Robert Downey’s martial philosophy

Robert Downey Jr. has a new addiction, said Stephen Rodrick in Men’s Journal. The actor, 45, is a fervent devotee of Wing Chun, a kung fu–like martial arts discipline he credits with helping him overcome his well-documented struggles with cocaine. “It’s all about focus,” says Downey of Wing Chun. “It teaches you what to concentrate on, whether you’re here or out there in the world dealing with problems. It’s second nature for me now. I don’t even get to the point where there’s a problem.” For the past seven years, he’s been training three to five days a week, and is currently working toward his brown belt, just one step away from black belt mastery. “Don’t fight force with force,” he says, summarizing what he’s learned. “Concentrate on your own thing.”

Downey admits he sometimes struggles to control himself, especially in the strange world of Hollywood; he says he alternates between “periods of wanting to join hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ with everyone” and wanting “to firebomb the entire area.” But Wing Chun, he says, has taught him to step back from his own ego. “It’s like life. The less self-conscious you are the better it works. And remember, lots of ice and Advil afterward. Trust me on that one.”

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