Bruce Lee Rushed It

[drop bear]

Boxing does, if you're a top champion. Back in his heyday Evander Holyfield could lose a fight and still make $40 million just for being in the fight. If he were to win he would make even more.

But aside from that a fighter might make passive income.

I have a mate who fought in the UFC. And it wound up costing him money.

 

[Headhunter]

Boxing does, if you're a top champion. Back in his heyday Evander Holyfield could lose a fight and still make $40 million just for being in the fight. If he were to win he would make even more.

But aside from that a fighter might make passive income.

Yeah and for every big money champion how many small time guys are fighting for absolutely nothing. A lot more than there are big money guys

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I have a mate who fought in the UFC. And it wound up costing him money.

See? Competition is bad for you.

 

[drop bear]

See? Competition is bad for you.

He did it so that he could develop as a person. Because MMA is about developing your spiritual side.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

He did it so that he could develop as a person. Because MMA is about developing your spiritual side.

Bah, we all know you MMA people are just beasts. He just wanted to hit people, so he could feel safe. That's why he...um, got in a fight with another big bloke?? Or something like that.

You MMA people don't even make sense, man.

STREET!

 

[drop bear]

Seemed applicable.

 

[Flying Crane]

Alright, so if a person trains 27 hours a week with approximately 50 weeks in a year that would mean they would train about 1350 hours a year. They get a black belt in four years so when you multiply 1350 by four you get 5400 so it takes them about 5400 hours to get a black belt.

Now lets say somebody else gets a black belt in ten years which is more or less the average length of time it takes to get a BJJ black belt. Lets say they train five days a week for two hours each day and from time to time they might do an extra day and/or extra hour of training. If you do the math that's about how much a person would have to train to be able to do 5400 hours in ten years.

So, the point is this, in the first example it took a BJJ practitioner 4 years to get a black belt. In the second example it took a BJJ practitioner 10 years to get a black belt. Yes you can say in the first example the practitioner got a black belt sooner than in the second example since 4 years is obviously less than 10 years but the fact remains in both cases it took 5400 hours. Although the practitioner got the black belt sooner in the first example they didn't rush it since they spent just as much time as the practitioner in the second example, 5400 hours. Therefore the practitioner in the first example did not rush it. 5400 hours is 5400 hours whether its spread out over four years or ten years.

Trying to get the same results of 5400 hours of training in say, just 1000 hours that's rushing it. Training for 5400 hours in four years instead of ten is not.

There is a risk in training too intensively, however. If you don’t take time to let your body recover, then you risk injury as well as mental exhaustion/boredom/burnout.

There is also something to be said about taking enough time to let the lessons sink in. Your brain needs time to process the information.

So if your 5400 hours is actually realistic, then cramming them all into the shortest possible timeframe may not be the best approach to training. Just what is optimal may vary from person to person and probably cannot be objectively determined. But it is definitely something to keep in mind.

 

[PhotonGuy]

There is a risk in training too intensively, however. If you don’t take time to let your body recover, then you risk injury as well as mental exhaustion/boredom/burnout.

There is also something to be said about taking enough time to let the lessons sink in. Your brain needs time to process the information.

So if your 5400 hours is actually realistic, then cramming them all into the shortest possible timeframe may not be the best approach to training. Just what is optimal may vary from person to person and probably cannot be objectively determined. But it is definitely something to keep in mind.

You got a point there about physical recovery although when it comes to mental exhaustion or boredom or burnout that would not be the case for somebody who really has the passion for the martial arts such as Bruce Lee. Heck I don't think Bruce Lee even had much of a problem with physical burnout.

As for the brain processing information, just look at some of those college students studying for advanced degrees. I've got a cousin who got both an MD and a PhD at the same time and all he did was study and eat and sleep and maybe exercise enough to stay in shape and would take the occasional 15 minute break at the video arcade.

Anyway, the average work week is 8 hours a day 40 hours a week, more than the 27 hours a week of training that was discussed in this thread.

 

[drop bear]

You got a point there about physical recovery although when it comes to mental exhaustion or boredom or burnout that would not be the case for somebody who really has the passion for the martial arts such as Bruce Lee. Heck I don't think Bruce Lee even had much of a problem with physical burnout.

As for the brain processing information, just look at some of those college students studying for advanced degrees. I've got a cousin who got both an MD and a PhD at the same time and all he did was study and eat and sleep and maybe exercise enough to stay in shape and would take the occasional 15 minute break at the video arcade.

Anyway, the average work week is 8 hours a day 40 hours a week, more than the 27 hours a week of training that was discussed in this thread.

Yeah. You definitely can train like a beast and get results.

And diligence really seems to be the secret to success.

 

[Steve]

I think it’s a good thing he rushed it. He died so young, he didn’t have much time to spare.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Yeah. You definitely can train like a beast and get results.

And diligence really seems to be the secret to success.

Assuming the body is recovering, no excessive injuries, etc., there's a real benefit to compressing the timeframe. You get more exercise, discipline, and toughness from the same total hours when you compress them into fewer days. Like the fight camp you guys do.

 

[PhotonGuy]

I think it’s a good thing he rushed it. He died so young, he didn’t have much time to spare.

All the more reason to get done what you can when you can and not take any longer than you have to, you've only got so long to live and you don't know beforehand when you're going to go.

 

[StellarAevum]

No, Bruce Lee didn't really rush it but lets just say he did learn and develop amazing knowledge and skill in the martial arts in the 32 years he had. He did put in lots of time, lots of hours per day, so you could say he learned more in less years than most people.

I do not understand why this post was made.

You are making the claim that Bruce Lee learned more in less years than most people and you say he did not really rush it. Additionally, you made the title of the post be "Bruce Lee rushed it".

So you are making a general statement that does not seem to have be capable to open any discussion and you, admittedly, used a misleading title.

Maybe if you re-word your opening statement into a question we may have more to work with to create a meaningful discussion?

Thanking you for your time,

Aevum

 

[NYFIGHTSOURCE]

I will lend my thoughts based on talking to some of Bruce Lee's students and friends.

Bruce was an extremely driven man. He took things like the self confident formula...or definite chief aim and wrote himself letters of his goals he wanted to achieve. If you google search on just these terms you will see reference to Bruce even though they are not a Martial arts web site. Cause Bruce was driven. Driven to be an Asian actor, have money, and also a great martial artist.

As a kid growing up he was driven to excel in martial arts. Even showing up to Wing Chun class ahead of other students to tell the other students that class was canceled so he could privately train. He would purposely wear odd clothing in the streets to invoke fights with bully's so he could test his skill. His fighting made his parents relocate him to the US so he wouldn't be imprisoned.

Friends of his/students has personally told me about his watching reels and reels of Ali within a 2 week period to work on western boxing. He slept, ate, breathed Martial Arts all the time. He trained his body, his mind. Who throws 500/600 jabs a day with each hand. Who runs 5 miles a day. Who then finishes up on a stationary bike after the 5 mile run. Lifting and isometric workouts.
He was a machine.

I have heard stories where he would be on his back on the floor. He was lifting his legs off the floor for an ab work out.... Brandon on his stomach and bouncing him as a baby. Hand weights doing arm workouts.... while watching a martial arts on tv... or reading a book that was propped up. The guy was nuts.

Did he rush it? Yeah... in one sense I say yes. I think he probably never had down time. His body could handle it. I think mentally he was stressed at times. So consumed with fame and being at a higher level. He probably didn't have a lot of time to smell the roses. But.... I think he progressed rapidly cause of his amount of dedication. Yes... probably not a good balance for him.

Me personally.... I know that in my training.... I have at points in my life been able to dedicate more time than what my instructor held for class when I was initially learning JKD. Class was suppose to be 2x a week. But my Sifu let me join in other classes. At times I was training 4x a week... plus staying after class to train with him privately and be his training partner. In addition I also invited students from class to my house on the weekend and we would train again for 2-3 hrs what we did in class that week. When my schedule allowed this time... I learning and ability rocketed. Was it too fast? Nope. not for me. And I would personally think that Bruce was constantly doing this... and it wasn't too fast for him. Maybe too fast cause he didn't have down time.

My two cents based on my own opinions formulated from training and talking to many of Bruce's students.