Universal Concepts

All of the following quotes and concepts are by Bruce Lee 27 November 1940 - 20 July 1973

Any technique, however worthy and desirable, becomes a disease when the mind is obsessed with it. The Six Diseases: 1) The desire for victory. 2) The desire to resort to technical cunning to win. 3) The desire to display all that has been learned. 4) The desire to awe the enemy. 5) The desire to play the passive role. 6) The desire to get rid of whatever disease one is afflicted with. In Jeet Kune Do, when there is no mental obstruction, one's movements are like flashes of lightning, or images in a mirror. They are un-stoppable. While being trained in JKD, the student is to be active and dynamic in every way. But in actual combat, his mind must be calm and not at all disturbed. He must feel as if nothing critical is happening. When he advances, his steps should be light and secure, his eyes not fixed and glaring insanely at the enemy. His inner self must not be different from his everyday-self. No change should take place in his mind or attitude, nothing to betray the fact that he is engaged in mortal combat. Being empty means having no appearance, no style or form for the opponent to work with, nothing for the opponent to grasp. Emptiness is inexpressible because, as soon as one expresses it, what one expresses is, itself, another thing, which means that by doing so one remains in the state of being linked with things. To fight, one must become empty. All knowledge must be thrown to the wind. One must lay one's life before one's opponent, completely without tension or fear. There is a difference between such enlightenment and what is known as "knowledge". A contrast exists between the "knower" and one who does not know. With such a contrast, one cannot become one with the opponent. An energy discussion is therefore impossible. JKD favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms, and since it has no style, JKD fits in with all styles. As a result, JKD uses all ways and is bound by none, and likewise, uses all technique or any means which serves its end. In this art, efficiency is anything which works.

I hope martial artists are more interested in the root of martial arts and not the different decorative branches, flowers, or leaves. It is futile to argue as to which single leaf, which design of branches, or which attractive flower you like; when you understand the root, you understand and appreciate all its blossoming. It is easy to teach one to be skillful, but it is difficult to teach one how to discover his own attitude. Much energy is wasted by the un-relaxed, opposing muscles resisting movement. Tension robs one of available power. Learn and feel proper contraction and recovery, otherwise the physiological engine is racing, but the brakes are on. Ignorance is frequently caused by hanging on to knowledge too tightly, ignoring change. Since knowledge is power, let us disseminate it carefully. Knowledge is of the past. Learning is of the present, a constant change in relation to the present. In combat, only learning is usable. One cannot match "knowledge" with one's opponent in combat. Can you look at a situation without naming it? Naming it, making it words, causes fear. It causes separation from the everyday. Why do individuals depend upon, and cling to, style? They may preach how this style will beat that style, or how this technique is better than that, but when they are hit, what happens? "What should be" leads to hypocrisy. Learn the drills, then break the mold. In this path lies freedom. Throwing away the structure before becoming the structure, however, leads to confusion. An ideal fight involves having a relationship with your opponent. The closer the relationship, the less damage he can do to you, and he will be completely in your hands. Relationship is understanding. Truth is a relationship with your opponent, constantly moving, living, changing, never static. Truth is outside all patterns. Personal achievement is not unlike the combination of a safe. One turn of the knob rarely unlocks the safe. Each advance and retreat is a step toward one's goal. If people say that JKD is "This" or "That", then let the name of JKD be wiped out, for that is what it is, just a name. Please don't fuss over it.

What is learning? A journey and a process, not a destination or conclusion. What is an instructor? A guide, not a guard or dictator. What is the goal? To "be", not do and follow. What is the test? Being and becoming, not just reviewing and remembering. What do we teach? Individuals, not lessons, not styles, not systems, nor methods. What is the school? Whatever we choose to make it. Where is the school? Wherever we are.