In 1967, at the Zhen Fan GuoShu Museum in Chinatown, Los Angeles, Bruce Lee and Li Kai practiced blindfolding
Author: Marianne M. K. Stryker Translator: Zheng Jie Zhu Jianhua
Original Editor's Note: In Bruce Lee's disciple and friend Li Kai, the peace and tranquility of martial arts is embodied. He would smile and quickly quote a Chinese proverb to illustrate the point, and he would be able to apply a smooth fatal blow to quickly repel an opponent's attack.
As one of the most respected original disciples of Bruce Lee, Li Kai talked about the days of training with Bruce Lee, his praise, admiration and admiration for Bruce Lee, and of course, he also believed that Bruce Lee may have ignored some principles in his final years in Hong Kong.
As former president of the American Tai Chi Association, Li Kai also discussed why he turned his focus to how to integrate the tai chi flexible style into the boxing of the cutter, and why the two complement each other rather than oppose each other. His martial arts philosophy can provide powerful intellectual insight for those seeking a fusion of body and spirit.
Editor's Note for Dojo: This is a 32-year-old interview from the May 1988 cover article of Black Belt magazine, originally titled Training With Bruce Lee-Student and Friend Daniel Lee Discusses His Days With the "Little Dragon"
In 1967, Bruce Lee of the Los Angeles National Art Museum opened an open class. The squatter in the right half is Master Li Kai
Black Belt: How did you get introduced to martial arts?
Li Kai: When I was 12 years old, I was beaten up in Shanghai by two 18-year-old Russian boys for no reason. They stole my bike and I was completely defenseless, so I decided that I had to learn to protect myself. I didn't have any martial arts masters around me, so I started practicing boxing. One day, I met the two Russian boys again, and I said to them, "Let's have a contest of civilizations and put on our fists." "At that time I only had limited boxing training, but I was able to protect myself.
The coach saw in me my strong determination and potential to practice boxing, so he began to focus on training me to participate in local boxing tournaments. I behaved very well. To make a long story short, in 1948, I won the National Boxing Championship in Class C for Shanghai, the equivalent of the Golden Glove Championship in American boxing.
Picture note - Left: In 1948, Li Kai National Games boxing champion Jin Zhao; right: 1948 Shanghai boxing team: The squatters in the front row started from Li Kai, Liang Yonggui and Hu Shoucheng on the left; Fei Miaolong, Zhou Shibin and Huang Zengxiu from the left in the back row
Black Belt: So then you were interested in boxing?
Li Kai: I became interested in martial arts. Boxing is actually a very complex martial art. Occasionally, I would see someone practicing gentle tai chi in the park, and I didn't care much about it, but one of my Chinese boxing instructors said to me, "If you're mentally ready, you should actually practice tai chi." This sentence has left a deep mark on my mind. But at first I had the impression of tai chi that the movements were very slow and only suitable for the elderly.
Black Belt: Is that why you started studying the philosophy of martial arts?
Li Kai: No. After completing my studies at an American university, I began to pay attention to some Asian martial arts. In 1956, I entered Ed Parker's Ryukyu Tang Karate class, which I think was greatly influenced by Chinese martial arts and Chinese culture. I received the Black Belt under the direct guidance of Ed Parker. Dan Irushan recommended Bruce Lee to me at a time when his Los Angeles Zhenfan Guoshu Museum had just opened.
Black Belt: So your interest shifted from Ryukyu Tang Karate to Cut Boxing?
Li Kai: I was very impressed with Bruce Lee. He was able to fully combine Eastern philosophy to illustrate his fighting skills. Any fixed pattern, he says, will ossify your fighting behavior. One must learn to relax and empty oneself, not to be bound by fixed routines.
It's funny because I've been training on a fixed routine and I'm still feeling comfortable. Bruce Lee's ability to prove everything he says with strength is very attractive to me.
Photo: Group photo of the master and apprentice of the Zhenfan Guoshu Museum in 1969: in the picture, the person standing in the front row is The fourth Yilu Shandu on the left, Bruce Lee in the middle, the highest person standing in the back row is NBA superstar Jabbar, and the left squatter is Li Kai. (Time-lapse photography: Li Kai)
Black Belt: When were you recommended to Bruce Lee?
Li Kai: In 1967, I was allowed to join Bruce Lee's Zhen Fan Guoshu Hall, and Iru Shandu introduced me to Bruce Lee.
When we first met, I felt that Bruce Lee was still cautious about my identity, but when I mentioned my martial arts interests and my training background in boxing, judo, and Ryukyu Tang Hand Karate, he was interested in me because he liked to teach students who already had a better martial arts background.
He has received some training so that whoever follows him can be truly inspired by Bruce Lee's approach to fighting, and a layman might (because he can't grasp his way of coaching) say", "So what?" ”
Black Belt: How did you and Bruce Lee's initial training go?
Li Kai: Very harsh. He selects students very carefully. He believes that his students should be kind, love training, and be sincerely engaged. It was not a commercial martial arts museum, and he only accepted those who were recommended. In the beginning, we formed a large training class.
Black Belt: How many people?
Li Kai: About 40 people. For nearly two months, we did almost nothing except gymnastics: jump rope, push-ups, and so on. A lot of people started complaining that they wanted to practice their martial arts skills and Bruce Lee just let them do basic physical training. The training was so hard that many people quit. At this time, Bruce Lee began to conduct formal training.
Black Belt: Is he trying to weed out some people?
Li Kai: Absolutely. This is a test of one's determination and perseverance in martial arts, which is a typical Chinese method. And, in the meantime, you have to build some kind of rapport with him. If you're acting a little arrogant, if you think you know everything, Bruce Lee probably won't particularly like you taking his classes.
Photo note: In 1967, at the Zhenfan Guoshu Museum in Los Angeles, Bruce Lee and Li Kai, who wore protective gear, demonstrated to black belt reporters the epoch-making full-contact combat confrontation training method of truncated boxing. Bruce Lee officially announced the establishment of Truncated Boxing through this interview with Black Belt Magazine.
Black Belt: When you started your combat training, what new technology did he show you?
Li Kai: I have to forget everything I learned before, because what I learned is a fixed set of routines, and I think it feels safe. Bruce Lee said: "You have to liberate yourself from those fixed patterns of thinking and moving. Fighting takes place entirely on those unexpected occasions. If you've fixed the routine, you may not be able to face a truly ever-changing fighting situation. ”
Learning boxing is easy to change to difficult, that is a very difficult process of self-breakthrough. Almost everything you've mastered before has formed a dynamic stereotype, and you have to break this habit, learn to flow and adapt, and be able to react correctly and instantly to every change in a real-world situation.
Bruce Lee emphasized skills and physical training. He said you have to sharpen your tools like a carpenter. A martial artist's tool is his body, and he must be able to strike at any angle, at any rhythm, at any time.
Black Belt: Is there combat training?
Li Kai: Yes, judging from the actual combat confrontation methods he showed, they really greatly broadened your fighting horizons and thinking. Bruce Lee said: "You have to understand what you do, don't blindly follow the trend, or be self-righteous." You should always perceive each situation, fit in and adapt to it. "Later, during my tai chi training, I realized the same thing.
In 1967, Bruce Lee and Kai Lee demonstrated the unlimited scientific fighting techniques of kickboxing. Simple and direct, close to the point, quick battle and quick decision
Black Belt: Did he incorporate a lot of philosophy into his training?
Li Kai: All his training is based on philosophy, and Bruce Lee puts a lot of emphasis on the principle of yin and yang.
He believes that there is no distinction between the so-called masculine style (external) or feminine style (inner) in martial arts. Yin and yang are a whole. If you label yourself (outside or inside) and stick to it, you only get half of what you do.m.
Black Belt: What other training did you do?
Li Kai: We often do some leg and boxing (insight reaction) exercises, not (pure technical movements) exercises, but to make an immediate response to changes in the opponent's movements.
Bruce Lee emphasized irregular rhythms, so we had to practice kicking and boxing according to the irregular rhythm of the opponent's broken and intermittent rhythm. We learned to blend in and adapt to the space.
Master Li Kai demonstrated a side kick in the boxing. Side kicks are the core backbone leg techniques of boxing
Black Belt: What was Bruce Lee like after class?
Li Kai: In class, he was very serious. He was a teacher and demanded full concentration. You can ask some questions related to the topic, but you can't just joke around and talk to each other because he feels he has a lot to offer.
After class, we were like friends, not only to me, but to everyone. He would tell us jokes he'd heard lately, and some of them were still meaty.
He was like a brother. He was always the focus of attention. No matter what he says, everyone will stop and listen, even if the joke you have heard. The way he tells jokes is so dramatic that (it feels) it seems new.
People also like his bluntness. If he likes you, or if something is wrong, he'll tell you right away. He'll watch you do leg training and then tell you he has a better way to help you improve — it's a process of constantly simplifying metamorphosis, constantly cutting out excess.
He has so many amazing talents that standing before us in awe. Just seeing his small body explode with so much power can make you see where the human potential lies. In combat, we think we might be able to play 30% effective, and he can play 90% effective.
Master Li Kai's handwriting "demonstrates the offensive and defensive method of 'continuous elimination with beating' and 'hanging hands and pounding'"
Black Belt: Some people think he's arrogant.
Li Kai: It depends on who he deals with. He has a very keen intuition, and if someone wants to prove that he is the best martial arts master, he will prove that he is better than him.
Bruce Lee and I were both teachers and friends, so he was always sincere with me. He is so dedicated that he will tailor an auxiliary training program to each student's training problem.
When he observes us, he sees exactly what we need to do to overcome the bottlenecks or obstacles we encounter in training. He is a one-on-one instructor.
Black Belt: Is he impatient at times?
Li Kai: With his ability and experience, he believes that people should be able to accomplish anything as long as they put in enough effort. I don't think he's impatient with others, he's impatient with himself.
Black Belt: Did you discuss the benefits of Tai Chi with Bruce Lee?
Li Kai: He said that he improved all the good parts of martial arts into a whole. He took away everything that was valuable to his training. My impression of him is that when he ends his film career, he will practice Tai Chi further. By that time, there is still a lot to be done.
Black Belt: What aspects of Tai Chi did he use?
Li Kai: He deeply understands and applies the principle of yin and yang, and understands the interaction between these two energies. If you put so much energy into training and activities, you have to give time to rest and relax. I think as long as he can slow down, he won't be exhausted in Hong Kong. He's motivated, but you have to juggle both, work and rest. While in Hong Kong, he overemphasized one aspect and ignored the other. He actually knew it, but the pressure of filming and the heavy training schedule were too much.
During that time in 1973, his friends heard that he was getting lighter and thinner, and we were all worried.
Black Belt: In what ways is he still affecting your life?
Li Kai: I am deeply encouraged by his dedication. I met him before he became a star and he was well prepared for the opportunity to succeed – at his peak, he had a very strict professional training program, training for more than 8 hours a day.
Black Belt: Are you surprised that he is still remembered so deeply?
Li Kai: No, I'm not surprised at all. In addition to his superior physical energy, he has a strong mental tension that no other martial artist possesses, his philosophy, and his extraordinary personal charisma (Charisma).
Many people tried to become "Bruce Lee second", but only he left a permanent mark on the history of martial arts.
Master Li Kai demonstrates the practical fighting techniques of Tai Chi
Black Belt: What appealed to you about Tai Chi?
Kai Li: Tai Chi is more or less a means to an end, helping you understand how the body moves to maintain relaxation and balance. The gentle rhythm of tai chi can bring a sense of tranquility, meditation-like self-awareness. Tai Chi is also a martial art.
Training with Xiaolong, I began to see the similarities between Tai Chi and Kickboxing. The principles behind them are the same.
Black Belt: What are the common principles of Tai Chi and Trunct?
Li Kai: Xiaolong explained to us three ways to train and advanced.
The first is the principle of learning. He is not talking about technical learning, but about learning human mechanics, understanding body functions and balance principles, and so on.
Then he said to follow principles, which involves the second stage of training: practicing with understanding. In other martial arts, I see people just practicing techniques, knowing it but not knowing why, which is pointless.
In the third stage, you internalize the principle, forget what you have learned, and become instinctive until you are no longer aware of its existence. This is the final stage of any martial art.
The little dragon often said, "If you understand the root, you can understand the flower." ”
Black Belt: How did you apply these concepts in your tai chi training?
Li Kai: In Tai Chi training, I learned to find my own harmony. In my classroom, I can not only explain the principles of martial arts, but also help people understand them through technical exercises.
Black Belt: Do you think that is missing this in kickboxing?
Li Kai: No, in fact, truncated boxing is the application of this principle. You can master the art of fighting, but if you are not peaceful enough, you will have confrontational emotions. I used to have these antagonistic emotions, but by practicing Tai Chi, I became at peace with myself.
Even though I practiced boxing, I loved and was fascinated by the strategy, tactics and techniques of scientific fighting, but I didn't have any angry mentality to use what I had learned to fight others.
Bruce Lee hones his mind through meditation and meditation training, cultivating keen physical and mental insight and inner flow of energy
Black Belt: Do you think that people who practice boxing do sometimes have a reputation for rebellion?
Li Kai: Personal opinion, everyone will go their own way. So, even though I practice kickboxing, which is a very deadly form of actual combat martial arts, I use it to develop my own control.
Black Belt: Many people think that tai chi is just a feminine style of martial arts. Is there a softer punch than it?
Li Kai: "Soft" is just a label, Tai Chi is actually very flexible, like a reed swaying in the wind, it is not as soft as everyone thinks.
Black Belt: Are you still continuing your kickboxing training?
Li Kai: I think I never stopped. The little dragon said, "My movements are like the echoes of your voice." Through Tai Chi training, I knew better what Xiaolong was saying. Tai Chi is a negative response to the power of masculinity.
The combination of attack and defense and force make the boxing more complete. I went from being a tough attack to using listening kung fu to sense and adapt to my opponent's strength and movements.
I haven't stopped practicing boxing, I feel like I'm exploring the principles of yin and yang more thoroughly. I think The little dragon will be proud of my pursuit.
The first set of technical comparison demonstrations
Li Kai compared Taijiquan and Duanquan to the defensive counterattack of a right fist attack. During the demonstration of Tai Chi's swinging lotus leg counterattack, Li Kai's center of gravity shifted to the back foot, the forehand shifted from the bottom up, from the outside to the inside block to offset the opponent Dan Stanfield's attack arm, without stopping, the front foot swing lotus leg counterattacked the opponent's body torso side target (Figure 1-4).
When using the interception boxing, Li Kai's back foot forward to the triangle side step to avoid the opponent's attack route, the forehand to maintain a high position to protect or block the opponent's right fist, while the front leg quickly side kick to counter the opponent's torso side target (Figures 1a-4a).
The second set of technical comparison demonstrations
Li Kai contrasted and demonstrated the defensive counterattack methods of tai chi and cut boxing against side kicks. First demonstrate the Taiji cloud hand technique: the opponent side kick, Li Kai's center of gravity slightly sinks backwards, while the hands take the legs to rotate after the unloading force, without stopping, quickly lift the center of gravity forward, both hands in front of the leg to raise the opponent's center of gravity to make it unbalanced, and release its power (Figure 1-Figure 4).
Defensive counterattack of truncated boxing: The opponent's side kick attack, Li Kai uses a Taijiquan-like technique to receive the leg, but instead of releasing the opponent's power like Taijiquan, he firmly straightens the opponent's attack leg, while the back foot slightly adjusts the distance, and the low side kick of the front foot counters the opponent's support leg knee joint (Figure 1a-4a).
The third set of technical comparison demonstrations
When defending against the opponent's physical attack, Li Kai used the Tai Chi technique to introduce the void, causing the opponent to lose weight in front of him, without stopping, following the opponent's return to the momentum, stepping into the middle line to squeeze the opponent's center of gravity, and I followed the back of the person to release it.
In the face of the same physical attack, using the method of cutting boxing, Li Kai's backhand grabbed the opponent's attack arm backwards, and the forehand hung up to meet the opponent's facial target, colliding back and forth, doubling the strength of the blow.
Illustration: Master Li Kai guided the trainees to experience the Tai Chi "sacrificing oneself and following others, introducing the technique of failure", so as to inspire the overall scientific martial arts wisdom of the practitioners of truncated boxing, and then put forward a new topic for the development of truncated boxing in the new century with the times.
Translation Postscript: In 2009, in Loudi, Hunan Province, after a personal training session on truncated boxing, Master Li Kai ordered two disciples to say: "You should communicate and study with domestic taijiquan practitioners, and at the same time seriously study Wang Zongyue's "Theory of Taijiquan", which is a classic boxing theory, the meaning is infinite, and I can recite it backwards like a stream." ”
Then, Master Li Kai was full of excitement and frustration, and recited the "Treatise on Taijiquan" word for word. Master Li Kai, who is old, has a strong memory, which can be seen.
The text of "The Theory of Taijiquan" is appended to the text to the reader:
Tai Chi Chuan On Wang Zongyue
Tai Chi, born of infinity, the opportunity of movement and stillness, the mother of yin and yang. What moves is divided, and what is still is combined. Nothing is too late, stretch with the curve. People just call me 'walking', and I smoothly call 'sticky' on people's backs. If you are in a hurry, you will respond urgently, and if you move slowly, you will follow slowly. Although there are many changes, the reason is consistent. From familiarity to understanding, from understanding to the gods. However, if you don't work hard for a long time, you can't suddenly penetrate it!
The virtual collar is strong, the qi is heavy, the dantian is impartial, and it appears suddenly. Left heavy is left false, right heavy is right. If you look up, you will be high, and if you look down, the deeper you will be. The longer it advances, the more it retreats. A feather cannot be added, and a fly cannot fall. Man does not know me, but I know man alone. The hero is invincible, and the cover is also from this!
There are many side doors, although there is a difference in the situation, there is no exception to bullying the weak, fast bullying and slow ears! Powerful to fight weak, slow to make the hand fast, is the innate natural ability, not related to the ability to learn and do! Looking at the sentence of 'four or two strokes of a thousand pounds', it is obvious that it is not a victory; if you can see the form of the people, how can you do it quickly?
Standing like a flat, living like a wheel. If it is heavy, it will follow, and if it is double, it will be stagnant. Every time I see a few years of pure work, those who cannot be transported, the rate is self-made, and the double disease has not been enlightened!
To avoid this disease, it is necessary to know yin and yang; stickiness is to go, walking is sticky; yin is not separated from yang, yang is not separated from yin; yin and yang are harmonious, and only then can we understand energy. After understanding the strength, the more refined it is, the more it is contemplated, and gradually it comes to doing what the heart wants.
Originally it was 'self-denial and obedience to others', and it was wrong to 'give up the near and seek the far'. The so-called 'difference of a millimeter, a thousand miles of falsehood', scholars must not be unspecified! it is for the argument.
Literature and martial arts cultivation, martial arts inheritance: Master Li Kai is in front of Yuelu Academy, a thousand-year-old academy in Changsha, Hunan Province
SiFu Daniel Lee (1930.12.15-2015.12.15)
Shanghainese. In 1948, he was the C-class boxing champion at the 7th National Games of Old China; from 1962 to 1992, he was an aerospace engineer at the Rocket Jet Research Institute (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology, USA; in 1966, he studied tai chi with Dong Huling, a master of Yang's taijiquan;
In 1967, as a black belt in Kempo Karate in the United States, he became the first student of Bruce Lee's Los Angeles Zhen Fan Guoshu Gymnasium and one of Bruce Lee's select backyard boxing training opponents; in 1969, he founded the Li Kai Yang's Taijiquan Academy as the dean and head coach; in 1980, he was listed in the "Cut Boxing Family Tree" of five Bruce Lee's first-generation truncated boxing disciples;
In 1984, he received a doctorate degree in oriental medicine; in 1988, he was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame of the Year, ranking among the world's martial arts masters; in 1996, he was a founding member of the "Zhen Fan Truncated Boxing Core" (now the "Bruce Lee Education Foundation"), and served as an important position or consultant for many years; in 2006, he followed Master Zhang Xirong to practice Wang's water-based taijiquan, and served as the secretary-general of the "American Wang's Water-based Taijiquan Association".
In 2009, he went to China to teach truncated boxing, and was appointed honorary chairman of the China International Federation of Truncated Boxing (CJIF), actively supporting Bruce Lee's return to the motherland and promoting the inheritance and spread of truncated boxing in China.
Passing on the torch and working tirelessly: Master Li Kai taught boxing in European and American countries
Master Li Kai and some of his backyard boxing training team members. Master Li Kai's teaching has always been based on actual combat
The Roots of Truncated Boxing are in China: Master Li Kai poses with his Chinese disciples at the Bruce Lee Martial Arts Gym in Hunan