To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities
Knowledge will give you power, but character respect
Ideas are the beginning of all achievement
Possession of anything begins in the mind
A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough
In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity
Obey the principles without being bound by them
Your best move is the move you regret not doing
One great cause of failure is lack of concentration
It's not what you give, it's the way you give it
If one loves, one need not have an ideology of love
Neither. I think of myself as a human being
Wine may become so dilute that few will drink of it
A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence
Out of chaos, find simplicity, From discord, find harmony
The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering
If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of
You just wait. I'm going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world
Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them
Concentration is the root of all the higher abilities in man
I am not teaching you anything. I just help you to explore yourself
Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning
Make at least one definite move daily towards your goal
All vague notions must fall before a pupil can call himself a master
Life is wide, limitless. There is no border, no frontier
Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it
Eliminate "not clear" thinking and function from your root
If you don't want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today
We are always in a process of becoming and nothing is fixed
The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be
Those who gain, lose. Do not precede others, always follow them
After all, all knowledge simply means self-knowledge
To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person
A glass that is half empty is better than a fully broken glass
Martial art should not be passed out indiscriminately
Take inventory of everyone with whom you have contact
Endurance is lost rapidly if one ceases to work at its maximum
Nothingness cannot be defined, the softest thing cannot be snapped
Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do
The height of cultivation runs to simplicity. Halfway cultivation runs to ornamentation
Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul
What you habitually think largely determines what you will ultimately become
The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits
A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at
To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are
Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow
In combat, spontaneity rules, rote performance of technique perishes
Faith makes it possible to achieve that which man's mind can conceive and believe
Jeet Kune Do is training and discipline towards the ultimate reality in combat
A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard
Awareness has no frontier, it is giving of your whole being, without exclusion
Do not run away, let go. Do not seek, for it will come when least expected
The intangible represents the real power of the universe. It is the seed of the tangible
Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick
The idea is that flowing water never goes stale, so just keep on flowing
If you want to do your duty properly, you should do just a little more than that
Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against
As long as we separate this "oneness" into two, we won't achieve realization
If you make an ass out of yourself, there will always be someone to ride you
By adopting a certain physical posture, a resonant chord is struck in spirit
The all illuminating light shines and is beyond the movement of the opposites
The change is from inner to outer. We start by dissolving our attitude not by altering outer conditions
Faith is a state of mind that can be conditioned through self-discipline. Faith will accomplish
All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns
Don't fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail
The "moment" has no yesterday or tomorrow. It is not the result of thought and therefore has no time
If you want to learn to swim, jump into the water. On dry land, no frame of mind is ever going to help you
I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine
Any technique, however worthy and desirable, becomes a disease when the mind is obsessed with it
The mind is like a fertile garden in which anything that is planted, flowers or weeds, will grow
There is no fixed teaching. All I can provide is an appropriate medicine for a particular ailment
Balance your thoughts with action. If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer
The man who is really serious, with the urge to find out what truth is, has no style at all. He lives only in what is
The primary reality is not what I think, but that I live, for those also live who do not think
If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting, If I tell you I'm no good, You know I'm lying
Mere technical knowledge is only the beginning of Kung Fu, to master it, one must enter into the spirit of it
Give up thinking as though not giving it up. Observe techniques as though not observing
Establish nothing in regard to onself. Pass quickly like the non-existent and be quiet as purity
Jeet Kune Do is not to hurt, but is one of the avenues through to which life opens it's secrets to us
An assertion is Zen only when it is itself an act and does not refer to anything that is asserted in it
Meaning is found in relationship. Meaning is the relationship of the foreground figure to the background
If there is a God, he is within. You don't ask God to give you things, you depend on God for your inner theme
You have choice - you are master of your attitude - choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success
Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it
The highest technique is to have no technique. My technique is a result of your technique, my movement is a result of your movement
Jeet Kune Do, It's just a name, don't fuss over it. There's no such thing as a style if you understand the roots of combat
The knowledge and skills you have achieved are meant to be forgotten so you can float comfortably in emptiness, without obstruction
The meaning of life is that it is to be lived, and it is not to be traded and conceptualized and squeezed into a pattern of systems
Put every great teacher in a room, and they'd agree about everything, but put their disciples in there and they'd argue about everything
A self-willed man obeys a different law, the one law I, too, hold absolutely sacred - the human law in himself, his own individual will
Conditioning obstructs our view of reality. We do not see it in its suchness because of our indoctrination, crooked and twisted
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times
What is, is more important than what should be. Too many people are looking at "what is" from a position of thinking "what should be."
The localization of the mind means its freezing. When it ceases to flow freely as it is needed, it is no more the mind in its suchness
If you follow the classical patterns, you are understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow - you are not understanding yourself
To contemplate a thing implies maintaining oneself outside it, resolved to keep a distance between it and ourselves
Even today, I dare not say that I have reached a state of achievement. I'm still learning, for learning is boundless
To understand this fully, one must transcend from the duality of "for" and "against" into one organic unity which is without distinctions
When you're talking about fighting, as it is, with no rules, well then, baby you'd better train every part of your body
It is true that the mental aspect of kung-fu is the desired end, however, to achieve this end, technical skill must come first
Time means a lot to me because, you see, I too am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing and simplifying
The future looks extremely bright indeed, with lots of possibilities ahead - big possibilities. Like the song says, "We've just begun"
I hope martial artists are more interested in the root of martial arts and not the different decorative branches, flowers or leaves
I refer to my hands, feet and body as the tools of the trade. The hands and feet must be sharpened and improved daily to be efficient
Art is never decoration or embellishment, instead, it is work of enlightenment. Art, in other words, is a technique for acquiring liberty
Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there
To see a thing uncoloured by one's own personal preferences and desires is to see it in its own pristine simplicity
The "Immovable" is the concentration of energy at a given focus, as at the axis of a wheel, instead of dispersal in scattered activities
Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system
Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind
We have finally come back to the pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus, who said everything is flow, flux, process. There are no "things"
Cease negative mental chattering. If you think a thing is impossible, you'll make it impossible. Pessimism blunts the tools you need to succeed
In JKD, one does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity
If any style teaches you a method of fighting, then you might be able to fight according to the limit of that method, but that is not fighting
An instructor should exemplify the things he seeks to teach. It will be of great advantage if you yourself can do all you ask of your students and more
The Moment is freedom. I couldn't live by a rigid schedule. I try to live freely from moment to moment, letting things happen and adjusting to them
Life is never stagnation. It is constant movement, unrhythmic movement, as we constantly change. Things live by moving and gain strength as they go
To realize that it's just an inconvenience, that it is not a catastrophe, but just an unpleasantness, is part of coming into your own, part of waking up
Reality is apparent when one ceases to compare. There is "what is" only when there is no comparison at all, and to live with what is, is to be peaceful
Jeet Kune Do rejects all restrictions imposed by form and formality and emphasizes the clever use of the mind and body to defend and attack
No fighter uses his leg violently until he warms it up carefully. The same principle is equally applicable to any muscles that are to be used vigorously
There are lots of guys around the world that are lazy. They have big fat guts. They talk about chi power and things they can do, but don't believe it
The point is doing of them rather than the accomplishments. There is no actor but the action, there is no experiencer but the experience
In primary freedom, one utilizes all ways and is bound by none, and likewise uses any techniques or means which serves one's end. Efficiency is anything that scores
Eventually, you learn to read groups of words. Where a student will see three motions, the experienced man will see one, because he sees the overall energy path
The well-coordinated fighter does everything smoothly and gracefully. He seems to glide in and out of distance with minimum of effort and a maximum of deception
Wisdom does not consist of trying to wrest the good from the evil but in learning to "ride" them as a cork adapts itself to the crests and troughs of the waves
Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing. Awareness is without choice, without demand, without anxiety, in that state of mind, there is perception
Art reveals itself in psychic understanding of the inner essence of things and gives form to the relation of man with nothing, with the nature of the absolute
Again let me remind you Jeet Kune Do is just a name used, a boat to get one across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one's back
The main characteristic JKD is the absence of the usual classical passive blocking. Blocking is the least efficient. Jeet Kune-Do is offensive, it's alive and it's free
Knowledge, surely, is always of time, whereas knowing is not of time. Knowledge is from a source, from accumulation, from conclusion, while knowing is a movement
Life lives, and in the living flow, no questions are raised. The reason is that life is a living now! So, in order to live life whole-heartedly, the answer is life simply is
The primary purpose of Jeet Kune Do is kicking, hitting, and applying bodily force. Therefore, the use of the on-guard position is to obtain the most favorable position
Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-consciousness. Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over what impression he is making or about to make
In order to taste my cup of water you must first empty your cup. My friend, drop all you preconceived and fixed ideas and be neutral. Do you know why this cup is useful? Because it is empty
Taoist philosophy is essentially monistic. Matter and energy, Yang and Yin, heaven and earth, are conceived of as essentially one or as two coexistent poles of one indivisible whole
Do not be tense, just be ready, not thinking but not dreaming, not being set but being flexible. It is being "wholly" and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come
Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. Learn, master and achieve!
Jeet Kune Do does not beat around the bush. It does not take winding detours. It follows a straight line to the objective. Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points
Turn into a doll made of wood: it has no ego, it thinks nothing, it is not grasping or sticky. Let the body and limbs work theselves out in accordance with the discipline they have undergone
Springiness and alertness of footwork is the key theme. The rear heel is raised and c*cked, ever ready to pull the trigger into action. You are never set or tensed, but are ready and flexible
Discard all thoughts of reward, all hopes of praise and fears of blame, all awareness of one's bodily self. And, finally closing the avenues of sense perception, let the spirit out, as it will
One of the most neglected elements of martial arts is the physical workout. Too much time is spent in developing skill in techniques and not enough in physical participation
You cannot force the Now. But can you neither condemn nor justify and yet be extraordinarily alive as you walk on? You can never invite the wind, but you must leave the window open
Hitting does not mean pushing. True hitting can be likened to the snap of a whip - all the energy is slowly concentrated and then suddenly released with a tremendous out-pouring of power
Art is the expression of the self. The more complicated and restricted the method, the less the opportunity for expression of one's original sense of freedom. Though they play an important role in the early stage, the techniques should not be too mechanical, complex or restrictive. If we cling blindly to them, we shall eventually become bound by their limitations. Remember, you are expressing the techniques and not doing the techniques. If somebody attacks you, your response is not Technique No.1, Stance No. 2, Section 4, Paragraph 5. Instead you simply move in like sound and echo, without any deliberation. It is as though when I call you, you answer me, or when I throw you something, you catch it. It's as simple as that - no fuss, no mess. In other words, when someone grabs you, punch him. To me a lot of this fancy stuff is not functional
It's not how much you have learned, but how much you have absorbed from what you have learned. It is not how much fixed knowledge you can accumulate, but what you can apply livingly that counts. "Being" is more valued than "doing"
As an instructor, you must be able to distinguish between poor performance caused by lack of ability or aptitude on the part of the student and poor performance caused by lack of effort. You should treat the first with patience and the latter with firmness. You must never apply sarcasm and ridicule
Instead of dedicating your life to actualize a concept of what you should be like, actualize yourself. The process of maturing does not mean to become a captive of conceptualization. It is to come to the realization of what lies in our innermost selves
I have come to discover through earnest personal experience and dedicated learning that ultimately the greatest help if self-help, that there is no other help but self-help - doing one's best, dedicating one's self wholeheartedly to a given task, which happens to have no end but is an ongoing process. I have done a lot during these years of my process. A swell in my process, I have changed from self-image actualization to self-actualization, from blindly following propaganda, organized truths, etc. to searching internally for the cause of my ignorance
Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential
Efficiency in sparring and fighting is not a matter of correct classical, traditional form. Efficiency is anything that scores. Creating fancy forms and classical sets to replace sparring is like trying to wrap and tie a pound of water into a manageable shape of paper sack. For something that is static, fixed, dead, there can be a way or a definite path, but not for anything that is moving and living. In sparring there's no exact path or method, but instead a perceptive, pliable, choice-less awareness. It lives from moment to moment
In life, what more can you ask for than to be real? To fulfill one's potential instead of wasting energy on attempting to actualize one's dissipating image, which is not real and an expenditure of one's vital energy. We have great work ahead of us, and it needs devotion and much, much energy. To grow, to discover, we need involvement, which is something I experience every day - sometimes good, sometimes frustrating. No matter what, you must let your inner light guide you out of the darkness
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. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend
You must have complete determination. The worst opponent you can come across is one whose aim has become an obsession. For instance, if a man has decided that he is going to bite off your nose no matter what happens to him in the process, the chances are he will succeed in doing it. He may be severely beaten up, too, but that will not stop him from carrying out his objective. That is the real fighter
The best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt on any style. He kicks too good for a Boxer, throws too good for a Karate man, and punches too good for a Judo man
Practice all movements slow and fast, soft and hard, the effectiveness of Jeet Kune-Do depends on split-second timing and reflexive action, which can be achieved only through repetitious practice
Please do not be concerned with soft versus firm, kicking versus striking, grappling versus hitting and kicking, long-range fighting versus in-fighting. There is no such thing as "this" is better than "that". Should there be one thing we must guard against, let it be partiality that robs us of our pristine wholeness and make us lose unity in the midst of duality
Liberate yourself from concepts and see the truth with your own eyes. It exists here and now. It requires only one thing to see it: openness, freedom - the freedom to be open and not tethered by any ideas, concepts, etc. When our mind is tranquil, there will be an occasional pause to its feverish activities, there will be a let-go, and it is only then in the interval between two thoughts that a flash of understanding - understanding, which is not thought - can take place
Seek to understand the root. It is futile to argue as to which single leaf, which design of branch, or which attractive flower you like, when you understand the root, you understand all its blossoming
A teacher must never impose a student to fit his favourite pattern. A good teacher functions as a pointer, exposing his student's vulnerability, causing him to explore both internally and finally integrating himself with his being.
We are always in a process of becoming, and nothing is fixed. Have no rigid system in you, and you'll be flexible to change with the ever changing. open yourself and flow, my friend. Flow in the total openess of the living moment. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond like an echo
Forget about winning and losing, forget about pride and pain. Let your opponent graze your skin and you smash into his flesh, let him smash into your flesh and you fracture his bones, let him fracture your bones and you take his life. Do not be concerned with escaping safely - lay your life before him
To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have time to spend or waste, and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever
The Three Stages of Cultivation - The first is the primitive stage. It is a stage of original ignorance in which a person knows nothing about the art of combat. In a fight, he simply blocks and strikes instinctively without a concern for what is right and wrong. Of course, he may not be so-called scientific, but, nevertheless, being himself, his attacks or defenses are fluid. The second stage - the stage of sophistication, or mechanical stage - begins when a person starts his training. He is taught the different ways of blocking, striking, kicking, standing, breathing, and thinking - unquestionably, he has gained the scientific knowledge of combat, but unfortunately his original self and sense of freedom are lost, and his action no longer flows by itself. His mind tends to freeze at different movements for calculations and analysis, and even worse, he might be called "intellectually bound" and maintain himself outside of the actual reality. The third stage - the stage of artlessness, or spontaneous stage - occurs when, after years of serious and hard practice, the student realizes that after all, gung fu is nothing special. And instead of trying to impose on his mind, he adjusts himself to his opponent like water pressing on an earthen wall. It flows through the slightest crack. There is nothing to try to do but try to be purposeless and formless, like water. All of his classical techniques and standard styles are minimized, if not wiped out, and nothingness prevails. He is no longer confined
Naturalness means easily and comfortably, so all muscles can act with the greatest speed and ease. Stand loosely and lightly, avoid tension and muscular contraction. Thus, you will both guard and hit with more speed, precision and power
As long as I can remember I feel I have had 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 these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand
To develop proper distance and penetration against a moving target, use a partner equipped either with a body protector or an air bag. He can either stand still and take the brunt of the kick, or he can back away from the attack. The former teaches proper application of the kick, especially valuable in teaching beginners. The latter training is to teach penetration. As soon as your partner thinks you will attack, he tries to back away as fast as possible. This practice is valuable to both men, one learns to penetrate and the other to back away quickly. The body protector is sometimes used for sharpening the attack. The partner will not attack but will maintain a correct distance in a ready fighting pose. As you begin to attack, he will try to counter, block, or move away. You will have almost the actual feeling of hitting your opponent in a real situation
The void is no mere emptiness, but is real, free and existing. It is the source from which all things arise and return. It cannot be seen, touched or known, yet it exists and is freely used. It has no shape, size, colour or form, and yet all that we see, hear, feel and touch is "it". It is beyond intellectual knowing and cannot be grasped by the ordinary mind. When we suddenly awake to the realization that there is no barrier, and has never been seen, one realizes that one is all things, mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, sun, moon, stars, universe are all oneself. There is no longer a division or barrier between myself and others, no longer any feeling of alienation or fear. Realizing this, results in true compassion. Other people and things are not seen as apart from oneself, on the contrary, as one's own body
A good JKD man does not oppose force or give way completely. He is pliable as a spring, he is the complement and not the opposition to his opponent's strength. He has no technique, he makes his opponent's technique his technique. He has no design, he makes opportunity his design
Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I've understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. The height of cultivation is really nothing special. It is merely simplicity, the ability to express the utmost with the minimum. It is the halfway cultivation that leads to ornamentation. Jeet Kune-Do is basically a sophisticated fighting style stripped to its essentials
If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them
There is nothing better than free-style sparring in the practice of any combative art. In sparring you should wear suitable protective equipment and go all out. Then you can truly learn the correct timing and distance for the delivery of the kicks, punches, etc. It is a good idea to spar with all types of individuals - tall, short, fast, clumsy. Yes, at times a clumsy fellow will mess up a better man because his awkwardness serves as a sort of broken rhythm. The best sparring partner, though, is a quick, strong man who does not know anything, a madman who goes all out, scratching, grabbing, grappling, punching, kicking, and so on
One should be in harmony with, not in opposition to, the strength and force of the opposition. This means that one should do nothing that is not natural or spontaneous, the important thing is not to strain in any way
The happiness that is derived from excitement is like a brilliant fire - soon it will go out. Before we married, we never had the chance to go out to nightclubs. We only spent our nights watching TV and chatting. Many young couples live a very exciting life when they are in love. So, when they marry, and their lives are reduced to calmness and dullness, they will feel impatient and will drink the bitter cup of a sad marriage
I believe in having a few pupils at one time as it requires a constant alert observation of each individual in order to establish a direct relationship. A good teacher can never be fixed in a routine... each moment requires a sensitive mind that is constantly changing and constantly adapting
I'm moving and not moving at all. I'm like the moon underneath the waves that ever go on rolling and rocking. It is not, "I am doing this," but rather, an inner realization that "this is happening through me," or "it is doing this for me." The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action
The Western approach to reality is mostly through theory, and theory begins by denying reality - to talk about reality, to go around reality, to catch anything that attracts our sense-intellect and abstract it away from reality itself. Thus philosophy begins by saying that the outside world is not a basic fact, that its existence can be doubted and that every proposition in which the reality of the outside world is affirmed is not an evident proposition but one that needs to be divided, dissected and analyzed. It is to stand consciously aside and try to square a circle
Let me give you a bit of warning: just because you get very good at your training it should not go to your head that you are an expert. Remember, actual sparring is the ultimate, and the training is, only a means toward this.
Physical conditioning is a must for all martial artists. If you are not physically fit, you have no business doing any hard sparring. To me, the best exercise for this is running. Running is so important that you should keep it up during your lifetime. What time of the day you run is not important as long as you run. In the beginning you should jog easily and then gradually increase the distance and tempo, and finally include sprints to develop your "wind". Let me give you a bit of warning: just because you get very good at your training it should not go to your head that you are an expert. Remember, actual sparring is the ultimate, and the training is only a means toward this. Besides running, one should also do exercises for the stomach - sit-ups, leg raises, etc. Too often one of those big-belly masters will tell you that his internal power has sunk to his stomach, he's not kidding, it is sunk and gone! To put it bluntly, he is nothing but fat and ugly
I believe that the only way to teach anyone proper self-defence is to approach each individual personally. Each one of us is different and each one of us should be taught the correct form. By correct form I mean the most useful techniques the person is inclined toward. Find his ability and then develop these techniques. I don't think it is important whether a side kick is performed with the heel higher than the toes, as long as the fundamental principle is not violated. Most classical martial arts training is a mere imitative repetition - a product - and individuality is lost
In building a statue, a sculptor doesn't keep adding clay to his subject. Actually, he keeps chiselling away at the inessentials until the truth of its creation is revealed without obstructions. Thus, contrary to other styles, being wise in Jeet Kune-Do doesn't mean adding more, it means to minimize, in other words to hack away the unessential
What we are after is the root and not the branches. The root is the real knowledge, the branches are surface knowledge. Real knowledge breeds "body feel" and personal expression, surface knowledge breeds mechanical conditioning and imposing limitation and squelches creativity
Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves
One should not respond to circumstance with artificial and "wooden" prearrangement. Your action should be like the immediacy of a shadow adapting to its moving object. Your task is simply to complete the other half of the oneness spontaneously
If you want to understand the truth in martial arts, to see any opponent clearly, you must throw away the notion of styles or schools, prejudices, likes and dislikes, and so forth. Then, your mind will cease all conflict and come to rest. In this silence, you will see totally and freshly
Because of styles, people are separated. They are not united together because styles became laws. But the original founder of the style started out hypotheses, and now it has become the gospel truth. People that go into them became their product. It doesn't matter how you are, who you are, how you are structured, how you are built, how you are made. It doesn't matter. You just go in there and be that product. And that, to me is not life
I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude
When there is freedom from mechanical conditioning, there is simplicity. The classical man is just a bundle of routine, ideas and tradition. If you follow the classical pattern, you are understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow - you are not understanding yourself
Art "lives" where absolute freedom is. With all the training thrown to nowhere, with a mind perfectly unaware of its own working, with the "self" vanishing nowhere, the art of JKD attains its perfection
The tools are at an undifferentiated center of a circle that has no circumference, moving and yet not moving, in tension and yet relaxed, seeing everything happening and yet not at all anxious about its outcome, with nothing purposely designed, nothing consciously calculated, no anticipation, no expectation - in short, standing innocently like a baby and yet, with all the cunning, subterfuge and keen intelligence of a fully mature mind
There is no such thing as maturity. There is instead an ever-evolving process of maturing. Because when there is a maturity, there is a conclusion and a cessation. That's the end. That's when the coffin is closed. You might be deteriorating physically in the long process of aging, but your personal process of daily discovery is ongoing. You continue to learn more and more about yourself every day
A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, I do not hit - it hits all by itself
When, in a split second, your life is threatened, do you say, "let me make sure my hand is on my hip, and my style is "the" style?" When your life is in danger, do you argue about the method you will adhere to while saving yourself? Why the duality?
Like everyone else you want to learn the way to win. But never to accept the way to lose. To accept defeat - to learn to die - is to be liberated from it. Once you accept, you are free to flow and to harmonize. Fluidity is the way to an empty mind. You must free your ambitious mind and learn the art of dying
I'm not a master, I'm a student-master, meaning that I have the knowledge of a master and the expertise of a master, but I'm still learning, So I'm a student-master. I don't believe in the word master, I consider the master as such when they close the casket
This writing can be less demanding should I allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I've come to understand that life is best to be lived - not to be conceptualized. If you have to think, you still do not understand
A martial artist who drills exclusively to a set pattern of combat is losing his freedom. He is actually becoming a slave to a choice pattern and feels that the pattern is the real thing. It leads to stagnation because the way of combat is never based on personal choice and fancies, but constantly changes from moment to moment, and the disappointed combatant will soon find out that his "choice routine" lacks pliability. There must be a "being" instead of a "doing" in training. One must be free. Instead of complexity of form, there should be simplicity of expression
The danger of training with the heavy bag is that it doesn't react to one's attack and sometimes there is a tendency to thoughtlessness. One will punch the bag carelessly, and would be vulnerable in a real situation if this became a habit
Too much horsing around with unrealistic stances and classic forms and rituals is just too artificial and mechanical, and doesn't really prepare the student for actual combat. A guy could get clobbered while getting into this classical mess. Classical methods like these, which I consider a form of paralysis, only solidify and constrain what was once fluid. Their practitioners are merely blindly rehearsing routines and stunts that will lead nowhere
In Buddhism, there is no place for using effort. Just be ordinary and nothing special. Eat your food, move your bowels, pass water and when you're tired go and lie down. The ignorant will laugh at me, but the wise will understand
To reach the masses, some sort of big organization, domestic and foreign branch affiliation, is not necessary. To reach the growing number of students, some sort of pre-conformed set must be established as standards for the branch to follow. As a result all members will be conditioned according to the prescribed system. Many will probably end up as a prisoner of a systematized drill
The techniques, though they play an important role in the early stage, should not be too restrictive, complex or mechanical. If we cling to them, we will become bound by their limitation. Remember, you are expressing the technique, and not doing Technique number two, Stance three, Section four
Too wide a stance prevents proper alignment, destroying the purpose of balance but obtaining solidarity and power at the cost of speed and efficient movement. A short stance prevents balance as it does not give a basis from which to work. Speed results but at a loss of power and balance
A good martial artist does not become tense but ready. Not thinking yet not dreaming, ready for whatever may come. A martial artist has to take responsibility for himself and face the consequences of his own doing.
Art is the way to the absolute and to the essence of human life. The aim of art is not the one-sided promotion of spirit, soul and senses, but the opening of all human capacities - thought, feeling, will - to the life rhythm of the world of nature. So will the voiceless voice be heard and the self be brought into harmony with it
When in actual combat, you're not fighting a corpse. Your opponent is a living, moving object who is not in a fixed position, but fluid and alive. Deal with him realistically, not as though you're fighting a robot. Traditionally, classical form and efficiency are both equally important. I'm not saying form is not important - economy of form that is - but to me, efficiency is anything that scores. Don't indulge in any unnecessary, sophisticated moves. You'll get clobbered if you do, and in a street fight you'll have your shirt zipped off you
When you fight, if it is a real fight, use every tool that you have, use your whole body. Use your fists, your legs, your fingers, your head if you have to, and hit them in every vulnerable spot, the balls, the eyes etc. to win
Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable
It is not wise at all to attack without first having gained control of the opponent's movement time or hand position. Thus, a smart fighter uses every means at his disposal, patiently and systematically, to draw the stop-hit. It brings the adversary's hand or leg within his reach and gives him the opportunity to gain control of it
Styles tend to not only separate men - because they have their own doctrines and then the doctrine became the gospel truth that you cannot change. But if you do not have a style, if you just say: Well, here I am as a human being, how can I express myself totally and completely? Now, that way you won't create a style, because style is a crystallization. That way, it's a process of continuing growth
The art of Jeet Kune Do is simply to simplify. Jeet Kune Do avoids the superficial, penetrates the complex, goes to the heart of the problem and pinpoints the key factors. Empty your cup that it may be filled, become devoid to gain totality
The fancy mess solidifies and conditions that which was once fluid, and when you look at it realistically, it is nothing but blind devotion to the systematic uselessness of practicing routines or stunts that lead nowhere
To me totality is very important in sparring. Many styles claim this totality. They say that they can cope with all types of attacks, that their structures cover all the possible lines and angles, and are capable of retaliation from all angles and lines. If this is true, then how did all the different styles come about? If they are in totality, why do some use only the straight lines, others the round lines, some only kicks, and why do still others who want to be different just flap and flick their hands? To me a system that clings to one small aspect of combat is actually in bondage
When one has reached maturity in the art, one will have a formless form. It is like ice dissolving in water. When one has no form, one can be all forms, when one has no style, he can fit in with any style
The combatant should be alive in sparring, throwing punches and kicks from all angles, and should not be a co-operative robot. Like water, sparring should be formless. Pour water into a cup, it becomes part of the cup. Pour it into a bottle, it becomes part of the bottle. Try to kick or punch it, it is resilient, clutch it and it will yield without hesitation. In fact, it will escape as pressure is being applied to it. How true it is that nothingness cannot be confined. The softest thing cannot be snapped
The artless art is the art of the soul at peace, like moonlight mirrored in a deep lake. The ultimate aim of the artist is to use his daily activity to become a past master of life, and so lay hold of the art of living. Masters in all branches of art must first be masters of living, for the soul creates everything
There is only one type of body, 2 arms, 2 legs, etc that make up the human body. Therefore, there can only be one style of fighting. If the other guy had 4 arms and 2 legs, there might have to be a different one. Forget the belief that one style is better than the other, the point of someone that does not just believe in tradition, but actually wants to know how to fight is to take what you need from every martial art and incorporate it into your own. Make it effective and very powerful, but don't worry if you are taking moves from many different arts, that is a good thing
I have not invented a "new style", composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from "this" method or "that" method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds. Remember that Jeet Kune Do is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see "ourselves". Jeet Kune Do is not an organized institution that one can be a member of. Either you understand or you don't, and that is that
The Jeet Kune Do man should be on the alert to meet the interchangeability of opposites. As soon as his mind "stops" with either of them, it loses its own fluidity. A Jeet Kune Do man should keep his mind always in the state of emptiness so that his freedom in action will never be obstructed
The way to transcend karma lies in the proper use of the mind and the will. The one-ness of all life is a truth that can be fully realized only when false notions of a separate self, whose destiny can be considered apart from the whole, are forever annihilated
The artistic activity does not lie in art itself as such. It penetrates into a deeper world in which all art forms flow together, and in which the harmony of soul and cosmos in the nothing has its outcome in reality
There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Jeet Kune-Do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way. Jeet Kune-Do is simply the direct of one's feelings with the minimum of movements and energy. The closer to the true way of Kung Fu, the less wastage of there is
To realize freedom the mind has to learn to look at life, which is a vast movement, without the bondage of time, for freedom lies beyond the field of consciousness - care for watching, but don't stop and interpret
The athlete who is building muscles through weight training should be very sure to work adequately on speed and flexibility at the same time. In combat, without the prior attributes, a strong man will be like the bull with its colossal strength futilely pursuing the matador or like a low-geared truck chasing a rabbit
When people talk about fighting schools they say that Kung Fu, or Karate, or this other style is the best. That is silly, and the problem becomes that the fighting style then becomes set in stone with no growth, and no adaptation, because what works well with me might not work for you
Knowledge in martial arts actually means self-knowledge. A martial artist has to take responsibility for himself and accept the consequences of his own doing. The understanding of JKD is through personal feeling from movement to movement in the mirror of the relationship and not through a process of isolation. To be is to be related. To isolate is death. To me, ultimately, martial arts means honestly expressing yourself. Now, it is very difficult to do. It has always been very easy for me to put on a show and be cocky, and be flooded with a cocky feeling and feel pretty cool and all that. I can make all kinds of phoney things. Blinded by it. Or I can show some really fancy movement. But to experience oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly, now that, my friend, is very hard to do
A powerful athlete is not a strong athlete, but one who can exert his strength quickly. Since power equals force times speed, if the athlete learns to make faster movements he increases his power, even though the contractile pulling strength of his muscles remains unchanged. Thus, a smaller man who can swing faster may hit as hard or as far as the heavier man who swings slowly
Art is an expression of life and transcends both time and space. We must employ our own souls through art to give a new form and a new meaning to nature or the world. "Artless art" is the artistic process within the artist, its meaning is "art of the soul"
Relaxation is essential for faster and more powerful punching. Let your lead punch shoot out loosely and easily, do not tighten up or clench your fist until the moment of impact. All punches should end with a snap several inches behind the target. Thus, you punch through the opponent instead of at him
The old-fashioned punching speed bag teaches you to hit straight and square, if you don't hit it straight the bag will not return directly to you. Besides learning footwork, you can hit the bag upward too. Another important function is that after the delivery of the punch, the bag will return instantaneously and this will teach you to be alert and to recover quickly. The bag should not be hit in a rhythmic motion but instead in a broken rhythm. Actually fight the bag as if it is your opponent
There are styles that favour straight lines, then there are styles that favour curved lines and circles. Styles that cling to one partial aspect of combat are in bondage. Jeet Kune Do is a technique for acquiring liberty, it is a work of enlightenment
To obtain enlightenment in martial art means the extinction of everything which obscures the "true knowledge," the "real life". At the same time, it implies boundless expansion and, indeed, emphasis should fall not on the cultivation of the particular department which merges into the totality, but rather on the totality that enters and unites that particular department
Jeet Kune Do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and since Jeet Kune Do has no style, it can fit in with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do utilizes all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any techniques which serve its end
Finally, a Jeet Kune Do man who says Jeet Kune Do is exclusively Jeet Kune Do, is simply not with it. He is still hung up on his self-closing resistance, in this case anchored down to reactionary pattern, and naturally is still bound by another modified pattern and can move within its limits. He has not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all molds, pattern and awareness is never exclusive
When performing the movements, always use your imagination. Picture your adversary attacking, and use Jeet Kune-Do techniques in response to this imagined attack. As these techniques become more innate, new meaning will begin to emerge and better techniques can be formulated
To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special, the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is
If thought exists, I who think and the world about which I think also exist, the one exists but for the other, having no possible separation between them. Therefore, the world and I are both in active correlation, I am that which sees the world, and the world is that which is seen by me. I exist for the world and the world exists for me. One sure and primary and fundamental fact is the joint existence of a subject and of its world. The one does not exist without the other. I acquire no understanding of myself except as I take account of objects, of the surroundings. I do not think unless I think of things - and there I find myself
You have to keep your reflexes so that when you want it - it's there. When you want to move - you are moving. And when you move, you are determined to move! Not accepting even one inch less than 100 percent of your honest feelings. Not anything less than that. So that is the type of thing you have to train yourself into. To become one with your feelings so that, when you think - it is
The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick and choose. Do not like, do not dislike, all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference and heaven and earth are set apart, if you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between "for" and "against" is the mind's worst disease
Of course you're there. Death is always there. So why was I afraid? Your leap is swift. Your claws are sharp and merciful. What can you take from me which is not already yours? Everything I have done until now has been fruitless. It has led to nothing. There was no other path except that it led to nothing - and before me now there is only one real fact - Death. The truth I have been seeking - this truth is Death. Yet Death is also a seeker. Forever seeking me. So - we have met at last. And I am prepared. I am at peace. Because I will conquer death with death
Jeet Kune Do, ultimately, is not a matter of petty technique but of highly developed personal spirituality and physique. It is not a question of developing what has already been developed but of recovering what has been left behind. These things have been with us, in us, all the time and have never been lost or distorted except by our misguided manipulation of them. Jeet Kune Do is not a matter of technology but of spiritual insight and training
An artist's expression is his soul made apparent, his schooling, as well as his "cool" being exhibited. Behind every motion, the music of his soul is made visible. Otherwise, his motion is empty, and empty motion is like an empty word, no meaning
A Jeet Kune Do man faces reality and not crystallization of form. The tool is a tool of formless form. Self-expression is total, immediate, without conception of time, and you can only express that if you are free, physically and mentally, from fragmentation
Artistic skill, therefore, does not mean artistic perfection. It remains rather a continuing medium or reflection of some step in psychic development, the perfection of which is not to be found in shape and form, but must radiate from the human soul
The Now is indivisible. Completeness, the now, is an absence of the conscious mind to strive to divide that which is indivisible. For once the completeness of things is taken apart it is no longer complete
The more relaxed the muscles are, the more energy can flow through the body. Using muscular tensions to try to "do" the punch, or attempting to use brute force to knock someone over, will only work to opposite effect
Be aware of doing your best to understand the root in life, and realize the direct and the indirect are in fact a complementary whole. It is to see things as they are and not to become attached to anything - to be unconscious meant to be be innocent of the working of a relative mind - where there is no abiding of though anywhere on anything - this is being unbound. This not abiding anywhere is the root of our life
The aim of art is to project an inner vision into the world, to state in aesthetic creation the deepest psychic and personal experiences of a human being. It is to enable those experiences to be intelligible and generally recognized within the total framework of an ideal world
When we hold to the core, the opposite sides are the same if they are seen from the center of the moving circle. I do not experience, I am experience. I am not the subject of experience, I am that experience. I am awareness. Nothing else can be I or can exist
To hit or kick effectively, it is necessary to shift weight constantly from one leg to the other. This means perfect control of body balance. Balance is the most important consideration in the on-guard position
The first rule is to keep yourself well covered at all times and never leave yourself open while sparring around the bag. By all means use your footwork - side stepping, feinting, varying your kicks and blows to the bag. Do not shove or flick at it. Explode through it and remember that the power of the kick and punch comes from the correct contact at the right spot and at the right moment with the body in perfect position, not, as many people think, from the vigor with which the kicks or blows are delivered
You know what I want to think of myself? As a human being. Because, I mean I don't want to be like "As Confucius say," but under the sky, under the heavens there is but one family. It just so happens that people are different
Reality is being itself. It is being itself, in becoming itself. Reality in its isness, the "isness" of a thing. Thus isness is the meaning - having freedom in its primary sense - not limited by attachments, confinements, partialization, complexities
Jeet Kune-Do is the only non-classical style of Chinese Kung Fu in existence today. It is simple in its execution, although not so simple to explain. Jeet means "to stop, to stem, to intercept", while Kune means "fist" or "style", and Do means "the way" or "the ultimate reality". In other words - "The Way of the Intercepting Fist"
Voidness is that which stands right in the middle between this and that. The void is all-inclusive, having no opposite, there is nothing which it excludes or opposes. The all illuminating light shines and is beyond the movement of the opposites
The dualistic philosophy reigned supreme in Europe, dominating the development of Western science. But with the advent of atomic physics, findings based on demonstrable experiment were seen to negate the dualistic theory, and the trend of thought since then has been back to the monistic conception of the ancient Taoists
