A humble man reads the paper and sees all the goings on in the world.  He recognizes his interconnection with all the events that he reads about and does not dismiss them as other people’s problems.  He does not always get involved or even have a direct opinion, but he always understands that what’s happening to others could happen to him.  He knows that he is no better than them.

A humble man engages in conversation with peers, friends, or acquaintances. When he does, the other’s opinion is realized as just an opinion even if he thinks that it may be wrong.  He does not criticize or chastise another for different beliefs.  In fact, many times it causes him to question his own opinion to verify his stance.   For again, all are equal.

A humble man knows that everyone is different. In these differences, you may find color, race, intelligence, social status etc.. All these are just differences and nothing more.  These differences don’t deserve attention other than to recognize them as being different.  Another man may possess qualities that are greater or lesser, but neither makes a humble man think less or more of himself.

A humble man may see others surpass him in ventures regarding money, power, or fame.  He does not seek out any of these things, even though they may come to him.  Many humble men throughout history have become great men; Gandhi,  Einstein, Moses, and Jesus Christ.  A modern portrayal that is the epitome of humble would be Maximus in the Gladiator.   I wouldn’t call any of them weak.

A humble man has self control, self constraint, and is self assured.  He realizes that IT just is…

Humility is the strength to do what is right no matter the cost to oneself.

Humility is your ego kept in check as to not stand above others in your own mind .

Humility is the glue that ties humanity together.

It is easy to want more and strive to take it. It takes strength to realize that that comes from greed.  It is easy to try to be better than everyone else but hard to turn that inward and become a better self.  A lesser man may have need for riches, a humble man find richness in himself and in those around him.  Weakness subsides to greed, it’s strength that fights the need.

I believe that a good workout has to do with three things; your mental state, your emotional state, and your physical state.  Sometimes all three of these things seem to line up and produce great results, every punch you throw feels awesome and you feel stronger than ever.  Other times, you seem to be in the right state of mind and feel great but the workout gets derailed some way or another.  The strangest for me is when you feel terrible in every way possible and you make your self workout, ending up in one of the best workouts you have ever had.

With the correct mental state, you can come up with a plan before the workout. You will go into it knowing the results you wish to achieve. In this state, use it to focus on objectives, make lists and goals to help with future workouts. In a bad mental state, you can be distracted, unfocused, and down right mentally lazy.

Your emotional state does many things.  In a positive emotional state, you feel excited and generally good about yourself. While in a negative state, your self esteem is down and you may feel useless.  I have seen both states produce great workouts.  The amazing thing with your emotions is that good and bad can both make you kick ass.  I have gone into many a workout, mad at the world and emotionally wrecked, only to find that hitting stuff and pushing myself was the best thing I could have done. While conversely, I have been on an emotional high that makes you feel like you are on top of the world, and no workout is gonna beat you.

Physically, we all know about the times your muscles ache from previous workouts, or joints hurt from over use.  This is something you need to be careful with and pay close attention to. You need to know your body and differentiate between good and bad pain.  Good pain is what produces results, while bad pain causes set backs and more permanent injuries.  The times that your body feels good, use it!  Learn to like the soreness produced by pushing yourself. If you feel tight or sore from yesterday, warm up and work through it. In the times you have injured yourself, alter your workout to avoid adding additional strain to that area.  Don’t use pain as an excuse to stop, unless you risk further injury by continuing. In most cases, even if you are injured, there is a way to continue. If you bruise your right knuckles, train your left. If your right leg hurts, concentrate on punching.

All these states tie into one another. If you are in a bad mental state, your emotions are triggered, making you feel down and unable to workout. Emotionally triggered thoughts can actually produce or enhance injuries and put you in a bad physical state.  Soreness can feel worse than it is and prevent you from training more if you are emotionally unstable.

There are several things that I have found to help make your workouts as productive as possible.

1. Be consistent- Plan the days you are going to train and stick to it, no matter how you feel.  If you are not in the mood, do it anyway!
2. Turn off the outside world- Learn to make your workout space and atmosphere void of any distractions from work, bills, etc. Music sometimes helps, I listen to the same album many weeks in a row to associate those songs with being in the zone.
3.  Stay on track- Come up with a plan and do it, measuring progress how ever you can. Such as, numbers of reps, or length of time.
4. Push your self- Don’t fall into the trap of thinking “it’s good enough”. If you are making progress, up the stakes!
5. Look outside your comfort zone- Try not to be stuck doing the same workout over and over.    It’s too easy to do the same thing in every workout. What happens here is that your body becomes used to it and you no longer get results. Also, you just get plain bored with it, leading to difficulty being motivated.

Even if you are really good about sticking to your plan and staying on track, there are various results in the end. The workout can end up being really good, feeling like you’re on top of the world. It can pretty bad where you’re just not into it, or just plain ugly, where you can’t do anything right! I really feel that all are equally important. You need to have those bad and ugly workouts in order to appreciate the good ones.  You don’t know what good feels like unless you know the bad.  The key is to stick with it, strive for the good ones!  The long term is the most important.  Be out to win the war, not necessarily the battles.

Stop on a Dime

Those who know me, know that I talk frequently about B.P. & R. (Balance, Precision, and Recovery). To me, these are the qualities in which any martial artists s kill is mea sured.  They are extremely important factors that determine how effective you are in movement.  No matter what your chosen style or form, without these three things, you are out of control.  Through diligent effort  and concentration, you will be able to move with ease, change direction and stop on a dime.  This is a quality that is admired by many and allows you complete control of your body, enabling you to attack and maneuver at will.

50¢ for the half Beat

Timing is a skill and a feel.  To feel the rhythm and timing, sparring and solo practice are a must.  Once the rhythm is felt, you can break the beat and hit or move on the half beat.  Rhythm is a human constant, a natural response in movement.  Learning to break that cycle is a skill that will return great results. A half beat is hitting between the whole and scoring when least expected.

A Penny for your thoughts

JKD is a thinking man’s art.  That is one of the most beautiful things about it to me.  It can give you mental stimulation at many different levels.  In a sparring session, you learn to think faster as punches and kicks are whizzing past you.  In your own training, you think about training methods that may produce better and faster results.  While working with others, you learn to be aware of your space, your opponent’s movements, and your mistakes.  The mechanics of JKD give you so much thought, you can be swallowed up in it for ever. You think about what you can do better, you learn to fight smarter,  and be as efficient as you can be.

Gas is how much?

Constant practice of JKD not only gives you the ability to punch and kick, It also helps in every day life.  Training gives you more energy, and more fuel to attack your day.  Guess what…JKD is exercise! One thing that I will always remember is that as you get older, exercise will become more important. Watch all your friends become fat and slow while you maintain a lifestyle the keeps you fit and full of fuel.

Worth a Million Bucks

The most valuable part of it all is that you will learn a skill that has many life advantages.  It will fulfill your desires for self actualization and mental stimulation.  As you pass it on to future generations, you share the wealth. You will further the knowledge and perpetuate the lifestyle.  JKD is worth it!

Ted Wong met Bruce Lee in 1967.  He quickly became Bruce’s private student, and most importantly, one of Bruce’s closest friends.  Mr. Wong spent many hours training with Bruce, learning the art of Jeet Kune Do. After Bruce’s death, he continued to train on his own uncovering more and more of Bruce’s secrets.  I believe the more he looked into and practiced, the more he understood the art and therefore, Bruce.  The bond between Bruce and Ted Wong was undeniable.

The mission began in the early 1990′s. Ted had been practicing JKD for almost 20 years at that point and had personal invested interest in it as well as his promise to Bruce to keep it pure.  He started seeing martial arts magazine articles written about JKD that didn’t resemble JKD as he knew it.  I’m sure there was an internal struggle within him, deciding what to do. Ted Wong was a private person and not an egotistical man. JKD was something that was shared between himself and Bruce, and up until then, he had only trained a few people in what he knew.  The articles continued and Ted decided to act.  He took on more students, started doing seminars, and began writing articles for magazines himself.

As his mission continued, he did it in a way that displayed his character. He refused to bad mouth or belittle others. He never spoke of  ‘this is right, that is wrong’.  He only displayed his own skill in a way that no one could deny that it had come from Bruce.  Ted’s technique was fast, powerful, and efficient.

Ted Wong was a wonderful man in many ways.  Personally, he had many interests. I remember times sitting at his house talking about his Dendrobium Orchid, that would never stop blooming;  His California desert Tortoise that he had in his back yard; His fruit trees that he loved when they produced;  and his guitar.  He loved to play Spanish Flamenco guitar. I asked him to play for me a couple of times but he never did. He told me “my guitar playing is just for me.” Others have told me that he played for them and that he was quite good, which I’m sure was the case.

His skill in the martial arts was irrefutable.  I was amazed from the first time I saw him move.  I asked him once how often he practiced, he told me “you need to practice all the time because you are learning.  I just practice enough to keep my edge.”  I knew that he trained physically by running and other methods but even though I knew his integrity, I started to doubt that he didn’t practice much.  I swear, every time I saw him, he was better than he had been before.  This was the case for almost 20 years!

He spent most of his time, thinking and reading about  JKD. Anytime I went to see him, he would pull out a text, either Bruce’s writings, a boxing book,  or a fencing text.  He would take me through the pages and showed me where Bruce was going and why JKD was the way it was. Ted was a scholar. It was beautiful to see and extremely inspiring. He never stopped thinking about JKD and honoring his lost friend.  He was in love with the art just as I am.

His mission has paid off.  He spent the last 20 years teaching, writing, and doing seminars so the generations to come will know the beauty of JKD as taught to him by Bruce Lee.  Ted left us with knowledge that we could not have found on our own.  He dove in with both feet, took the world by the horns, and gave us a gift that we will never be able to repay him for.

Ted Wong’s passing on Wednesday, November 24th left me speechless and deeply sad. I know there are those who may have been closer to him, but to me, he was a friend as well as my teacher.  I learned so much from him in the martial arts, but he also taught me many lessons in life.  I can only say at this point, I will do my best to make him proud and keep what he started alive. I am not the only one but I am the only ‘me’!

One who operates on instinct can be very effective.  Some of the greatest fighters have been instinctual.   Those types of fighters subconsciously fight with great efficiency.  These people rely on feel to guide their motions.  When attacked they automatically respond with the appropriate response.  When attacking, their timing fits the situation without thought.  Their disadvantage is that they seldom realize why they win.  An instinctual fighter rarely makes changes in their tactics.  Their skill will get better with continual practice, but they lack the insight to better their strategy.

The intellectual, or smart, fighter analyzes situations and chooses the appropriate response.  They learn from mistakes and correct bad habits.  Using their intelligence brings on more options and leads to more versatility. Timing, distance, etc, are used to set up an opponent for attack.  The disadvantage the smart fighter may have is that they over analyze. Thought takes time, which is something that you do not have a great amount of in a fight.  Too much thought makes for slow reactions.

A skilled fighter should strive to find a balance between the two.  The Yin and Yang, if you will, becomes apparent.  Too much thought isn’t good, while only instinct isn’t good either.  With a well thought out technique, it can become instinct with enough practice.  The insight must come automatically in a confrontation.  The thought should take place before hand or very quickly.

To train ones insight, it is important to pay attention to the feel.  One should utilize the senses to stimulate reaction.   The proper distance, for instance, is sensed not seen.  With experimentation in practice, one should hit from many distances to get the right feel.  With repetition, that attack can be thrown with speed, power, and accuracy purely by second nature.  Timing again is something that must be honed to be pure reaction.  In practice, attacks should be thrown in many different rhythms to break up the timing. These movements of broken rhythm should flow effortlessly with no predetermination.

During a fight, some insight should take the form of conscious thought. Every opponent fights differently.  Many of these differences can only be noticed during the altercation.  If they are rhythmic and mechanical, one must consciously take advantage of that by breaking their patterns. If they telegraph their intent in any way, it must be taken note of, to intercept their motion.  They may put more weight on one leg than the other or, step before they hit, which again can be used to set them up.  There are countless numbers of idiosyncrasies that may have great relevance to ones strategy.  All conscious awareness must be processed quickly as to not waste opportunities.  The best way to improve in this area is to spar many different foes and experiment with different strategies.  During each session, the insight should be focused on learning and not winning.  When winning or losing are a concern, all chances for learning are lost.  The only way to win is not to lose, but the only way to learn is not to care.

Does the rain fall in rhythm?  Natures creations can be classified as either rhythmic or non-rhythmic. Non-rhythmic are, wind, rain, fire, earthquakes etc. These have no predictable pattern or rhythm.  This is how we want to be… Unless….

In an engagement, both rhythmic and non-rhythmic attacks can be used.  Rhythmic attacks can be used in feints or to draw an opponent to attack.  Non-rhythmic or broken rhythm is used to disguise a real attack or sneak one in on a beat that is not expected.  All footwork and evasions should be broken rhythm unless they are deliberately rhythmic.   In deliberation, one should set a rhythm for an opponent to follow and then break it when they have fallen into that beat.  Since it is human nature to follow a rhythm, to control it, is the ability to attack when least expected and to lead the interaction.

Syncopation

Syncopation is the beginning of  broken rhythm. In music, syncopation is the interruption of the regular flow of rhythm. It is the placement of an accent or stress on a beat where it may normally not occur. The study of syncopation can lead us to mastering broken rhythm.     It is when a strike or movement comes where we normally would not expect it.  It occur when an off beat is accented or with a pause placed between strikes and then an accent on the beat. Using the jab-cross-hook a normal rhythm might be, jab..cross..hook.., a syncopation would be,  jab..cross…..HOOK!  The hook in this example is thrown a fraction out of the rhythm. A short pause before it comes out on the half beat.  Another example would be, jab…cross.HOOK! In this case, the hook is thrown on the half beat slightly before it would normally be thrown.

Tempo

The tempo in a musical piece is usually predetermined and set by the composer.  In a fight, the same can be the case.  Tempo is the speed of the rhythm.  The leader of the tempo controls the outcome.  A masterful composer sets the tempo and then breaks it, bringing it back in line to its original speed.  In a song, the breaking of the tempo adds interest and depth. In an engagement, it adds control and variability.  Speed in attack, whether faster or slower than the original tempo adds broken rhythm.   There are many musical, Latin, terms that can be used to describe such actions.  Allegro means quickly, while lento or largo can mean long and slow.  It’s not necessary to know these terms but understanding of them shows the multitudes of variation in tempo.  There are many different speeds and various tempos that can be explored. In broken rhythm,  it does not have to be broken with just one attack.  A combination of five attacks for instance, can be, one…two…three.four.five.  The first two of this attack are thrown at regular, long intervals, and the last three are (allegro) much faster.

Accents

Rhythm can be played with even further by adding accents to the beats.  With an accent, one of the beats in the rhythm is stressed more than others.  In a jab-cross-hook combo, you can stress or accent any of these attacks.  It could be JAB-cross-hook,  or jab-CROSS-hook, or jab-cross-HOOK.  Accents are used to control the penetration of one or more of the attacks.  It can be like a tap, tap, SLAM etc..  Accents come in handy when you feel the opponent out, find a hole, and HIT!  They can be added either on the beat, in tempo or off, in broken rhythm.  One should practice this to perfect the control of the techniques.

The Newbie

Someone that has no experience in the martial arts can be very unpredictable.  Many times, they attack in no particular rhythm or pace. They are running purely on reaction and instinct. They may throw attacks at strange intervals and strange angles etc.  The drawback to their approach is that they lack the control to make it happen when they wish. After some training, the newbie becomes more predictable and more rhythmic.  This is both good and bad.  With the learning of technique, they feel the flow and fall into the trap of stylization.  As a teacher and a student, it is important to remember this and learn to control the flow in order to hang on to some of the unpredictability.   Learn to control the rhythm!

The rhythm of life is never ending.  To control it, you must understand it.  The martial arts can be related to many other things in life. That is part of its great beauty.

“Life is a constant process of relating” – Bruce Lee

Sidekick

Keith going down from a straight lead

Nice Slip!

On Friday 9/10/10 Matt MacFarland, representing JKDColorado,  fought in the ring for the first time.  Overall, he did a great job!  He moved well, evading most attacks thrown at him.  He landed some awesome, almost textbook techniques.  Two straight leads are what really pulled it off.  The first was just seconds into the first round.  He snapped back evading a kick and sprung back in with a straight lead that laid out his opponent.  His Opponent, Keith Green, did a great job too. It was obvious he wanted to take Matt out. He was extremely aggressive and chased Matt around the ring for the majority of the fight.

Matt’s second straight lead landed in the second round, landing to the same eye as the first. Keith took Matt down in the second round but was unable to secure any kind of hold on him. Matt struggled to get a triangle choke.  Keith also had Matt in a clinch up against the cage a couple of times. He threw a series of knees but none really landed. Matt was well covered.  I have to say that Keith did a great job too.  He had clean technique and was out to win for sure!

Matt never received much damage at all. He was great at bobbing and weaving, making all of Keith’s strikes glancing blows.  Matt’s height “disadvantage”  was actually used as an advantage. Most of the strikes landed on his forehead because he kept a good guard and his head down.

The ref stopped the bout after the second round.  Keith was unable to continue due to the swelling in his left eye.  In many ways, I wish it would have gone the third round. I could tell Matt was getting a second wind and was feeling his distance.   Next time!

I’m proud of Matt and hope that he will get in there again.

1. The conscious effort to achieve proficiency.

2. The awareness of what is not proficient.

3. The act of efficient and effective practice.

4. The unconscious act of proficiency itself.

Diligent practice of physical skills takes one through the steps one by one.  In the beginning, and action is learned.  This being the first step, a basic intellectual understanding of the movement is achieved.  Recognizing and correcting bad form is crucial. Repetitive performance of the act takes us to the next step where it is refined and a certain feel can be associated with correct form. After recognizing bad form and knowing the feel of what is correct, go to step three, drill it in with practice!  In the fourth stage, a much deeper understanding is achieved. The act is precise and efficient without thought or contemplation.    It is a constant process of self maintenance to keep this level of proficiency once it is achieved.  Without continual self analysis, the skills will degrade.  The process of  learning is not a static thing.  Once something is understood, it is not an end.  The deeper the understanding, the more apparent it becomes that further comprehension is needed.  The ‘Why’ is equally important to the ‘How’..

Although, the wandering of the mind is the center of creativity.   It’s a paradox. Creative thoughts are often lost in daily life due to an unfocused mind. While too much focus squashes creativity.  True creativity flows from ones being, if unencumbered by over rationalization.

Other forms of focus involve learned physical abilities.  They, of course, start with the proper mind set.  The ability to create precision in an action comes from practice and concentration.  Visual focus is achieved through concentrated awareness practices.  In order to see an intent or opening to attack, the mind must be behind the eyes!

As a Jeet Kune Do practitioner, I have encountered many obstacles.  Besides the obvious, in my attempt to perfect technique, I have also run into stereotyping that goes along with following Bruce’s teaching.  Martial artists of other styles accuse JKD people of being “Bruce Lee wanna bes”  If that is the case, I am guilty as charged.  I would give anything to be like Bruce.  If the rest of us were honest with ourselves, we’d have to admit that we would all like a taste of his drive, motivation, talent, physique, or his skill.  He was  an extraordinary human being with qualities that deserve admiration.

There are those who denounce Bruce’s accomplishments. they cling to the belief that Bruce’s writings were only copies of previous texts. They profess that Bruce’s skill was the product of theatrical flash and camera tricks.  Several go on to believe that Bruce’s JKD is nothing more than a bunch of techniques borrowed from other styles, all thrown together with his name attached to them.

I feel deeply sorry for those with such opinions. They are missing an incredible amount of knowledge and insight into life itself.  Bruce was a living example of what the human being is capable of, both physically and mentally.  He was not one who stood on the shoulders of great men. He stood on his own.  He was a scholar and a teacher, an observer and inventor. he looked into life and noted its process, extrapolating an opinion of his own.  His philosphies on life and the martial arts may have been inspired by others but the end result is uniquely Bruce Lee.

Anyone with insight into Bruce’s martial art would know that there is nothing from any other culture or origin that even compares.  There is no other method that employs the movement with mechanics behind the technique.  Anyone who has read his writing would note that, though resembling others in subject matter, he had a distinct way of interpreting things, like no one before.  To say that his Jeet Kune Do is an eclectic style, borrowing from any he found useful, is denying Bruce due credit for his creation.  To say that Bruce copied the work of others is an insult to him and all other free thinkers.

Bruce Lee was many things, none of which included being a thief or plagiarist.  He was a man of multiple talents with the motivation to use them all to their fullest.  He put out an amount of effort that would leave most men whimpering in dispair.  In his short life of 32 years, he accomplished more than others could in two life times.  Does that make him superman? No, he was a man just like any of us, with the ability to honestly express himself, settling for nothing short of perfection.