bushido_man96

Find it here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Tao-of-Gung-Fu/Bruce-Lee/e/9780804831109/?itm=1 I believe the book I have linked to is a second printing; the one that I have is a first printing from when the Bruce Lee Library was being published by Tuttle Publishing. I don't know what differences there are between the two, so the comments I make are on the version that I have. This book was to be published in 1965, but Lee scrapped the idea of publishing it. Lucky for all of us, he did not scrap his notes, and this book, compiled by John Little, is the outcome. When reading this book, Little notes that it is important to view it as kind of a snapshot in the life of Lee, for it was done in 1964, and many of his training ideas were still influenced by his Chinese influences. The subject matter of this book, concerning Lee's notes and research, tends to relate to Lee's years in Seattle, and a foreward written by Taky Kimura talks a bit of what Lee was like in this time period. I enjoyed the book, and readers of Tao of Jeet Kune Do will notice many parallels to that great book. Some differences will be seen, as well, as The Tao of Gung Fu is more focused on his experiences with Wing Chun, and he speaks of his teacher, Yip Man here and there as well. It is interesting in that you see how his Wing Chun experience permeated his Jeet Kune Do. There is also a section in this book where Lee talks about :gasp: practicing forms!!!! (Sorry, had to throw that in there...) Also included in the book are some bits of Gung Fu history, some masters that he familiar with the histories of, and also some interview Q&A sections to boot. If you are a Bruce Lee historian, or just an enthusiast, then this is a great book to pick up and read. Although it is not the same as the end result of Tao of Jeet Kune Do, the reader can see how Lee begins to move in that direction, and one can see the direction he was coming from.

We did some kicking shield drills in class the other night, and I thought that would be a good topic to share ideas on. What are you favorite kicking shield exercises? What are some that are't so favorite, but are really great, anyways? I'll share a few. We did these the other night in class: Back leg round kick/front leg round kick/switch: Holder holds shield on side, for a round kick. Kicker does a back leg round kick, followed by setting the foot down in front and then bringing it back up for another round kick (or a switch foot round if it was set down behind); the holder then switches the bag to the other side, and process is repeated. We did this for 30 seconds, then switched holders. Stop kick to round kick/round kick, the switch: Like the first drill, but start with the bag to the front. Kicker does a front leg stop-kick of some kind, front or side kick, but with no stepping motion. Holder then moves bag to one side, and kicker initiates the round kick sequence from the drill above. This drill allows more autonomy, as the first round kick may be with the front leg, depending on which foot the kicker starts with, and where the bag is moved to from the initial stop kick.

I was reading some Bruce Lee here recently, and I came across this little bit, and found it interesting. I thought it would make for some good discussion. I was reading The Tao of Gung Fu, and Lee mentioned a few times how the yin/yang of things are not really opposites, and mutually exclusive of each other, but rather compliments, always in co-existance, being mutually dependant. Things like firmness/gentleness. Also thoughts like "to defend is to attack, and attack is to defend" come to mind. Thoughs? Ideas?

Yeah, kind of crazy. One would think one would keep track of one's trip to THE FRICKIN' MOON!

Pretty cool. Another good puzzler. I never was good at the original...

RIP

7-17-09 Today I went as a guest to the facility that my wife signed up at, so I worked on some different machines, and did a few things that I don't usually get to do. Warm-up 5 minutes of walking on treadmill, incline of 10. Weights Assisted pull-ups: 84x6 Rear deltoid: 84x10, 108x8, 9 fail Vertical butterfly: 108x10, 120x10 Deltoid raise: 84x9, 10 fail Lower back: 204x10x3 Leg curl: 144x7, 8 fail, 132x10 Leg extension: 120x10x2 Leg press: 204x10x2 Triceps push-down: 95x10, 100x10 Calf raise: 90x10, 70x10x2 Bench press: 135x10, 205x10 Power clean: 125x10, 150x6 Pull-ups: 2 partial

Ours have a school patch and an organization patch. Instructors might have a patch that says Instructor on it, and the Master Instructor has one that says so, accordingly.

I'm with you there, Bob. I don't consider myself really all that old, and I still couldn't do all that fancy stuff, either.

Very nice. I tend to have a problem with the points end of it, too. I would rather go for the harder contact, and eat a few shots to make some good shots. I also have a problem with the endurance part of it all (as in, not having any ). But, oh well. I never did care for this aspect of it. Perhaps its because I have never been very fast. I like to get inside and punch, as well, but I often find myself a bit tied up, with only one hand to punch with. I seem to get into that hook/uppercut punching range, and not a straight punching range. I'm still working on that.

I think what it comes down to is effective practice methods, and then utilizing proper set ups in sparring; using the right tool for the job, at the right time. On that, I'll have to admit, I am hardly an expert. Tony: Now that we've been discussing a lot about our back leg side kicks (thrusting, piercing, etc), how/what do you utilize for a front leg side kick? Not a stepping together/cross-over front leg side kick, utilizing a momentum building step first, but a front leg side kick without a step? Would you use a front leg piercing kick motion? Again, this would feel odd to me, but I haven't practiced it a lot, either. I am interested to hear your take, and everyone else's here, too.

Hello, and welcome back to KF. I have worked out at a school in the past that required the ITF and the WTF forms, one for each rank, but that is the most that I have seen. The school I am a part of right now does only the ITF forms, but not all 24.

I think Tony is on a good track here. Where Shotokan will likely allow face punching in their sparring, they typically stop for a point, which becomes a bad habit as relates to self-defense, as well. So like Tony mentions, 6 in one, half-dozen in the other. Your best bet is to go check out both of the dojos, evaluate the instructors and the classes, and then make your choice.

I think that the term master is looked upon to mean perfection, or close to it. I don't agree with this assessment. I do think that it means that one has attained a high level of skill, in their style, along with the ability to transmit that knowledge to others.

Very nice. Thanks for sharing these with us, Bob. What handicap, indeed.

It looks downright awesome! Too bad I don't have a PS3...

I agree with this. One needs to be reasonable when setting the prices. I remember discussing this previously, and I commend you for your actions. Top shelf, sir. However, I raised a concern then, and I want to bring it up here again, just for a refesher, and discussion. My concern was that if and when things would happen to turn back around, could you, or would you, bring prices back up to where they were, without the students grumbling and asking "why?"

Cool, thanks. 7-16-09 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:30. We amped up basics a bit tonight. After our stretching kick exercises, we did axe kicks coming from the outside and from the inside, and the did our regular front kicks. I think that these are kicks we could benefit from doing as a regular part of basics. We also did a double jumping front kick after our regular jump front kick. A touch advanced, but nice to do at times, for working the legs and the hip flexors. Gets the heart rate going, too. We also did some of our combination techniques from a back stance, instead of transitioning to a front stance first. It wasn't too bad, but I think it was tougher on some of the lower ranks. Its a good way to still focus on the mechanics of the technique without the benefit of the stepping motion. Sparring was decent tonight, although I still feel like I am having trouble with my side stepping; I still get caught with techniques. I also ate a few crescent kicks to the head tonight, so I need get my damn hands up and keep them their. The 4th dan told me that I seem to be leaning back a bit much, like I don't have my weight going forward. I have to fix that, because I've got too much weight to not take advantage of. We finished with some kicking shield work, doing 30 second continuous drills. Nice class, my legs were sore, and I was able to do more, even with the sore groin still.

Very good points, Bob. I agree.

Before class tonight, I warmed up a bit with some basic techniques, and worked on these two side kicks a little bit. I think I may be seeing some of what you are saying on the piercing kick with that kind of leg swing into the chamber position. Bringing the leg up from the outside is wierd, but as I bring it around, and then swivel my hips and pivot my foot into the chambering position before the kick, it seems like some things are coming together a bit. We'll see how it goes.

Out of curiousity, did your knockdown training prove to be a boon to your WTF competitive career?

Like any type of physical activity, it can probably prove to be dangerous when it is done the wrong way. As long as you stick to sound movement principles and breathing principles, then it'll be just like any other physical activity: good for you.

Ah, thanks for clarifying this. I do agree with what you say here, as far as "pretty" katas go. Yes, they do, in my experience. I was just using the previous analogy to make my point, that's all.

It sounds like you had a good experience. Do you plan on sticking with the Shotokan class?