I love Bruce Lee. I love him for many reasons. I love his films and the impact they have on other martial arts industry. I love that he was one of the first mixed martial arts fighters (MMA) learning and mixing styles something that I am aspiring to do (with Savate and grappling). Mostly though I love his philosophy. I love this his quote below on not using a specific fighting form but emptying your mind and 'becoming water' that was taken from his dialogue in the short lived TV series Longstreet.
'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. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.'
However, I wish to extend this quote....with the idea of surface tension and the compressibility of water.
'If he hits you can absorb the force (of the punch with your entire body) like water. Hit back with the intense force of water. You fists can become as strong as the water below a bridge that a man crashes into when jumping. The water can be soft or it can be hard. Be water my friend.'
You can practice this with a bag made of water like the Title Liquishock. This bag is harder to train with because the water compresses and the force flows out of from the impact but still maintains tensile strength not to absorb all your punch.
