05/21/2026
How HUNGRY are you?
Someone asked me why there are only 5 levels in Doyle. I have been thinking about this since. 'Level 5' is the Instructor level but from my research and studies it barely scratches what is in the system. There is SO much in the system that is hidden or left to exploration that no curriculum list can adequately encompass it in only 5 levels in my opinion. There could easily be up to 10 levels if we are just talking about technique memorization individually. I think the system is better understood as a set of principles rather than a list of techniques similar to JKD. Paul Vunak described Bruce Lee's view of JKD as follows: "At the average school, brown belts are better fighters than black belts. Not because they know more, but because they are still hungry. The moment a practitioner receives their black belt, a subconscious signal fires: you have arrived. Growth stops. Diminishing capacity begins. Bruce Lee despised the belt system for exactly this reason — it gives people a psychological excuse to quit improving at the exact moment they should be accelerating." In Doyle, I think you are left leaving the 'Table' still hungry by Level 5. You must explore what you have been given and be left humbled by how much isn't given to you but what you must explore. I have one question, "How HUNGRY are you?"
