 |
| Source pic: Biography.com |
Today's entry will conclude my short series on The Art of Learning. It's Bruce Lee's "The Three Stages of Cultivation."
"The Three Stages of Cultivation — 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
From Bruce Lee's personal notes.
In case you missed previous installments, please check:
- John Wooden - The Art of Learning
- Erik Paulson - The Art of Learning
- James DeMile - Bruce Lee’s Five Stages for Accelerated Learning
- James DeMile - Three Stages of Learning Technique
Here's hoping some point from this series helped/will help you in your Learning!
0 comments:
Post a Comment