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How often are we told by different "sensei" of "masters" that the martial arts are life itself? But how many of them truly understand what they are saying? I have no idea. Just as I do not know if Lee really understood what he was saying. Life is a constant movemen,t rhythmic as well as random; life is a constant change and not stagnation. Instead of choicelessly flowing with this process of change, many of these "masters", past and present, have built an illusion of fixed forms, rigidly subscribing to traditional concepts and techniques of the art, solidifying the ever-flowing, dissecting the totality. If a fight is constantly changing and is random, then no one may learn to deal with every possibility. One learns to deal with the probable and the most common, and then does the best one can when something out of the ordinary occurs.

The most pitiful sight is to see sincere students earnestly repeating those imitative drills, listening to their own screams and spiritual yells. In most cases, the means these "sensei" offer their students are so elaborate that the student must give tremendous attention to them, until gradually he loses sight of the end. The students end up performing their methodical routines as a mere conditioned response, rather than 'responding to' "what is." They no longer "listen" to circumstances; they "recite" their circumstances. These poor souls have unwittingly become trapped in the miasma of classical martial arts training. While this is true of all beginning martial art students, as well as beginners at anything, as they gain more experience, they learn to go with the flow of a fight. When beginners fight, they are constantly picking specific techniques to use. Experienced fighters automatically chose the technique that bests suits the situation at that moment.

Students first learn to perfect the movements required to defend or attack. Over time, they learn to apply the techniques as required in specific situations. When a sudden attack occurs, if you have too many choices of techniques to choose from, the time wasted in choosing one will mean whichever one you choose will come too late to stop the attack. If is better to have one highly trained response that may be adapted to a particular situation as required.

A teacher, a really good sensei, is never a 'giver' of "truth"; he is a guide, a 'pointer' to the truth that the student must discover for himself. So, does mean that instead of showing the student how to perform a perfect kick, the  teacher should just let the student figure it out for himself and then just point out to the student what is wrong with the kick. This is a poor method of teaching. A good teacher, therefore, studies each student individually and encourages the student to explore himself, both internally and externally, until, ultimately, the student is integrated with his being. For example, a skillful teacher might spur his student's growth by confronting him with certain frustrations. A good teacher is a catalyst. Besides possessing a deep understanding, he must also have a responsive mind with great flexibility and sensitivity. True, this is why all good martial art teachers do this.

A FINGER POINTING TO THE MOON

There is no standard in total combat, and expression must be free. This liberating truth is a reality only in so far as it is 'experienced and lived' by the individual himself; it is a truth that transcends styles or disciplines. Remember, too, that Jeet Kune Do is merely a term, a label to be used as a boat to get one across; once across, it is to be discarded and not carried on one's back. Again, remember this one written at the time when Transcendental Meditation was the latest fad. Just as Lee said, do not be a sheep that follows some guru’s philosophical BS. Think for yourself and use knowledge, reasoning, and logic to separate the BS from the truth. Lee seems to think he is right because his way is different from his view of the traditional way. Many people want to be different from the norm, not necessarily right, just different.

These few paragraphs are, at best, a "finger pointing to the moon." Please do not take the finger to be the moon or fix your gaze so intently on the finger as to miss all the beautiful sights of heaven. After all, the usefulness of the finger is in pointing away from itself to the light, which illumines finger and all. In other words, do not let yourself be so distracted by the finger of Lee’s BS that you cannot see the truth.

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FINAL COMMENTS

After eating a bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring until a hunter shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

An expert at anything is very good at that thing. However, this does necessarily make the thing good. A person may be a master counterfeiter, but counterfeiting is a crime and the counterfeiter is a criminal. Bruce Lee was a superb athlete, a successful actor, and a master of his martial art, but that does necessarily make the martial art itself great and it does not mean that Lee’s philosophy was anything special. With his genetic makeup and his hard work ethic, he would have been great at any physical endeavor.

As I have said before, hand-to-hand fighting is simple; it has been around for hundreds of thousands of years—ever since two Homo sapiens decided they did not like each other. This is not quantum physics; it is just two humans fighting. No one is going to discover suddenly a new way for two humans to fight hand-to-hand that has not existed in the previous 250-thousand years.

Traditional martial arts use basic kicks and punches to fight—because they always work. Other things may work in class, in demonstrations, and under certain circumstances, but kicks and punches always work. MMA fighting is the latest fad in the fighting world. If wristlocks, fancy footwork, spectacular kicks, sticky hand techniques, or any other of the so-called unique techniques and philosophies of any of the many martial arts around the world worked, the fighters would be using them; however—they do not use them. Take Bruce Lee’s advice, empty you mind of any preconceived ideas, and ask yourself, “If the techniques of my art are as great as my master says they are, why do professional fighters not use them?” Foreign language and culture, special terminology, pseudo science, weird philosophies, and charismatic leaders do not make martial art good. What makes a martial art good is how effective it is when used by an average person in a fight. You do not judge a martial art by how good is its best practitioner; you judge it by how good is an average student of the art.

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