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The Art of Fighting Without Fighting
In [defensive] martial arts, once violence is initiated against
a person, there are two main schools of thought as to ending it.
The first is the "hard" school, such as Karate, Tae Kwan Do ,
Dim Mak, Wing Chun etc., [ and not forgetting, of course, the
dreaded boot to the head of Ti Kwan Leep!], the second the "soft" school, to me ultimately expressed through
the philosophy of the "Art of Fighting Without Fighting" and also
via the more widely known principles of Judo, Ju- Jitsu, Aikido
, through those schools stylistic applications of the principle
of using an attacking opponents force/ attack against themselves.
[N.B. I have for years studied a "hard" style- Ji Do Kwan Tae
Kwon Do. Also in case you are wondering, I have not studied Tai Chi enough to have an opinion as to whether its essentially
a "hard" or "soft" style - outwardly it seems "soft", but now
I'm not so sure!]
The Art of Fighting Without Fighting- What is it?
The art of fighting without fighting is a term I first heard used
by the original [and still the best] martial arts movie star,
Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon" , who although originally a student of a "hard" style , Wing
Chun, went on to study almost every style, both hard and soft,
eventually developing his own, called "Jeet Kune Do".
In the scene where the quote appears, Lee's character is on a
boat on its way to an island to take part in a mysterious, obscure
martial arts competion [for plot reasons that now escape me].
Several other invited martial artist experts of various styles
from around the world are on the ship also. One particularly obnoxious
character is going around to the other competitors, feeling them
out, attempting to goad them into a fight in order to expose their
style, strengths/ weaknesses, one assumes.
Bruce Lee's character is trying to maintain a low profile and
stay out of trouble. When the obnoxious loudmouth approaches Lee,
he does not outwardly react. When questioned as to what particular
style of martial art that Lee practices, Lee simply states that
he is an exponent of "the art of fighting without fighting".
Lee's character demonstrates this mysterious art by , without
lifting a finger in retaliation [ while the audience knows that
he could easily blow the loudmouth away if he really wanted to!],
somehow persuading the loudmouth to get into a small boat secured
by a rope to the main vessel, of his own free will so that they
can fight each other on a small island.
Once the loudmouth is on the small rowboat, Lee's character simply
unties it and allows the boat and its occupant to drift away,
with no hope of getting back to the main vessel- giving everyone
on board, and those watching the movie, a good laugh and a perfect
demonstration of the art of without fighting, i.e. of not violently
confronting or opposing an aggressive opponent, but instead by
finding a way of using their own supposed strength [actually a
weakness] against themselves.
What Does the "Art of Fighting Without Fighting" Have to Do With
Your Freedom?
For my suggestions on applying the concept of "fighting without
fighting" to your freedom, just click on this link and send a
blank email to the address which automatically pops up in your
email program for your instant reply
Return to front page at www.onebornfree.com
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