One of the most common quotes that is helpful in explaining some of the principles embodied in Jeet Kune Do is “using no way as way.” Bruce emphasised the importance of emptying one’s mind of preconceived notions. He related this to any sphere of activity, not simply to the performance of a martial and was referring to the centuries of tradition and conditioning that can hinder an individuals’ progress along the path towards self-knowledge.

“Most martial arts instructors are so doggone stubborn, you know? I mean their attitude is ‘well, two hundred years ago it was taught like this, therefore it should continue to be taught like this.’ To maintain that type of attitude – I mean you’ve had it…You will never grow, because learning is a discovering thing. It’s a constant process of discovery.” ...

Afrika Bambaataa gave this interview to Tim Westwood about his take on hip hop today and how it evolved from other diverse musical influences and cultural references. I found it so enlightening that it inspired me to do some further research research and thinking. The first thing to take from what he said is that hip hop is bigger than rappers and rap music . It has 5 elements - djing (musicianship), b-boying (dance), mcing (spoken word), graffitti (visual art) and finally knowledge that ties everything together. We all too soon forget that hip hop is a culture; influencing the way we express ourselves, think, dress and live but that is for another discussion. Then Afrika Bambaataa referenced hip hop evolution from as early as the 1940s in the form of spoken word/chanting over music to the first rapping over a funk beat. While paying tribute to other spoken word musicians (and radio dj hosts etc) he alludes to the more obvious brigde provided by funk music and gives props to James Brown the Godfather.

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This post is probably not about what you thought it would be. That is the title of a documentary named after Diego Maradonna’s “Hand of God” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. The game is football if you don’t know by now.

The plot follows 5 British football freestylers (from diverse backgrounds) as they try to raise money from their skills in order to earn enough doe to fund a trip to meet Maradonna in Argentina. Their skills enabled them to travel to where they had never been and experience new things. It is a coming of age tale in the sense that they learnt about each other's identities and the cultures that they came across along the way.

And I’m not ashamed to admit it. That song brings back childhood memories of practising the moonwalk and grabbing my crotch as well as watching Bad and having the living day-lights frightened out of me by thriller. This nostalgia about the King of Pop is one aspeck of my past that I share with millions if not billions of other people. See for yourself…