In a 1971 interview commonly referred to as “The Lost Interview,” Bruce Lee explains the following to interviewer Pierre Berton:
” … empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend …”
Although Bruce Lee is not directly associated with water boxing (or internal martial arts in general), it is commonly known that his father taught him some tai chi, in Hong Kong.
Some believe, however, that Lee actually learned water boxing (which was sometimes called “Hua Yue Tai Chi” because its proper name was not well known at the time) from his father, who was a student of a water-boxing instructor in Hong Kong. An interesting discussion on this can be found here.
The belief that Lee had exposure to water boxing is reasonable given what Lee says in the interview about being water—after all, the ability to both flow and crash are two of the primary skills that we train to develop as water boxers.
But what if you’re not a fan of Lee (or you don’t subscribe to the theory that he learned some water boxing)? Why then should you want to train to be water?
In combat, the ability to be water—to flow and to crash—is an advantage. In general, if you can crash (and destroy) your opponent’s defense, you crash. But sometimes you can’t crash, so you flow … but only until you can crash.
For health, training to be water can help to open the joints; strengthen the tendons, bones, and muscles; and develop balance.
And in life, to be water—to flow and to crash both mentally, emotionally, and physically, depending on the situation—can give you confidence and coolheadedness.
So come train with us to be water!