours a day of physical training, and he is still better looking than me. Plus, you can not learn Kung Fu and then say "I know it now, all I have to do is keep my physique up and I will be a master for forever" that is stupid. You have to continue to practice your skills all day every day to keep getting better. And I was told this is what he did do, and he trained late into the night and early every morning.

But I have never been a fan of those people who say like "True masters do not compete in tournaments" and so on. I reckon people who say this are just afraid of humility. Bruce would have known if he got into a kick boxing ring he would have gotten smacked in the head a thousand times, even if he won every fight, which some do, he still would have taken a few beatings to win it. The best and most refined skills are the ones that are put to the test and mastered in a proper fight. I know I trust my teachers because they have paid for their mistakes with blood and tears, as will I soon. Someone saying this is a bad thing is either afraid of being hit, for whatever reason, or knows their skills are inferior and cant bear the shame of looseing.

To answer your first statement about it being 99% mental. Yes initially, it is more mental when you think about it that way. The same rules apply to the gym or losing weight or any other activity which needs will power and determination to succeed. It doesn't apply solely to Kung Fu.
However, I don't need to be so determined anymore. It comes naturally.
So much so that if I even miss a class or haven't worked hard enough, I feel like crap cos I feel like i'm losing out big time.
Anyway, i'm talking about will power and determination in the actual training that you do. The technical side of it is more physical for me now since that is what i'm training. In "training" I can only use my mental once my physical peak is reached because that is when the mental most comes into play.

As for Bruce Lees training regime, that is what I have learned from his own biography as I said. If you disagree, then you'd have to give me another source. Anyway, I don't agree with training 6 hours a day. That is absolutely silly. Your body won't even have time to recover from your last training.
I'm talking about NEW training and pushing yourself every session, not doing the same amount of exercises that you're used to. If you're pushing yourself, there is no need to train 6 hours a day. Unless you're doing some hard-type qi-gong exercises which take an hour each when performed properly.. which even then would burn you out so hard you wouldn't be able to move.

Originally Posted by yukiNnight

wow u know some chinese

Only some

[Alastor]

Time has little matter. It's how effective your training is.

Bruce's philosophy when it came to fighting was basically to discard anything that was useless in martial arts and had the practitioner absorb nothing bt the useful parts. So there was no real fighting style, just effective fighting. And when possessing that skill, you go on about the rest of your life until the need to kick ass arises. Then you proceed to kick ass.

Fighting in a ring, I've noticed, is so different because it does away with much of the mentality. In a REAL fight, there is no time for mental preparations. No time to psyche yourself up; no time to warm yourself up. That initial surprse element is a huge factor, and in any daily life situation, it's often also a determining factor.