WHY HE didn't teach EVERYTHING he knew? - Q&A + Bruce Lee

[@MikeS24-v4s]

Jesse told me that Bruce would show where he was but not where he was at in his training. Love this one, this echo's what I was telling my students about Mastery of Art vs Mastery of Skill. Bruce a prime example of Mastery of skill.

[@HealthFitnessMartialArtsDEng]

Sifu Adam. Mahalo for this. I didn't realize that you had trained with Jesse. I can corroborate what Jesse shared with you. He was my neighbor and first sifu when I was 12 years old. I do remember him talking about the things you mentioned in this video and it brought back memories that I had forgotten! I also had the privilege of working out with Ed Hart when I was a kid.

[@BobaFutt]

So lucky...

[@kyleday5026]

hi what did they tell u about bruce

[@CityGuy-k6s]

Aloha, did you ever meet one of my Sifu's Raymond Mar ? He was from the Seattle area at the beginning when jkd was called Jun Fan. Sifu Mar went to Hollywood and became a Stuntman & later movie producer.

[@derekchin6403]

I'm so appreciative of all your demos and the information you share. No nonsense, straight to the point, logical, truthful. Massive respect.

[@heru1227]

👍🔥❤️🔥👍

[@Simon2k17]

My opinion, all the hidden stuff is in Bruce's martial arts philosophies that are written in his books. Which is the most Chinese thing you can do LOL If you read a passage and it confuses you, that's probably because you're not at that level yet or its hidden material.

[@1888swordsman]

so true. I've met a lot of "teachers" of martial arts who couldn't fight, or even explain why we move like we do or what the skills were for. Now I've learned from skilled masters who do explain to the point of saying "Do it wrong to start with, so you can get it right and feel it work the right way" No CHI or Ki explanations, but the correct body mechanics, the right time to be relaxed, tense, relax. As far as Bruce Lee is in this world, I'm a fan of the legend, I'm more interested in the real man and interested in how he trained and how to avoid the mistakes he made. Deepest respect mate. train well

[@roninblack3324]

Great breakdown Sifu Adam. Greatly Appreciate your knowledge and wisdom.

[@DxModel219]

man I can listen to Sifu Adam all day.

[@______-im2cn]

Love, just love the no b.s. approach of his videos. Gotta say I enjoy the talking videos the most,. the "philosophy or the mind set behind your art what ever it is, is more important than the technique. It is true the seniors end up teaching a lot and half the time they don't even know they did teach as much as they did.

[@jubilee7070]

I was just looking around on KZbin and just came across your channel. I must say it is really really good. So informative with and open mind. No ego no disinformation it is a pleasure just to sit down and let you speak.

[@CaveMan72]

Thanks to your motivation I reworked my training routine and added meditation as well. Feels like I'm riding the gravy train on biscuit wheels now

[@dano8736]

Bruce Lee was my idol when I was a child and it's because of him that I was interested in martial arts

[@AjaychinuShah]

Thakur like Jordan. Especially when the Chinese night boogie howling gets you worried. Watch pout 😡 Oprah Korean women.

[@shamounian]

Again I have to say you are phenomenal. Keep it up.

[@styleyK]

Probably the best explanation or conversation on Bruce and fighting arts I have ever heard. Thank you 🙏🏿

[@joebagtas9617]

"Why should I teach someone how to beat me?" Bruce was obsessed with training, sparring, and conditioning. There's a lot the general public doesn't know about his fights

[@cuzz63]

you mean like how he wasnt a fighter?

[@joebagtas9617]

@@cuzz63 thats not what I was saying, keep dreaming

[@cuzz63]

@@joebagtas9617 you werent very clear. Of course the general public and pretty much everyone else doesnt know about fighting that didnt happen.

[@joebagtas9617]

@@cuzz63 Sure keep telling yourself that ;)

[@sunn209]

​@@joebagtas9617 Yeah...,you smarter than ALL the people that met , trained , was taught and sparred with Bruce...,stay off drugs..,it warps an already deluded ego.

[@athena7071]

YOur videos, every word you utter, is pure Gold. Infinite gratitude to you.

[@alanutomata5852]

Great video. Just wanted to say I really like these videos and particularly like it when you speak. Much is learned when you expand on topics. If the practice is the bones, your words add flesh.

[@boddumblues]

You are very good with words, your points come across clear, and fast too. Respect!

[@GeneBurnett]

I think another reason why teachers don't teach everything they know is that things you figure out for yourself or "steal" from your teacher are more likely to be kept and appreciated. "What you earn, you keep." It also helps keep the student independent and not always waiting to be spoon fed the next thing.

[@shogoracing4294]

That’s a valid point!

[@mightymeatmonsta]

No because you will get your ass kicked if you don't know how to use your system properly!

[@lordoffaiyum9727]

Right

[@lordoffaiyum9727]

@@mightymeatmonsta that's why you fight with no system as Bruce said.

[@mightymeatmonsta]

@@lordoffaiyum9727 No system means many flaws and stiffness that is INHERENT in ALL BOXING DERIVATIVE SYSTEMS!! Traditional Wing Chun has NO INITIAL FLAWS OR STIFFNESS ( If ALL ten concepts are followed and used all at once!). IT IS A COMPLETE SYSTEM AND MADE FOR THE STREETS!

[@DJAakaRNBFUNKNJS-OLDSKOOL]

THANK YOU.

[@gaylestanfill1525]

Just discovered your podcast; enjoying your fact based point of view. I'm a 65 yo male with some brief JKD training & enjoyed investigating and training in a multitude of other combat arts and sports.

[@EvosBasics]

I’m not in the WC community but what you said about how they exploit Bruce but also hate on him is something I always shook my head at. Glad someone said it!

[@avondaledyer8837]

thanks........very much.....all the best

[@franciscordon9230]

Excellent, thank you for sharing!

[@powerplay4real174]

Bruce never put limits on what he believed was possible to achieve with hard training and studying. He was smart enough to use training aids like weights ,books on self help ,boxing, boxing devices and methods, boxing gear, study other moves from Kung Fu styles as well as iron palm hand conditioning ,him and James Lee had a book published on iron fist called "How to break a brick in 100 days". At that time most guys never heard of iron fist or how to train for it out side of the Chinese community tell Bruce Lee and his pal James Lee had the book published. Mas Oyama and Bruce Lee are the two greatest promoters of Asian Martial Artist in the 20th century.

[@cuzz63]

Jigoro Kano was also a huge promoter of Asian Martial Arts in the 20th Century.

[@GeneBurnett]

Whenever I ask someone if they do martial arts and they instantly give me a long resumé of masters and lineages and now long they've studied...that last one is a key red flag...or if they volunteer all that stuff without me even asking...they usually turn out to be not very good or downright awful. The guys that shrug and say..."Yeah...a little..." are the ones that make me take a step back and keep an eye on. ;~) Bruce seems like a genius innovator to me...someone who transcended tradition and went right to the place where traditions come from...very few genius innovators are really good teachers...it's just not their gift...they usually teach to put food on the table or because they need practice partners or because someone begs them to teach...their work gets passed on, if it does get passed on, by genius integrators...students who can break things down and take the time to show less talented people how to do it. I think the world needs both types. Really enjoying your latest videos more than ever Adam. Keep up the great work and stay safe up there. GB

[@peterwang5660]

Well, Jessie couldn’t touch Bruce. Perhaps none of Bruce’s students could land a hit. If Bruce is so much greater than theirs, it seems none of them were able to integrate his innovations.

[@GeneBurnett]

@@peterwang5660 I don't have a lot of personal knowledge of the teachers and students specifically mentioned in this video. I don't mean integrate in the sense that you're using it. What I mean by integrate is that they can take some of what they learned and "integrate" it into a system of doable exercises that regular people, not just geniuses can do and understand. Ordinary people like to understand what they’re doing. In a sense, in order to understand something you have to kill it...like a big part of really understanding what a frog is, is to kill and dissect one…one of the reasons, I think, that the genius innovators tend to not like teaching…because they’ll have to kill some of their work to make in understandable. Integrators tend to think, OK, I’ll sacrifice some of the magic alive-ness of this work in order to get more people further up the ladder. They also like understanding things, they like breaking things down into learnable parts because that’s the way they learned. They weren’t genius innovators but they had a knack for explaining their work. They like helping people learn. They might think, I’ll kill some of this in order to help it survive and help more people, even if it isn’t the same thing as the work of the innovator, it at least points a bunch of people in that direction. Perhaps one day inspiring another great innovator. All of the above happens a lot in the arts, especially the music world, or at least it used to. Some genius does something new and amazing, and then other non-geniuses break it down and teach it to the rest of us.

[@johndough8115]

You kind of got things backwards. There are a certain type of people, that have special differences in their brain functionality. An example of this, are people with Photographic memory. One such Autist was flew over NYC in a helicopter ONCE, and from that one time... he was able to draw the buildings and things that he remembered, with excellent accuracy. This exists in other ways... such as in physical interactions. Some people can watch someone do a certain dance... and then replicate it almost perfectly, without any training nor struggle. Ive also seen this in Artists, such as people whom paint pictures. They can do things so effortlessly, and produce photo-realistic results. That said... try to get them to create something completely original... and they often do not do a good job. One of the guys I met, and sparred with... had about 7 Different arts under his belt. Most of them, were Chinese combat arts. I brought a book I had gotten from ebay, that showed a few forms in it. The entire book was written in Chinese... but it also had pictures with arrow markings. That said, the pictures and marks, were very confusing.. and there was no way I was going to be able to figure any of that out. I bought it merely as a curiosity. I showed "Jeff" this book... and he began flipping though it, while making some general movements. In less than 7 min, he had learned the entire form, and performed it Flawlessly in front of me. Now... Jeff was a Masterclass level fighter. Complete flawless execution. He was one of the rare few that actually could spar heavy contact, and remain in perfect traditional form... rather than looking like a sloppy kickboxer. After realizing how skilled he was... I asked him to teach me. One day, he was showing me a wrist grapple escape method. I would attempt it... and it didnt seem to be working as well... and I asked him if I was doing it right... and he said no. I asked him what my mistakes were... and he couldnt seem to figure out what the problem was. He was able to recognize that it wasnt working properly... but lacked the level of awareness... of the in-depth details. He never had to Think about these movements before... as these things came to him in a sort of Subconscious (photographic-like) level. Now... Jeff was able to point out flaws in other artists performances... so its not that he couldnt learn how to spot issues, and learn all of the various details. Especially if he was just copying these details from the teachers teachings directly ...word for word. But was he innovative? I dont think Id go that far. Personally speaking, I was far more innovative... as Ive designed and built my own training devices from scratch, based on the attributes that I was seeking to maximize. I am a pretty slow learner, and it takes a LOT of hardcore work, for me to fully master something complex. That said... when I do learn... I am super conscious of all of the small details... to the point where I could describe them accurately enough to virtually get a blindfolded person to perform them well. Ive also been able to figure out missing details, that were never taught to me... where as the photographic level artists.. cant seem to easily figure out thing that they were not taught. I forgot to mention, that Jeff was also a fantastic break dancer, as well as Bongo player, and a high level Airbrush artist. Having such a photographic like level of subconscious data recognition makes such people able to learn and master things at an insane rate of speed. Hearing that Lee was equally talented as a Dancer, as well as Magic Tricks.. only helped to cement the theory, that Lee was in fact one of these Subconscious Memorization monkeys.

[@GeneBurnett]

@@johndough8115 Wow. Thanks for the great and thoughtful reply. I think we're talking about similar things but yeah, I think I used the wrong word when I said genius "innovator"...I think you're right about the integrators...the people who can break things down and make them understandable are actually more accurately "innovators"..and what I called "genius innovators" are more likely "genius visionaries" or "genius processors of information"...in any case their talent is mostly instinctive...a gift than they then either work to refine or don't do anything with...obviously Bruce was the former. Perhaps I think he was more creative than you do but either way we can agree he was gifted. But these crazily talented people often are not the best teachers. The best teachers are often their less gifted (but still plenty gifted) students. Teaching uses a different part of the brain than just doing the thing. Personally, one of the only things I'm talented at is teaching, especially basics. All the stuff I've done in the movement and music worlds, I was not talented at, but was very drawn to. My nervous system is inherently unstable and error-prone and I think I've been subconsciously and now consciously trying to steady it ever since I was a kid. I have learned to be much more graceful and coordinated through lots of practice..but it's all software installed by me...and as such it takes up "RAM" that a person more hard-wired to be coordinated doesn't need to use. So their brains are sometimes, not always, much more free to see the bigger picture. I had a friend with a very kinesthetically gifted kid. I taught him to throw a frisbee in 10 minutes before he could even talk and the frisbee was like a garbage can lid to him. He and his dad came up to the bandshell where I teach and the little guy was riding a bike with no training wheels at 3 years old. He rode around the band shell for 10 seconds, stopped, looked at his dad, pointed to edge of the shell, which was about an 8 inch drop and said, "I want to ride off that." My friend was used to him by then, so he said, "OK, but don't stop pedaling when you hit the ground. Keep right on going." And boom, just like that, the kid rode right off that ledge and hit the grass rolling and was fine. One day a year or so later, my wife and I ran into them, again with their bikes. My wife asked the little guy, "What tricks are you working on now?" He points to the crossbar and say, "I like to stand up there." My wife says "How do you do that?" He looked puzzled for a moment and said, "You just do it." I think he might have gone to college on a snowboarding scholarship. ;~) But I doubt if he's a very good teacher. I had to work very hard to learn what I've learned. Even after a couple of years my teacher told me that while my stuff had a ton of room for improvement, I was a better beginner's instructor than he was. He was one of those gifted guys who was a "dojo rat" as a kid. I'm only 2 years younger than he is but I started, with very little talent, at 27. I think because I had to break everything down and really understand it before I could let go into it even a little, and because of my natural talent at teaching, I was a better teacher for non-talented people than he was. But he had that movement genius beyond words so he was a much better teacher of really talented people. I can take a ton of people to the base camp, but if you want to go to the top, you've got to find another teacher. ;~)

[@johndough8115]

@@GeneBurnett I used to be weak, clumsy, uncoordinated. I was the kid that they picked last in Gym class. As I grew stronger, things started to change a bit. But the most radical change happened, when I took up Kung Fu, and trained it as a daily way of life. There are two factors to a person having bad coordination issues: 1) Lack of strength If your body is too weak, it lacks the muscle fibers to be able to have good control of your bodymass in action. These muscles not only have to overcome your own mass... but also, momentum effects. The weaker you are, the less control you will have... means that you will have poor performance 2) Awareness If your mind is even mildly over-clocked, such as having ADHD... its very easy for it to lose focus on things. Most critically, in your bodies positioning, weight distributions..etc. That said.. even many long term martial artists have poor body, and 3d spatial awareness levels. Its becomes easy to exploit such people.. by doing something like feinting high, and attacking low. Heck.. they can even get distracted by their own emotions... and lose almost all awareness of various things... such as their foot position and weight. There IS a way to change this... BUT... most people are too lazy to even attempt it... let alone, do it for the full 100 consecutive days... Recently, Scientists have discovered that people whom spend about 3 months doing a 1hr doing a silent meditation session... these peoples brains actually grew in density and connections (permanently). They uses an MRI machine, to scan each of their brains, before and after. While scientists have known about the massive lists of benefits that long term Meditation brings a person.. they didnt know one of the main reasons WHY, until that point. Meditation is NOT simply letting your mind wander. Its the opposite of that. You give your mind a task.. of silently counting each inhale and exhale, in "Seconds" (always count Up). This task keeps both your conscious, and your sub-conscious mind... completely busy. As a result.. it cant wander around randomly like a pack of wild puppies. It cant thing "Whats for Dinner", or "Remember my EX?". Meditation, is designed to DISCIPLINE your subconscious mind. When a child is Disobedient... you sit them in a chair facing a corner between the walls... and you make them sit in silence.. and be motionless... for a set period of time. If the child gets up, makes noises...etc.. you put them back in the chair, and or extend the time period in that chair. This may take many many attempts, before the child learned that he has to behave, or he will stay on that chair for a very long time. But even then... he will often try to repeat the same bad behavior the next day... to see if he can get away with it. SO, you have to keep repeating the same Discipline training... until his brain finally realizes, that he cant get away with that particular behavior. After a certain point, he will never attempt that again. Your brain works similar. Its used to roaming freely with random thoughts and emotions. They tend to distract you from what you are trying to learn, or do... When you do this silent meditation, and keep the subconscious mind fully under the conscious minds control... it eventually builds a much stronger level of communication between the two. It then starts to obey, and cooperate with your conscious mind.. much like an Obedient dog will sit up perfectly in place... waiting for your commands. Willing and ready to work FOR YOU... instead of AGAINST YOU. You need to realize, that this process takes at least 100 days of 1hr sessions, for the Magic to happen. If you miss a day... the brain thinks: "Ohh, I can still get away with crap sometimes... So, Im going to keep doing the same things!". At about the 3 month marker, your brain will have grown and changed. You will develop what is called "Quiet Mind", where your mind is almost, if not completely... Silent. This will improve the Quality of your life 1000 fold. It literally is the best thing you can do to make your life existence 1000x better.

[@Re-Destro]

This was great, so much gem!

[@itsgleneaton4883]

It’s not how much you know but it’s how effective you are in doing what you know. Take what is useful and disregard what is useless

[@davidmerlin6787]

To me it looks like Bruce loved teaching when he first arrived at Seattle.... He had a school with many students at the beginning and would spend hours talking and lecturing... He was discouraged about teaching because only a few people stuck around because they said that he talked to much.

[@jimmyjennings4089]

Man i knew it, Bruce was the man.

[@simonkwee]

Adam-sifu, I like your train of thought and content. You have a subscriber. 👍

[@Saludtotal48]

very true...don't need to know more stuff

[@danoesq2]

I know (and knew) two people that were very good friends with Bruce. One was his veterinarian when he lived in Oakland, who took care of his dog Bobo. He took classes with Bruce, and according to him, Bruce taught his students a lot of concepts of what he knew (not necessarily that much Wing Chun). This is a fact for sure.

[@johndough8115]

Bruce mainly taught Wing Chun in his schools. Thats what he learned. Thats what he had the most time and experience with. Since Lee lacked having the full knowledge of WC, and did not have Certification to teach WC under the WC name + Specific Lineage... Lee tried to hide all ties to WC. For example... Lee found out that Fencing shares many of the same principles that WC uses... SO... he claimed that what he was teaching... was based on Fencing. Its also a Fact, that the earlier students that Lee taught Chi Sao (sticky hands) drills to... were FAR superior the later students... in which Lee stopped using Chi Sao in his lessons. Lee clearly did not have anything that came even close to Chi Sao training, where the student learned to be able to "Listen" with their hands + respond accordingly. Often Lee made a lot of mistakes, thinking that many of WC's drills... were how the art actually operated in actual combat. While there are some cases where there is a direct usage... the fact is, that most of these drills were designed to develop a students coordination levels...as quickly and robustly as possible. Such as by creating a closed loop system in Chi Sao... which maximizes time spent in sensitivity drill... rather than a more realistic combat drill... which has to be started and stopped + reset, each and every time... causing a lot of wasted time in resetting everything. Btw - Jeet Kune Do translates to "The way of the intercepting fist". Thing is, fists do not intercept. Its the ARMS that intercept. (Fists just sounded cooler) Guess what WC's main principle is? Yup. Interception at the Bridging forearms. (and Leg to Leg Interceptions as well, which is taught much later in the art)

[@axelstone3131]

@@johndough8115 he never hid what he was teaching was wing chun.

[@axelstone3131]

@@johndough8115 pretty sure you’re spreading a lot of misinformation here. Never heard any of this stuff before and been a fan and researcher of Bruce’s for years .

[@johndough8115]

@@axelstone3131 Have you studied Wing Chun in depth? Have you studied JKD, Tai Chi, Longfist, and more? I have many more years of WC experience than Lee... as well as other arts knowledge that Lee himself never got to learn and experience... in depth. This gives me a very unique perspective about Lees life, his training, teaching, Chinese culture, and his martial abilities. For example... most people know the 1" punch that Lee demo'd. But did you know that Lee was basically doing an Explosive Push... rather than an actual strike? Lee knew the real deal, but only shared that with James Demile, and one other student... and he made them promise never to reveal the real deal. However, after Lees passing.. DeMile released a very small book on that very technology.. as he didnt think it was such a big deal, in the age of the Gun. This technology, is called "Fajin" (Fahh Jinn) It translates to "Explosive Power". Its the main secret, of all Chinese combat arts. If you want to see a small example of it.. search "Glen Levy fajing hammerfist" There are two vids, where Glen uses Fajin with a hammerfist strike, that drops two different fighter, instantly. Not pushing them backward. Actual Impacts, that are so painful, that the OPs drop instantly to the floor. The only person that likely would have taught Lee this high level technique, would have been Wong Jack Man (whom Lee LIED about beating). WJM was experienced in high level Chinese "Internal" arts. It was when Lee sparred Wong, that Wong mush have issued a limited power Fajing strike to Lee... and Lee realized instantly... how lacking he was in his depth. Lee was able to figure out Fajin, because Wing Chun teaches the main principles of it. The problem is.. that WC schools do not teach how to develop it to such a high level of output. This is why many WC players can only hit well from 12"... but are nearly useless at 2"... let alone 1". This level of knowledge, only comes from people whom have spent time in these high level arts, such as Tai Chi, Wing Chun...etc.. and whom have personally developed it to high level output. (I reached masterclass level Fajing... much higher than what you see Glen doing) You have to realize... that most of the material on Lee.. is from the perspectives of Low-Level artists at best. This is why you have guys like Chuck Norris thinking that he could have beat Lee is a real fight. Lee never fully revealed to Chuck, what he was actually capable of. And Chuck, had virtually no knowledge of the higher level arts at all... outside of what little Lee shared with him. Lee was a great inspiration to me... and vids about him, made me search for a Wing Chun school, as soon as I realized what he started out with. That said... Im not a total fanboy. Im a true Combat artists, with over 27yrs under my belt. To me, the truth is far more important, than Fanboyism, and relevant Egocentric retorts. The EGO can not save you, in a real life situation. A functional martial tech, fully mastered, and used in the proper way... can.

[@johndough8115]

@@axelstone3131 Thats not what I said. I said. Basically, he was TRYING to distance himself away from the name of Wing Chun. Why? Because he was trying to develop his own person Art. As such, having anything to do with WC, would only bring up a lot of Questions that he didnt want to have to answer. For example... he surely didnt want people to know that he was kicked out of Yipman's class. He also didnt want others to know... that he didnt actually even finish the 1st level of Wing Chun. Interestingly enough... when Lee was easily shut down by Wong Jack Man... Lee realized he was seriously lacking. Initially, he tried to blame WC for the issues. However, what a lot of people do not know... is that once Lee gained some fame and money from one of his films... he returned to Hong Kong, with BAGS OF MONEY... trying to "BUY" the rest of the art of WC from Yipman. When Yipman refused... Lee traveled to Australia, to meet up with William Cheung. Cheng was a certified WC instructor, under YipMans Lineage. Lee tried to bribe Cheung to teach him more... but even as good of friends he was with Lee... he didnt want to risk losing his reputation, and Lineage Status, with Yipman. Cheung managed to convince Yipman to a certain degree. Yipman told Cheung, that he could teach Lee more of the art.. BUT... that he was NOT allowed to Verbally describe any of it. This would give other WC practitioners the idea that Lee figured these things out for himself... and or, from some other lineage holder. Not from Yipman. Yipman knew that he would have upset a LOT of his other students and instructors, has he simply gave the art away, without Lee having to work for many years to earn it... as they did. Also, YM knew that without the descriptions... Lee likely would not be able to figure out the way the system worked. Just as expected... Cheung reported that Lee had major issues with what he was learning. He thought that many of the lessons were flawed, and made no logical sense. Lee, for example... was thinking that a drill that was designed mostly to develop dual hand coordination... was actually meant for combat application... (which it was not). AS such, and with very limited time to train with Cheung between films.. Lee never fully understood how WC fully operated. In fact, many of the things he was doing... were being done incorrectly. So, like I said... Lee was trying to Hide the roots of Wing Chun, by using other arts, such as Fencing... as a cover.

[@axelstone3131]

You answered my question! Thanks man :) but I didn’t say fook yeung got to much credit. I know others who say this though. I was just trying to figure out how long he learnt from him for.

[@powerplay4real174]

I remember the folks saying that back in the late1980's That Bruce only knew this or that much Wing Chun but used his image and the fact that he studied Wing Chun to get students.that admired his. But the fact is he knew so much more. May the Late Sifu Bruce Lee RIP as his memory is remembered.and respected by those he touched.

[@shooter7734]

Bruce came to America in 1959 No one even knew what kung fu was let alone individual styles be it Wing Chun or Choy Li Fut or Ming He Quan or any other style so the idea people were drawn to him for having trained in Wing Chun has zero merit According to Hawkins Cheung, one of Bruce Lee's best friends in Hong Kong and fellow Wing Chun student in the 1950s when he left he had only learned the first Wing Chun Form and about 1/3 of the second form. He asked Bruce Lee what he was going to do for work when he got to the U.S. and when Bruce responded he'd teach kung fu Hawkins responded he didn't have that much knowledge to pass on I'm 100% sure he would know better than you do about how much Bruce Lee knew of Wing Chun when he came to America

[@powerplay4real174]

@@shooter7734 Its obvious from old footage that he know much kung fu and several styles ,him and his pal James Yim Lee wrote books on iron palm training on *how to break a beicknin 100 days" Yip Man was not Bruce teacher of all he know before leaving Hong Kong Chowy.

[@shooter7734]

@@powerplay4real174 yes I've seen and own the footage as well as James Yim Lee's book which I've owned for 30 years. Most of the footage of Bruce Lee is him demonstrating as much non-kung fu knowledge as actual kung fu knowledge And I'm aware he learned more than just Wing Chun while in Hong Kong None of that has anything to do with him being sought after because of his skill in Wing Chun as Wing Chun wasn't popular until after he returned to Hong Kong and proceeded to become the biggest star in the world His movie stardom is what created the interest in Wing Chun in the 70s

[@powerplay4real174]

@@shooter7734 I said people beginn studying WC because of Bruce. Maybe you didn't clearly understand what I wrote or my word may have not been clear. But Wing Chun and Ip Man was vastly unknown of before Bruce out side of Hong Kong. Bruce put it on the map and it's obvious that Ip Man had a sense that Bruce was going places because of the photos they toke together and Wong was his actual Sifu the man with the talking hands. Bill Cheung claims to have taught Bruce also but out side if his word there is no record of if and he also claim Ip taught him thing he did even teach his sons and senior student.

[@powerplay4real174]

@@shooter7734 Wong Shin Leung taught Bruce many moves from all his knowledge. Plus Bruce has one Dragon Style Sifu he taught the Chi Chi dance as he was a championship winner and the Dragon Style instructor taught Bruce his Kung Fu and never learn the popular dance Bruce was so go at.

[@KarateDatu]

Great stuff.... Wise words.

[@michaelblack9458]

Applications are the most important part and subtleties in any art

[@ollaray1]

Wow. I am lost for words. Mehn. So much wisdom here.

[@vumsang9746]

Great story

[@j.tavarez38]

Bruce simply is, was n will be the door of all martial artist today. The fastest men then n now as well.

[@shooter7734]

Most people have gotten involved in martial arts in the last two decades because of the rise of MMA and their exposure to it on television or the internet Bruce Lee is not the door to all martial arts as you maintain

[@robblanks2141]

Totally agree with this testimony 🙏👏👍

[@HeiLong76]

Adam Sifu, thank you for sharing valuable information. Don’t you think that Master Wong Shun Leung does not get enough credit for his work? Can you share something about WSL sifu in the future, since you have spoken to the man himself? The man was a fighter who earned WC its respect in Hong Kong martial arts community. Also according to rumors could control or match Ip Man’ s gor sau. Look at his students like Wan Kam Leung, Phillip Bayer(man with only one hand), Bruce Lee etc. These are top notch people in Wing Chun legacy. Please can you share something about Master Wong?

[@sdna8658]

Y si pudiera ser con subtítulo en español...bueno,en general...me hago un lío tremendo con el inglés...🤣👍. Gran canal,muy bueno... Salud y alegría...

[@michaelreynolds6543]

I wouldnt consider "Master" Wong to be top notch people lol no disrespect to him but he is kinda looked upon as a bit of a clown

[@HeiLong76]

@@michaelreynolds6543 just in case you are confused. I didn’t mean Master Wong from KZbin channel, I meant master Wong Shun Leung teacher of many great Wing Chun exponents.

[@axelstone3131]

@@michaelreynolds6543 you got confused

[@groovalotfunk4147]

Legendary 👊

[@RAPINCITE]

4:18 if you practice sui nim Tao, you can improvise highly.

[@NMENDEZJKD]

Thank you. I so agree with you.

[@waddledee4993]

''Knowing more of a system doesn't make you a better fighter'' Very true. Which is why I don't agree with ''belt systems'' in many traditional martial arts.

[@jerrymontejo5502]

Máster Adam that's why i follow you My bless to you because Bruce Lee is My inspiration Jerry

[@jdjjdjd2667]

I like to C the Chinese Martial Arts community & fan base in China 🇨🇳 to acknowledge ALL of Bruce's views & studies. He DID NOT JUST KNOW Wing Chun ,..he also learned Kali , Jiu-jitsu , Boxing, American wrestling, Savate, Thai boxing & so many others! The Ip-Man movies scratch the surface, not the whole Platinum of his Journey as a martial artist while he was with us

[@pjtheory]

In the spirit of fairness and accuracy, Bruce Lee's martial arts evolution coincided with his willingness to share his fighting method. Bruce was only 18 years old when he formed his initial group (e.g., Glover, DeMile, Hart, Ellsworth, Garcia) of Seattle students. Despite his youth, his budding genius was on full display in the Seattle period for he modified his beloved Wing Chun in order to cope with the much larger human beings in the United States. The Bruce Lee of the Oakland period had matured to the point where he was more willing to share his ever evolving art and it appears that he shared EVERYTHING with James Yimm Lee. This included changing the Bai Jong stance, adding boxing punches and angular footwork, and incorporating fencing concepts (e.g., footwork, lead hand tools, 5 ways of attack) into his newly formed (e.g., Jeet Kune Do) art. Bruce later adapted facets of JKD to fit the strengths of his L.A. Chinatown students. For example, he focused on footwork (e.g., step and slide, full pendulum) with the small/quick Ted Wong whereas he taught the big/strong Bob Bremer techniques (e.g., Hammer Principle, lead leg obstruction) that would enhance his ability to crash the line.

[@nickhalsey6333]

First time I have heard reality. Most want to be immediately gratified by thinking what they heard instead of experiencing what it takes to be a fighter or anyone who is skilled at anything. But skill and real experience are two different things. It depends on what truly works for you at the moment and situation.

[@richardhenry1969]

The one thing that's beautiful about dying young and famous. Is the unanswered questions. Leaving at the top of your game. Regardless of everything all these years later Bruce is still taking up space in people's heads, for good or bad. I personally find his accomplishments something to strive for. I still take JKD now, but my number 1 love is escrima,kali. I love the bladed arts

[@tuma420wc8]

When the leaf seeks the roots,it gives a reknewed foundation of being.

[@haskersewell5386]

THINKYOU MASTER

[@jdjjdjd2667]

I didn't think Bruce Lee had MASTERED The Entire Wing Chun System, but, what I always believed he had what I called "martial perception" an insightful view of martial expression being free of what U are taught & trained to act or apply

[@houseofkungfu2543]

You never fully master any system. But you can master the art of FIGHTING and YOU as a fighter. Thats the point

[@davidwood2387]

It’s like a finger , pointing at the moon. If you just look at the finger , you will miss all that heavenly glory. From the movie .

[@ThomasMarxJKD]

Less is more. That's literally the philosophy of Bruce's late stuff...

[@Gieszkanne]

Yes he once say that he dont fear the man with 1000 techniques but the man that practice one technique 1000 times.

[@ThomasMarxJKD]

@@Gieszkanne that's absolutely true, and tells a lot about his training philosophy.

[@benconforzi5696]

This just goes to show that there are no great martial arts just great martial artist. And it doesn't matter how you fight, all that matters is that you win the fight.

[@nightdays6965]

Can I ask who was your internal wing chun teacher

[@Saludtotal48]

Its not only attribute, Bruce just worked hard more than any,

[@KateJohn2013England]

Thanks for the videos. Can't quite make out the name of the instructor who taught Bruce in Seattle. Can anyone tell me please. Take care. Stay safe.

[@axelstone3131]

Fook Yeung

[@palnagok1720]

Fook Yeung a daoist , who taught Bruce a lotta stuff from the red boat opera which had many martial artists who would share and compare technique. Fook Yeung was a gongfu brother to Bruce's dad. He taught Bruce Jeet kune but not Jeet shen , the next step up.

[@xdxdavdav446]

yes. doesn't matter how little you know so long as you are the last man standing

[@illiJomusic]

What i really appreciate about Adam is presented in the forward of Thomas Cleary's translation of the I Ching written by Liu yi ming (spelling) " be gregarious but non partisan". Adam isn't fixed to anything. He gets that the Dao that can be named isn't the eternal Dao.

[@AjaychinuShah]

He wanted to convert to fanatic of MAP. And spent many years has an Artist and Calligrapher preparing for that very aim or goal.

[@philc.8606]

I know you prefer not to talk too much about Jesse and NCGF to respect his wishes, but is it possible to describe some of your experiences learning from him, specifically his unique sensitivity honed from Judo and Wing Chun?

[@WingChunGungFu]

I was wondering why Adam acted weird when I asked him about it.

[@axelstone3131]

@@WingChunGungFu who knows

[@axelstone3131]

This was very informative about Bruce. Adam, thank you for answering my question. Could you explain what’s the differences between JKD and wing chun and also is red boat wing chun different to ip man wing chun?

[@raygsbrelcik5578]

So, who's "Bruce Adam?"

[@9usuck0]

I can answer that, red boat is different. Small difference between movements and footwork.

[@raygsbrelcik5578]

Some people STILL fail to comprehend the True philosophy, and meaning of JKD. It was never meant to be just another Style, or, "Way." In fact, the entire concept encompasses "NO WAY." In other words---JKD is a "Discovery of Self." Bruce was trying to teach martial artists the way to break free of the, "Classical mess," as he put it. I understood it immediately as I studied his book on the subject. I simply took what felt right to ME. I used what seemed to work for ME. That, my friends, is part of what Lee meant by, "Be like Water, my friends.." He didn't just mean---Flow smoothly, and relaxed, taking what your opponent is exposing; No, he also meant, be OPEN to movements that give you advantage...Movements that offer quicker "Engagement," and movement that provide Optimum power, etc. This is where MY journey took me.

[@axelstone3131]

@@raygsbrelcik5578 smh.don’t be a smart ass.

[@axelstone3131]

@@9usuck0 can you elaborate a bit more on that?

[@stevenedmund5680]

Great video , topics ....and most of all ....calling martial artists on their bullshit.

[@jdjjdjd2667]

Bruce came back to Master Won Leung in Hong Kong, he demonstrated moves never seen in Wing Chun 🏫 s before! Lessons he received & traded for from other martial artists like Dan Insanato was lessons replaced the Wing Chun tutelage he would received if he was still in Hung Kong

[@Carlparishhonda]

Bruce Lee could watch a person walk and know exactly how that person fight.

[@TigerGrey]

Exactly. BL was the best at looking at an opponent's weakness and attaack there.

[@DominicKnightTv]

Knowing more stuff doesn't make you a better fighter 100%!

[@friscocisco7155]

I knew a few people that grew up with Bruce lee and where also students of yip man and they said they went with Bruce,Wong and others to watch some weapons sparing and there where many different styles lots of the Chinese styles and kendo but the Italian guy with his fencing easily touched everybody and they had a hard time touching him.that’s when Chris Chan and Bruce lee became extreamly interested in western fencing so Bruce lee did study weapons maybe not formally but him and Chris did explore the topic.the western saber is very much the same idea as Filipino largo so that makes sense on Dan sifu would recognize it as such

[@filipjakimovski7757]

What's the name of the other Wing Chun teacher that taught Bruce but not Ip man , the other?

[@jerimiahsmedley3722]

I can say for sure this is a quote from Bruce Lee “ I’m not going to teach you how to kick my ass, baby.”

[@CarlosMendoza-mb3di]

I remember joining a Wing Chun school in Richmond Virginia and they had a picture of Bruce Lee in the 🪟 and was bashing him on the inside . I thought to myself how counterproductive was that . But getting back to the meditation , wouldn't the slow game be be considered a form of meditation ?

[@zhihonghuang5203]

As they say, "I taught him everything he knows - but not everything I know"!🤣

[@genebrohan2401]

Any of bruces schools were only opened so that bruce could have training partners he never gave belts or rank because he never taught he trained. he was busy training to keep up with the hong kong wing chn guys but they got better with time as well.

[@shooter7734]

He didn't give belts or ranks because at the time that was exclusively a Japanese based martial arts practice not Chinese

[@kbreeze6969]

Thanks Sifu, well… Bruce comes around on this planet not too often. Unique people don’t visit Earth too often…. That my friends was…….., Bruce Lee!

[@nobodyisprfct]

thanks for explaining the meditation more. i need to look through your video's to learn more. I find lots of value in meditation but do not know how to do it properly. Thanks also for the additional history of Bruce Lee from those with first hand experience. Side note when i want to feel inspired in life or inspired to live life. i go to 4 options 1. certain family and friends, 2. religious literature, 3. Your youtube videos, a guy name 2toes on youtube, and a Athlene x guy. 4. Camping alone . Not in any particular order. most often i find my self motivated through youtube to into action. very grateful for your willingness to share. My question and you have probably answered this question before in other videos if so can you provide me a link? Why do you do these videos ? I mean what is your motivation behind this other than possibly gaining students? Its not often you see people to do such things as you do with no other reasons than they care. At least it seems to be the case in the videos. I hold your words, knowledge, and training videos to a high standard that to me no other martial art video or fighting video can compare. Thanks again.

[@9usuck0]

Yeah, I know couple of Jesse's students and they are beasts. They say they couldn't touch Jesse and Jesse couldn't touch Bruce. Whhioo! I'm no professional fighter but they made me into a believer. Lol

[@rifaeerasheedh5166]

I have a question. Was the real IP man as good as he was portrayed in the movie? Or he never lived upto our expectations?

[@shogunshogun]

9:33 - “Knowing more stuff doesn’t make you a better fighter.”

[@grandwonder5858]

Just look at Cus D'Amato and Mike Tyson, anybody that thinks Cus D'Amato didn't know anything about boxing because he never fought professionally is delusional! And while Mike Tyson is a hall-of-fame boxing champion I seriously doubt he knows more about boxing than Cus D'Amato. That is what a lot of keyboard warriors failed to realize -- just because Bruce Lee didn't fight professionally doesn't mean he wasn't a great martial artist nor does it make his martial art skills worthless. In addition, just because a fighter from one martial art style loses to another fighter from a different martial art style doesn't make his martial art any less great or useful. To be a great fighter it takes more than just skills and styles, it also takes the natural talent and ability of each individual fighter himself.

[@kungfuhavok2]

Thank you brother I am tied of people sleeping and punking on Bruce Man. Thanks for being more like me. I don't bring him up because of people trying to compare him to Frank Dux. Long story. but thanks for ths video.

[@albert20001000]

That Sparring Match You Speak Of Finally Came Out In Bruce Lee's Wrath Of The Dragon! Bruce Lee vs Wong Shun-Leung! I Always Wanted To Read More About That & Now The Real Fans Can In John Little's New Book! Wrath Of The Dragon Bruce Lee By John Little!

[@paullau3285]

From my understanding Bruce did not teach everyone the same as he wanted people to do more self discovery that's why he didn't teach too much of his own personal art. He said that martials arts meant the art of truly expressing yourself. That's why his Jeet Kune Do is not the same as Dan Innosanto or anyone else.

[@albertbryant9996]

Adam I hope to talk with you & train together one day a fello Martial Artist! I'm A Student of The Late Sifu James DeMile Wing Chun Do & Sifu Richard Bustillo JKD & Dan Inosanto Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do.

[@Spectre2434]

Chen Hak Fu was in the using 10% category from what one of his students said.

[@raygsbrelcik5578]

I ALSO believe in achieving the very SAME 'body type' as Bruce, which I am VERY thankful to say...I HAVE!! And it's Marvelous to be able to do the things I can do. But GOD Knows...I am just...a man.

[@albert20001000]

How Can I Contact You Adam? I Need To Speak With You About Wing Chun Do You Have A School Or A Phone Number You Can Be Reached? Thanks!

[@Diabolical-Divinity]

Reading the comments: It does not matter. It's all gone, it"s done and it was an age ago. Take what you want from it. All that's really left is an idea, to be better. Better than yesterday, to go as high as spoilt asses are able. To Understand fully what we are able to and realize what we don't know and push to overcome. Your mind is yours alone. Probably should not have commented but this is toxic and it has been a strange day.

[@bowlineobama]

Thanks for defending Bruce Lee's legacy.

[@djoneforever]

No time, gotta make movies 🤣

[@9usuck0]

This was a lot of information I thought no one wanted to talk about. Lol You going to get lectured? Lol

[@DN-zz1ii]

Red boat wing chun seems to be a mythological creature same as the southern shaolin temple...

[@stephenboyes5189]

Bruce Lee was a genius its that simple.

[@chrischeung6463]

For competition wise, no one wants to share the secrets

[@travels129]

I think bruce said I can't teach u but only help you ???

[@johndough8115]

Knowledge is very Different from MASTERY (Masterclass level output).

[@Kelinbrooks81]

🙏🐉

[@CBHDK59]

I believe it was Jesse who said Bruce was holding back instructions or techniques. i think Jesse checked other schools and realized Bruce wasn't teaching what they witnessed. it been said Bruce didn't know the whole wing chun styles and so perhaps he didn't ? also possible Jesse only understood wing chun techniques but not yet knows how the mechanism of wing chun works nor how to add techniques ?

[@willms7173]

Jesse Glover, was Lee's first American student. He knew that at least some of Lee's latter students, was not taught some of the things that he was exposed to.

[@gunnerhiro394]

What u say makes a lot of sense - to paraphrase Bruce Lee I'd be more afraid of a guy that practiced 10 techniques (and has pressure tested it) - rather than a guy who knows 1000 techniques but can't use it effectively.

[@tonytomahawk5160]

These questions seem more intent on slander of skills than comprehension of skills.

[@zibtihaj3213]

Ali even said - I don’t really know much about boxing , I only know how I fight . Ali did not really have a good hook ( was servicable like Eddie Futch said ). Could not fight on the inside and did not go to the body . So Ali oniy did few things and yet he beat everyone