Bruce Lee Philosophy

I prefer to describe Jeet Kune Do as a philosophy rather than a concept. Certainly describing JKD as a "style" is not appropriate and doing so would contradict its founder Bruce Lee. The reason I prefer the term philosophy rather than concept is because the term concept seems too limiting. Concept gives the feeling of something not completely thought out. For instance, one definition of the word concept is: an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances.   One definition that I like of the term Philosophy is: The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.   That really sums up the way Bruce Lee approached his personal investigation of martial arts. 

Bruce Lee was very much a philosopher. He studied philosophy at the University of Washington and after leaving, continued his self education with great enthusiasm.  Some feel his enthusiasm for Philosophy was only matched by his love of martial arts. Dan Inosanto was quoted saying that when he first went to study martial arts with Lee, “I was a little frustrated because Bruce spent more time talking about the Philosophical aspect of the art rather than showing techniques.” Later, once Dan understood where Bruce was coming from, things improved dramatically. 

Bruce Lee was very much a scientific researcher when it came to the practicality of martial arts. He would investigate techniques of a certain style and test them to discover how well they actually worked in combat.  It was almost as if his kwoon or dojo was a laboratory and used in much the same way any good scientist would research the validity of a theory.  A fundamental aspect of this testing was a technique must be successful when applied to a non-assisting attacker.  You must perform your technique against someone that is giving you resistance. Unfortunately, most people in martial arts practice their techniques against a very docile assistant.  In realty, just about anything would work against an attacker that is so non aggressive.   Practicing with an assailant that is very aggressive is what separated Lee from most martial artists of his day. Unfortunately, too many people in martial arts blindly accept what they are taught and if the sacred technique they were taught didn’t work; the fault must be in them and not the technique!

So what is this Jeet Kune Do philosophy?  It’s a discipline for discovering truth. To be more accurate it’s the discovery of self truth. Self knowledge is the highest achievement in JKD and this first starts with dealing with our beliefs and our ignorance. Lee understood that people categorize their beliefs in two areas.  The first group consists of what could be called practical beliefs, while the second group is our emotional beliefs.  Practical beliefs are the things we take for granted and just know are true and for the most part never question.  We know things like gravity will make us fall or fire can burn us. On the other hand, emotional beliefs are things we want to believe in and rarely objectively research. We see emotional beliefs thriving in the world of religion and politics. When was the last time you saw someone deeply committed to a political or religious belief stand back and coldly examine intelligent arguments on both sides?  It almost never happens because few of us have the courage to take the chance we might destroy the belief that gives our life some pleasure or perhaps meaning.  It’s interesting because in both belief categories there exists the common bond of not asking or challenging that belief. Jeet Kune Do teaches us to never blindly accept what is taught but to test all things.  Those around Lee said that when examining a technique from an art he would constantly ask “why” He wanted to know what the thinking was behind a given move. Asking "why" is crucial in the examining process and something we lose as adults because it is suppressed in us as children. When children ask "why" when given a command by an adult, most parents respond with “because I told you so!” This questioning process is further suppressed by some religions, some arrogant teachers, and later in corporate life. Bruce felt we had to break the shackles of the “don’t ask why” mentality if we are going to free ourselves and see the truth. Truth in life as well as combat is the goal and in JKD if it doesn’t work, we discard it. However before we discard something, we must honestly understand why it didn’t work.  If it didn’t work, was it because the technique wasn’t practical or was it simply due to the fact that our attributes are lacking?  

Jeet Kune Do also teaches us to be very direct in our approach and once the course of action has been decided, there is no looking back. We go for it with a 110% and never have regret, because win or lose, we know we made the correct decision.  Bruce Lee felt that we should approach life in general as if it were combat.  People can steal, hurt or betray us.  We can get cancer or some other disabling illness. We must adopt the warrior spirit and be strong while life gives us its ups and downs.  

Some quotes directly from Bruce Lee Philosophy are:

"Be formless, shapeless - like water."

"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering."

"Low aim is the worst crime man has."

"If you love life don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of."

"Truth has no path. Truth is living and, therefore, changing."

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