Bruce Lee?

I hate people who think it's a good idea to follow what they think was Bruce Lee's philosophy. Let's see. He trained in Wing Chung for five years as a teenager in Hong Kong. After that he did his own thing until he died at age 32.

He had a total of 19 years in martial arts.

I'd rather follow people I find more impressive. Helio Gracie also started training as a young lad. He went on to modify what he learned into a new version. His art has spread around the world and is now one of the premier in terms of combat effectiveness. He continued to teach and refine his art until his death at age 95.

Which of these two impresses me more? It isn't even a contest.

What frustrates me the most is people who want to follow Lee's thinking believe it means that an unqualified person should pick and choose what makes sense to them. That's like saying a person who has never taken a science course, should figure out physics.

Lee had a base in Wing Chung. He did not just invent things, or gather from other arts willy-nilly.

Instead of the idea, "Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it," why not follow, "Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there." Lee said both.

Or maybe just think it through. Martial arts are not a collection of tricks. Each art is quite complete unto itself. Each has been developed by true experts, who have dedicated collectively hundreds of years to fine tuning the art. You are going to show up, knowing nothing, and are going to design your own.

Feel insulted? Don't be. Think of professional football players. Can somebody walk in off the street and train them self into the NFL. Do Olympic gymnasts train themselves to a gold medal?

There are real experts in martial arts. The trick can be to avoid fakes, and from amongst the real ones find a good teacher.

Pay your dues, and learn your basics. Spend 5 years or so and get a foundation. If you want a broader base than one art seems to be giving you, find another and train in it, too. I said, too, not instead.

See how the top mma fighters do it. The best start with one area of expertise, and later add in the others. George St. Pierre started in Karate, and then added in the other parts of mma. Many start with significant wrestling or Jiu-Jitsu backgrounds, and branch from there.

Even those few who started in mma gyms from day one learned it as a coherent art. Never yet seen one who has invented their own.

Walk before you can run.