Life stuff

God I miss playing

I really do. I feel like a part of me is missing when I’m not. Man I want to play so bad

Bruce Lee is my new hero

So by most standards, I am late in the “I love Bruce Lee” game. That is mostly due to the fact that I am so truly inflexible and out of shape that I have no business being associated with martial arts whatsoever. But Bruce Lee being the world’s greatest martial artist isn’t what caused me to become a fan. In my Google searches, I learned that Bruce was also a philosopher, and could very well be considered one of the world’s greatest in this field as well.

Most people shy away from philosophy for one simple reason - it is way, way, way too complicated. There are all sorts of theories involved, and ritualistic practices that seem arbitrary at best. These philosophies, while helpful and meaningful in their own rights, have a tendency to chain people down. The philosophies are rigid in structure, and following any path that deviates from that philosophy is “wrong” - in the sense that it doesn’t follow the established norms.

Bruce’s philosophy doesn’t do this. His philosophy (and martial arts fighting “style”) is called Jeet Kune Do. It revolves around the idea that simplicity is the law, and that change is good. This is a direct contradiction to most philosophies.


Using the word “style” to describe Jeet Kune Do, however, is an incorrect use of the word.

“I have not invented a “new style,” composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from “this” method or “that” method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds. Remember that Jeet Kune Do is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see “ourselves”… Jeet Kune Do is not an organized institution that one can be a member of. Either you understand or you don’t, and that is that. There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Jeet Kune-Do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way. Jeet Kune-Do is simply the direct expression of one’s feelings with the minimum of movements and energy. The closer to the true way of Kung Fu, the less wastage of expression there is. Finally, a Jeet Kune Do man who says Jeet Kune Do is exclusively Jeet Kune Do is simply not with it. He is still hung up on his self-closing resistance, in this case anchored down to reactionary pattern, and naturally is still bound by another modified pattern and can move within its limits. He has not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all molds; pattern and awareness is never exclusive. Again let me remind you Jeet Kune Do is just a name used, a boat to get one across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one’s back.”

Bruce applied this philosophy to his study of martial arts, but this concept can be adopted by every fact of life. It is all about simplicity and efficiency. It is about non-conformity. It is about expressing yourself honestly in your actions, in your movements. When Bruce would move his arm to hit an opponent, his honest intention is to take that opponent down as quickly and efficiently as possible, thereby winning the fight as efficiently as possible. So he doesn’t waste time flailing his arms about in a wild fashion, he simply hits the opponent as fast as he can.

We can adopt this philosophy in our own lives, even if we never get into a fight. I am a drummer, and using this philosophy of simplistic movement, I can become much faster and crisper in my movements. And I can apply this theory to showmanship as well. While it is true that in a fight, eccentric movement is not necessary, this is not true for a concert. As a drummer, I must find the most efficient way to entertain an audience. This means practicing my showmanship so that the movements become locked in muscle memory. The art of entertainment should be so simple to me that I don’t even have to think about it. It just happens.

My favorite quote from Bruce (and oddly enough it is his most famous of quotes) deals with his comparison of his philosophy to water. When you read this, do not think about it in terms of martial arts, but think of it in terms of whatever it is you do in life.

“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.”

Don’t play with matches, lighters are cooler

I don’t ever take pictures of myself, but I was bored and this was the result.

I could say something cheesy like “this is symbolic of the calories I am buring off during this diet I’m on” but the simple truth is that I just really like fire.

Damn you Dan Kurily

Damn you Dan Kurily for convincing me to make one of these.  Because of this fact I have chosen this picture to represent you.

Enjoy

So anyway I’ve jumped on the tumblr bandwagon.  It seems to be what all the cool kids are doing nowadays, and if it’s good enough for the cool kids then damn it, it’s good enough for me.

I don’t yet know what the shape of this thing is gonna be.  I suspect there will be some rather lengthy posts mixed in with the occasional one liner that made me laugh.

Hopefully people actually read this or I will feel rather foolish.

And if people don’t read it, that’s ok, because we can all blame Danny for introducing me to tumblr.