Originally Posted by
piebaldpython
Nah, it wasn't him teaching non-Asians.....sheesh, plenty of American servicemen have learned the Oriental fighting arts since at least the 1940s. Robert W. Smith learned from a whole host of Asian teachers on Taiwan in the 1960s.
What got Lee into "trouble", was saying that just teaching "forms" was not really beneficial for a student. The "form" in and of itself was just a dance and didn't necessarily impart fighting techniques. Glorified and gussied up phys ed that served as a money making machine. "Forms" can be a good thing in the hands of a dedicated teacher. The Form teaches certain physical characteristics not noted in prior or related forms. There is fighting application, but if a teacher doesn't reveal it, then the student is just doing a dance.
Lee didn't teach "forms"......he taught techniques and concepts and so his students were motivated to learn more, to search, to relate everything to fighting.