The Art of Expressing the Human Body
by Bruce Lee, John Little
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bruce Lee, John LittleEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-11-15
ISBN: 0804831297
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
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Book Reviews of The Art of Expressing the Human Body
Book Review: Technique is wisdom. To train is power.
Summary: 5 Stars
What an outlandishly brilliant collection of Bruce Lee's personal training regimine. This is utterly priceless for its detail and stark showing of Bruce's true grit. It was a fight at a local dojo instigated by a rival martial arts group in China Town, San Francisco (actually they disapproved, as many did, Bruce's teaching such high quality lessons to Americans - really can't blame them) that spurred Bruce on to investigate and finally put to practice the lessons of bodybuilding and strength training. Extreme conditoning also - i.e. lots of cardio (2-6 mile jogs; 45 minute stationary biking; interval training, where you sprint several hundred yards then jog, then sprint, then jog and so on).
As if his complete mastery of Eastern style martial arts wasn't enough, Bruce Lee upped the antee on his own, by his own inner desire. There were no stops at local gyms. No comparing his reps to another mans output. Rather, Bruce designed and had built his very own home gym system, replete with every conjurable piece of custom equipment that can be machined (a personal friend of his was kind enough to contribute this favor, making him countless specialized weight contraptions or isometric pulleys - he would always build a second model, because if Bruce used it then it was highly effective no question).
In The Art of Expressing the Human Body one envisions samples of what Bruce initiated, the particular lifts, stretches, and workouts he had in mind. And of course would carry out for much of his adult life (about 1965-1973, eight years of pure muscle building and toning). The only flaw present in this first hand account - has a section devoted to printing some of Bruce's daily notes on regimentation and altering routines - is that the amount of weight in lbs. used for each movement is not listed. While it sounds as though Bruce did not do amazingly large numbers of sets or reps, he must have been at least testing out heavy weights for certain sets? No clue, but for what it's worth, and these ranging factoids of Bruce's exercise ideal are remarkable, this is the most advisable tome on Bruce Lee's so-called secrets. Physically speaking, solely but surely, that is.
Even included are exacting remarks having to do with daily numbers of punches, kicks, stretches, rest periods, strictest of diet/nutrition tips, and most importantly added emphasis on doing 5 different kinds of sit ups daily. Everyday, no exceptions, no excuses. Also, how to incorporate some form of cardio to enhance endurance while balancing this more tempered 'slow-twitch' muscle fiber work with high impact, speed and agility testing firing of punches, kicks, grapples, hand positions, footwork, and balance. These are all cliched in most circles, but in this book you get the inside scoop of what works, what doesn't. After seeing the 8+ yr results of Bruce's die hard 'put up or shut up' mentality, the stunning musculature of his that became, it is then natural to conclude whatever he was doing in preparation for fighting certainly had him in top form to compete. One of the truest statements ever about developing fighting power and pure strength is attributable to Mr. Lee: "We will worry about the connectors [tendons, ligaments, missed muscle groups in training] and building them up to attain a certain strength and not focus on huge, bulging muscles." Well, quite frankly Bruce Lee was ripped to the bone, with deeply cut muscle development in every body area or muscle group possible to hit. I also cannot agree more about one of the simplest tenets layed out in this book pertaining to Bruce's own personal health philosophy: stay away from cheeses, empty calories (starchy carbs), alcohol, concentrated sugar, and sodas. Things like ice cream or chocolate milk are actually less deleterious to your systems efficient functioning than the aforementioned delights, if that's what you call 'um. Another interesting tid bit is that Bruce loved all manner of teas, especially those bearing some content of honey for its energy boosting affect.
Bottomline: styles and techniques are useful, but they do not make the fighter. What is in the man is what makes him a contender always, or a slightly and occasionally formiddable foe. Weight training certainly made more a man out of Bruce Lee, however, his training in the martial arts since age 14 is what really sets him apart. Plus the fact his self-crafted combinational martial art called Jeet Kune Do encourages self-study of every possible martial art form, if only to acquire a well-rounded knack for things. :)
Upon completing the title, I recalled a conversation I had with Scott Ledeux (can sometimes be seen announcing boxing matches on ESPN, or ESPN2) about punching power in general. I asked him point blank: Who's the hardest puncher you've ever fought? He countered me on the spot with a dousy - "You mean in an actual contest or sparring?" Boy I was shook for a second there, but I regrouped, and said "Well, one would assume a real fight would produce harder, nastier punches....but in either case, I guess." (I read up on Scott days ahead of time, before he announced at the local boxing matches in our town, to discover who he'd been up against. The whole point of my questioning was to distinguish between two styles, and two all-time greats: Mike Tyson and George Foreman.) Anyway, Ledeux without hesitation told me that it was George Foreman who rocked him the hardest! I was a bit suprised, as I thought his longer, sometimes slower punches in comparison with Tyson's would hurt lesser? Not so. Ledeux also told me "When Foreman hits you, you don't want to get hit again. That's when you know you're in for it as a fighter. When your opponent has you psyched after the first real blow!" Just incredible stuff from Scott! I couldn't believe it, really. Frankly I wouldn't care to be hit by either of them (might even choose a Mack truck over each of them), but that Ledeux made it absolutely clear that a Foreman 'arm punch' was almost as solid as a Tyson 'short hook' had me baffled. It goes to show, power can be elusive. The only other boxers I can think of off hand that totally stun me whenever I watch them by their brute strength and the pop to their punches, would be Corrie Sanders (he would literally destroy guys in the wring.......watch Corrie Sanders vs. Al Cole or especially Sanders vs. Wladimir Klitschko to find out; WOW WHAT A PURE PUNCHER!)and Prince Naseem Hamed (watch Hamed vs. Augie Sanchez or Hamed vs. Kevin Kelley). And as many martial arts experts will tell you, a strong punch is a fighters best friend. Nonetheless, I do believe the martial arts in conction with some self-defense courses and grappling lessons will most benefit the average practitioner. Competition-wise, I'm glad to be a spectator/fan. Safety wise, it never hurts to explore your options. Read up on how Bruce honed his body into a devasting machine! Great publishing!
Summary of The Art of Expressing the Human Body
Beyond his martial arts and acting abilities, Bruce Lee's physical appearance and strength were truly astounding. He achieved this through an intensive and ever-evolving conditioning regime that is being revealed for the first time in this book. Drawing on Lee's own notes, letters, diaries and training logs, bodybuilding expert John Little presents the full extent of Lee's unique training methods including nutrition, aerobics, isometrics, stretching and weight training.
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