And your example with Carl Froch is wrong. Boxers and fighters go up and down weight classes all the time. For instance. My natural walking around weight is around 175-180 lbs. When I used to fight I would start losing weight about 2 months before my fight. I would drop down to around 163-165 and then gain another 2-3 lbs of muscle. At that point I would be 167 lbs and about as fit as I can possible get. But I know that one of the guys I fought actually gained weight to fight me. There is a difference between fat weight and muscle weight. Theoretically I could go up to 190 or so and fight in that weight class. It would be a lot of hard work cause I would have to gain a lot of muscle weight, which is not easy by any means, but I could do it.
More weight doesn't mean you are a better fighter. Especially if it's the wrong kind of weight. Even if someone is 300 lbs of muscle it doesn't make him a better fighter. Have you ever seen those guys at the gym that have to go through doors sideways? Do you really think that just because he is big it makes him a good fighter? Trust me id doesn't. At some point there is a perfect ratio between weight, size, strength and speed. Where that point is varies for different people. Bruce Lee maybe found his point.
Well, he was not a real big guy to begin with.
He spent a great deal of time studying the human body, what made it work, nutrition and how the muscles worked with the body. He limited his "body building" to the most beneficial to his body and his art. He was very careful not to develop in areas and in size that would inhibit his movements in fighting. He learned what kind of exercise and weight lifting would most benefit his structure to enhance his art and his ability to hit as hard and fast as possible. He avoided anything that would slow him down or get in the way. Large muscles in areas can greatly limit your art. Then when he developed a system of nutrition and exercise that worked he actually, for a while experimented to see how much smaller he could get without losing power and speed. I think he got to about 130 +- and one of his original students said at that time, his lowest weight, he was actually hitting harder and moving faster.
Since when has size and strength TRULY mattered in the world of martial arts where skill, technique, and application, is king?
Ay, Bruce was a small guy, but he was exceptionally fit. So what if he wasn't super huge? I know plenty of small weaker people, who can not only beat bigger stronger fighters, but outclass them, and school them like lil girl scouts.
And in short lean muscle > big muscle.
Big muscle requires oxygen and it's usually slow.
I think your question has been answered; here's the obligatory awesome interview that belongs in any thread about Bruce Lee
I read an anecdote about him where after learning about body building, he put on about thirty pounds of muscle. He was about 160, and noticed he wasn't performing at what he considered his optimum level. So he dropped back down to original weight, and felt better. It's different for everyone to be fair. Bruce Lee developed himself to what he thought made him optimum for combat. There's no one size fits all for martial arts, or body size for that matter. I walk around between 170 and 190. You might think 170 or 165 would be the class I should fight in, but it isn't. 190 is when I am not focusing as much my fitness, so it's not my ideal weight. When I'm training at around 170, I expect to lose a bit of weight to the point that I could likely cut down to 155. That's my ideal fighting weight, but I could also be all right at 170, and my Kru once quoted me at 147 (to my dismay :/ lol). If I went lower than 155, I may lose my endurance and give up speed. If I go higher than 155, I am giving up size since the fighters at that class likely walk around between 190-210.
Fighters do go up and down in weight at times, but it depends on the fights and what advantages they have. If you are a very fast fighter at xyz weight class and of decent size/height, moving up may not hurt you. But sometimes it can. Demetrious Johnson (UFC Flyweight Champion) is a perfect example of this. He fought at bantamweight for years when flyweight wasn't a popular division. He did well with his speed and accuracy, but had trouble with champions such as Dominick Cruz due to the size disadvantage. He once said he would eat six meals a day to make weight. Flyweight has become his ideal class, and there are not very many fighters that currently pose a challenge to him. It's subjective.
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog that matters.
He didn't exercise to get a certain size. he exercised to achieve physical abilities and his body did the rest. not all exercise is about looks.
who said anything about looks.bunch of ego'd up muppets
not shure
I don't know much about the man but i gather that Lee lived for physical perfection and being the best he could be
from what i know he never fought in competition but trained to be the best warrior he could.
My question is why did he limit his size? surely everyone is a greater fighter at an unnatural weight(not p4p but overall) within reason.at a weight that isn't so big/unnatural they become completely innefective but is above there natural competition weight.
here's an example to help understand what i'm saying
take Carl Froch the boxing champion (just an example,don't bite my head off).he fights at super-middleweight,his natural competition weight.if he went up too much in weight (heavyweight for ex) he would become ineffective at his new weight class because the guys at this new weight are fighting at their natural weight.however overall (providing he didn't get so big it defeated the objective) he would be a greater fighter.if the new heavyweight version of froch fought the super-middleweight version the heavyweight version would win.
bruce lee wasn't taking part in competitions so why did he not gain extra size to become a more effective warrior?
obviously i'm missing something here.something else must of defined his idea of physical perfection but what was it?
