Bruce Lee

Teacher, Philosopher, Warrior, Legend

Bruce Lee, considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest martial artist of the twentieth century, created one of the most revolutionary martial arts of all time – JEET KUNE DO. “Revolutionary” because it was the first martial art that advanced the principles of “TOTALITY” in martial art training, “realistic” and scientific training methods, and “complete freedom” for the individual practitioner. “Revolutionary” because it was a martial art that encompassed far more than simply fighting.
Bruce Lee began studying the Wing Chun system of gung fu at age 13. Over the next 19 years, he transformed his martial knowledge into a science, and art, a philosophy, and a way of life. In his quest for self-knowledge and personal expression, Lee constantly studied, analyzed, adapted, and modified all the relevant information he could get his hands on. This was done through his personal library of over 2,500 books covering all forms of martial arts, physical conditioning, kinesiology, and philosophy, and through his friendships and associations with many of the top martial artists of the time such as Ed Parker and Jhoon Rhee. In addition, three of the top U.S. karate champions at the time, Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, and Mike Stone, trained privately with Lee. More than simply looking around outward, however, Lee was constantly searching inwardly to find the best within himself, rejecting what he considered to be unsuitable and retaining what he felt was appropriate.

From Lee’s observations of the numerous styles of gung fu, karate, and other martial arts, he concluded that each one was a partialization. Each of the various styles had its own forms, its own movements, and a prevailing attitude of “this is the only way to do it.” What Lee was striving for in the martial arts was “totality”. To him this meant looking at combat not from a single angle, but from every angle, and studying all possible approaches to it. It didn’t mean the sum of all the techniques of every style (an impossibility, actually). Rather, it was discovering the common “threads” that bind or connect all martial arts together, and hacking away the unessential moves and simplifying techniques to make each and every approach to combat the most direct and effective. In the midst of searching for what he considered the ultimate reality of combat, Bruce Lee uncovered certain principles that are true regardless of method or style, and that apply to everybody. These principles cover such things as non-telegraphic initiation, speed, power, timing, balance, economy of motion, and so on.

Bruce Lee’s practice of martial arts lay beyond the restrictions of any particular style or method, all of which he considered merely dissected parts of a unitary whole. In his personal notes he defined martial art as, “an unrestricted athletic expression of an individual soul…”

Lee believed that to be bound by traditional martial art style or styles was the way of the mindless, enslaved martial artist. But to be inspired by them to achieve further heights was the way of genius. He believed that in order to progress, a person needed to take the existing research or principles, add their own experiences, then try to improve upon them. In his martial art notes he stated, “If you understand motion, you need no style.”

Lee’s ultimate martial art goal was to free people from bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines that asserted, “this is the only way.” His attitude was, “It doesn’t matter where it comes from. If you understand it and can use it, it belongs to no one; it’s yours.”

Bruce lee is considered by many to be the father of what is now referred to as “mixed martial arts.” The following is a quote from Dana White, owner of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship):
“Actually, the father of mixed martial arts, if you will, was Bruce Lee… If you look at the way Bruce Lee trained, the way he fought, and many of the things he wrote, he said the perfect style was no style…”