This cultural icon hardly needs an introduction, but here goes anyway. Born in 1940 in San Francisco while his father was on tour with the Cantonese Opera Company, Bruce quickly returned back to his father's native land, Hong Kong, where he spent his formative years cha-cha dancing and training in Wing Chun Kung Fu. The latter transformed him into a ferocious street fighter resulting in him getting into some serious trouble with local gangsters and the police. Sensing that Bruce was going nowhere really fast, Bruce’s father arranged to have Bruce relocated back to the United States. After a short-lived stint as a dishwasher, he started teaching Kung Fu to neighborhood college students and other wannabe-badass hopefuls. One thing led to another and after giving an impressive demonstration at a martial arts tournament, he was tapped to star in the short-lived Green Hornet TV series as the lead role’s sidekick (no pun intended). This experience solidified Bruce’s acting aspirations. However, given the inherent racism in Hollywood at the time, Bruce picked up and went to Hong Kong where he made a film for peanuts and rice titled “Fists of Fury.” Following the release of the film, Bruce's fame exploded. The rest as they say is history. Regardless of his untimely passing due to cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) in 1973, Bruce Lee has continued to serve as an inspiration for millions and has probably done more for the self-esteem of Asian-Americans than any other person since, alive or dead. Enjoy these quotes taken from “Bruce Lee Jeet Kune Do.” ISBN:978-0-8048-3132-1.
“I have to say I am writing whatever happens to be popping into my mind. It might be incoherent to some but, what the heck, I don’t care. I’m just simply writing whatever wants to be written at the moment of its conception. If we communicate, which I sincerely hope; it’s cool. If not, well, it can’t be helped anyway.” Pg. 17
“I don’t know what I will be writing but just simply writing whatever wants to be written. If the writing communicates and stirs something within someone, it’s beautiful. If not, well, it can’t be helped.” Pg. 17
“Martial art, like any art, is an expression of the human being. Some expressions have flavor, some are logical (perhaps under certain required situations), but most martial arts are the mere performing of a sort of mechanical repetition of a fixed pattern. This is most unhealthy because to live is to express and to express you have to create. Creation is never merely repetition. Remember well my friend that all styles are man-made and man is always more important than any style. Style concludes. Man grows. So martial art is ultimately an athletic expression of the dynamic of the human body. More important yet is the person who is there expressing his own soul. Yes, martial art is an unfolding of what one is-his anger, his fears-and yet under all these natural human tendencies (which we all experience, after all) a “quality” martial artist can-in the midst of all these commotions-still be himself. And it is not a question of winning or losing but it is a question of being what is at that moment and being wholeheartedly involved with that particular moment and doing one’s best. The consequence is left to whatever will happen. Therefore to be a martial artist also means to be an artist of life. Since life is an ever-going process, one should flow in this process and to discover, to actualize, and to expand oneself.” Pg. 18
“Anger blinds.” Pg. 22
“I never met a conceited man whom I did not find inwardly embarrassed.” Pg. 23
“The man who pulls a knife on you is at a disadvantage. He will clearly lose the fight. The reason is very simple. Psychologically, he only has one weapon. His thinking is therefore limited to the use of that single weapon. You, on the other hand, are thinking about all your weapons: your hands, elbows, knees, feet, head. You’re thinking 360 degrees around him. Maybe you’re considering some form of escape, like running. He’s only got a lousy knife. Now he might throw it at you. Let him. You still have a chance to avoid it, block it, or he may miss you. You’ve got all the advantages when you think about it.” Pg. 24
“Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I work on my legs. Every Thursday and Saturday I work on my punch. On Wednesdays and Sundays, I have sparring sessions.” Pg. 24
“I personally do not believe in the word style. Why? Because, unless there are human beings with three arms and four legs, unless we have another group of human beings on earth that are structurally different from us, there can be no different style of fighting. Why is that? Because we have two hands and two legs?” pg. 28
“Understand.” Pg. 29
“Many people will come to an instructor but, most of them, they say, ‘Hey man, like what is the truth?’ You know, would you hand it over to me? So, therefore, one guy would say now, ‘I’ll give you the Japanese way of doing it.’ And another guy would say ‘I’ll give you the Chinese way of doing it.’ But to me that’s all baloney because unless there are men with three hands or there are men with four legs, then there (cannot be) a different way of doing it. But since we only have two hands and two legs, nationalities don’t mean anything.” Pg. 28
“You can be a slave in the form of a holy mind to live. We do not live for, we simply live.” Pg. 31
“Don’t look for secret moves. Don’t look for secret movements. If you’re always hunting for secret techniques you’re going to miss it. It’s you. It’s your body that’s the key.” Pg. 34
“What man has to get over is consciousness. The consciousness of himself.” Pg. 34
“When a man is thinking he stands off from what he is trying to understand. Feeling exists here and now when not interrupted and dissected by ideas or concepts. The moment we stop analyzing and let go, we can start really seeing, feeling-as one whole. There is no actor or one being acted upon but the action itself. I stayed with my feeling then-and I felt it to the full without naming it that. At last the I and the feeling merged to become one. The I no longer feels the self to be separated from the you and the whole idea of taking advantage or getting something out of something becomes absurd. To me, I have no other self (not to mention thought) than the oneness of things of which I was aware at that moment.” Pg. 35
“Nowadays, I mean you don’t go around on the street, kicking people or punching people. Because if you do, they will pull out a gun out of their jacket and bang! That’s it. I mean, I don’t care how good (in martial art) you are!” pg. 36
“Boards don’t hit back. This matter of breaking bricks and boards with the edge of your hand: Now I ask you, did you ever see a brick or a board pick a fight with anybody? This is gimmick stuff. A human being doesn’t just stand there and wait to be hit.” Pg. 38
“The traditional teacher says, ‘if your opponent does this, then you do this, and then you do this, and then you do this and then you do this.’ And while you are remembering all the ‘and thens’ the other guy is killing you.” Pg. 38
“I’ve lost faith in the Chinese classical arts-though I still call mine Chinese-because basically all styles are products of dry-land swimming, even the Wing Chun school. So my line of training is more toward efficient street fighting with everything goes; wearing head gear, gloves, chest guard, shin/knee guards, etc. For the past five years now I’ve been training the hardest and for a purpose, not just dissipated hit-miss training.” Pg. 53
“I stress again, I have not created or invented any kind of martial art. Jeet Kune Do is derived from what I have learned, plus my evaluation of it. Thus, my JKD is not confined by any kind of martial arts. On the contrary, I welcome those who like JKD to study and improve it.” Pg. 55
“Jeet Kune Do uses all ways and is bound by none, and likewise uses any technique or means which serves its end. Efficiency is anything that scores.” Pg. 55
“Of my art-gung fu and Jeet Kune Do-only one of 10,000 can handle it. It is martial art. Complete offensive attacks. It is silly to think almost anyone can learn it. It isn’t really contemporary forms of the art I teach. Mainly that which I work with-martial attack. It is really a smooth rhythmic expressing of smashing the guy before he hits you, with any method available.” Pg. 59
“I’m telling you it’s difficult to have a rehearsed routine to fit in with broken rhythm.” Pg. 61
“In attacking, you must never be halfhearted. Your main concern is with the correct and most determined execution of your offensive. You should be like a steel spring ready at the slightest opening to set the explosive charge of your dynamic attack.” Pg. 65
“There is always a temptation to rely too much on a small repertoire of favorite strokes which particularly suit one’s temperament or physical advantages. This must be resisted if one is to progress beyond a few initial successes in battle and, indeed, to enjoy fighting with all its subtlety, speed, and variety to the full. You must be able to exploit a wide variety of strokes and tactics, even though some movements will always suit your game best.” Pg. 99
“To be a first-class fighter, you must be able to box or slug efficiently. You must be a two-way fighter.” Pg. 119
“In comparisons of strength, the stronger one will certainly beat the weaker one. However, if the weaker one fights with all his effort and finally loses; his courage can win admiration from the stronger. Thus, one of the most important factors in fighting is morale.” Pg. 134
“In practicing Jeet Kune Do, we must practice swiftly and actively. But in real fighting, we have to keep our brain calm. Don’t let your mind be conquered by stupid thoughts. Just regard the fighting as if it were nothing.” Pg. 134
“Practice makes perfect. After a long time of practicing, our footwork will become natural, skillful, swift, and steady.” Pg. 134
“Many people make a big mistake in fighting against an enemy by thinking too much about winning or losing. Practically speaking, they should allow none of these sentiments to invade their mind. They need only to act as circumstances demand. When they act naturally, their hands and feet will suitably function.” Pg. 135
“Forget about fancy horse stances, of ‘moving the horse,’ fancy forms, pressure, locking, etc. All these will promote your mechanical aspects rather than help you. You will be bound by these unnatural rhythmic messes, and when you are in combat it is broken rhythm and timing you have to adjust to. The opponent is not going to do things rhythmically with you as you would do in practicing a kata alone or with a partner.” Pg. 183
“The leg is the more powerful weapon but, ultimately, the man who can punch better will be the one who will win.” Pg. 206
“The force of our fists must originate from the dynamic power of our waist and back. Of course, the amount of force is determined by the strength of the practitioner’s muscles and his weight. If two men of different weight are equal in strength of muscle and both know the technique of using their energy, then certainly the heavier one is in a more advantageous position.” Pg. 206
The advantages of the lead punch
1. Faster-the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
2. More accurate-‘chooses the straightest course,’ thus, less chance of missing and is surer than other punches.
3. Balance is less disturbed-safer.
4. Less injurious to one’s hand.
5. Greater frequency of hits-more damage can be done.
“Jogging is not only a form of exercise to me, it is also a form of relaxation. It is my own hour every morning when I can be alone with my own thoughts.” Pg. 323
“It is not a shame to be knocked down by other people. The important thing is to ask when you’re being knocked down, ‘Why am I being knocked down?’ If a person can reflect in this way, then there is hope for this person.” Pg. 328
“Constant drilling on classical blocks and thrusts desensitizes oneself, making one’s creativity duller and duller.” Pg. 330
“To free yourself, observe closely what you normally practice. Do not condemn or approve; merely observe.” Pg. 334
“Living generally means living in imitation and therefore in fear.” Pg. 334
“Truth comes when your mind and heart are purged of all sense of striving and you are no longer trying to become somebody; it is there when the mind is very quiet, listening timelessly to everything.” Pg. 336
“Being oneself leads to real relationships.” Pg. 336
“Accept the other person’s feelings.” Pg. 337
“Only the self-sufficient stand alone-most people follow the crowd and imitate.” Pg. 337
“There is intelligence when you are not afraid. There can be no initiative if one has fear. And fear compels us to cling to tradition, gurus, etc. The important thing for you is to be alert, to question, to find out, so that your own initiative may be awakened. Understanding.” Pg. 339
“Tradition=the habit-forming mechanism of the mind.” Pg. 339
“The poorer we are inwardly, the more we try to enrich ourselves outwardly.” Pg. 339
“Sensitivity is not possible if you are afraid of this, that, etc.-the inner authority game. Authority destroys intelligence.” Pg. 339
“One must not merely copy but try to convey the significance of what you see.” Pg. 339
“Books, teachers, parents, the society around us, all tell us what to think, but not how to think.” Pg. 339
“What is the point of being educated, of learning to read and write, if you are going to carry on like a machine? After all, it is merely the root to function from.” Pg. 339
“The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or in defeat. Just let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment.” Pg. 342
“The process of maturing does not mean to become captive of conceptualization. It is to come to the realization of what lies in our innermost selves.” Pg. 342
“Instead of looking directly at the fact, cling to forms (theories) and go on entangling oneself further and further, finally putting oneself into an inextricable snare.” Pg. 342
“To meditate means to realize the imperturbability of one’s original nature. Meditation means to be free from all phenomena and calmness means to be internally unperturbed. There will be calmness when one is free from external objects and is not perturbed.” Pg. 344
“Have no mind that selects or rejects. To be without deliberate mind is to have no thoughts.” Pg. 345
“To me, ultimately, martial art means honestly expressing yourself. Now it is a very difficult thing to do. I mean it is easy for me to put on a show and be cocky and be flooded with a cocky feeling and feel, like, pretty cool and all that. Or I can make all kinds of phony things, you see what I mean? And be blinded by it. Or I can show you some really fancy movement-but, to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself-and to express myself honestly-that, my friend, is very hard to do.” Pg. 349
“When I look around, I always learn something, and that is: to always be yourself. And to express yourself, to have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful person and duplicate him. That seems to be the prevalent thing happening in Hong Kong. They always copy mannerisms, they never start from the root of their being: that is, how can I be m?” pg. 349
“Not every man can take lessons to be a good fighter. He must be a person who is able to relate his training to the circumstances he encounters. Self-actualization is the important thing. And my personal message to people is that I hope they will go toward self-actualization rather than self-image actualization. I hope they will search within themselves for honest self-expression.” Pg. 350
“Be flexible so you can change with change.” Pg. 351
“My only sure reward is in my actions and not from them. The quality of my reward is in the depth of my response-the centralness of the part of me I act from.” Pg. 351
“I feel I have this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision. It is all of these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand.” pg. 352
“Whether it is the godhead or not, I feel this great force, this untapped power, this dynamic something within me. This feeling defies description, and there is no experience with which this feeling may be compared. It is something like a strong emotion mixed with faith but stronger.” pg. 352
“All in all, the goal of my planning and doing is to find the true meaning in life-peace of mind. I know that the sum of all the possessions I mentioned does not necessarily add up to peace of mind; however, it can be if I devote to real accomplishment of self rather than neurotic combat. In order to achieve this peace of mind, the teaching of detachment of Taoism and Zen proved to be valuable.” Pg. 353
“Classical methods and tradition make the mind a slave-you are no longer an individual, but merely a product. Your mind is the result of a thousand yesterdays.” Pg. 356
“Intensity and/or enthusiasm is this god within us-one that instinctively becomes the art of the physical ‘becoming’ and within this transition we no longer care to know what life means. We are indeed furnishing the ‘what is’ by simply being.” Pg. 358
“Simplicity is the beginning of art, and the beginning of nature.” Pg. 358
“Recognizing the influence of my subconscious mind over my power of will, I shall take care to submit to it a clear and definite picture of my major purpose in life and all minor purposes leading to my major purpose, and I shall keep this picture constantly before my subconscious mind by repeating it daily.” Pg. 361
“Things live by moving and gain strength as they go.” Pg. 361
“You will never get more out of this life than you expect.” Pg. 362
“Keep your mind on the things you want and off those you don’t.” pg. 362
“Be a calm beholder of what’s happening around you.” Pg. 362
“There is a difference-a. the world; b. our vision of or reaction to it.” Pg. 362
“The aphorism ‘as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he’ contains the secret of life. James Allen further added, ‘A man is literally what he thinks.’ This might be a shocking statement, but everything is a state of mind. I ran across some very interesting passages in a magazine and I’m writing them down to let you read it.” Pg. 362
“I’ve always been buffeted by circumstances because I thought of myself as a human being of outside condition. Now I realize that I am the power that commands the feeling of my mind and from which circumstances grow.” Pg. 362
“Defeat is also a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality. To me, defeat in anything is merely temporary, and its punishment is but an urge for me to greater effort to achieve my goal. Defeat simply tells me that something is wrong in my doing; it is a path leading to success and truth.” Pg. 363
“Faith, too, is a state of mind. It can be induced or created by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind through the principle of autosuggestion. This is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith. It is a well-known fact that one comes, finally, to believe whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement be true or false. If a man repeats a lie over and over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth. Moreover, he’ll believe it to be the truth. Every man is what he is because of the dominating thoughts which he permits to occupy his mind.” Pg. 364
“The mind is like a fertile garden, it will grow anything you wish to plant-beautiful flowers or weeds. And so it is with successful, healthy thoughts or with negative ones that will, like weeds, strangle and crowd the others. Do not allow negative thoughts to enter your mind for they are the weeds that strangle confidence.” Pg. 364
“I’ll give you my secret for ridding my mind of negative thoughts. When such a thought enters my mind, I visualize it as being written on a piece of paper. Then I mentally light it on fire and visualize it burning to a crisp. The negative thought is destroyed, never to enter my mind again.” Pg.364-365
“Visualize success rather than failure, by believing ‘I can do it’ rather than ‘I can’t.’ Negative thoughts are overpowering only if you encourage them and allow yourself to be overpowered by them.” Pg. 365
“We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But sometimes it seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.” Pg. 365
“Here I ask you, are you going to make your obstacles stepping stones to your dreams or stumbling blocks-because unknowingly you let negativity, worries, fear, etc. take over?”
Pg. 365
“Believe me that in every big thing or achievement there are always obstacles, big or small, and the reaction one shows to such obstacles is what counts, not the obstacle itself. There is no such thing as defeat until you admit so yourself-but not until then!” pg. 365
“Don’t waste a lot of your energy in worry and anticipation. Remember my friend to enjoy your planning as well as your accomplishment, for life is too short for negative energy.” Pg. 366
“So action! Action! Never wasting energy on worries and negative thoughts. I MEAN WHO HAS THE MOST INSECURE JOB AS I HAVE? WHAT DO I LIVE ON? My faith in my ability that I’ll make it. Sure my back screwed me up good for a year but with every adversity comes a blessing because a shock acts as a reminder to oneself that we must not get stale in routine. Look at a rainstorm; after its departure, everything grows!” pg. 366
“Remember that one who is possessed by worry not only lacks the poise to solve his own problems, but by his nervousness and irritability creates problems for those around him. Well, what more can I say but DAMN THAT TORPEDO, FULL SPEED AHEAD!” pg. 366
The four idea principles:
1) Find a human need, an unsolved problem.
2) Master all of the essentials of the problem.
3) Give a new twist to an old principle.
4) Believe in your idea-and act!
Five-step idea-getting process
1) Gather materials
2) Masticate the facts.
3) Relax and drop the subject.
4) Be ready to recognize and welcome the idea when it comes.
5) Shape and develop your idea into usefulness.
“There are two ways of making a good living. One is the result of hard work, and the other, the result of imagination (requires work, too, of course). It is a fact that labor and thrift produce competence, but fortune, in the sense of wealth, is the reward of the man who can think of something that hasn’t been thought of before. In every industry, in every profession, ideas are what America is looking for. Ideas have made America what she is, and one good idea will make a man what he wants to be.” Pg. 367
“Probably, people will say I’m too conscious of success. Well, I am not. You see, my will to do springs from the knowledge that I can do. I’m only being natural, for there is no fear or doubt inside my mind.” Pg. 368
“If you don’t aim at an object, how the heck on earth do you think you can get it?” Pg. 368
“All riches begin as a state of mind. And you have complete control of your mind.” Pg. 368
“What you are is because of your habits of thought.” Pg. 368
“Repetition of thought-emotionalized with burning desire.” Pg. 368
“When you drop a pebble into a pool of water, the pebble starts a series of ripples that expand until they encompass the whole pool. This is exactly what will happen when I give my ideas a definite plan of action.” Pg. 368
“A positive mental attitude attracts wealth.” Pg. 369
“Thoughts backed by faith will overcome all problems.” Pg. 369
“The spiritual power of man’s will removes all obstacles.” Pg. 370
“Daily habitual practice-backed by faith.” Pg. 369
“Ideas are the beginning of all achievement.” Pg. 369
“Every circumstance of every man’s life is the result of a definite cause-mode and control yours.” Pg. 369
“Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as a reality-in your own mind.” Pg. 370
“The power can be created and maintained through daily practice-continuous effort.” Pg. 370
“Reading-the mental food (specialized reading).” Pg. 371
“Faith is a state of mind that can be conditioned through self-discipline. Faith will accomplish.” Pg. 371
“Faith makes it possible to achieve that which man’s mind can conceive and believe.” Pg. 371
“The possession of anything begins in the mind.” Pg. 371
“Your state of mind is everything.” Pg. 372
“Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.” Pg. 372
“Persistence, persistence, and persistence.” Pg. 372
“Every man today is the result of his thoughts yesterday.” Pg. 372
“Faith backed by action-applied faith.” Pg. 372
“Your mental attitude is what counts.” Pg. 372
“What you are is because of established habits of thoughts and deeds.” Pg. 372
“He is because he thinks he is-positive or negative.” Pg. 372
“The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits.” Pg. 372
“When you look after your thoughts, your thoughts will look after you-magnetize them with positivity.” Pg. 372
“Habits are due to repetition.” Pg. 372
“The ego is fixed entirely by the application of self-suggestion.” Pg. 373
“The subconscious mind favors thoughts inspired by emotional feelings. It also gives preference to dominating thoughts.” Pg. 372
The six-step creative method
1) Develop the creative attitude.
2) Analyze, to focus on the unwanted solution.
3) Seek out and fill your mind with the facts.
4) Write down ideas, sensible and seemingly wild.
5) Let facts and ideas simmer in your mind.
6) Evaluate, recheck, settle on the creative ideas.
“Despair is the conclusion of fools.” Pg. 374
“What is defeat? Nothing but education, nothing but the first step to something better.” Pg. 375
“Damn the ‘15th degree red-belt holders,’ the ‘honorary supermasters’ and those ‘experts’ that graduated from the advanced-super-three-easy-lessons courses!” pg. 376
“False teachers of the way use flowery words.” Pg. 377
“Remember no man is really defeated unless he is discouraged.” Pg. 377
“It is not what happens that is success or failure, but what it does to the heart of man.” Pg. 377
“Genius is the capacity to see and to express what is simple, simply.” Pg. 377
“Remember my friend, everything goes to those who aim to get. Low aim is the biggest crime a man has.” Pg. 378
“One will never get any more than he thinks he can get. You have what it takes. Look back and see your progress-damn the torpedo, full speed ahead.” Pg. 378
“The string is broken and time passes on. Meet again we may, but will it be in the same way? With the same sentiments? With the same feelings? Rarely.” Pg. 378
“Don’t regret the past, but make the most of the hours that last and don’t worry over the day that is well on its way.” Pg. 379
“Self-will seems to be the only virtue that takes no account of manmade laws.” Pg. 380
“Among people, a great majority don’t feel comfortable at all with the unknown-that is, anything foreign that threatens their daily protected mold. So, for the sake of security, they construct chosen patterns to justify.” Pg. 388
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