The
first is the primitive stage. It is a stage of original ignorance in which a
person knows nothing about the art of combat. In a fight, he simply blocks and
strikes instinctively without a concern for what is right and wrong. Of course,
he may not be so-called scientific, but, nevertheless, being himself, his
attacks or defenses are fluid.
The second stage—the stage of sophistication, or
mechanical stage—begins when a person starts his training. He is taught the
different ways of blocking, striking, kicking, standing, breathing, and
thinking—unquestionably, he has gained the scientific knowledge of combat, but
unfortunately his original self and sense of freedom are lost, and his action
no longer flows by itself. His mind tends to freeze at different movements for
calculations and analysis, and even worse, he might be called “intellectually
bound” and maintain himself outside of the actual reality.
The third
stage—the stage of artlessness, or spontaneous stage—occurs when, after years
of serious and hard practice, the student realizes that after all, gung fu is
nothing special. And instead of trying to impose on his mind, he adjusts
himself to his opponent like water pressing on an earthen wall. It flows through the slightest
crack. There is nothing to try to do but try to be purposeless and formless,
like water. All of his classical techniques and standard styles are minimized,
if not wiped out, and nothingness prevails. He is no longer confined.
-Bruce
Lee
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