favorite quotes

On readiness

"Do not be tense, just be ready, not thinking but not
dreaming, not being set but being flexible. It is being "wholly" and quietly
alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.
The danger of training with the heavy bag is that it doesn't react to one’s
attack and sometimes there is a tendency to thoughtlessness. One will punch
the bag carelessly, and would be vulnerable in a real situation if this
became a habit."

~ Bruce Lee ~

On martial arts styles


"To reach the masses, some sort of big organization
(whether) domestic and foreign branch affiliation, is not necessary. To
reach the growing number of students, some sort of pre-conformed set must be
established as standards for the branch to follow. As a result all members
will be conditioned according to the prescribed system. Many will probably
end up as a prisoner of a systematized drill.
Styles tend to not only separate men - because they have their own doctrines
and then the doctrine became the gospel truth that you cannot change. But if
you do not have a style, if you just say: Well, here I am as a human being,
how can I express myself totally and completely? Now, that way you won't
create a style, because style is a crystallization. That way, it's a process
of continuing growth.
To me totality is very important in sparring. Many styles claim this
totality. They say that they can cope with all types of attacks; that their
structures cover all the possible lines and angles, and are capable of
retaliation from all angles and lines. If this is true, then how did all the
different styles come about? If they are in totality, why do some use only
the straight lines, others the round lines, some only kicks, and why do
still others who want to be different just flap and flick their hands? To me
a system that clings to one small aspect of combat is actually in bondage.
This statement expresses my feelings perfectly: 'In memory of a once fluid
man, crammed and distorted by the classical mess."

~ Bruce Lee ~