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Bruce Lee’s Martial Arts Ethos of Adapting to Constant Change

David Pagoumian

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Serving as property practice group leader with CRC Insurance Services, David Pagoumian is responsible for negotiating coverage terms and achieving profit and growth objectives. A lifelong student of leadership techniques, David Pagoumian is particularly drawn to stories of triumph in the face of life challenges and adversity.

One of the legends of martial arts, Bruce Lee embodied this spirit of always striving to overcome personal limitations. Marking the 45th anniversary of his death, a recent South China Morning Post article looked at the unique blend of Eastern and Western philosophical concepts on which Lee built an original kung fu style.

At the core of his approach was finding the “law of harmony” in every engagement. Rather than standing in opposition to the force presented in battle, it was important to synch with the others’ movements and style, in a way that kept one’s own decisions spontaneous and natural.
At the same time, Bruce Lee took concepts of the world being in constant movement and flux from the I Ching, or Book of Changes. With this in mind, a major focus was on adapting to change and transforming various energies received into a unified strategy best suited to the current movement. As Lee wrote in his journals, “A good teacher cannot be fixed in a routine. He must not impose on his students...a lifeless pattern, a pre-formulation.”