Be Water, My Friend

I've never really been a fan of Bruce Lee to be honest. There were a few reasons for this. Firstly there weren't much of his movies to go around and local television stations fed us instead with a staple of Jackie Chan and Jet Li flicks. Secondly their styles were vastly different and us being children, we were probably more amused by Jackie's humorous antics and resourcefulness at fighting with everyday objects. You laugh at Jackie hitting his head or getting a few jabs occasionally, but laughing when Bruce takes down the whole room? No no...never. Also, the No-Shadow Kick was a more popular talking point than the One Inch Punch at our primary school.

Last night I was planning to watch the Arsenal - Newcastle game but after some channel surfing, found the screening of  'How Bruce Lee Changed The World' on Discovery and was too totally absorbed in it to change back to the match. 

The 2 hour documentary is a must watch for all Bruce Lee fans. Bruce was a visionary man and his life, albeit a short one, commanded such an influence that it inspired countless numbers future actors, artists, sportsmen and ordinary people alike. I think what I like most about him was his discipline - in both advancing his physical prowess and his art. 

I did some digging and found out that we do share the same views when it comes to nutrition. After our marriage, my wife and I (rather reluctantly for me at first I must admit) did an overhaul of our family meals - forbidding all junk foods and buying only those that offered real nutrition to our bodies. A lot of emphasis was placed on fruits and vegetables with meals occasionally taken with lean meat. Refined carbs were seldom taken but not cut off altogether. We started increasing our protein intake and also avoided huge traditional meals and preferred to instead eat smaller meals throughout the day in the form of healthy snacks. There are times when this is unavoidable, like if there's a function or wedding dinner to attend... but we will revert back to our normal routine of eating small meals. To this day, my wife has never fried anything in our kitchen, opting instead to steam or boil.

What we do is nothing novel, with most modern health magazines advocating such steps. However when you think that Bruce Lee did all these 50 years ago, you can't help but to marvel at the man. This is surely a testimony to his revolutionary ideas and also to the phrase 'there is nothing new under the sun'. I may have been late but nevertheless, finally a fan. Time to break out those Bruce Lee Classics!