BRUCE LEE & MMA

BRUCE IS RECOGNIZED AS THE FATHER OF MMA...AND I FULLY AGREE WITH THAT TITLE...SINCE I WAS THERE AND SAW..... THE BEGINNING OF THE MMA. BRUCE AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHER MARTIAL ARTS PRACTIONORS IN THE 5O'S, TRAINED IN THEIR REPECTIVE STYLES. .. JUDO, kARATE, BOXING, WRESTLING, AND GUNG FU TEACHERS .....ALL FOLLOWED THE TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE THAT WAS HANDED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. THERE WAS NO CROSS TRAINING...MAINLY SINCE THERE WAS NO COMPETION THAT ACCEPTED CROSS TRAINING. EACH SYSTEM HAD STRICT RULES THAT GOVERNED COMPETITION..AND THEY STUCK TO THEM. ...SO YOU ASK...WHAT CAUSED THE CHANGE. AND WITHOUT QUESTION....IT WAS BRUCE LEE. ALTHOUGH A VERY TRADITIONAL STUDENT WHEN HE CAME TO AMERICA...HE FOUND HIS CLASSICAL TRAINING DID NOT WORK WELL AGAINST THE NON-TRADITIONAL WESTERN STYLE OF FIGHTING. AlTHOUGH VERY SUCCESFUL IN THE BEGINNING...ONCE HIS FIRST STUDENTS BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND BRUCE'S TRAPPING PRINCIPLES...BECAUSE OF THEIR SIZE AND AGGRESSION...THEY BECAME MUCH MORE THREATENING. SINCE BRUCE WAS NOT INTERESTED IN COMPETITION..ONLY IN SELF DEFENSE...HE REALIZED HE HAD TO CHANGE FROM HIS EARLIER TRAINING....OR OPEN THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING BEAT. SO INSTEAD OF JUST CONTINUING TO TEACH AND TRAIN IN HIS EARLY STYLE OF WING CHUN...HE STEPPED BACK AND LOOKED MORE CLOSELY AT WHAT FIGHTING WAS REALLY ABOUT. HE SAW THAT TRADITONAL TRAINING AND SPARRING LACKED A CERTAIN REALISM TO STREET FIGHTING...AND SEEMED JUST A DIFFERENT WAY TO EXERCISING AND DRILLING. WHAT WAS MISSING.....AND THEN HE REALIZED... THERE WAS NO SPONTINAETY OR EXPLOSIVE ENERGY. NOTHING WAS BEING QUESTIONED.....YOU WERE TOLD WHAT TO DO AND DID IT...EVERTHING SEEMED PREDICTABLE.

THAT WAS THE PROBLEM......PREDICTABILITY.......EVERY STYLE FOLLOWED A PREDETERMINED SET OF TECHNIQUES OR CONCEPTS THAT CREATED A WALL WHICH RESTRICTED THE ONE QUALITY NEEDED IN A FIGHT..CREATIVE .ADAPTIVE SPONTINAETY. TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST AND HAVE TECHNIQUES THAT WOULD FIT ANY FORM OF COMBAT OR PHYSICAL THREAT. AND THAT WAS WHEN MMA

TOOK ITS FIRST BREATH..... AS BRUCE REALIZED THAT THE ANSWER TO BEING THE BEST.... WAS NOT ONLY IN THE BITS AND PIECES FROM OTHER SYSTEMS, BUT BY BREAKING TECHNIQUE DOWN AND EXAMINING IT FOR IT'S STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES HE COULD REBUILD IT INTO SOMETHING MORE EFFICIENT AND PRACTICAL . THAT BY CROSS TRAINING HE COULD DISCOVER THE KEY ELEMENTS OF EACH STYLE AND BLEND THEM TOGETHER TO MAKE HIM THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER.......AND THE FITTEST WARRIOR.