Jeet Kune Do Concepts vs. Original vs. Oakland vs. Chinatown (Part 8)

Tuesday morning message

March 29, 2016

“The second-hand artist blindly following his Sensei or Sifu accepts his pattern. As a result, his action, and more importantly his thinking, becomes mechanical. His responses become automatic, according to set patterns, making him narrow and limited.”  – Bruce Lee, founder of Jeet Kune Do

“I am not teaching you anything. I just help you to explore yourself.” – Bruce Lee, founder of Jeet Kune Do

Dear Academy friend,

Now we’re going to start talking about some of the things Bruce Lee himself said about his art.

It’s a well-known fact that in the beginning he did refer to his “new” art as a “style”. For example, in a letter to Wing Chun colleague William Cheung he said, “I’ve named my style Jeet Kune Do-reason for my not sticking to Wing Chun [is] because I sincerely feel that this style has more to offer regarding efficiency.”

There’s also the famous sign that hung in his schools which read (in part), “the truth in combat is different for every individual in this style”…

But it is also known that towards the end Bruce Lee had completely given up on the notion of “this style vs. that style”. He said, “Jeet Kune Do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and since Jeet Kune Do has no style, it can fit in with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do utilizes all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any techniques which serve its end.”

Let’s see how that works in a physical application. Let’s take the idea of power side forward. If you’re right-handed like Bruce Lee, then that means putting your right side forward. But that doesn’t mean that everyone must put their right sides forward. What if you’re left-handed? Obviously your power side would be left, right?

So what’s with all the original JKD people who stress “right side forward”? Did they forget that left-handers make up 10% of the population?

To push this point further, can’t you decide to train both left and right sides, so that you have a power side in any lead? Granted if you’re a natural righty, your right power side might be faster and/or stronger than your left, but you’d still have a heck of a power left side, if you trained it.

And couldn’t it give you a mean advantage?

One way to develop ambidexterity is to train the double sticks in Filipino Kali. It’s an excellent way to improve the “weaker” side coordination, speed, maybe even strength of a natural right or left hander.

Hey, maybe that’s why, with the exception of a few seconds of “witik-stick” in Game Of Death, Sijo Bruce showed his onscreen skill using weapons which required two-handed dexterity: long staff, nunchaku and double stick.

Obviously I’m kidding about that. But I seriously think that anyone interested in ambidexterity should look at double sticks.

But I’m not kidding when I say that having the freedom to go beyond any limitation (like right lead only) is a vehicle towards two of the ultimate goals, understanding and enlightenment.

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW for TeamUMAA
www.unifiedmartialart.com
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 877-6143

P.S.  Next time more on what Sijo Bruce Lee had to say about his art of JKD.

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.

Comments? Leave them below. Let me know what you’re thinking.

UMAA is now on the Facebook! Click here and like the UMAA Facebook page and click here to join the Miami Jeet Kune Do group.

If this message was forwarded to you and you’d like to start getting this in your Inbox, just sign up on my home page at http://www.unifiedmartialart.com

Media, bloggers, marketers, editors, publishers, Web masters — need powerful content on your Web site or blog? You can syndicate or republish any of the articles you’ve read in Morning Messages or Empower Me Online — for free! Republishing my articles is quick and easy. All you have to do is include author attribution (byline/name of author) and the following statement, “This article appears courtesy of Dwight Woods’ Empower Me Online”, and include a back-link to http://www.unifiedmartialart.com. That’s it!

©2016 Unified Martial Art Academy
8015 SW 40^th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
305 877-6143

Getting Things Done-Plan For Chaos

Monday morning message

January 25, 2016

“Unfortunately, there seems to be far more opportunity out there than ability…. We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.” ― Thomas A. Edison

“Chaos is what we’ve lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. It is feared by the dominant archetype of our world, which is Ego, which clenches because its existence is defined in terms of control.” ― Terence McKenna

Dear Academy friend,

We’re continuing our series on Getting Things Done. Today I’ll introduce you to a concept that took me a little time to wrap my head around because it seemed so wacky at first.

Plan for chaos! That is, expect things to go wrong and plan ahead for it.

Hopefully, we’re all working from some kind of to-do list.

We all know that no matter how well prepared we are, things will always go wrong. So, since that’s a reality, let’s not ignore it. Instead let’s embrace it and plan/act accordingly.

If you’re an employee, perhaps you’ve noticed that chaos raises its head on certain days or perhaps at certain times during the day.

If possible, have a pre-planned section of time that’s devoted to handling the chaos that will occur.

If you’re self-employed, do the same thing. You may have more flexibility with your schedule if you don’t have a boss (other than yourself) to whom you report.

To go back to that to-do list thing.

When I first started my adventures in time management I ended up with a list containing “A tasks, B tasks, C tasks and D tasks”. As you can imagine the A tasks were the highest priority decreasing in importance down to the D tasks which were even sometimes “D for DELEGATE tasks”.

Well it was a fancy system but in all honesty, it didn’t help. I felt like I was doing something to organize myself but I wasn’t necessarily crossing items of the list.

I was busy but not necessarily productive.

And then I heard Dan Kennedy say, “If it’s not an A task, why is it on your list in the first place?”

So what we want to do is identify the things that will get us ahead and put only those on your list. That way, you don’t put too much on your plate in the first place.

And so, in the time that you have allotted for chaos, you can choose to attack the less important stuff or do nothing at all.

I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t know when chaos will happen so how can I assign a particular time block for it?”

Don’t confuse chaos with emergency! Emergencies you have to deal with straightaway. Chaos you can deal with during the period you’ve assigned for it.

Now for the magic of it all. Guess what happens to the people who plan for chaos? Over time, they discover that it occurs less and less.

It’s almost as if because you decided to attack it, you ended up defeating it. I guess it’s like they say: the best defence is a good offence.

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW for TeamUMAA
www.unifiedmartialart.com
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 877-6143

P.S. Next Monday I’ll give you the recipe and formula for everyday productivity.

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.

Comments? Leave them below. Let me know what you’re thinking.

UMAA is now on the Facebook! Click here and like the UMAA Facebook page and click here to join the Miami Jeet Kune Do group.

If this message was forwarded to you and you’d like to start getting this in your Inbox, just sign up on my home page at http://www.unifiedmartialart.com

Media, bloggers, marketers, editors, publishers, Web masters — need powerful content on your Web site or blog? You can syndicate or republish any of the articles you’ve read in Morning Messages or Empower Me Online — for free! Republishing my articles is quick and easy. All you have to do is include author attribution (byline/name of author) and the following statement, “This article appears courtesy of Dwight Woods’ Empower Me Online”, and include a back-link to http://www.unifiedmartialart.com. That’s it!

©2016 Unified Martial Art Academy
8015 SW 40^th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
305 877-6143

Getting Things Done – Triggers

Monday morning message

January 11, 2016

“Those who say life is knocking them down and giving them a tough time are usually the first to beat themselves up. Be on your own side.” ― Rasheed Ogunlaru

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” – Wayne Dyer

Dear Academy friend,

The first time I came across the concept of using triggers was when I read Joe Sugarman’s phenomenal book of the same name.

Anyone who’s in sales and marketing and hasn’t read this book is making a huge error. Same thing with Cialdini’s classic Influence.

These books are all about “controlling” (for lack of a different expression) the mind of your prospective client. It sounds nefarious but it is not at all.

You see the thing is that when people come to you for help, i.e. your clients, customers, students, etc., they sometimes still need to be persuaded to do business with you.

(It’s a different situation when it’s an emergency and they’re your patients. Pretty much then there’s no persuasion necessary.)

But this morning I’m not talking to you about influencing others… instead I’m talking to you about influencing yourself!

What if we learned to use triggers to get us into gear to do what we know we must?

Like working out in the morning. I know people who put their workout gear in a spot in their bedrooms where upon waking it’s the first thing they see. Triggers their minds into workout mode.

Then there’re those who put their workout gear in the car where they’ll see it when they’re leaving work in the evening. Reminds them to head to the gym instead of going home.

If these people didn’t take the time to prepare (plan) the day before and actually get their workout clothes/equipment ready for the next day, they could be opening themselves up to the self-sabotage of failing to do what they’re supposed to be committed to doing. Get it?

‘Cause this self-sabotage monster is a thing all of us need to watch out for.

So if you’re having trouble getting yourself started or if you’re having trouble keeping yourself going, perhaps a simple thing like putting triggers in place might help.

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW for TeamUMAA
www.unifiedmartialart.com
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 877-6143

P.S. Imagine if your computer booted up to a page on which today’s project(s) were listed. Might that help to get things done instead of if you turned on the computer and pulled up email or went on Facebook?

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.

Comments? Leave them here on the Academy blog: https://sifudw.wordpress.com. Let me know what you’re thinking.

UMAA is now on the Facebook! Click here and like the UMAA Facebook page and click here to join the Miami Jeet Kune Do group.

If this message was forwarded to you and you’d like to start getting this in your Inbox, just sign up on my home page at http://www.unifiedmartialart.com

Media, bloggers, marketers, editors, publishers, Web masters — need powerful content on your Web site or blog? You can syndicate or republish any of the articles you’ve read in Morning Messages or Empower Me Online — for free! Republishing my articles is quick and easy. All you have to do is include author attribution (byline/name of author) and the following statement, “This article appears courtesy of Dwight Woods’ Empower Me Online”, and include a back-link to http://www.unifiedmartialart.com. That’s it!

©2016 Unified Martial Art Academy
8015 SW 40^th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
305 877-6143

Two Real Revolutionaries (Part 3)

Monday morning email

Two Real Revolutionaries (Part 3)

“In every passionate pursuit, the pursuit counts more than the object pursued.”– Bruce Lee, the Tao of Jeet Kune Do

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts; put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!” – Bob Marley

July 7, 2008

Dear JKD friend,

Today it’s back to work for most of us after the long Independence Day weekend. I hope you had a great time and I hope you had a chance to reflect on just what it means to be independent.

So since it’s back to business as usual, it’s highly appropriate to finish up our discussion on Bruce Lee and Bob Marley with a look at their approaches to business.

Rita Marley has been quoted as saying that when it came to the business of music, Bob was the quintessential task master.

For example, he hated it if anyone was late for rehearsals. To him that meant that you weren’t serious about your profession as a musician.

I believe this is what may have led to tension between him and other members of the Wailers.

“If three ah we sing de record and den you cyan go work wid it, then you ah waste my time and you nah defend nuhting” was Bob’s way of saying that it wasn’t enough to just make a record, you also had to do the necessary work to make it a success.

To anyone who’s read any of my stuff, you know that “doing the work” is a reoccurring theme in everything I write.

Way too may people give up on their dreams the second they discover that success requires work.

Whether it be music or martial art. A lot of people come to the Academy with an intention of losing weight, getting in shape and learning self-defence. But when they discover that we take these things very seriously, and that we intend to help them achieve their goals, they relapse to their default setting of making excuses about the costs or the schedule or whatever.

They’re just afraid of doing the work.

Bruce Lee was not afraid. He trained everyday. Everyday! Even while driving in the car, he was punching the little hand pad he’d had made for just that purpose.

When I first heard that Sijo Bruce had told my teacher Dan Inosanto to close the Chinatown school and take only the most dedicated students to his backyard, I thought it was a high-minded idealistic thing.

Only years later did I find out that it was primarily a financial decision. The Chinatown school wasn’t making any money and Bruce Lee did not want to continue an unsuccessful commercial endeavour!

When he targeted a market, Bruce Lee quite astutely went after people for whom he knew price was not an obstacle. He knew they could afford his prices.

By the time of their passing, both Bob Marley and Bruce Lee had started to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Bob with his new BMW (which he said stood for “Bob Marley & the Wailers) and Bruce with his Rolls Royce.

Neither of them would have achieved success without paying attention to what needed to be done and neither will any of us, in any sphere of human endeavour.

Have a great week.

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW
305 877-6143

P.S. This Saturday afternoon I’ll be making 3 to 5 minute calls to Academy members at random to interview and record feedback on their Academy experience. If you’d like to ensure that I call you, please mention it to me next time you’re in class.

 

Two Real Revolutionaries (Part 2)

Wednesday morning email

Two Real Revolutionaries (Part 2)

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. – Helen Keller, 1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author and Lecturer

July 2^nd, 2008

Dear JKD friend,

So we already talked on Monday about the resilience of both Bob Marley and Bruce Lee at the start of their careers when things were not looking so rosy for them.

I call it the start of their careers but in truth, in both cases, they had already created an immense body of work before achieving worldwide commercial success.

Bruce Lee as a child had acted in more than a dozen films and Bob Marley had started writing songs at age 15 and made his first recording by age 17.

So neither was an “overnight success”. Both had had a vision of themselves and had done the work necessary to make that vision, that dream, a reality.

If we look at the impact they both have had on the world we see again a similar intention of familiarising people with an indigenous art form.

Some of you may recall that Bruce Lee got himself into trouble for daring to teach the art of Gung Fu to non-Chinese. Bruce’s theory was that they, the Chinese, were too secretive and perhaps that was why Americans didn’t trust them.

In his opinion, they should instead be more open and let foreigners get to appreciate the glorious Chinese culture.

In a similar way Bob Marley had a burning desire to bring attention to his homeland Jamaica and chose music as his “weapon”, so to speak.

As they developed their craft, both Bruce Lee and Bob Marley become more militant, shall we say, in their approach to their craft.

Bruce Lee wrote in an article that he “no longer believed in style” and instead he viewed his Jeet Kune Do as an expression of truth in martial art training.

Bob Marley, after converting to Rastafarianism, also chose to abandon “love songs” and “started singing about the truth” to quote his friend Jah Lloyd.

And just like Bruce Lee wanted to deal with reality, Bob Marley wanted to play music that also dealt with reality.

So in both instances, you’ll find certain principles running through the core of their philosophies:

• A “oneness” of people
• Searching for the truth
• Facing and dealing with reality

Let’s finish this up on Friday.

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW
305 877-6143

P.S. Remember that UMAA will be closed on Friday and Saturday for the Independence Day weekend.

 

Bruce Lee Exposed! (Part 3 of 3)

Friday morning message

November 27, 2015

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey

“The last thing, and the only one that you cannot physically train for, is the psychological preparation.” – Philippe Perrin

Dear JKD friend,

Had he lived on physically, today would have been Bruce Lee’s 75^th birthday. In the hearts of many he does live on and today we say, “Happy Birthday, Sijo Bruce!”

In my two previous essays I’ve shown my interpretation of Bruce Lee as an entrepreneur. Amongst my reasons for doing so is a desire to illustrate Bruce Lee as an inspiration for more than just physical martial arts excellence.

When it comes to the “business” of Jeet Kune Do, I wonder how much of his approach was intentional and how much, if any, was serendipitous.

For example, did Bruce Lee know that writing a book was one of the vehicles to be used to establish authority? Could be, since the publication of Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defence occurred very early in his career, its photo sequences being shot in the parking lot of Ruby Chow’s restaurant.

Also, it’s reported that Bruce Lee met his future wife Linda Emery while he was lecturing at Garfield High School. Did Bruce Lee know that public speaking was another vehicle leading to authority?

And he certainly did a lot of “preparation” to present a high degree of competence to the public.

His personal library consisted of over 2,000 books with titles on one shelf ranging from The Essentials of Zen Buddhism, The I-Ching and The Koran Interpreted to another shelf with The Waste Makers, The Age of Analysis and On Aggression.

There was another shelf on which was (Napoleon Hill’s) Think And Grow Rich, (2 copies of) The Master Key To Riches, (J. Paul Getty’s) How To Be Rich as well as (Norman Vincent Peale’s) The Guide To Confident Living and The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking.

And still yet another shelf on which sat sales classics like The Knack of Selling Yourself, 1000 Ways A Salesman Can Increase His Sales, The Power of Creative Selling, How To Talk Your Way To Sales, Big League Salesmanship and The Treasury of Surefire Selling Tips.

This third shelf I think it’s safe to say was definite preparation for learning how to “sell”.

Finally, there’s the aspect of unique positioning through the use of frameworks and proprietary language.

According to internet marketer Brendon Burchard, frameworks, (I believe he got the term from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) are the “organizational building blocks” for the material you teach. Add to that the use of a “new” and proprietary language and you have a new school of learning.

Since I wasn’t in Seattle, Oakland or Los Angeles in the early to mid 1960s, I can’t say for sure, but I do know that in my personal experience before Bruce Lee, I’d never heard anyone break down martial art training using terms like “the Five Ways of Attack” or the “Four Ranges of Combat”.

All of the training I’d done and all of the approaches I’d seen consisted of learning specific techniques, perhaps first singly then in combination and finally in longer sequences as katas or forms.

After those training methods we went right into free-sparring. There was no bridge connecting the two to illustrate the practical application. There was no explanation or discussion of the principle behind the techniques. I didn’t experience that until I joined the ranks of JKD training under Sifu Dan Inosanto in 1983.

And though it would take more than 10 years before I came to a fuller appreciation of his (Inosanto’s) and Bruce Lee’s genius, I can now say that Jeet Kune Do has always had everything needed to be a “total development package” containing the physical, mental and professional teachings needed for today’s martial arts entrepreneur, all spearheaded by Bruce Lee!

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW
www.unifiedmartialart.com
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 877-6143

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.

Comments? Leave them here on the Academy blog: https://sifudw.wordpress.com. Let me know what you’re thinking.

UMAA is now on the Facebook! Click here and like the UMAA Facebook page. While there, search for Miami Jeet Kune Do and join the group.

If this message was forwarded to you and you’d like to start getting this in your Inbox, just sign up on my home page at http://www.unifiedmartialart.com

Media, bloggers, marketers, editors, publishers, Web masters — need powerful content on your Web site or blog? You can syndicate or republish any of the articles you’ve read in Morning Messages or Empower Me Online — for free! Republishing my articles is quick and easy. All you have to do is include author attribution (byline/name of author) and the following statement, “This article appears courtesy of Dwight Woods’ Empower Me Online”, and include a back-link to http://www.unifiedmartialart.com. That’s it!

©2015 Unified Martial Art Miami
c/o 8015 SW 40^th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
305 877-6143

Bruce Lee Exposed! (Second in a series)

Monday morning message

November 23, 2015

“Relationship is understanding. It is a process of self-revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself — to be is to be related.”

“Bring the mind into sharp focus and make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere. The mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought processes and even ordinary thought itself.” ― Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do

Dear JKD friend,

In the first part of this series I introduced the idea of Bruce Lee being an entrepreneur since like many successful business people, he had read, studied and implemented the teachings of Napoleon Hill in his classic, Think and Grow Rich.

Let’s take it a step further today.

There’s a thing called the Authority Pyramid. Picture it. At the bottom is the Generalist. Next step up is the Specialist. Above that is the Celebrity and finally, at the very top, is the Celebrity Specialist.

Look at it this way. Your regular doctor is the generalist who refers you to the specialist. Oprah Winfrey is the celebrity whose word is trusted by her followers. Since she sings the praises of Mehmet Oz , he becomes celebrity specialist. Get it?

I probably don’t need to illustrate it further for you to realise that Bruce Lee certainly made it to the top step of the Authority Pyramid as a celebrity specialist. I may be wrong, but I believe it was after the cancellation of The Green Hornet, Sijo Bruce commanded private lesson fees of $275 per hour, $1000 for a ten-session course and $1000 per week plus expenses for overseas instruction.

To my understanding, these fees were for the “Hollywood insiders” who could afford that rate of tuition. In today’s business parlance, that would be called “marketing to the affluent”, a very smart approach!

But even before that, (again to the best of my understanding), Bruce Lee already used nothing but top-notch materials in the running of the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute branches where “regular” people paid regular fees for membership and instruction.

There were membership cards with detailed information including membership number, rank, duration of membership, etc. There were two-sided business cards with referral information on the reverse side. On most of these pieces Bruce Lee was shown as “President”.

And then there was his personal stationery with writing paper, envelopes, and business cards all printed with the Jeet Kune Do logo; even little membership pins. According to Dan Inosanto, “he (Bruce Lee) always went first class. All his printed matter was on colourful and expensive paper.”

Even by modern-day standards these are all top-of-the-line approaches.

Finally, let’s consider another fundamental business concept: message to market to media match. For a time Bruce Lee thought about establishing a chain of Kung Fu schools but ultimately decided on film as his primary medium. This proved to be the way to get his message over to as many people as possible with one “product” and an evergreen product at that, so that today we still have Bruce Lee’s movies influencing new generations.

And on and on it goes. Even now, fully 40 plus years after his passing and approaching what would’ve been his 75^th birthday, we have prime examples of Bruce Lee exposed as a top-notch entrepreneur.

(End of Part 2)

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW for JKDRebel Enterprises, Inc.
www.unifiedmartialart.com
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 877-6143

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.

Comments? Leave them here on the Academy blog: https://sifudw.wordpress.com. Let me know what you’re thinking.

UMAM is now on the Facebook! Click here and like the UMAM Facebook page. While there, search for Miami Jeet Kune Do and join the group.

Media, bloggers, marketers, editors, publishers, Web masters — need powerful content on your Web site or blog? You can syndicate or republish any of the articles you’ve read in Morning Messages or Empower Me Online — for free! Republishing my articles is quick and easy. All you have to do is include author attribution (byline/name of author) and the following statement, “This article appears courtesy of Dwight Woods’ Empower Me Online”, and include a back-link to http://www.unifiedmartialart.com. That’s it!

©2015 Unified Martial Art Miami
c/o 8015 SW 40^th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
305 877-6143

Bruce Lee Exposed! (First in a series)

Monday morning message

November 16, 2015

“Put your foot upon the neck of the fear of criticism by reaching a decision not to worry about what other people think, do, or say.” ― Napoleon Hill

“I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself.” ― Napoleon Hill

Dear Academy friend,

To most of the world Bruce Lee is the phenomenon who, in the short span of three years and with (only) four completed movies to his screen credit, catapulted to the stratosphere of fame and popularity in the film world in the 1970s.

Likewise in the world of martial arts Bruce Lee is responsible, beginning also in the 1970s, for the explosive growth of interest in the martial arts of the Orient.

To many people Bruce Lee was “the King of Kung Fu”, “the King of the Nunchaku” and if you were truly an ardent fan, to you he was also “the Little Dragon”.

Today almost everyone has heard of Bruce Lee. To some he was a great action star. Some others are aware that he was a real martial artist. Some others even know (incorrectly) that he “created his own style” of martial arts by “taking the best techniques from all the styles and combining them into his own.”

Those who delved more deeply past the common knowledge, regard Bruce Lee as the radical innovator who turned the traditional martial arts world on its head by doing things differently and challenging the status quo.

But perhaps there was an aspect to him that heretofore has remained shrouded in a cloak of secrecy or if not actual secrecy, a cloak of invisibility. In any case, it’s not a topic that’s much discussed.

To introduce you to this idea, let me ask you: Did you know that Bruce Lee read, studied and believed in the works of Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale, J. Paul Getty and other legends of personal and professional success?

Several years ago, when I started seriously studying the business of martial arts, I heard many people refer to author Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich as the most important book they’d read to build and develop their entrepreneurial mindset.

Have you ever heard anyone describe Bruce Lee as an “entrepreneur”? I doubt it.

In case you are unfamiliar, the text of Think and Grow Rich is founded on a previous Hill work, The Law of Success, subtitled The 16 Principles of Human Development. Depending on the version you might encounter, Principle #1 (or #2) is known as “Definiteness of Purpose” other times expressed as “A Definite Chief Aim”.

The astute Jeet Kune Do reader just had the same experience I had when I learned that. I thought to myself, “I’ve heard this ‘definite chief aim’ phrase before.” And then it hit me!

A quick Google search confirmed it. Bruce Lee’s handwritten note “My Definite Chief Aim” resides at the top of the online search results for those keywords.

Again, in case you’re unfamiliar, it says: “I Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental superstar in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward ‘til the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10 million. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.”

Sijo Bruce’s note is dated December 1969 so fully 37 years before I heard how important the concept was, Bruce Lee had already read, studied and implemented Napoleon Hill’s teachings.

So to those who see Bruce Lee as merely an actor, as merely a top-notch martial artist or a pop cultural icon, I submit we have in one person, a role model and virtual mentor for how to be phenomenal martial artists, how to develop our human potential and how to achieve our dreams.

In other words, how to “become Jeet Kune Do”!

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu Dwight
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 877-6143

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.

Comments? Leave them here on the Academy blog: https://sifudw.wordpress.com. Let me know what you’re thinking.

UMAA is now on the Facebook! Click here and like the UMAA Facebook page. While there, search for Miami Jeet Kune Do and join the group.

If this message was forwarded to you and you’d like to start getting this in your Inbox, just sign up on my home page at http://www.unifiedmartialart.com

Media, bloggers, marketers, editors, publishers, Web masters — need powerful content on your Web site or blog? You can syndicate or republish any of the articles you’ve read in Morning Messages or Empower Me Online — for free! Republishing my articles is quick and easy. All you have to do is include author attribution (byline/name of author) and the following statement, “This article appears courtesy of Dwight Woods’ Empower Me Online”, and include a back-link to http://www.unifiedmartialart.com. That’s it!

©2015 Unified Martial Art Miami
c/o 8015 SW 40^th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
305 877-6143

People See What They Want To See… Until They Learn Better!

Monday morning message

September 21, 2015

“Our minds influence the key activity of the brain, which then influences everything; perception, cognition, thoughts and feelings, personal relationships; they’re all a projection of you.” – Deepak Chopra

“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” – Dalai Lama

Dear Academy friend,

f you’ve never seen this image before, welcome to optical illusions. This image has part of its history in social psychology experiments dating back to the 1930s, but is actually a much older illustration from the 1800s.

It is a perfect illustration of how sometimes how 
or when we look at something/someone we first see
what we want/expect to see… but then later under a different influence we see another side or version of
the person or thing.

Opinions you formed when you were at a particular
age can sometimes be reversed when you get older. If
you live your life in a receptive manner, then it’s possible you’ll go through many events that help to shape you into who you are.

The funny thing is that as long as you’re still breathing you still have opportunities for growth. You may think that old people don’t have anything left to learn… but you’d be dead wrong.

With my new work schedule I have loads more free time for reading, meditating and mediating. I’m coming to realisations about myself that are quite revealing.

In truth, some of them I like (a lot) and some of them I don’t. At all.

But I’ll tell you what. And it’s not something you haven’t heard before. In fact, my role model Bob Marley expresses it very well in Who The Cap Fit when he sings, “your worst enemy could be your best friend; and your best friend your worst enemy”.

Of course I don’t live a life where I collect enemies so my lesson in his lyric goes beyond the surface.

In other words, learn to accept everything that comes your way as an event of your own creation. I know it’s easier and so much fun to blame others for your hardships but really, where does that get you? Beyond feeling (so-called) good about letting off steam at others?

Here’s a suggestion: do some research on Neuropeptides – The Molecules of Emotion to learn about how we can become addicted to certain types of behaviours because they feed certain emotions.

Keep in mind that no matter how accomplished you are, you’re probably still just scratching at the surface of your true potential and capabilities in life and work.

I’m talking here about the broad spectrum of human activity. Are you reading enough? For entertainment? For edification? Are you having enough meaningful conversation with your meaningful people? Are you listening to uplifting sounds aka good music? Are you working hard, hardly working or working smart? Are you monitoring your self-talk?

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 877-6143

P.S. I recently found a new (for me) program on NPR. Check out Krista Tippett’s interview of Ellen Langer about mindlessness at OnBeing.com.

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.
Comments? Leave them here on the Academy blog: https://sifudw.wordpress.com. Let me know what you’re thinking.

©2015 Unified Martial Art Miami
c/o 8015 SW 40^th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
305 877-6143

And Life Goes On… UMAA In Flux

 

Monday morning message

August 3, 2015

 

The true science of martial arts means practicing them in such a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in such a way that they will be useful in all things. – Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings (via Ruben Barreto)

Dear Academy friend,

Remember last week I told you life is hard? Well it can also be pretty embarrassing also at times.

On Friday after the Kali class I was informed that Tot’l MA & Fitness would no longer require my services.

I won’t go into details here but I will remind you that in politics and business, some people “go negative” in order to make their side of the situation as palatable and convincing as it can be.

If you’re a student of mine then you know how I look at things. And hopefully I’ve been able to pass on some of that outlook to you.

Remember that faith in oneself is of paramount importance.

Unfortunately over a long time, we have been misled into thinking that faith means only “religious belief”. It doesn’t. Faith also means unshakeable belief in one’s own dreams and one’s ability to achieve those dreams.

I have faith in myself and in the strength of the culture that has been created at UMAA over the past 30 years.

This most recent development is therefore an opportunity for all involved to do things better than they were done before.

Sometimes it’s tough to believe and accept that everything that happens to you is of your own creation. But it’s a personal credo of mine.

So I will not launch into blaming my former colleagues for anything and I urge you to do the same.

It’s like JKD. To be well-rounded you must train weapons and empty hands. So you have to recognise that everyone has their good points and their not-so-good points. None of us are perfect.

And even when you strive to be perfect, to stay on the Mastery Path, you will find that you must still struggle to maintain your balance.

So UMAA has not gone away. Many of you already know how to stay in touch with me and more of you will learn how to do so.

If you’re loyal to me and my approach, then know that I am already working hard on setting up a way to continue training with all of you in the short term.

I will continue to post every Monday morning and perhaps even during the week. Keep your heads high and guard your minds.

Remember how in class I would always ask you to aim for a higher level of skill or to give a higher level answer to a question? Well, I urge you now to seek the highest level of character that you can maintain.

Now go out and conquer the world,

Sifu DW for TeamUMAA
www.unifiedmartialart.com
“Using Martial Art As a vehicle for personal growth and development”
305 595-2892

P.S. Keep the faith.

Nota Bene: If you enjoyed this, forward it on to a few of your friends and business associates.

Comments? Leave them here on the Academy blog: https://sifudw.wordpress.com. Let me know what you’re thinking.

UMAA is now on the Facebook! Click here and like the UMAA Facebook page. While there, search for Miami Jeet Kune Do and join the group.

If this message was forwarded to you and you’d like to start getting this in your Inbox, just sign up on my home page at http://www.unifiedmartialart.com

Media, bloggers, marketers, editors, publishers, Web masters — need powerful content on your Web site or blog? You can syndicate or republish any of the articles you’ve read in Morning Messages or Empower Me Online — for free! Republishing my articles is quick and easy. All you have to do is include author attribution (byline/name of author) and the following statement, “This article appears courtesy of Dwight Woods’ Empower Me Online”, and include a back-link to http://www.unifiedmartialart.com. That’s it!

©2015 Unified Martial Art Academy
Miami, Florida