Bruce Lee, Belt Ranks & The Truth About Martial Arts — My Thoughts - By Sensei Liam Musiak

Every time I talk about merit-based progression, outliers, realistic training and leaving outdated systems behind… some people say:

“But that’s not how traditional Karate does it.”

Exactly.

That’s the problem.

And Bruce Lee said it decades before I was even born.

Recently I came across a summary of Bruce Lee’s views on the Dan ranking system.

It confirmed everything I’ve been saying for years — and everything Jissenkō Ryū is built on.

Here are the key points Bruce believed:

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1. Traditional Dan systems are superficial and rigid

Bruce Lee saw the belt system as:

“Superficial and rigid.”

He believed:

A certificate means nothing if the person can’t fight.

Years mean nothing if the person hasn’t grown.

A belt means nothing if you can’t survive real combat.

That is exactly why Jissenkō Ryū is merit-based, not calendar-based.

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2. Practical ability > rank

Bruce said:

“Unless you can really do it in a fight, the belt doesn’t mean anything.”

He wasn’t “credential-based.”

He was ability-based.

This is the entire philosophy of my system:

• If you can apply the bunkai, you pass.

• If you can handle real pressure, you move up.

• If your skill, maturity and growth are ahead of the average, you don’t have to wait years to be recognised.

Skill is earned.

Rank is recognition — not entitlement.

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3. Bruce rejected rigid, frozen systems

He felt many traditional arts were:

“Too rigid and formalistic… stifling expression and adaptability.”

That is EXACTLY why I created Jissenkō Ryū.

Karate must be alive.

It must evolve.

It must match today’s violence, not ancient rituals.

If a style refuses to evolve, it becomes a museum piece — not a martial art.

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4. He was against commercialised belts

Bruce was aware of McDojos long before the word even existed.

He disliked belts that were earned through:

• time served

• money

• politics

• forced loyalty

• “just wait long enough and you’ll get it”

• memorising empty forms

He cared about real ability.

Real pressure.

Real adaptability.

Exactly what Jissenkō Ryū stands for.

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5. Kata vs Bunkai — the most important part

You’ll notice — and critics will ignore this —

Bruce didn’t hate forms.

He hated forms without understanding.

That’s why in my system:

• You will NEVER fail if you forget the kata.

• You WILL fail if you forget the bunkai.

Kata is practice.

Bunkai is truth.

Bruce’s philosophy was identical:

“Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless.”

If kata helps a student — great.

If they forget the order — irrelevant.

The application is what matters.

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6. Bruce would NOT support age-based gatekeeping

Traditionalists say:

“You can’t be a 6th Dan at 21.”

Bruce would laugh.

He believed talent, obsession, training volume and merit should decide level — NOT time.

He himself was teaching masters in his early twenties.

He created a global martial art before 30.

He changed the entire world before most people finish university.

Age is a number.

Ability is reality.

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🔥 Why I teach the way I do

People think I criticise tradition because I’m disrespectful.

No.

I criticise it because even the greatest martial artist of all time criticised it.

Bruce Lee saw the flaws.

He saw the stagnation.

He saw the failures of rigid ranking and outdated structures.

And so do I.

That’s why:

• Jissenkō Ryū evolves constantly

• Skills matter more than time served

• Outliers are recognised, not restricted

• Kata is a tool, not a religion

• Real-world self-defence is prioritised

• Psychology, criminology, law and pressure testing matter

• Students grow at their own pace — fast or slow

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🥋 Final Thought

I’m not saying I’m Bruce Lee.

No one is.

Maybe one day I’ll reach even 1% of his impact — you never know.

But I WILL say this:

My philosophy is much closer to Bruce Lee’s than the systems that claim to follow tradition yet refuse to evolve.

And that’s why traditionalists hate what I’m doing.

Not because it’s wrong…

…but because it’s different.

Exactly like Bruce.

🔥🥋

Jissenkō Ryū — built on truth, pressure, individuality, and evolution.