Bruce Lee paradox

Date:

Yesterday, I raised the question of whether Bruce Lee was right or wrong when he said, "I do not believe in styles."

The basis of this question lies in the well-known fact that styles do exist and have continued to thrive ever since he made that statement in a 1971 interview. It seems that his claim has had little effect on the popularity of martial art styles, even though Bruce Lee remains the most famous, influential, and legendary martial artist of all time. Millions of Bruce Lee fans and followers continue to practice one or more traditional martial art styles. In fact, many beginners—initially inspired by Bruce Lee—end up learning and devoting themselves to traditional styles. As a result, a certain contradiction becomes apparent, and the question is entirely justifiable.

Now, I’d like to share my friend Milagros’ great response to that question:

“The Dragon is right; people should not rely on style. People try to keep an open mind—I believe this is what the Dragon wanted to instill through his teachings. Those who rely on styles limit their own potential. I believe the Dragon was trying to help his students free their minds.

(Why do styles exist?)

I think people want to build a false sense of security by telling themselves, ‘Hey, this is my style,’ or ‘This is not my style,’ thus creating a false identity. People often present their abilities through the lens of a style to gain acceptance. They want to categorize themselves in order to belong—but this is the worst thing to do. It's okay to be part of a community, but the community shouldn’t become part of your soul. That’s why the Dragon always said, ‘Don’t duplicate.’ I believe he wanted to push his students to work with what actually works, rather than copying him. I’ll use myself as an example, so no one feels targeted. I have a background in Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Mantis, and I’ve just started Wing Chun. But I wouldn’t consider any of these ‘my style’—they are part of my skin, a way to honestly express myself (as the Dragon said). Others may take completely different paths to express themselves. One isn’t right, and the other isn’t wrong.

It’s really about what you have inside. As a graphic designer, when people see my work, some ask me, ‘What is this?’ I respond, ‘What do you see?’ I get many different answers. Everyone sees what they have inside. That’s why there’s no such thing as style. You can’t label a soul as a style. You can’t label vision as a style. You are what you are. That, I believe, is what the Dragon was trying to teach.”

Now, let’s imagine a scenario: someone wants to become a student of Karate, Taekwondo, or Wing Chun, and Bruce Lee walks up to them and says, “Don’t be! Just express yourself.”
Would that person understand?

In future posts, I’ll explore this issue further—philosophically and psychologically—alongside some important facts about Bruce Lee himself.

But for now, as food for thought:

  • Relying on his persuasive opinion, can we truly say that “we do not have styles”?

  • Can we claim that Bruce Lee had no style—while thousands of people continue to try to copy his distinctive "style"?

  • Isn’t the way we express ourselves our style?

  • Hasn’t the concept of an “Individual Fighting Style” already manifested in reality?

Popular posts from this blog

Individual styles behind traditional styles

Date:
Image
non-traditional kick Creating our individual style is a natural process. Everyone develops their style automatically. This statement is general but can be applied to any specific field—martial arts, combat sports, and self-defence are no exceptions. People who practice fighting are constantly creating their own fighting styles. They are, consciously or unconsciously, the creators of their unique approach to combat. Whatever one is learning, only a part of it will truly be absorbed. Another part will be automatically rejected by the self. Moreover, every absorbed element is filtered through a person’s individuality. The evolving individual fighting style becomes distinct from the traditionally practiced style. In other words, by practicing conventional techniques, one is also developing an invisible, personal fighting style—what we can call the InFi style. For example, someone studying Wing Chun kung fu or Kyokushinkai karate is guided by teachers and improved within the framework of tr...
Read more

The Percomboo world

Date:
Image
Welcome to the Percomboo World The Percomboo World is a unique educational system focused on developing individual competencies and personal styles. At its core, Percomboo is built on three foundational pillars: Philosophy - Mental Psychology - Emotional Drills, Martial Art - Physical While technical  M artial Art  appear on the symbolic surface of our world, they serve more as a lens through which we explore deeper ideas. A Modern, Global Approach In recent decades, the internet has radically transformed the way we access information, build knowledge, and share ideas. As a result, personal development has become increasingly individualized—and naturally so. Percomboo embraces this shift by supporting individual differences . We don't promote a single "right" way to learn or grow. Instead, we believe your way is the best way—for you . Our role is to help you discover, develop, and refine that way. How We Teach Our method follows a simple yet powerful framework...
Read more

InFi and MMA

Date:
Image
Some days ago, I had a conversation with a martial arts expert about individual fighting. After my first two sentences, he said, “Aha, then it’s similar to MMA, isn’t it?” “Yes, in some respects it is,” I replied, “but in many essential ways, it definitely is not.” In columns, I listed their attributes. To make the picture even clearer, I began with the well-known concept of freestyle. None of these are classical styles. I highlighted the similarities to InFi in green, and the differences in pink. Each line represents the same aspect across all columns. In summary, we might call MMA a sport version of InFi—or restricted individual fighting . But we must not refer to InFi as free MMA in general, because the restrictions in MMA are not merely technical. The entire mindset is different. The most essential discrepancies lie in the third, fourth, and fifth lines above—which are not about freedom or limitation at all. Of course, every MMA fighter has their own InFi outside of competiti...
Read more

Interest in martial arts is declining?!

Date:
Image
There is plenty of evidence that interest in martial arts has been declining over the last decade. This is apparent, and I believe the reasons are the internet, globalization, and changing trends. People who are drawn to combative activities and want to explore and develop their own InFi style simply don’t stay in schools for long. They train for a while and then move on. The internet opens the eyes of the open-minded. You can watch anything you want online, and masters can no longer keep their secrets the way they could 30 years ago. As a result, teachers are no longer seen as authority figures; they’ve become more like customer service providers. Changing trends are another factor. The popularity of martial arts fluctuates. MMA, Krav Maga, and tricking are the current trends. In my opinion, it’s just fashion. The fact that these are popular doesn’t mean they’re better—they’re simply newer and heavily promoted through the media. When it comes to individual fighting styles, some tr...
Read more

Strength of Repetition

Date:
Image
Repetition, Individuality, and the Formation of InFi Repetition is a fundamental part of the learning process. Every martial art and combat sport system uses it as a core teaching method — and for good reason. This principle is widely accepted and understood. But it raises an important question: To what extent can repetition shape our individual style? The answer: Only partially . Because repetition — no matter how intense or prolonged — can’t completely override our natural endowments. Your InFi (Individual Finesse) is deeply rooted in who you are. Training can shape and refine it, but it can’t erase it. The Illusion of Uniformity Imagine a group of people practicing the same movements repeatedly — a karate team performing synchronized katas or Shaolin monks drilling the same techniques thousands of times. Now picture yourself as their assistant or instructor. You know each person well. One day, they all wear identical uniforms and masks. Suppose their height and body type are also s...
Read more

Styles Spread or Concealed

Date:
Image
Since there is no ultimate truth in this world, there is no perfect style to take on or put on. Styles are born and attached to individuals. As the InFi philosophy says, everybody has a different individual fighting style. Therefore, InFi styles have owners. In short: one person — one style. Ideally, then, there should be as many styles in the world as there are human beings. But the world doesn’t reflect this. There are major styles (trends) and minor styles. Some are popular, some are stagnant, and some disappear. Classical (traditional) systems are always struggling to gain ground, striving for popularity. Hidden traditional methods may even be in danger of extinction. traditional and InFi styles Classical or traditional ways are products—like cars, houses, or fashion trends. People pick them up from outside sources. Classical styles are not people's inborn or self-created ways; therefore, they can be sold. If you pay attention to the martial arts or combat sports world, you can...
Read more

Natural Style (karate-InFi)

Date:
Image
(karate) InFi by Tanaka Have you ever noticed that many karate practitioners' styles look completely different in a real fight compared to traditional karate? Have you ever observed that during spontaneous free fighting, it's nearly impossible to guess a competitor's traditional style—unless it's already known? Isn't it interesting how the structured, classical styles often seem to evaporate in real combat? The reason is simple: unpredictable situations are the domain of InFi . No external system has dominance over the power of InFi in that space. My friend John once said that the body reacts naturally using movements and techniques that have been instilled over time. That’s true. It’s the result of learning—repetition creates automatic reactions. But does that directly connect with the personal style I’m talking about? Yes, but only partially. Part of an individual's style is learned—copied or invented—and the other part is inborn. I would say the base of a...
Read more