The above picture is one of my favorites of Bruce Lee; if not the favorite. You ever wonder what would have been if he lived? Where would Jun Fan Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do be with him as the leader. Maybe he would of return to his roots of Tai Chi Chuan he learned with his father. For sure his Tai Chi Chuan would be extremely popular to say the least. It's fun to speculate is it not.
Growing up in the late 1970's early 1980's Bruce Lee was everywhere. The bookstores, on TV shows and at the Drive in Theaters. Vietnam was still in everyone's mind; even as a young kid I was totally aware of this tragedy of a war. We all needed a cultural heroe and there he was. Interesting is it not that a Chinese Martial Artist would thrill/save a few generation's of westerners! Do some research; one will be amazed on how much he impacted society.
As young delinquent kids we would sneak out late at night, hop the back wall of the drive in and stand ontop of older friends cars at the midnight drive in and imitate his moves, as well as all the crazy Hong Kong flicks that would be played. All of us received alot of cheer and good laughs as we worked out many scenes to be played out again and again in proceeding nights to come (lol). We were all Kung Fu Krazy early teenagers - who were tapped into things to come.
In these movies we all got a first glimpse of Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee gave us a first real glimpse of real Kung Fu that was exploding on the west coast. Bruce Lee truly changed the world culture and he didn't even need a website or a silly little I phone :) Now how about that!
Wisdom
As a teenager his books gave myself much inspiration and hope. One of his famous quotes/elucidations from his early writings from Kung Fu Tsu is " 論語 述而篇, 孔子曰 : 三人行、必有我師焉。擇其善者而從之、其不善者而改之。" ... A
good teacher should not be rigid and impose his student to fit his favorite
pattern's or art. A teacher is not a giver of truth; he is a guide, a pointer to
the truth that each student must find for themselves. As teachers we are not teaching you
anything, except one to explore themselves and find their truths and inclinations. Comment: So this is one of those things that stick in your head forever; it really is that good; simple and to the point. The hidden message is only through hard work and continued practice will you find yourself. A teacher is only a small part of the puzzle. If you lean on them too much you will get nowhere. Do you have what it takes to do something with what you are learning? Only you can answer that. Learning these arts has not changed at all, in over the thousands of years of development. It comes down to sacrificing to practice and keep on practicing and learning and refining throughout your life. The silver lining to all of this there is nothing to prove/master if you like this stuff you will be at it until the day you unzip and return to the cosmos.
Gary W. Abersold
