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People who see Bruce only as a movie star miss the real man, for he was also an author and scholar: The walls of his living room and bedroom were lined with shelves of martial arts books, many of them in Chinese, and many of them about Zen. Bruce was always busy, appearing on television shows and teaching in his school in L.A.; but all the while, he was dedicated most of all to working out his personal philosophy. He was open to any new ideas, and that openness was contagious.
I learned various kung fu techniques from him, and I taught him high kicks, meaning kicks above the waist. The only formal martial arts training he'd had was under Yip Man, in Hong Kong, who'd taught him wing chun, a form of Chinese boxing that emphasized hand rather than foot techniques - most kicks were quick and delivered low, to the opponents shin or knee. It didn't take long for me to convince Bruce that kicks could be effectively delivered to any area of the body, and he taught me many of the techniques of wing chun.
In those days, as now, my favorite technique was a spinning heel kick delivered with speed and force at my opponent, a skill I had learned in Korea and used to great advantage when I was competing in martial arts tournaments.
One day during a workout at Bruce's home, I scored on him constantly, despite his attempts to block my kicks. When we ended the workout he went into the house and came back carrying some oranges. We sat on the grass underneath a tree and peeled the oranges. I noticed that most of the bark was missing from one side of the tree and commented on that fact. Bruce laughed. 'The tree is my target for kicks and punches,' he said.
Bruce took off his T-shirt, and I marveled again as I always did every time I saw his physique; he had muscles on muscles.
As I sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet in the yard, Bruce counted off one-hand push-ups. After about fifty, he stopped and turned his attention to me. 'No matter how much I tried, I was unable to block your kicks,' he said. 'What am I doing wrong?'
'You tried to speed your blocks up,' I said. 'And your timing was off. Like when I practice sticky hands with you. When I try to go faster, you score on me repeatedly. If I am getting better, it's because I've slowed down, and that's what I'm suggesting to you. Pace yourself, attend to everything in its own sweet time, and you'll accomplish more than if you go all out at every opportunity. Slow down and you'll go faster.'
'That's a real Zen riddle,' Bruce said: Slow down to go faster. I like it.
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