bruce lee power and speed training - bruce lee

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THE POWER OF THE DRAGON

Develop Strength Bruce Lee’s Way.

By: Justin Frost and Ted Wong.

Bruce Lee E-Paper – I

Published by – The Wrong Brothers

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Did Bruce Lee take his training seriously?

"While Bruce was in Hong Kong filming in late 1971 or early 1972, he had his weight equipment

and training gear shipped to him," says Ted Wong, who met Lee in 1967 and trained with him for

more than six years. "He wanted to stay in shape. So we packed his bags, but we did not send any

clothes because he said he could buy them cheap in Hong Kong. We just packed training

equipment. When he saw all the bags filled with training equipment, he laughed and said, ‘Now I’mgoing to be able to do lots of training.’"

And train he did.

"Bruce considered training number one," says Wong. "He was constantly training. When he

watched TV or went to the movies, he conditioned his knuckles. When he was driving, he worked

the hand grips. If he walked to a bookstore and came to a hill, he always ran. He never wasted

time."

Why was this man so obsessed with training? Several reasons.

First, according to Lee, training was important because you couldn’t perform up to your capabilities

if you weren’t in shape, Wong recalls.

"Lee felt you had no business being in the martial arts if you weren’t in shape," says Wong. "If you

weren’t in shape you couldn’t be 100 percent efficient."

Second, he had lofty goals.

"He wanted to be the best," says Wong. "He wanted to be the best martial artist."

And no one could dispute that he was.

Lee’s Thoughts on Strength

To get in excellent shape, Lee felt you needed strength, Wong notes.

"He considered strength training very important," Wong says. "He was constantly looking for ways

to improve, including weight training and isometrics."

Although Lee felt strength was important, he did not believe bodybuilding was the answer, Wong

says.

"He felt it was important to have definition, but he did not feel you had to overboard," Wong says.

"He did not feel it was necessary to develop large muscles. On the other hand, strength and

definition enhanced certain functions, such as kicking and punching."

And Lee’s conditioning entailed more than hand grips, sit-ups, weights, running and conditioning

drills.

"A lot of the time he read books and analyzed different arts," Wong says. "He had a keen eye and an

analytical mind. He did a lot of researching."

While you may never develop Lee’s skills, you can certainly train the way the "Little Dragon" did.

Following are a few of the exercises Lee used to develop power



Lee’s Strength Routine

Barbell Push

This exercise strengthens your arms, forearms, shoulders, biceps, lats, triceps, chest and abs.

"This exercise works almost your whole body," Wong says. "It’s really good; it’s effective. But it is

also very difficult. Although Bruce lifted a lot of weight, most people can’t. I remember trying to

lift what he used, and I couldn’t even hold it."

To begin, stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Squat, grab the barbell with an

underhand grip and stand up. Keeping your elbows by your side, raise the weight straight out, hold

for a second, return and repeat.

Do three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. When you’re done, do three sets of 8 to 12 reps with anoverhand grip.

Punching With a Dumbbell

This exercise improves your shoulder endurance, which is vital for sparring.

"Bruce did this drill a lot." Wong says.

Hold a five-pound dumbbell in each hand, assume a fighting stance and alternate throwing punches

with each hand



"Do these moderately fast," Wong says.

To prevent an injury, however, don’t throw your punches too fast. Do two to three sets, 10 to 15

reps per set.

One-Hand Dumbbell Drill

This drill strengthens your wrist, which means your punches will be stronger. Lee used this exercise

to enhance his one-inch punch, Wong notes.

"When your wrist is strong, you get more power," he says. "And it’s good when you’re in close

range because there isn’t much room for your wrist to travel. This is a good drill for the one-inch

punch."

To begin, stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, and hold a five-pound dumbbell in your

right hand. Keeping your arm to your side and using only your wrist, raise the dumbbell as high as

you can and lower it as far as you can.

Do two sets of 25 reps. When you’re done, do two sets of 25 reps, moving your wrist from side to

side as far as you can.

Isometrics

"This is isometric training for power punching," Wong says. "It was one of Lee’s favorite drills because it built speed and punching power at different ranges."

To do this, you can use a jump rope, a karate belt or a strand of rope.

To begin, assume a fighting stance and hold the rope in both hands. Place your left hand behind

your back, wrap the other end around your shoulder and throw a short-range punch. Hold it for five

seconds, extend your punch to ¾ distance, hold it for five seconds, extend it to full range and hold.

For each arm, do five sets of five reps.



Board Isometrics

This drill is for leg strength and mobility.

"This exercise really puts pressure on your knees," he says. "It’s intense."

To do this drill, you’ll need a four-foot long board with a shoulder harness strapped in the middle.

To begin, assume a fighting stance on the board and place the harness around your neck. Exerting a

constant upward pressure, lean forward and then lean back.

"This drill enables you to develop explosive power and to close the gap [more efficiently]," He

says.

Do three sets of one minute. As you improve, increase your time.

Hand Isometric Drills

This drill strengthens your forearms, which is great for trapping and punching.

You will need the board for this exercise also. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, wrap the

straps around your forearms and exert pressure upward.

Do three sets of one minute. Don’t rest more than one minute between sets.

Bull Worker for Punching

This drill also strengthens your punching power.

To do this drill, you’ll need a Bull Worker, which you may be able to find at a sporting goods store.

Assume a fighting stance, hold the bow straps in each hand, and throw as many punches as you can,

as fast as you can.

"Do these real fast, and do as many as you can," Wong says.

Do two to three sets You can throw backfists or straight punches This device also enables you to



Bull Worker for Trapping

Again, you will also need the Bull Worker for this drill, which strengthens your forearms for

trapping, grabbing and hitting.

Assume a fighting stance, place one end of the Bull Worker against your abs, and hold the other end

at about head-height. As quickly as possible, pull the top part toward your abs, return and repeat.

What Made Bruce Great?

So what made Bruce Lee as great as he was?

Strength training? Genetics? Intensity?

"I think there are a lot of factors, but I think it was his drive," Wong says. "For example, he always

told me you had to put 100 % effort into everything you did. He said, ‘When you throw a punch,

put everything into it. Don’t just go through the motions.’ To this day I remember that, and it’s very

important to me."

Important Note

This is the first E-Paper on Bruce Lee released by The Wrong Brothers. We will soon release thesecond E-Paper on Bruce Lee And Jeet Kune Do as soon as we have some new material on Bruce

Lee. Our dream is to compile an E-book that contains all the information on Bruce Lee and Jeet

Kune Do. So if you have any information on Bruce Lee or his exercises, then please contact me at

[email protected] . We will put it in our next E-Paper along with your name. All you

Bruce Fans let’s join our hands together and publish an E-Book on Bruce that has never been

compiled before. Come and be a member of Bruce Lee's P2P (Peer to Peer) Community.

Please Share Any Information or Exercises about Bruce Lee over P2P Networks (Kazzaa,

Morpheus, Grokster, File Share, etc…)

– The Wrong Brothers, 12th Aug 2002

mailto:[email protected]

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Bruce Lee's Speed Training

by Bruce Lee and M. Uyehara

What is speed in fighting? Is it the velocity of your hands, feet and body movement? Or are there

other, prevalent essentials in a good fighter? What is a good fighter?

A good fighter is one who can hit his opponent quicker, harder, without much perceptible effort, andyet avoid being hit. He doesn't only possess a pair of fast hands and feet and quick bodymovement, but he has other qualities such as non-telegraphic moves, good coordination, perfect

balance and keen awareness. Although some people are endowed with a few of these qualities,most of these attributes are developed through hard training.

All the strength or power you have developed from your training is wasted if you are slow and can'tmake contact. Power and speed go hand-in-hand. A fighter needs both to be successful.

One immediate way to increase your speed at impact is to "snap" or "whip" your hand just beforecontact. It is the same principle as the overhand throw. For example, if you throw a baseball with afull swing and snap your wrist at the last moment or the tail end of your swing, the ball will have

more velocity than without the snap. Naturally, the longer swing with a snap will have moreacceleration at the end than a shorter swing with a snap.

Speed in Punching

The backfist is not the quickest or strongest technique because you can't utilize your entire body inthe movement. It is, however, one blow that you can apply the whipping or snapping motion to.

The backfist is usually thrown at your opponent's head, and it is used heavily in combination withlop sao (grabbing-the-hand techniques). It is delivered from shoulder height but can also be usedas a surprise attack and can be launched anywhere from your waist to your shoulder. It is verydifficult to block once you have acquired non-telegraphic moves.

Although some power is lost in this punch, it is compensated for or redeemed when combined withlop sao. If you can develop a strong pulling power in your arm, you will be able to jerk youropponent forward and apply the backfist. The impact should be devastating.

Candle Drill

To develop speed or quickness in the backfist, light a candle and attempt to extinguish it with the

acceleration of your punch.

Blocking Drill

Another interesting exercise is to have a partner attempt to block your punch as you throw it at hisface. If he misses his block, you should be able to stop your punch about 1/4-inch from his skin.



Later, as you progress, you can throw the straight punch with your hands in any position. But thepunch must be launched with your body in balance to be effective.

Unlike the classical stance, your hand is never placed on your hip, nor is the punch initiated from

there. It is impractical to have your hand traveling the extra, needless distance. Furthermore,

delivery of your punch from the hip exposes a large area of your body.

The leading straight will have more sting if you pivot your hips and utilize all the other functions fora heavy blow. But sometimes this will telegraph your movement, and you have to decide whether

to sacrifice speed for power. This depends on your opponent. If he is very slow and awkward, youcan utilize the powerful blows. But if he is fast, you may have to concentrate on speed more than

power.

Speed Bag

Among the best equipment to develop speed and accuracy is the old-fashioned speed bag. To use

the bag properly, you have to be quick with your hands. You also have to hit the target perfectly sothe bag will bounce directly back to you.

In the beginning, use both hands to punch the bag and stand with your feet parallel but comfortably

apart. Hit the bag straight, using your nose as the guiding point. The most valuable feature of thebag is that it compels you to hit directly and crisply so it returns to you sharply.

You cannot hit the bag if you punch from your hip; it takes too long to react. And you are liable tobe hit in the face since your hands will not be able to protect your head from the oncoming bag.

Punching Pads

You can use punching pads to increase your speed and heavy punching.

If you are working out with one pad, have your partner hold the pad in front of him. Whenever youtry to punch it, he should jerk it swiftly either upward or downward, trying to make you miss.

You can do the same exercise with two pads.

Wooden Dummy

The wooden dummy can also be used to learn speed punching. The disadvantage, however, isthat you can hurt your hands if you are not conditioned to hit solid objects.

Slapping Game

An excellent child's game that is fun and can be played with anyone is the "slapping" match.

Extend your arm fully in front of you with your hand outstretched. Make sure your thumb is on thetop and hold it vertically. When your partner swings his hand to slap yours, jerk your hand upward

bruce lee power and speed training - bruce lee

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