Defeat is a state of mind; No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality – Bruce Lee
Oftentimes, the difference between success and failure is, not quitting. The legendary martial artist and superstar Bruce Lee had to persist through lot of hardships before he achieved stardom. In this article we’ll learn about the lesson that Bruce Lee learnt early in his life, that instilled in him the ‘Never Give Up’ attitude, throughout his life.
Recently I was reading a book on Bruce Lee. It was an interesting read as I got to know a bit more about the man ‘Super Star Bruce Lee’ was and decipher the personal attributes that contributed to his success. One of the great qualities that Bruce Lee had was his tenacity, his ability of never giving up. He failed multiple times in school. His parents sent him to U.S.A as a teenager for fear that if he continued living in Hong Kong, he would become a gangster. In U.S, he had to face multiple rejections in Hollywood, before making it big. At one point in his life, his wife Linda Lee, had to take up a job at a grocery store to feed the family. Despite all this, Bruce Lee never lost confidence in himself or stopped believing in his dreams, which was a hallmark of his.
But what made the man develop persistence? He wasn’t always this man with nerves of steel. There was a particular incident in his life that taught him the magic of never giving him. About this incident his master, Ip Man later remarked to Wong Shun Leung, a direct disciple of Ip Man, who was put in charge to train young Bruce, “If some day Bruce achieves something in the martial arts, it is because you didn’t let him quit after the first round.”
The incident went like this. A teenaged Bruce Lee, trained in Wing Chun, was competing for the first time in a match . He had challenged Chung, from a rival Kung Fu school, for a challenge match. As a result the environment surrounding the match was tense. Both the fighters were out for blood. Wong Shun Leung, Ip Man’s direct disciple was refereeing the match. The match was of 2 rounds, each would last for two minutes.
Wong Shun blew the whistle and so the duel began. Bruce stood in the center in a Wing Chun stance, left hand forward, right hand slightly back. Chung circled Bruce until he saw an opening. He lunged forward with a roar and punched Bruce in the jaw, causing him to retreat in pain. Bruce’s mouth was covered in blood. After circling some more, Chung lunged out again, striking Bruce in the left eye. Angry Bruce, slid forward with an aggressive series of Wing Chun chain punches, but because he was not calm, his blows did not land decisively and he left himself open to counterpunches to his nose and neck. While they continued to exchange punches, the timekeeper signaled the end of first round. From the damage to Bruce’s face, it was clear to everyone he had badly lost the first round.
“Leung!” Bruce shouted at his cornerman. “Is my eye swollen?”
“Yes,” said Wong Shun Leung. “It’s bruised. Your nose is bleeding also, but it’s OK.”
“My performance today is bad,” Bruce said, shaking his head in frustration. Trying to escape the beating, he proposed, “If I am hurt too badly, my father will notice it. I think we better take it as a draw and end the match now.”
“Bruce, if you do not continue in the second round, it means that you surrender. How can it be regarded as a draw?” Wong Shun Leung spurred on his reluctant fighter. “You are capable to fight on. Your opponent is wheezing now. If you withdraw, you will regret it. Whether you win or not is not important, but you must try your best. If you fight on, you will win.”
“I will win?” Bruce asked, his competitive nature battling against his fear of humiliation. “Leung, are you sure?”
“Yes, why would I deceive you? Don’t worry about your technique, this is a fight not a performance,” Leung replied. “When you are close to him, step up and punch only his face. Do not worry whether you have been hit. Try to get close and attack him. And be calm.”
Encouraged, Bruce nodded his head as the timekeeper signaled the beginning of the final round. As Bruce took his guard for the final round, he looked more confident about himself than he did in the first round.
A lot was at stake here for Bruce as he had challenged his opponent for the match. He had lost the first round. This round was a must win for him, to save face. Now the final round began. Bruce made the first move. He feinted at Chung, causing him to jump back. He feinted again, making Chung jump again. The third time Bruce faked an attack, Chung got disbalanced while evading and throwing a counter punch.
Seeing his opponent off balance, Bruce made use of the opening by charging forward and hitting Chung with a left punch. Bruce took another step forward and smacked Chung with a strong right, such that several of Chung’s false teeth were knocked across the roof. Blood gushed from Chung’s face and his legs started wobbling. Sensing that his opponent was down, Bruce rained a flurry of punches at Chung. Chung could take it no more and fell down on the floor. Bruce who earlier looked sure to lose, had knocked his opponent out. Bruce was overjoyed. For the first time he had discovered what great magic a never give up attitude can do. Bruce was up against the odds, when his mentor, Wong Shun Leung re ignited his self belief and urged him to hold on and fight.
Learning from the above incident, Bruce never stopped believing in himself, no matter what life threw at him. As a result of which, he went on to become one of the biggest movie stars ever. The next time you are being punched around by life’s circumstances, I hope you keep the above parable in mind. Such that you don’t stop believing in yourself and never give up.
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