Bruce Lee's Teachings

The Basic Theory Of Yin And Yang In The Art Of Gung Fu

The basic structure of Gung Fu is based on the theory of Yin/Yang, a pair of mutually complementary forces that act continuously, without cessation, in this universe. This Chinese way of life can be applied to anything, but here we are interested in its relationship to the art of Gung Fu. the black part of the circle is called Yin. Yin can represent anything in the universe as: negativeness, passiveness, gentleness, insubstantiality, femalness, moon, darkness, night, etc. The other complementary part of the circle is Yang, which represent positiveness, activeness, firmness, substantiality, maleness, sun, brightness, day, etc. The common mistake most people make is to identify this Yin/Yang symbol, T'ai-Chi, as dualistic; that is Yang being the opposite of Yin, and vice versa. As long as we separate this "oneness" into two, we won't achieve realization. Actually, all things have their complementary part; it is only in the human mind and his perception that they are being separated into opposites. The sun is not the opposite of the moon, as they complement and are interdependent on each other, and we cannot survive without either of them. In a similar way, a male is but the complement of the female; for without the male, how on earth do we know there is female, or vice versa. The "oneness" of Yin/Yang is necessary in life. If a persona riding a bicycle wishes to go somewhere, he cannot pump on both the pedals at the same time or not pumping on them at all. In order to move forward, he has to pump one pedal and release the other. So the movement of going forward requires this "oneness" of pumping and releasing. Pumping then is the result of releasing, and vice versa; each being the cause of the other.

In the Yin/Yang symbol there is a white spot on the black part, and black spot on the white one. This is to illustrate the balance in life, for nothing can survive long by going to either extremes, be it negativeness or positiveness. Therefore, firmness must e concealed in gentleness, and gentleness firmness, and that is why a Gung Fu man must be pliable as spring. Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or will bend with the wind. So in Gung Fu, or any other system, one must be gentle yet not giving away completely; be firm yet not hard, and even if he is strong, he should guard it with softness and tenderness. For if there is no softness in firmness, he is not strong; in a similar way, if one has firmness concealed in softness, no one can break through his defense. This principle of moderation provides a best means of preserving oneself, for since we accept this existence of the oneness (Yin/Yang) in everything, and do not teat it dualistically, we thus secure a state of tranquillity by remaining detached and not inclining to either extreme. Even if we do incline on one extreme, be it negative or positive, we will flow with it in order to control it. This flowing with it without clinging is the true way to get ride of it.

When the movements in Yin/Yang flow into extremes, reaction sets in. For when Yang goes to the extreme, it changes to Yin; and when Yin (activated by Yang) goes to the extreme, it returns back to Yang (that is why each one is the result and cause of the other.) For example, when one works to the extreme, he becomes tired and has to rest (from Yang to Yin). This incessant changing of Yin/Yang is always continuous.

The application of the theory of Yin/Yang in Gung fu is known as the Law of Harmony, in which one should be in harmony with, and not against the force of the opponent. Suppose A applies strength on B, B shouldn't oppose or gives way completely to it. For these are but the two extreme opposites of B's reaction. Instead, he should complete A's force, with a lesser force, and lead him to the direction of his own movement. As the butcher preserves his knife by cutting along the bone and not against it, a Gung Fun man preserves himself by following the movement of his opponent without opposition or even striving (Wu-Wai, spontaneous, or spirit action). This spontaneous assisting or A's movement as he aims it will result in his own defeat.

When a Gung fu man finally understood the theory of Yin/Yang, he no longer "fusses" with so-called "gentleness" or "firmness"; he simply does what the movement requires him to do. In fact, all conventional forms and techniques are all gone, his movements are those of everyday movements. He doesn't have to "justify" himself like so many other masters have, claiming his spirit or his internal power; to him, cultivation of martial art in the long run will return to simplicity, and only people of half-way cultivation justify and brag about themselves. -Bruce Lee, Oakland, California, USA

Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune do was founded by Bruce Lee

Because he felt the martial arts were too confined.

 

You can't fight in pattern he used to say

Because an attack can be baffling and not refined.

 

Jeet Kune do was created by Bruce Lee

To show us that an old art must transform.

 

Like the day turns to night and night to day

The way of fighting must also reform.

 

Bruce Lee developed Jeet Kune Do

But wished he didn't have a name for it!

 

Because the very words, Jeet Kune Do,

Already indicate that it's another martial arts form.

 

Any form or style does restrict

And his belief is now in conflict.

 

Stamina Exercise

Although you have the right attitude,

It's not enough to avoid a strife.

Although you have a heart of fortitude,

It's no assurance of saving your life.

You may have spent years in training,

In the art of fighting you love so much.

But if you are winded in a sparring,

It proves that your condition is such.

You need plenty of workout on the road,

Running two, three or more miles a day

Until our body can take more load.

Then comes a day you see the light,

You look up at the sky and then relay:

"Skill in performance is all right,

But it's not enough to prove your might."

 

A Perfect Stance

A stance too narrow provides you speed,

But leaves you imbalance which you don't need.

A stance too wide gives you power,

But you'll soon learn you're a bit slower.

There must be a stance that you can use

To keep you in balance and to refine.

The perfect stance that will not confuse

Is the on-guard position which does not confine.

You can maneuver with ease of motion

As you are free from any notion.

 

Footwork

The art of mobility

Is the essence of fighting.

If you're slow on your feet,

You'll be late in hitting.

A skilled fighter can shift

To evade most blows.

His body is "light as a feather,"

When he fights all foes.

He moves like a stallion

Galloping with grace

Instead of a kangaroo

Leaping high in space.

 

Power

Power in hitting

Depends not on your strength.

But it is the way,

You are close or at length.

If you're too near,

Use your striking elbows.

If you're too far,

Use your kicking feet.

But it is the hands that

You'll employ the most

In a sparring session

Or a martial arts meet.

And when it is all over,

Hope you can silently boast

That you have learned

To hit with speed and power.

 

Speed

Speed in fighting depends not

Just on your hands and feet in swiftness,

But other attributes such as

Nontelegraphic moves and awareness.

Speed in fighting is to hit

Your foe without yourself being hit.

This can only be done by hours

Of practice and being completely fit.

Speed in fighting is no good

Without the power that goes with it.

 

Your Offense

Your offense should be simple and direct

Because it may be hard to control.

But against someone who can project

A complex attack should be your role.

timing, the key to a complex attack,

Must be practiced until you have the knack.

The feint should be just enough to distract

And create an opening so you can act.

 

Right Strokes

It is not your lack of speed

That you think you really need.

But many times it's your strokes

That you use against all folks.

They may not e right for each fight

So you are confused and too tight.

Learn and practice the right blows

To fight better against all foes.

 

The Mighty Feet

If you are adept with your feet,

Probably, you re hard to beat.

'Cause you can keep your foe at bay

With powerful kicks that can slay.

The shin-kick can stop and attack

While the side-kick can break his back.

The spin-kick can be a surprise

To bring your opponent down to size.

The sweep-kick is seldom used

'Cause your foe can only be bruised.

For movies, it's a picturesque sight,

But for real, it has no might.

 

Countering

Countering may look like a defense

But it's an advanced form of offense.

Countering is a crafty strategy

And requires real art in fighting.

Counting can keep your opponent edgy

Especially while you are waiting.

Countering is best when he's leading

Because he cannot do much guarding.

 

Tactic

Tactic is for the intelligent

Who's a step ahead of his opponent.

He uses his brains in a fight

While another can't see the light.

He varies his tactic with each foe,

With punches and kicks thrown high and low.

He studies his opponent with care

And fights with judgment and dare.

Tactic alone can't insure success;

Attitude is part of the process.

A fighter with great confidence

Plans his encounter with good sense.

My Eyes Remember

 

By Dragon from Jade Mountain, July 1997

 

I feel joy and warmth in my heart,

Recalling the masculine beauty, strength, and skillfulness,

The perfection of action of Bruce Lee.

Like a flash of lightening,

This presence was luminous on the movie screen.

He was a man in tune with himself,

Therefore, he was fearless and confident;

He knew what he could do.

Eyes reflecting inner peace,

Jeet Kune Do stillness

From which all movement is born.

Eyes so quick, yet calm,

Hot and cold at the same time.

Always seeing the whole,

With panoramic vision;

Never lost in looking.

Eyes on his back, eyes on his hands and his feet;

He sensed opponents like radar.

 

When he threw a punch,

Power rose from his inner being,

A vast ocean of energy.

His punches were so precise,

They knocked out the opponents, and

The audience as well!

Like the sharp blade of a good sword,

Like a rushing waterfall,

Like the rockiness of rock,

His movements were so honest!

Faster than human,

Numbering as many as ten in a single second,

His hand strikes were invisible.

I could only see the beginning and

The end of a strike,

As the paths of movements dissolved in speed.

 

His footwork was a dance, the universal rhythm.

He bobbed, he weaved, he jumped,

He flew high like a Sky-Dragon!

He kicked, he punched, kick-punched-kicked!

He lured his opponent into a trap.

Fluidly mobile, yet simple,

He always found the target and

Avoided being the target.

Instinctively pacing his distance,

He could hit from any angle.

Never moving for the sake of moving,

Sometimes he was motionless,

Being a mountain of meditation, relaxed,

Until he perceived an opening.

Then from inertia came an explosion of power,

But always regaining his balance.

 

Sweat trickling off his slender body,

So beautiful in simple, black

Kung Fu pants,

I remember the Warrior,

The one with a pure and gentle heart.

Maintaining a clear mind and awareness,

Unobstructed by thoughts or concerns,

He fought in the NOW.

Aliveness and naturalness manifested,

Because past and future were abandoned.

 

Jeet Kune Do

For security, the unlimited living is turned into something dead, a chosen pattern that limits. To understand Jeet Kune Do, one ought to throw away all ideals, patterns, styles; in fact, he should throw away even the concepts of what is or isn't ideal in Jeet Kune Do. Can you look at a situation without naming it? Naming it, making it a word, causes fear.

It is indeed difficult to see the situation simply --- our minds are very complex --- and it is easy to teach one to be skillful, but it is difficult to teach him his own attitude.

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 or means which serve its end.

Jeet Kune Do is the enlightenment. It is a way of life, a movement toward will power and control, though it ought to be enlightened by intuition.

Because of the pure-heartedness and empty-mindedness inherent in man, his tools partake of these qualities and play their role with the utmost degree of freedom. The tools stand as symbols of the invisible spirit, keeping the mind, body and limbs in full activity.

Non-attachment as the foundation is man's original nature. In its ordinary process, thought moves forward without halting; past, present and future thoughts continue as an unbroken stream.

Absence of thought as the doctrine means not to be carried away by thought in the process of thought, not to be defiled by external objects, to be in thought yet devoid of thought.

Scratch away all the dirt your being has accumulated and reveal reality in its isness, or in its suchness, or in its nakedness, which corresponds to the Buddhist concept of emptiness.

Circle With No Circumference

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.

With all the training thrown to the wind, with a mind perfectly unaware of its own working, with the self vanishing nowhere, anybody knows where, the art of Jeet Kune Do attains its perfection.

Learning techniques corresponds to an intellectual apprehension of the philosophies in Zen, and in both Zen and Jeet Kune Do, an intellectual proficiency does not cover the whole ground of the discipline. Both require the attainment of ultimate reality, which is the emptiness or the absolute. The latter transcends all modes of relativity.

"To desire" is an attachment. "To desire not to desire" is also an attachment. To be unattached then, means to be free at once from both statements, positive and negative. This is to be simultaneously both "yes" and "no," which is intellectually absurd. However, not so in Zen.

Nirvana is to be consciously unconscious or to be unconsciously conscious. That is its secret. The act is so direct and immediate that intellectualization finds no room to insert itself and cut the act to pieces.

Prajna immovable doesn't mean immovability or insensibility. It means that the mind is endowed with capabilities of infinite, instantaneous motion that knows no hindrance.

When the mind is fluid, the moon is in the stream where it is at once movable and immovable. The waters are in motion all the time, but the moon retains its serenity. The mind moves in response to ten thousand situations but remains ever the same.

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 JKD man should keep his mind always in the state of emptiness so that his freedom in action will never be obstructed.

A concentrated mind is not an attentive mind, but a mind that is in the state of awareness can concentrate. Awareness is never exclusive; it includes everything.

When there is no obstruction, the JKD man's movements are like flashes of lightning or like the mirror reflecting images.

When there is no center and no circumference, then there is truth. When you freely express, you are the total style.

On Zen

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.

The way to transcend Karma lies in the proper use of the mind and the will. The oneness 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.

Voidness is that which stands right in the middle between this and that. The void is all inclusive, having no opposite -- there is noting which it excludes or opposes. It is living void, because all forms come out of it and whoever realized the void is filled with life and power and the love of all beings.

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.

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.

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.

Buddhism's Eight-Fold Path The eight requirements to eliminate suffering by correcting false values and giving true knowledge of life's meaning have been summed up as follows: 1. Right views (understanding): You must see clearly what is wrong. 2. Right purpose (aspiration): Decide to be cured. 3. Right speech: Speak so as to aim at being cured. 4. Right conduct: You must act. 5. Right vocation: Your livelihood must not conflict with your therapy. 6. Right effort: The therapy must go forward at the "staying speed," the critical velocity that can be sustained. 7. Right awareness (mind control): You must feel it and think about it incessantly. 8. Right concentration (meditation): Learn how to contemplate with the deep mind.

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