15. BRUCE LEE'S TOP I I EXERCISES FOR THE LEGS AND CALVES Develop your legs to their utmost strength and flexibility. -Bruce Lee
If Bruce Lee's abdominals were his most impressive body part, then certainly his legs were the most functional. Lee took leg training seriously and he trained his own legs daily in one way or another. The legs, according to Lee, were the delivery system and one of the most important sources from which all meaningful power is derived. In punching, for example, the initial impetus for the generation of maximum impact power comes from the raised heel of the rear leg. In kicking, full power can only be obtained by the proper alignment of the legs, hips, and torso. The landing and kicking legs must reach their intended destinations (the ground and the target, respectively) simultaneously in order to achieve maximum power on impact. Lee noted that the weak link in most martial artists' armor was the lower extremities:
In combat, the knees and shins are the weakest parts that lack adequate protection. Once they are hurt, a martial artist will not be able to fight. So it is important to strengthen the training of our knees and
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avoid any attack to those parts.
The Art of Expressing the Human Body