Training with Richard Bustillo
I snapped this rare picture of Bruce with a mustache at Richard Bustillo's Academy last week.  This was the third place I visited while here in LA. I felt right at home there. It had the same family atmosphere as in our FSD schools and the people, especially Mr. Bustillo, was very inviting and friendly. Also an original student of Bruce Lee in the 60s, it was interesting to see their take on Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. It was nice to see we shared the same belief about JKD. At the core Jeet Kune Do is about self-expression. Nobody owns JKD. Whenever you find yourself "getting it" when it comes to a technique or a concept, and this, done without thought or effort and it becomes a part of you, you are doing JKD even if you train in a different art. Everyone expresses themselves differently in martial arts, and that's okay, there is no right or wrong way. Like Jean Jacques Machado told me (oops did I just tell you who my number 5 instructor was over here in LA? Before I go in detail about JJ, I have to talk to you about my 82 year old number 4 instructor, tomorrow I'll post it for sure), he says: "We're all going to the same place, some people take longer than others but we all get there in the end" Fang Shen Do is my family's interpretation of how to use the energy that resides in all of us. Seeing how things have been going for me during my stay here, FSD is a great way to prepare the individual by laying a strong foundation of speed, power, flexibility, balance, intensity and mental toughness from which you can adapt to any art and still approach it with respect, humility, and a beginner's mind. Master Yourself, Sibok M P.S. Great care has been put into the creation of our FSD products. Browse through the list and see what you can find to help you move more naturally. Browse here. Labels: Bruce Lee, Fang Shen Do, Jeet Kune Do, Richard Bustillo
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Training with Don the Dragon Wilson
On my second day here I had a chance to workout privately with Don "the Dragon" Wilson. Even in his 50s he's still moving like a 20 year old.  So much for people saying : "Oh I'm too old to start martial arts" and often times that's coming from a 30 year old's mouth. Don obviously gets it. It's about the FEELING. After all these years, it still makes him feel good. And I hope it's the same for you. Martial arts training has a special way of releasing harmful stress, building confidence through learning how to control your mind and body, nobody likes to feel out of control especially when your weight is concerned and the same is true about your thoughts. Training will simultaneously take care of both. It's only a matter of time before regular, consistent practice torches fat off your body, rids it of stiffness and pain, replenishes your energy levels, and stops you from thinking you're "too old", too soon. Perhaps maybe the most unexpected benefit of martial art training is the positive effect it has on your mind. The great martial artists I've met while here in L.A and all others in the past, all shared a common trait: Mental Acuity Mentally, the first thing martial arts teaches you is FOCUS. Small improvements in this area alone will extend to all areas of your life. Focus will help you save energy. Focus will make you more efficient. Focus will help you follow through. Focus is what gets you through tough times because you stay focused on the big picture. Then it's Visualization. Learning to think in terms of images is the secret to making sure you get what you want. Martial arts training has a way to challenge your mind the same way playing Sudoku or any other mind game would. Your mind is like a muscle. Use it or lose it. It's one thing to make random claims without hard proof about a subject and it's another to actually meet the people who have been training martial arts for the past 10, 20, 30, 50 years and getting the results I've been talking about. I'll let you know of one I met here who's 82 years young and can still whip out a jab in your face without you seeing him and maintain an upbeat conversation, offer clear instruction and made me laugh as he discussed his 10 years spent working with Bruce Lee and his views about martial arts and life in general. But before I talk about him there's someone else I trained with on my third day here that I'd like to talk to you about, tune in tomorrow. Master Yourself, Sibok M P.S. If you still haven't started your MA training you need to get with the program, here's the easiest way to get started. Be our guest.Labels: Bruce Lee, Don the Dragon Wilson, Fang Shen Do, Los Angeles Training, Sibok Martin Patenaude
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It's Louse Time! Hung Up in the Way
Friday is always what I call: "Louse Time". Modeled after Bruce Lee's strategy in Enter the Dragon. You know that part where he's having tea with the government agent but he's disturbed by one of his students and Bruce Lee tells the agent: It's Louse Time! The agent replies with his British accent: "yes of course". Since I'm 6 years old that scene has always stuck with me and I'll be using that same strategy with YOU every week. Friday is where I share with you Life Lessons and Direction given to me by my dad (and Sifu) every Friday. But this Friday is different. Ever since I started "Louse Time" on Fridays I've been getting positive feedback from alot of you and who would of thought I'd be doing a Louse Time session with the co-star of Enter the Dragon, Bob Wall (aka Ohara) one day. After completing my morning workout with my dad and O'hara, I mean Bob, here are some lessons you might be interested in hearing about. Bruce always related his martial art training to life. Kinda like what we've been doing for the past 35 years. This is the ultimate goal of martial arts, to use it as a tool to improve yourself in all areas of your life. The martial arts are filled with knuckle heads who are caught in styles and who's better than who. Many were around then and double that number today. Bruce's whole philosophy was: "Don't get Hung Up in the Way". Look at comments on You Tube related Martial arts topics and you'll find a boat load of people arguing that their style is better than others, especially when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu. Not one of the top guys in Wrestling or Jiu-Jitsu engage in that kind of discussion. They're all ready and open to learn from anybody. It seems to be a trend among us human beings to compare ourselves. Who has the best religion. My god is better than your god. My house is bigger than your house. My kids are smarter than your kids. Bruce had many challenges when it came to his ethnicity, it wasn't easy to be chinese back in the 60's. The chinese also resented him for teaching caucasians kung-fu. Same thing for African Americans, that's why his first student was black, to prove to everyone he wasn't going to follow the norm. Coming back to his philosophy: "Don't get Hung up in the Way" There are many ways to interpret and learn a lesson from it as well as apply it to your own life. In our Neigong Training we focus on un-blocking the meridians of the body but using Bruce Lee's philosophy it also means to un-block certain ways of thinking, to expand your view and seek out better ways of getting in shape, or making money, attracting better quality friends, designing the life of your dreams, and constantly looking at the results you're getting and liking what you get. Listening to Bob share his views and experiences and hearing him rave about our FSD training, getting actual, factual feedback from a man who's seen them all, managed the best fighters in the world is priceless. I usually dismiss internet blabber from on-line, couch potatoe black belts hiding behind computer screens but when a man like Bob gives us a compliment, I listen. I always wanted to meet Bruce Lee, now through Bob I feel like I have. Being endorsed by Bob Wall is the beginning of a great relationship and all FSD Students will benefit greatly from his wisdom and experience. Do like Bruce Lee, refuse to follow, blaze your own trail, and act on what your heart tells you to do. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin P.S. Speaking of blazing a trail, we'll be blazing one this Sunday, one that you'll have to walk accross to get to the other side with new found determination and focus. Join us by springing on over to this link. Labels: Bob Wall, Bruce Lee, Fang Shen Do, Louse Time
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It's about Effin' time!
It's true. It's about time MMA got the attention it deserves. It's now part of the mainstream. Everyone knows about it, even people you wouldn't expect. Everyone finally gets the point of using what works and mixing the arts. I can say from experience it wasn't always that way. Back in the day (20 years ago) when my father used to offer special private training to his advanced students and giving them a chance to taste a variety of arts and concepts, my dad would get angry phone calls from rivaling schools and instructors condemning him from borrowing from their art or instructor. You can imagine what his answer to them was. I'm sure Bruce Lee ran into the same kind of issues when he was developing his JKD. I particularly like this quote from him: "To use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it". Nobody "owns" a technique. Today Bruce Lee is a legend and even dubbed "Godfather of MMA". What if martial art forums and internet in general would have been around in those early days, you think people would have tried to bash him, destroy his reputation and ask the stupidest question of them all: "Are you certified to merge all these arts?" I think so. Today it's a different story, at no other time in history have masters and schools been so open to share their knowledge with one another. My father always says: "What you keep for yourself diminishes and what you share multiplies". One day we'll rid ourselves of the schools and their students that would rather argue about styles rather than actually train. Until that day comes, we're doing our part to share our knowledge and our contacts with you. Bruce Lee's long time friend and student Bob Wall, will be hosting a series of seminars throughout the FSD organization during the month of May. To register for this event you can visit the appropriate link below. For FSD members . For Non-members. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Bob Wall, Bruce Lee, Fang Shen Do, Jeet Kune Do, JKD, MMA, Seminars
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Interviewing a Legend
Every morning I ask myself the same questions. "Are you using your mind to it's full potential?" This quote sums it up for me: "The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to the office." ~ Robert Frost What is the office? For some it really is an office or for others it's any activity that pulls you away from your real goals or aspirations. A portion of my day revolves around Meditating or Actively Thinking and Planning. One of our long time friends and equipment supplier always had this old sign close to his desk: "Fail to Plan. Plan to Fail" You always keep your major goals at the forefront of your mind and clearly map out how you are going to reach them. Like magic you will attract into your life what you need to make those goals happen. Once the opportunities present themselves you have to be ready to take action on them.  Through my father I had the opportunity to interview a martial art legend: Bob Wall Most people recognize him as O'hara in Enter the Dragon. What a coincidence to be using "Louse Time" on Fridays from the same movie to actually talking to him and having him share stories of Bruce, Brandon, Chuck Norris, Gene Lebelle, Jean-Claude Van Damme, the Machados, and on and on he went for 3 hours. I'll be sharing some of those stories in upcoming blog posts in the coming weeks. Like Attracts LikeHim and my dad instantly connected when they met in Germany and this is a start to a long friendship and partnership for years to come. One of my father's strengths is using his mind to attract like a magnet what he desires. That's why I'm urging you to take time every morning to do just that. Picture what you want no matter how outrageous it may seem, Don't wait because the time will never be just right, be passionate and believe in yourself. What if you fail?To quote Bob: "If you're not failing you're not learning". I'll be posting extensive pictures of him and my dad very shortly and will let you know how to get a hold of the interview as soon as it's available. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Bob Wall, Bruce Lee
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It's Louse Time! Feel your Life
If you're new to my list of focused, motivated, self- starters, Welcome. (if you're not new jump right away to today's lesson below) Every day I communicate to you the best ways to train and the kind of mindset it takes to get results either in your physical fitness or martial art training. Friday is always what I call: "Louse Time". Modeled after Bruce Lee's strategy in Enter the Dragon. You know that part where he's having tea with the government agent but he's disturbed by one of his students and Bruce Lee tells the agent: It's Louse Time! The agent replies with his British accent: "yes of course". Since I'm 6 years old that scene has always stuck with me and I'll be using that same strategy with YOU every week. Friday is where I share with you Life Lessons and Direction given to me by my dad (and Sifu) every Friday. Today's lesson is: Feel your Life How many times a day do you take the time to bring your attention inside of you instead of focusing and reacting to distractions on the outside? Martial Arts offers a way to FEEL better by first teaching you the 3 elements of Control. Control over your breath. Control over negative thoughts. Control over your body through stretching, conditioning, muscle control exercises, and sensitivity drills which leads to a better flow of energy. These 3 areas of development force you to turn inwards and listen. Most students, when they start cannot take 5 deep breaths in a row, holding each breath 30 seconds, without being out of breath, distracted or dizzy. Controlling the breath is the first thing we get students to practice in our schools and with good reason, it makes the other 2 easier to master. With practice, you realize the importance of each breath that comes into you, how lucky you are to be here and the way breathing deeply slows everything down, especially your mind to a state of total calmness and free of worry. The last element ties in with really Feeling your Life. While Stretching or doing any kind of martial art related exercise, if one doesn't FEEL there is no chance for advancement. By constantly turning your attention inside and being aware of your breath you really capture every moment that would of otherwise been lost, ignored or forgotten. There are many things in this world competing for your attention, to pull you away from your center, do not let them. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Bruce Lee, Louse Time
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It's Louse Time!
If you're new to my list of focused, motivated, self-starters, Welcome. (if you're not jump right away to today's lesson below) Every day I communicate to you the best ways to train and the kind of mindset it takes to get results either in your physical fitness or martial art training. Friday is always what I call: "Louse Time". Modeled after Bruce Lee's strategy in Enter the Dragon. You know that part where he's having tea with the government agent but he's disturbed by one of his students and Bruce Lee tells the agent: It's Louse Time! The agent replies with his british accent: "yes of course". Since I'm 6 years old that scene has always stuck with me and I'll be using that same strategy with You every week. Friday is where I share with you Life Lessons and Direction given to me by my dad (and Sifu) every Friday. Today's lesson was on Concentrated Action. Yesterday we did just that. I'm not sure about you but last winter was hard on us. One of our garage collapsed under the weight of the snow, our deck collapsed under the weight of the snow, one of our zip lines from our aerial park got crushed by an 80 year old red pine which snapped in half on it, our pool's outer wall ripped. Anything else? Isn't that enough? What are you supposed to do in times like these? Be resilient, take each problem and fix it. Back to my subject of Concentrated Action. Do you often find yourself trying to do too many things all at once that nothing gets done? Your day might start with you sitting down to continue work on a book you're writing, shortly after your cell phone rings then it's answering e-mail, then the delivery guy drops off a few packages, then you're off to a meeting. You never get in the flow of things. The trick is to schedule your work day in 1 hour blocks. 1 hour of writing. 1 hour of reading. 1 hour of phone calls, 1 hour of alone time (meditating or training) with no interruptions. If you structure your day this way you'll get more done in half the time. Yesterday was no different. Concentrated Action until 2:00 pm and most chores are done. Next week we'll start laying down the foundation for a new garage and getting the final preparations for Training Camp 2008 under way. I write about a 100 goals a year and I never get tired of crossing them off my list and pencil in DONE on top of them. All that is possible because of this simple concept: Concentrated Action. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin Labels: Bruce Lee, Life Lessons
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Adopting Bruce Lee's Louse Time Strategy
 Remember I talked about Bruce Lee and the movie Enter the Dragon in past newsletters. That part where the student disturbs Bruce Lee's tea ceremony with the government official. Bruce Lee says: "It's Louse Time" and proceeds to teach life and martial art lessons to the student. I mentioned before, how every friday is MY louse time with my dad. I might make every Friday, Louse time. Where I communicate to you what I learn on a weekly basis from my Sifu. Let me know by e-mail if that would be of any value to you. Today was: Concentrated Action You might be struggling and overwhelmed by the amount of things you have to do in one day. Chances are your attention is scattered all over the place. Trying to do to many things at once. By having concentrated action, you break down your work day into a mini work day. That means for example: if you are to make phone calls you focus exclusively on that. No e-mail, no cell phone, no internet. Just total focus on that task at hand. One hour of checking e-mails, one hour of training and stretching, one hour of... You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish in one day using this principle. This is why our strength training philosophy is so effective. There's no time to think and there's no distractions. If you work your abs you're working your abs non-stop. If it's your legs, it's your legs. You're doing so with full commitment and intensity. It's something to be felt, that's for sure. Pick up our strength training system here and you'll understand what I mean. Master Yourself, Sifu Martin P.S. Bruce Lee said something else during his "Louse Time" with that student. He said: "Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory". Be careful what you focus on. You might be putting the most mundane tasks first when you start your day. Start your day by focusing on your most important goals, goals that will improve your life. Everything else comes second. Labels: Bruce Lee, Intensity, Strength Training
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