40 years ago today the world lost one of the greatest Martial Arts figures of modern time – Bruce Lee. Not surprisingly, this month’s Blog of the Month entry is from his beloved daughter – Shannon Lee. Usually I would go on about why I like the blog, but truthfully that is rather self-explanatory. Have …
Category: General Interest
A general page for discussion, relating to topics not listed in their own categories.
Jul 21
It’s been 40 years and he’s still taking us to school…
On this, the 40th anniversary of the passing of a legend, I step onto this privileged platform to talk about the Legendary Bruce Lee. He died before I was born yet he has been one of the single-most influential figures in my Martial Arts training and study. I have not studied Jeet Kune Do, but …
Jul 11
KFEB #16 -The Superior man always observes the issues in order to know the origin; scrutinizes the past in order to know the future. Such is the Principle whereby he attains foreknowledge.
16) The Superior man always observes the issues in order to know the origin; scrutinizes the past in order to know the future. Such is the Principle whereby he attains foreknowledge. YAY! We’ve come to a non-Confucian KFEB entry! This one is from Taoism, specifically from Lieh Tzŭ from the 5th century BCE. Again, you …
Jun 15
KFEB #15 – The Superior man loves his soul; The Inferior man loves his property. The Superior man always remembers how he was punished for his mistakes; the Inferior man remembers what presents he got.
15) The Superior man loves his soul; The Inferior man loves his property. The Superior man always remembers how he was punished for his mistakes; the Inferior man remembers what presents he got. The past few KFEB entries have been Confucian (either overtly, or similar to), with this one speaking directly to the differences …
Jun 09
KFEB #14: The superior man understands what is right – the inferior man understands what will sell.
14) The Superior man understands what is right. The Inferior man understands what will sell. Let’s have a quick look at this one – it’s attributed to Confucius from the Analects, so there’s not much more in the way history that I need to cover. What I find interesting with this particular statement is …
Jun 03
Kung Fu Exercise Book #13
13) A vulgar man always looks for favours, and forgets them when he has got what he wants. A superior man hesitates a great deal before he accepts a favour, and then he always remembers it. I have always loved this statement – although I don’t use it very often, I realize that it has …
May 23
Kung Fu Exercise Book #12
12) Tzu Kung asked, “What constitutes the Superior Man?” The Master said, “He acts before he speaks, and afterward speaks according to his actions.” I have always liked this particular passage, and I believe that this one is pretty much universally translatable – Don’t just talk, but do. Walk the walk; talk the talk and …
May 17
Form versus Formless
With the introduction of Oriental Martial Arts into the Occidental mindset came a re-envisioning of what people could do with their bodies, as well as re-interpretation of how physical combat was played out. Of course this was only after people of the “West” began to accept the people of the ”East” as more than comedic …
May 12
Martial Art VS Fighting Style
It’s a semantic debate, but I feel it requires some elaboration and definition: What is the difference between a fighting style and a martial art, and what constitutes what? This work is, of course, my opinion of the difference and is meant to inspire debate over the meanings of these apparent synonyms – to help …
May 12
Paradoxical Platitudes
Have you ever had someone say “Everything happens for a reason”? Have these same people said that you have a choice in whatever you do? Have you ever wondered about these concepts yourself? The interesting point regarding these concepts is that they are mutually exclusive – one cannot have the ability to choose if everything …
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