Brucelee.com has launched, and features some great media about the life and philosophy of the late Bruce Lee. For me growing up, I idolized him for his physical ability and philosophy. He was pretty much who I wanted to be when I grew up.

The person behind the site appears to be his daughter Shannon Lee. It’s unclear to me how much of this is her cashing in, and how much of it is furthering her father’s legacy. In the intro video, she mentions that the site is in its infancy, and I hope it becomes much less of a merchandising opportunity and more of a community for users to find Bruce’s wisdom and how it relates to the modern era of martial arts.

Sources of Insight has done a comprehensive article on the philosophies and achievements of Bruce Lee. Some of the lessons that shine through:

• “Expose yourself to various conditions and learn.”
• “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
• “To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.”
• “The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment.”
• “It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Son Duong has produced a documentary called “The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle”. It’s an incredibly well-produced piece that speaks to the sort of life commitment and enjoyment jiu-jitsu practitioners get from training. The film is a slice of life view of BJJ students and teachers in Virginia and their journeys in jiu-jitsu.

Watch it here
Download it in HD

via The Jiu-Jitsu Fighter via Gringa BJJ.

This is like something out of a cheesy Hong Kong kung fu flick. Phra Kru Ba Neua Chai is a former Muay Thai champ with three losses in a 15-year career. Now he’s become an ordained monk who takes in abandoned children. He teaches them reading, writing, buddhist precepts, and Muay Thai out of his monastery in Thailand. Interestingly, he also studied law and was married before he went monk.

Full story here via TheStar.com

VBS is the video broadcasting arm of Vice Magazine, one of my favorite publications. They’re known for their fearless assault on dicey content and a no-holds-barred-keep-it-real journalism style.

They’re doing a show called Balls Deep in which they throw their waify host Thomas “Baby Balls” Morton into foreign experiences to get a personal dose of what it’s like. Currently they’re doing a bit on MMA where Baby Balls follows an amateur fighter Matthew Ruskin around and tries to keep up with the training. The series leads up to Ruskin’s real fight in Atlanta.

What I really enjoy from this so far is that although Morton is no physical specimen, he throws himself fully into the lifestyle and delivers a perspective that the average person can relate to. This is one of the more honest and unbiased pieces on MMA I’ve seen.

Balls Deep – Ultimate Fighting – 9 Parts
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9