Bruce Lee as philosopher: 10 of the ideas animating his martial art style ‘jeet kune do’, such as letting nature take its course

Chinese martial arts styles are grounded in traditional philosophy, and Hong Kong martial arts superstar Bruce Lee worked hard to endow jeet kune do, a fighting style he created, with philosophical underpinnings.

Lee owned a library of around 2,000 books on martial arts, and he would often refer to these for inspiration.

While a student at the University of Washington in the United States, Lee studied two courses in philosophy – Introduction to Philosophy and Chinese Philosophy – and he applied what he had learned there to martial arts.

His words have been collected in various books, such as Tao of Jeet Kune Do and Words of the Dragon. Below are 10 of his more notable philosophical ideas.

1. Every action should have its why and wherefore and there ought to be a complete and proficient theory to back up the whole concept of Chinese martial arts. I wish to infuse the spirit of philosophy into martial arts, therefore I insist on studying philosophy.

2. To obtain enlightenment in martial arts 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.

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3. The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the execution of all physical action.

4. 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.

5. Through the ages, the end of heroes is the same as ordinary men. They all died and gradually faded away in the memory of man. But when we are still alive, we have to understand ourselves, discover ourselves, and express ourselves.

6. Approach jeet kune do with the idea of mastering the will. Forget about winning and losing.

7. The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course and your tools will strike at the right moment.

8. The art of jeet kune do is simply to simplify.

9. When there is freedom from mechanical conditioning, there is simplicity. Life is a relationship to the whole.

10. You can’t organise truth. That’s like trying to put a pound of water into wrapping paper and shaping it.

In this regular feature series on the best of Hong Kong martial arts cinema, we examine the legacy of classic films, re-evaluate the career of its greatest stars, and revisit some of the lesser-known aspects of the beloved genre. We continue this week with the philosophy of Bruce Lee.

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