Bruce Thomas

When he was only 17, Bruce Lee wrote in his diary … After 4 years hard training in kung fu, I began to understand the principle of gentleness — the art of neutralizing the opponent’s effort with the minimum of one’s own energy — which must be done in calmness, without striving.  It sounds simple, but the actual application was difficult.  The moment I engaged in combat, after exchanging a series of blows or kicks, all theory of gentleness was gone.  My only thought was that, somehow or another, I must beat him and win.  My instructor, Professor Yip Man, would say, ‘Loong, [Bruce’s Chinese nickname] preserve yourself by following the natural bend of things, and don’t interfere.  Never assert yourself against nature.  Never be in frontal opposition to any problem but control it by swinging with it.’

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