For the Bruce Lee experts...?

Question

I'm looking for a particular quote, and I've looked on the different Bruce Lee sites and haven't been able to find it. He said something to the effect of trying to learn a martial from forms (or a book) was like trying to learn how to swim without water.

Does anybody know the proper quote, and if possible a book it can be referenced to?

Answer 1

Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

Answer 2

The quote is "doing Kata to learn how to fight, is like trying to learn to swim on dry land."

I originally read the quote on Wikipedia, so, likely, its not a reliable source, and the quote is likely a hoax.  Although a good place to look for it, is at your local Hastings store.  Just look for any Bruce Lee books, especially the "Striking Thoughts" one.

His anti Kata stance though, is very well known.  The best people to consult on that issue would be Black Belt magazine, who pretty much have a wealth of library on all things Bruce Lee.  Arguably, easily, the most reliable people, your question may even prompt them to either do a "Bruce Lee myths" article, or, direct you to any magazine issues that would answer any questions.

Personally thought I think Bruce Lee was a hypocrite; first of all, he used to shadow box for 2 hours a day, upon waking up, every morning.  Shadow boxing is basically Kata when you think about it.  Second, he also practiced the Wu style of Tai Chi Chuan, I believe it was the Wu Jian Quan style (or is it Wujian Zhang?  I always get them mixed up).  It was the Wu style closely related to the Yang Style.  There.  Tai Chi Chuan dude, is basically one long form.

Also, forms on their own do not teach you martial arts, they only condition your body so that you can do martial arts, but on their own they don't make you a martial artist.  As far discarding forms outright though, its a very bad idea.  Bruce Lee's power and speed, also, came from the fact that when he was a child he used to do Chinese opera, which involves a lot of acrobatic training.  You can look it up yourself, or contact the people at Black Belt magazine; they will confirm it.  Chinese opera, because of the acrobatics involved, any coordination and balance he learned from that, he obviously enough applied to his martial arts and later on to his movie career.

So, between a childhood training in Chinese opera, instruction from Yip man, the defacto Harvard and M.I.T. combined of the Wing Chung Kung Fu world, in addition to using weight training, and all this, combined with the discipline of Tai Chi, made Bruce Lee an extremely well balanced martial artist.  Not to mention an actual background in street fights.  Nevertheless, he was a bit of a hypocrite because some of that coordination and speed was acquired through the practice of Tai Chi, which is basically a form.

Lee never seriously did Tai Chi Chuan as a martial art, because he felt its self defense benefits were too long in coming for his patience.  He took up Wing Chun at 14, and wanted to learn it quickly.  Tai Chi, was something he did, for fitness and to him, it was no different from running, or lifting weights, or whatever.  ANYTHING that had the word "fitness" attached to it, he did it, and that includes Tai Chi.  He was known to be fanatical, intense, and to overtrain.

But, he was also a hypocrite; some of that speed and coordination, although he never gave it credit, came from Tai Chi Chuan.  Not all of it, but certainly some.

Regarding Bruce Lee's "trying to learn martial arts from forms is like learning to swim on dry land" quote, quick question; what is the whole point in doing sit ups, strength training, and jogging then?

I mean, none of Lee's fitness activities taught him martial arts now did they?

That's, KINDA how it is with Kata, see; true enough, it doesn't teach how to fight but, if you are going to do conditioning and fitness, while learning martial arts, rather than jogging, hitting a speed bag for hours, or doing all sorts of crazy aerobic work h**l man, just do a Kata 100 times in a row without resting.

If you are going to do fitness while trianing in martial arts you may as well "fake fight it" for efficiency's sake.  Instead of doing crazy aerobic stuff, its simpler and more efficient, to just do forms.  That is the whole reason they exist and I won't lie, boy are they great exercise.

peace out.

Answer 3

you cannot learn to swim without getting in the water. Likewise, you cannot learn to fight without fighting.

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ray.d8/article...

Answer 4

Get his book called "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do".  The quote is in that book.  There's a whole section about that, where he observes that martial arts are "not really fighting" but are "something about fighting".

Amazon has a copy waiting.

Answer 5

The quote is from Bruce's letter to his friend, Wing Chun Master William Cheung::

"William I've lost faith in the Chinese Classical arts - though I still call mine Chinese ~ because basically all styles are product of  land swimming, even the Wing Chun school. So my line of is training is more toward efficient street fighting with everything goes, wearing head gear, gloves, chest guard, shin knee guards, etc. For the past five years now I've been training the hardest and for a purpose, not just dissipated hit miss training. I'm running every day, sometimes up to six miles. I've named my style Jeet Kune Do ~ reason for my not sticking to Wing Chun because I sincerely feel that this style has more to offer regarding efficiency. I mentioned all the above because it is a major event in my life and like to fill you in with it."

I think it is included the book "Commentaries on the Martial Way" edited by John Little.

He also described this same 'dry land school of swimming' in other conversations/notes. I think Dan Inosanto quoted it in something he wrote as well.

Hope that helps