A Dynamic Prescription for Personal Growth | Chris Kent | TEDxYoungstown

[Music] thank you [Music] everyone knows that Bruce Lee was one of the most amazing martial artists who ever walked the planet today I'd like to share with you one of the tools he used to get there when I was 17 and a half I began training in Bruce Lee's martial art of G condo in the backyard gym of Dan and assanto who was Lee's assistant instructor in Los Angeles and one of only three people authorized by him to teach the art for me it was like winning the lottery Bruce ignited my passion for martial arts

when I was 11 years old and saw him in the Green Hornet television series six years later I was going to actually be studying his art there was only one class it was a private training group limited to 12 people at a time and I was number 12. Not only was I the youngest of the group by far even though I had several years of training and a couple of traditional Arts all of the other guys were high level martial artists most of them black belts a couple also had extensive backgrounds in Western boxing I'd

read numerous articles about jeekundo or JKD as we refer to it but nothing prepared me for the reality of training in it we warmed up by skipping rope and Shadow Boxing then kicking and hitting training equipment such as Focus gloves kicking Shields heavy bags all of these things are commonplace in many martial arts schools today but they weren't back then this was followed by sparring full contact sparring wearing boxing gloves baseball shin guards groin protectors mouthpieces and Tennis Shoes in my previous training I'd learned all sorts of ornate martial art forms and I was taught

all sorts of self-defense techniques that were supposedly guaranteed to deal with any type of attacker but I'd never actually put them to the acid test by attempting to use them in freelance sparring and I found out very quickly it was an entirely different ball game most of the material I'd spent Years Learning didn't work under pressure and the result was that I got hit a lot it was rough going not to mention painful at times but the biggest obstacle I came face to face with when I began training was my own approach to learning which

I developed as a kid in school and which was built primarily around rote memorization this worked fine in the other odds that I'd done in which things were put in nice neat little packages if the opponent does this you do this and this happens to them but it didn't work for JKD which is all about problem solving self-discovery and figuring out things for yourself rather than relying on the instructor for answers my mind was not used to thinking that way I loved everything about JKD but my learning kept stalling and there were numerous times during

the first several months of training when I questioned myself as to whether or not this was the right art for me one day following a particularly frustrating workout as I was taking off my training gear I glanced up at a large sign hanging on the wall of the gym upon which was printed one of the core credos of jeekundo it said the truth in combat is different for each individual in this style and was followed by four principles that Bruce developed and used in his approach and study of the martial arts I'd seen and read

that sign dozens of times before and not really given it much thought but this time when I looked at it bam it was like a solid right hook punch to my brain only instead of the lights going out they came on I knew in that moment that the four principles on that sign offered me the solution to my situation the first principle was research your own experience each training session was an experience for me so I began to look at them explore them assess them by asking myself questions such as what did this experience mean

to me how did it make me feel what purpose of or value does this experience hold for me I knew I had to be open and honest with myself let the experience speak to me and listen I also knew that I had to take full stock of the experience in its entirety not just the good parts or the parts I liked every experience was valuable to me and offered me a way to discover myself and increase my self-knowledge the second principle was absorb what is useful now I understood that attempting to copy or imitate Bruce

Lee or anybody else for that matter was definitely the wrong way to go but I also recognized that if I saw somebody do something that I thought could make me better or if I came across something that I felt had value with regard to my own training I should feel free to absorb it into my own personal structure integrate it with my being it could be something physical such as the incredible sense of timing that Daniel Lee my JKD big brother had when sparring or it could be mental such as the cool Detachment the Brazilian

Jiu Jitsu Legend Hicks and Gracie demonstrated when fighting an opponent in the UFC it didn't even have to come from martial arts exercise physiology psychology modern dance my guiding Maxim was it doesn't matter where it comes from if you understand it and you can use it it belongs to no one it's yours when I was considering absorbing something I'd break it down and analyze it what is it about this technique that makes it effective what makes this Training Method useful for me how will cultivating this mental attitude make me better I'd experiment with it and

play around with it if need be once I understood how and why it was useful I could cultivate it refine it modified if needed and turn it into something that was of benefit to me on the flip side of absorb what is useful the third principle was reject what is useless which deals with refusing to accept or letting go of something that's not useful to you or that's having an adverse effect upon you again this could be something physical or mental for me one of the hardest hurdles I had to overcome was mental see I

was raised with the idea anything worth doing is worth doing right or well and I was continually being told that over time I became self-critical if I couldn't do something well or get something correct right away and that mindset was restricting me especially when it came to my training I realized I had a decision to make I could either hold on to that attitude and let it continue to cause me problems or I could dump it I chose to get rid of it but I knew also this was not something that I could do overnight

so I cultivated my plan of action to detach myself from it over time it took a lot of work and a lot of effort but I did it and the freedom it brought me was incredible the final principle was add what is specifically your own this one took a little more thought and introspection what could I bring to G condo that was specifically my own the answer was me I could bring my own attitude attributes and personal preferences to whatever I was doing I could put my own personal stamp on the art Infuse it with

my own thoughts ideas and points of view by doing this I would cultivate my own personal martial expression and that is what G condo is all about these four principles changed my mindset and helped me develop and cultivate a whole new approach to not only learning but living and I think that they are invaluable tools that you can use to help enhance your self-development they'll help you to explore yourself and get in touch with yourself figure out what works for you and what doesn't what's useful to you and what's not and What Makes You unique

as a person you can apply them to whatever's happening in your life whatever situation you find yourself in whatever problem or challenge you're dealing with when you put these principles to work for you your life will be richer and more rewarding you'll be willing to step out of your comfort zone explore your capabilities try new things and in the words of Bruce Lee honestly Express Yourself when you apply them to obstacles adversities or barriers you encounter they can help you turn stumbling blocks into Stepping Stones research your own experience absorb what is useful reject what

is useless add what is specifically your own four principles that offer you a dynamic prescription for personal growth thank you foreign [Music]