Bruce Lee was a Chinese martial artist, philosopher, instructor, martial arts actor and the founder of the Jeet Kune Do combat form. He was widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the twentieth century and a cultural icon. He primarily practiced Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu).
Here is a fascinating interview with Lee that provides great insight into his philosophy and character.
Bruce Lee - The “Lost” Interview (The Pierre Berton Show - 9 December 1971) An unedited 25 minute interview with Bruce Lee (1940-1973) on the Pierre Berton Show. Recorded on 9th December 1971 in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee is seen being himself, speaking candidly and informally about his life, his martial art beliefs and philosophy. Through the program Bruce’s supreme confidence, charisma and focus provide a tremendous insight into the young Bruce Lee - the man behind the legend.
For anyone who wants to learn a martial art, there is a lot to know in regards to the many different styles. Of course there is the question of finding the best martial art, which is a question a lot of people ask With so many martial arts styles to choose from, it can be very complicated to pick one to learn.
No matter you may hear or what others have to say, it is quite impossible to name one style of martial arts as the ultimate best. Actually, there are several factors that come into play, which makes a statement about a style being the best impossible. Even though one style may beat another in a competition or a fight, doesn’t always mean that the winning style is the best.
Before deciding to rush out there and learn a martial art, there are several things that you should decide first. Martial arts are great to learn, no matter which style you decide on. A martial art can teach you self discipline, self defense, and several other traits that will help you no matter where you decide to go in life.
Self defense
All over the world, there are several martial arts schools and dojo’s that emphasize self defense a lot more than others. Schools that focus on kata, forms, or light sparring are less than likely to teach you what you need to protect yourself on the street. If you are looking for street self defense, then you’ll want a style that trains hard and doesn’t let up.
Fitness
Even though martial arts can improve your fitness level, it isn’t the goal behind a lot of the martial arts styles. Several styles, such as Tae Bo, are based purely on martial arts and doesn’t include a lot of physical fitness training. If you are looking for fitness as your main goal, then you should be looking into something other than martial arts.
Fighting ability
This will vary among the many different martial arts styles. Self defense schools will most often take advantage of fighting skills, teaching you everything you need to survive. Most martial arts styles are slow in theory, teaching you kata, movements, and forms. Self defense schools on the other hand, teach you how to inflict the most amounts of damage in the least amount of time.
Competition
Competition based martial arts are all about winning trophies and showing the world your style of martial arts. The competition that you have chosen, will greatly impact your style of martial arts. You’ll need to decide if you will be fighting or showcasing display kata, light or heavy contact, or focusing on grappling or striking.
Before you decide on a martial arts style, you should always research the schools and dojo’s in your area and see what all they offer you. The best schools will allow you to participate in a few free classes, or offer you discounts on your first few months. They will answer any questions that you have, and work with you to help you learn as much as you can.
Martial arts can be a very fun and exciting learning experience. There are hundreds of different martial arts styles out there, although you may be limited in choice, depending on what all is offered in your area. Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, and Jiu-Jitsu and some of the most common types of martial arts, and normally offered just about everywhere. The more distinct styles, such as Kung Fu, Shootfighting, Kenpo, and Shaolin styles are a bit hard to harder to find.
If you do your homework on some of the styles that are offered in your area, you’ll find one that best fits your reasons to study. Martial arts can change your outlook on life - all you have to do it devote yourself to learning all you can about the philosophy of your martial art.
These days, martial arts are something that everyone should know. With crime at an all time high, knowing how to defend yourself is essential. For the children, martial arts can mean a lot of things. Even though martial arts is great for adults to know and practice as well, it is also a great way for children to stay in shape and learn how to defend themselves from attackers. You can even find after school programs with pick up from the school.
Although martial arts can teach children how to defend themselves, it will also teach them self control and self confidence as well. If your child has a bad temper or low self esteem, learning a martial art can actually help them to get back on the right path. Martial arts will help children with life in general - which will take them a lot farther in life.
The first thing you will need to do when getting your child involved in martial arts is pick a style that they will enjoy. With several different styles to choose from, it can be a very difficult choice to make. Among the most popular for children are Karate, Taekwondo, Judo, Muay Thai, and Jiu-Jitsu. When making the decision, you should go by what your child has interests in, such as punching and kicking, or ground grappling and submission.
Once you have a style in mind, you’ll need to start checking out the local martial arts centers and dojo’s. If you live in a big city, you’ll have a lot more to choose from than those who live in smaller areas or rural towns. Those who live in smaller towns or rural areas may be very limited on the choices available for themselves and their children.
Rural and smaller towns are limited in choice, although what they offer is normally among the best styles of martial arts. The instructors are black belts and above, with the highest ranked students helping them instruct classes. If the classes are small in attendance, the instructors and student teachers can spend a lot of hands on time with the kids to help them improve in their weakest areas.
When you decide to enroll your child in martial arts, you should always check out the dojo or classes first. You don’t want your child to be in a class that isn’t goal focused, nor do you want them to have a teacher who doesn’t know what he is teaching. The environment is also important, as you want to be sure that the dojo and equipment are clean, and that everything is up to the latest and greatest standards.
Even though a martial art may be beneficial to your child, it won’t do them any good unless the facilities and the instructors are good. You want to make sure you get the best available to you, which is why it always pays to look around. If you look at all of your available choices, you’ll normally be able to find the best for both you and your child.
When it comes to children and their future, martial arts is a great way for them to start. Martial arts can help them improve in many different areas, not just self defense. A martial art can help a child develop a lot of essential areas, including self control and responsibility. The longer a child studies a martial art, the more goal oriented and responsible they will become. Martial arts are a great investment for parents and children - which is why they are so very popular.
With most types of martial arts, the color of the belt that you have will signify your rank within your style of martial arts. The belts that are used with martial arts signify your rank within that style, although they have no universal means or ranking within the martial arts world. More or less, they tell others how much you know about your specific martial art.
The use of belt colors in martial arts is an old practice, dating back hundreds of years. Belts and their use in martial arts all started by a man known as Jigoro Kano, who created the style known as Kodokan Judo. Kano started out by using only white and black belts to signify rank within his style of martial arts. His reason for using belts, was to specify which students could compete in different activities. For example, those with white belts couldn’t compete in the same activities as those with black belts.
Shortly after Kano introduced his idea of using belts, other belt colors were introduced to the world of martial arts. Over the years, it became a great way of telling what experience a student had in his style - just by the look of his belt. Other styles began to use this system as well over the years, including Karate, Taekwondo, and several others.
The only problem with using belts to signify ranking, is the fact that one school may have different requirements from another school. Even though they both may teach the same style of martial arts, their ranking system and requirements to get a certain ranking may be totally different. This can cause confusion in ranks, especially if a black belt from one school isn’t as versed in the style as a black belt from another school. Even though most schools stick to the same criteria, there are schools that choose to incorporate their own unique style as well.
Although most martial arts styles use belts to signify rank, there are some martial arts out there such as Shootfighting that don’t use belts at all. The styles that choose not to use belts don’t go by rankings either, as they are more or less for self defense purposes. Pitfighting is another style that doesn’t use belts either. These styles are great to learn for protecting yourself - although they differ from the traditional sense of martial arts.
All things aside, belts are an innovation to martial arts. They give students something to aim for, and a reason to keep practicing. Most students that study martial arts aim for getting the black belt, which is the most prestige belt in martial arts. A black belt takes years of practice to obtain, as the student will move through many lower ranked belts before getting the opportunity to try and earn the black belt.
Anytime an individual decides to learn how to protect themselves, learn self defense, or become a better person, one thing comes to mind - martial arts. Martial arts are very common these days, being practiced all over the world.
The martial arts have been used for many centuries, although they really became famous around the time of Bruce Lee. Bruce invented the style of Jeet Kune Do, which involves very fast strikes with amazing counter defenses. Once people began to see just how fast Bruce Lee could move, they began to look into martial arts and see just how it could benefit them.
Martial arts are broken down into specific styles. The style all depends on where and what you study. A lot of cultures and countries offer martial arts that they originated, developed, and perfected. Brazil offers Brazilian Jui-Jitsu, Japan has Karate, Thailand has Muay Thai, France has Savate, and China has Shaolin. Keep in mind that each style will vary in techniques and what it has to offer you.
Although many people think of martial arts as being just for self defense purposes, this isn’t always the case. Martial arts are used in tournaments and competitions as well, which can include sparring, floor routines, and even block and brick breaking demonstrations. All across the world, there are competitions and chances for fighters to prove themselves and their knowledge.
In general, all martial arts will teach you how to defend yourself and above all else - help you develop self control. Once you begin to study a martial art, you’ll quickly start to develop a much better state of mind. No matter what style of martial art you study, the instructors will drill self control into your head.
Those of you who have a bad temper or just need to learn self control, martial arts can be very beneficial to study. Not only will you learn self control, you’ll also learn how to defend yourself in the most drastic of situations. Self control is very important, as martial arts can be very deadly if they are taught to the wrong person - with the wrong intentions.
Over the last decade, there have been a lot of mainstream competitions that showcase martial arts, such as Extreme Fighting, King of the cage, and the most popular of all, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). The UFC has come a long way over the years, sparking interest from all over the world. It pairs stylists from all over the world together, to test their skills and see who is the better fighter.
With the UFC, a lot of people have gotten the wrong idea about martial arts. A martial art is great to learn, although if it works in the UFC, it doesn’t always mean that it will protect you out on the streets. Karate for example, teaching blocking and striking, with little to no emphasis on grappling
techniques. If you get in close, Karate really doesn’t help. With some distance however, Karate can be very devastating.
No matter how you look at it, martial arts can be great to learn if you learn it for the right reasons. Each style will vary in technique and what it has to offer you, which is why you should pick the best style for your needs and what you hope to accomplish. Martial arts can teach you a lot about self defense and yourself - all you have to do is give it a try.
Sparring is something that all martial arts use. There are numerous sports, such as boxing and wrestling that use sparring as well. It is a very useful technique, helping students become better with their techniques and what they have learned. By practicing with other people, students learn their arts better and become more apt at performing the techniques quickly and efficiently.
If you are studying martial arts in a dojo, you’ll find sparring to be very exciting as well as beneficial to your training. The instructors and teachers will be right there watching and guiding students, making sure that no one gets hurt. Students use full body gear, including headgear, to ensure safety during practice.
Depending on your skill level and martial art you are studying, you may end up using no protective gear. Students that are very skilled won’t normally need protective equipment, as they are good enough with sparring and their techniques that they can go a few rounds with other skilled students and not make any type of contact at all.
Martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, that focus on grappling, make the most use of sparring, as it is needed to properly execute the techniques. Martial arts that focus mainly on grappling use joint locks and submission techniques, which will need to be practiced quite a bit before they can be used effectively during a competition or even as self defense.
During sparring, students go back and forth, competing with each other and testing each other. The rounds will vary, although most last several minutes. Students will also receive help and insight from their instructors to let them know how they are doing and if they need to change anything they are doing. This also gives instructors the chance to see just how well you are progressing in training and what areas you need to work more on.
Sometimes, sparring is done by yourself, without anyone else working with you. If you are sparring by yourself, you’ll use equipment such as punching bags, tackling dummies, or other forms of equipment that will help you with your martial art. The foam or rubber dummies are most often used with grappling techniques or punching on the ground, as they represent the opponent that you are trying to pummel into submission.
All in all, sparring is an excellent way to practice the skills you have learned against equipment or other students. Students are fun to spar against, especially if they are at a higher level of skill than you are. You can use sparring to your advantage, learning what others do and how they react to your movements and techniques. The longer you spar and practice your moves - the better you will get in your training, speed, and the execution of your skills.
Tae Kwon Do is a modern martial art, well known all around the world for it’s lightning fast, often high, spectacular spin kicks. Tae Kwon Do has been around for many years, originally founded in Korea. It translates to “the are of punching and kicking”, or the “art of unarmed combat”.
The martial art Tae Kwon Do has four disciplines - patters, self defense, break test, and sparring. It isn’t just one of these disciplines that make up the art, but a combination of them. All 4 of them are important, especially for those looking to advance in belt ranking. To advance in a belt, there are certain tests that students need to pass.
One of the great things about Tae Kwon Do is the fact that there are no age limits, and it can easily be learned by young children. Children of all ages will quickly learn fast reactions playing games, learn respect, and they will also learn their abilities as well as their disabilities.
The competitions however, are a bit different for children than they are for the adults. Even though the participants will wear full body protection, children can only kick and punch to the body, as no shots to the head are allowed. The competitions in Tae Kwon Do is what makes the art so very dominating. A majority of students that practice this martial art do so because of the competitions.
The competitions can be very exciting to watch, as they can get very competitive. Contrary to what many may think, the competitions aren’t deadly, nor are they anywhere close to being as dangerous as Muay Thai fights. Competitors will wear full protection, including head gear. For adults, kicks to the head are allowed, although a majority of stylists can block them before they make impact.
In order to participate in the competitions, stylists will need to have a certain level of experience. It can take years to become good enough, especially for those who win. Competitions are a great way to learn, especially if there are participating fighters from other areas of the world. The skill of a stylist is a very important factor with the competitions and tournaments. If you have a black belt fighter going against a white belt - the results will normally be quite obvious.
All things aside, the art of Tae Kwon Do is a great martial art. Stylists can learn kicking, punching, blocking, and the spectacular movements the art is known for. Tae Kwon Do is practiced all around the world, meaning that there are just as many places to learn this art as there are Karate. For an art that won’t disappoint - Tae Kwon Do teaches self defense and a whole lot more.
In a brief, Tae Kwon Do is a form of Tae Kwon Do which requires no weapon. The Tae Kwon Do not only pays attention to power and technique, but also emphasizes strict discipline, superb technique with strong and healthy spirit education, with development sense of righteousness, resolute and firm. Tae Kwon Do not only teaches the method of the thinking and life to people, but also shapes lofty personality.
In Tae Kwon Do, you should be bare hands and barefooted to protect your body. You can jump, kick, stab, block and evade. Tae Kwon Do make congenital physically weak. It also empowers you to defeat the strong enemy and enhances self-confidence.
In 1910 when Japan invade war Korean peninsula, the Tae Kwon Do got technical skill in all countries of fusion development. In 1966 international Tae Kwon Do alliance (I.T.F) was established. It is now an Olympic game, world soldier’s sports games, the Universiade, Asian Games, pan-American sports games in the meantime.
Modern Tae Kwon Do differs greatly from other martial arts. In fact, no other martial art is so advanced with regard to the sophistication and effectiveness of its technique or the over-all physical fitness it imparts to its practitioners.
The physical techniques of Tae Kwon Do are based on the principles of modern science, in particular, Newtonian physics which teaches us how to generate maximum power. Military tactics of attack and defense have also been incorporated.
The emergence of Tae Kwon Do as an international martial art in a relatively short period of time was due to a variety of factors. The evils of contemporary society had created a spiritual vacuum. Tae Kwon Do was able to compensate for the prevailing sense of emptiness, distrust, decadence and lack of confidence.
David Gilbert unveils the secrets of the Tae Kwon Do Forms. David who believes in the practice of forms reveals secrets that TKD masters don’t want to be generally known. It’s not clear why they would feel this way but David makes clear that forms are an important aspect of learning Tae Kwon Do. Still Martial Artists like Bruce Lee argued for a freeer expression of the art. Who is right? See what David has to say.
Tae Kwon Do Forms - Self-Defense Guidelines By David Gilbert
I am an absolute martial arts enthusiast. Or specifically I practice the Tae Kwon Do Forms, Tae Kwon Do Sparring and Poomse as well.
Some people practicing Tae Kwon Do Forms might think: what’s the purpose of Tae Kwon Do training if you’re not allowed to use it in the streets?
Myth and Truth
In fact, it’s a myth. There is some style of Tae Kwon Do that focuses on self-defense aspect within the art. The reason many think that Tae Kwon Do Forms is useless on the street is because of the fact that the majority of what others see are the style of Tae Kwon Do that focus on mainly Olympic competition format.
Tae Kwon Do Forms is an exercise. Most Tae Kwon Do instructors don’t want and forbid you to use it because they know that it is useless and they don’t want you to know that. Plain and simple. My view, don’t have to agree. Like most all styles that are “traditional” use kata. You’ll know if it is real. First off a lot of contact when training, I am not saying fighting, but contact. You’ll hurt and get scratches and a little black and blue. If your not, then your in an exercise class, not a class for self defense, at least not an effective and real one.
Self-Defense Guidelines
You can use Tae Kwon Do or any other style of martial arts on the street to defend yourself. And please follow these simple guidelines:
1, It must be to defend only. The law does allow martial artist to defend ourselves. But we aren’t supposed to kill the people that have attacked us with his fist.
2, We are supposed to use some type of restraint. I am not supposed to break 10 bones even though that is what we are trained to do.
3, The defense has to be on the same level as the offense. If a guy attacks with a knife and I disarm him and he is no longer a threat I am supposed to stop fighting. In other words if I take him down and he is now unable to continue to attack I can’t continue to hurt him because I am upset.
4, There are some gray areas regarding the law. It is best that once you have taken the guy down and he isn’t an immediate threat you should leave the area as soon as possible. You don’t have to break every bone in his body are put him in a comma before you stop retaliating.
5, Use the self defense that you have been taught. Don’t go overboard. If you do go overboard you will go to jail. That doesn’t matter if you know martial arts or not. Going to jail is not worth it if you can get yourself out of the situation. If my life or family life is threatened I will respond with the same force. That means I will take a life. I have no choice and the law is supposed to protect me in that situation.
6, You should probably find someone who has been doing karate or kung fu around the same time as you and see if you can at least give him a good fight. If you can’t and the guy totally beats you up then you should consider getting out of that Tae Kwon Do class.
In Summary
At the end of the day, in a life and death situation a swift kick to the shenanigans would be a better form of defense than showing off what you learned at your Tae Kwon Do Form class.
The two most common martial arts practiced in North America are karate and tae kwon do. Many wonder what the difference between these two martial arts is. This is especially the case for those who are just starting to look around for a martial arts studio. After all, most practitioners in both karate and tae kwon do seem to wear the same type of white gi uniforms with various colored belts.
Modern traditional karate was developed in the islands of Okinawa in Japan after some influences from Chinese martial arts. There are actually different styles of karate but they are all commonly considered as Japanese martial arts today. The colored belt system was developed to show the various ranks of karate practitioners with white depicting novices and black belts (with various degrees) representing instructor levels and higher. There is a whole range of other different colors in between. Modern tae kwon do was developed in Korea after much influence from Japanese karate during the occupation by Japan. Indeed, tae kwon do is sometimes referred to as Korean karate. The Koreans adopted similar white uniforms along with a colored belt ranking system for tae kwon do. Today, there are two main styles of tae kwon do, one under the International Tae Kwon Do Federation and the other under the World Tae Kwon Do Federation. Many tae kwon do schools have added a black lining to their white uniforms for black belt levels. A V-neck top is often seen in schools affiliated with the World Tae Kwon Do Federation. There are also older Korean styles including tang soo do and moo duk kwan. Some of the more Americanized karate and tae kwon do schools also use uniforms with other colors such as red, black and blue in addition to the traditional white.
It can be generalized that in karate, one would use their arms or hands for 60% of the time for strikes or blocks while the use of legs for kicking will be about 40%. This breakdown is seen in the many forms or katas of karate which are set routines which simulate fighting against imaginary opponents using martial arts techniques. The forms from tae kwon do would have the opposite percentage breakdown with 40% hands and 60% legs. In tae kwon do, there is also more emphasis on higher kicks to the head level than in karate. Tae kwon do practitioners also utilize more jumping or flying kicks where one is airborne while executing kicking techniques. The tae kwon do forms or patterns are generally a bit shorter and less complex than the karate forms. Some tae kwon do schools have been known to use the odd karate form in its curriculum as well.
In North America as well as other parts of the world, there are separate traditional competitions for karate and tae kwon do. However, the open martial arts tournaments in North America often have competitors from both karate and tae kwon do competing together. Some of the larger open martial arts competition events will have separate forms divisions for Japanese karate and Korean tae kwon do competitors but the fighting or sparring divisions will usually be combined. Many black belts in tae kwon do end up studying karate as well and the opposite has been true too. Tae kwon do has received more publicity in recent years since its introduction as an Olympic sport. The style and rules used for the Olympic version of tae kwon do fighting comes from the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF). Both karate and tae kwon do are considered as hard style martial arts in North America today (as opposed to soft styles such as the many versions of Chinese kung fu).
Clint Leung is a lifelong martial artist with over 32 years of training experience in kung fu, tae kwon do, karate, kickboxing and martial arts weaponry. He has won Canadian and world championship titles (NASKA, NBL and WSKF). He is also owner of Free Spirit Activewear (http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com) , an online retailer and designer of premium martial arts activewear. Free Spirit Activewear has martial arts info articles.
