Sun Tzu

Bruce has authored many books, mostly small instruction type booklets, but his most widely known is Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Of the areas I’ve studied; the Eastern philosophies such as Zen and Taoism seem so simple yet so complex. Its kind of the way I see the world and our existence: what we as humans need to do to all live in peace and harmony united together in this world is really very simple; yet so very complex (almost to the point (or pointlessness) that its impossible. Bruce Lee graduated from University of Washington where he majored in philosophy. Much earlier before this his spiritual understanding stems from the Shaolin teachings. To understand a lot of what Bruce was saying; a grasp of Zen teachings as well as Taoism would provide a start.

Bruce was a true master, but I think his journey was cut short before even he had a chance to complete his own study if life. My theory of his death comes from the Chinese teachings of the body’s meridians. His “fire” element was on a constant rise, even when relaxed, I think that led to his undoing.

This is my basic extremely generalized interpretation of what I know and continue to learn about Sifu Bruce Lee’s teachings:

Jeet Kune Do translates to: “way of intercepting fist”

Have you ever went into a dojo and saw a black belt that was extremely fat, looked out of shape, and generally carried a persona of one that really didn’t care to much for their physical being; yet they had a black belt stretched across their waist? On a basic level he felt if your training to defend yourself it should be done as though one was training for an Olympic event. That’s obviously hardcore for most; unless you’re a cage fighter. He felt that the spiritual aspect that so many systems invoke into their training (such as what I had when I trained in Kenpo) should be the very last aspect of teachings. Physical development and the beginning level of body mastery should be first and foremost.

A large percentage of classical systems train through memorization of predetermined movements based on theory of what the physical reaction to action of an opponent will do. One aspect of katas address this (there are other benefits behind them). This predetermined system of training is usually combined with a controlled setting where light sparring is initiated; most of which the basic physics of the classical training is never seen. Bruce saw extreme weakness in this way of thinking and caused great animosity in the martial arts community towards him because of it.

To shorten this up and to get to the point; Bruce along with his great friend a fellow martial artist; Sifu Dan Inosanto developed a mentality and training philosophy that focused on developing physical attributes as opposed to memorizing systems of predetermined movements and techniques. They understood that attributes were the very elements that MADE the techniques work. Aspects of ability such as timing, speed, special relationship, sensitivity, power, flexibility, aerobic/anaerobic threshold, strength, reflexes, hand eye coordination, and killer instinct where each addressed as equally important entities. Both together as well as singularly. An example of training in the Jeet Kun Do philosophy would be lifting weights. Outside of all the other attributes; strength was being singled out. In fact on a limited scale boxers and muay Thai boxers train Jeet Kun Do more closely than 80% of the classical systems of horse stances and reverse punches.

What is life? To me it’s a series of never ending obstacles that we overcome and continually learn from (well hopefully). These could be relationships, money problems, health, self-purpose, etc. The overwhelming feeling that can sometimes happen may be easier to deal with by breaking down the development of attributes that it would take to empower one to achieve harmony. Attributes can mean many things, all of which supercede the very human ones I mentioned here. As he believed the physical mastery was only the beginning, but “Fist” represents so much more than a physical fist.

I know I jumped a huge distance there, but I don’t want to take up several pages that might bore everyone, and I’m only a novice that could offer what he “thinks”

Some books I think are of great reading that flow similar as Tao of Jeet Kune Do are:

Book of Five Rings: Miyamoto Musashi

Tao Te Ching (The way of life): Lau Tzu

The Art of War: Sun Tzu

Writings of Confucius


Im sure most who visit this thread had read one if not all of these though.

CSfilm maybe the health and fitness board at the most, but definitely not the nonsense board. Bruce’s teachings have a lot to offer.



We are all climbing different paths through the mountain of life
And we have all experienced much hardship and strife.
There are many paths through the mountain of life
And some climbs can be felt like the point of a knife.
Some paths are short, and others are long;
Who can say which path is right or wrong?
The beauty of truth is that each path has its own song
And if you listen closely, you will find where you belong.
So climb your path true and strong
But respect all other truths, for your way for them could be wrong.
-Dan Inosanto

__________________
To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.- Stephen Hawking