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I said: “Empty your mind…Be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes a cup; you put water into a bottle, it becomes a bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water my friend.” – Bruce Lee

This is one of his most famous quotes in an interview. In my opinion, these are the greatest words ever spoken. There are so much to learn from these words if you really think about it. Lee is a firm believer in self-expression. For this reason, I can’t just start to go with “What he is basically saying is…”. Adaptation is the best style of fighting as Lee created Jeet Kune Do (1967), the Hybrid Martial Arts aka freestyle fighting. Lee also wrote a book about this hybrid fighting systems “Tao of Jeet Kune Do”, if you have not read this book, please read it, it will open your mind. You can get it here at Amazon:

The development of Jeet Kune Do that uses aspects derived from several particular martial arts, is the root of what we have today mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee brought the idea of hybridization and all of the credits attached to his name, “The father of MMA”.

Again, Be Water My Friend

The sky is the limit. The meaning of “be like water” can apply to many aspects of life. The water can be so calm as water in the pool or it can be so aggressive like waves in the ocean. Only when you can “empty your mind” like overcome your ego-self and stay in the present moment, you can see things more clearly without passing judgment, the good the bad or the past the future; you are at your best self “be formless, shapeless”. By being a free mind like water, you then able to achieve so much more, a step closer to your goals: meditation, training, work, habits, social interaction, etc…

Self lesson: I should realize it sooner.

The Benefits of Drinking Water

Do you drink enough water every day? It’s a simple question with no easy answer. It also seems an easy task but difficult to do. The average amount of water in the human body is about 60%. The older you grow, the water percentage drops. Since water is the principal chemical component, your body requires water consumption desperately.

Dehydration (lack of water) causes your body unable to carry out normal functions. If you feel fatigue or energy drained, drink more water.

The recommendation water intake according to CDC is 3.7 liters (125 oz) for average adult male and 2.7 liters (91 oz) for average adult female. So if a water bottle capacity is 16.9 oz, you need to drink 5-7 bottles a day. I already do the math, all you have to do is taking the action.

My favorite sports water is the Premium Purified Water by LIFEWTR, each of the bottles is beautiful with feature arts fused on it. There are a total of 5 series.

Besides, Essentia Ionized Alkaline 9.5 pH Bottled Water is the #1 choice for the picky drinker. The removal of the bitter-tasting sets this supercharged alkaline drinking water apart. Essentia water is listed under Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR) since they are unique or simply the best. Hence, they are little pricier compared to others.

Drink more water my friend.

Till next time.

Shadow boxing is the skill needed to strengthen the mind, endurance and other benefits. This may be too early to go into this topic because we need to improve the overall physical condition first before focusing on shadow boxing. So I will keep this post short and go straight to the point to let you know how Lee had done it.

How To Perform Shadowboxing?

See the photo of Lee above and mimic his stance. This is also called the on-guard position, this stance is the best form that Lee has illustrated in his book, I will cover about this stance in deep in another post.

At first, concentrate on the stance, make sure you perform the stance correctly. Lee is right-hander so his stronger hand and foot are at the front, if you are a left-hander, just switch to the opposite position. The next step is learned to relax your body and start to move back and forth (to the front then back to original position) and throw the punch too! The purpose of doing this is to build up the lightness on feet, at the same time increase your speed. Keep practicing till it feels natural then you can move sideways too.

Improve Agility

Shadowboxing is a good agility exercise that anyone can practice regardless of age (well, with a mind of a fighter). Shadowboxing can be applied as a warm-up exercise to loosen muscle before a workout. Just 5 to 10 minutes could drive you out of breath, this means burning some good amount of calories too!

Your footwork can be improved over time and you will definitely find a sense of balance in each of every move.

I’m A Fighter Not A Quitter

A strong sentence isn’t it? Once you start practicing shadowboxing, you will be able to establish the idea of intense focus. Always keep in mind that only by continuous exercise will you become better at maintaining the stamina.

Lee used heavy punching bag for his training. The muscles grow stronger when they meet resistance. Shadowboxing can be very effective with a punching bag. A 70 lbs punching bag is more than adequate for your needs, the whole kit can be found here at Amazon (includes Single Station Stand). A punching bag alternative is a floor training dummy, BOB is the number 1 choice.

Get the BOB by Century here:

Train Hard!