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“Peter Ting, Bruce Lee, and San Francisco,” by Jake McKee
“Peter had a friend who owned a dojo in San Francisco where Bruce had been training. This friend told Peter about Bruce but warned him not to spar with him as Bruce enjoyed beating up his sparring partners. Not one to shy from danger, Peter went to the gym early the next morning to find Bruce working the bags. Peter doesn’t say a word but puts on his gloves and starts his workout. A few minutes goes by when Bruce comes over and asks Peter if he wants to spar. Anyone that met Peter knows the glean in his eye that always accompanied his smile.”
Click here to read entire article.
» Next: Brian Kagen pick: “Greeting from Doshu: Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu”
» Previous: “Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido, Part 7” by Kanemoto Sunadomari
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Posted by Brandon Clapp on Mar 7th, 2010: Recommended link (post a comment)
Reader Comments
charles warren writes:
I never heard that story. I took over a small class at the Berkeley Y which Peter Ting had taught. It wasn’t a money maker (would have helped if the front desk had remembered we existed) and the Y shut us down. Afterwards we trained in the park until I changed jobs and stopped commuting to Berkeley.
Wonderful folks! One of my people, Terry Greene, was an old-time radical of the school “every good Socialist should have a rifle and 40 rounds of ammunition”. While carrying serious injuries to various parts of his body from various occasions (WWII, falling from a roof…), he always trained vigorously. Eventually was awarded first kyu by Tom Gamble for fighting off a mugging.
Bob Molerio writes:
Thank you for sharing that story. It brought back memories I had of the San Raphael Aikido Summer Seminars where I met and trained with Peter Ting, his students and his wife Ruthie. He told me of how he got into Aikido. He was in the hospital with a knee injury that he sustained from a Wing Chung competition. He was visited by Koichi Tohei who advised him to try aikido and “calm” his spirit. Peter was a wonderful person to train with. I learned much about soft power from this man in that short time. It was time well spent. I only wish I had gotten to train with him more often.
Nick B writes:
Classic martial arts story. The wise master effortlessly gives a lesson to some young buck without breaking a sweat. Of course being ever so humble he tells his story to anybody bored enough to listen and gullible enough to believe it. I find it interesting that in all the hundreds of books, articles, and websites about Bruce Lee I have never once seen this story. I did notice that some key information is missing from the story. What was the name of the school/gym that this occured at? Who was the owner? Why are no names of witnesses mentioned? Surely they were not the only two people in the gym. And last of all after seeing video footage of Bruce Lee’s punching speed and power the idea that someone could apply a technique like kotegaeshi is downright laughable.
Jake McKee writes:
Thanks for the comments friends.
I have a few more stories of my time spent with Peter that I’ll share later.
Regards,
Jake
bruce baker writes:
Mar 8th, 2010 at 5:20 am
Yep, Read the full article .. the simplest of lessons are often missed …