Tao Of Jeet Kune Do Quotes

Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.

Not being tense but ready. Not thinking but not dreaming. Not being set but flexible. Liberation from the uneasy sense of confinement. It is being wholly and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.

Using no way as a way, having no limitation as limitation.

All knowledge leads to self-knowledge.

Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there.

If you think a thing is impossible,you'll only make it impossible.

If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond like an echo.

It is compassion rather than the principle of justice which can guard us against being unjust to our fellow men.

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.

Bring the mind into sharp focus and make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere. The mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought processes and even ordinary thought itself.

Effort within the mind further limits the mind, because effort implies struggle towards a goal and when you have a goal, a purpose, an end in view, you have placed a limit on the mind.

Relationship is understanding. It is a process of self-revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself -- to be is to be related.

If you follow the classical pattern, you are understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow -- you are not understanding yourself.

Using no way as way. Having no limitation as your only limitation.

Having totality means being capable of following "what is," because "what is" is constantly moving and constantly changing. If one is anchored to a particular view, one will not be able to follow the swift movement of "what is.

Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-conciousness. Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over what impression he is making or about to make.

I'm moving and not moving at all. I'm like the moon underneath the waves that ever go on rolling and rocking. It is not, "I am doing this," but rather, an inner realization that "this is happening through me," or "it is doing this for me." The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.

Voidness is that which stands right in the middle between this and that. The void is all-inclusive, having no opposite--there is nothing which it excludes or opposes. It is living void, because all forms come out of it and whoever realizes the void is filled with life and power and the love of all beings.

...we have more faith in what we imitate than in what we originate. We cannot derive a sense of absolute certitude from anything which has its roots in us. The most poignant sense of insecurity comes from standing alone and we are not alone when we imitate. It is thus with most of us; we are what other people say we are. We know ourselves chiefly by hearsay.

Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points.

To see a thing uncolored by one’s own personal preferences and desires is to see it in its own pristine simplicity.

Give up thinking as though not giving it up. Observe techniques as though not observing.

There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Jeet Kune-Do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way.

Jeet Kune Do, you see, has no definite lines or boundaries — only those you make yourself.

There is “what is” only when there is no comparing and to live with “what is” is to be peaceful.

The attitude, “You can win if you want to badly enough,” means that the will to win is constant. No amount of punishment, no amount of effort, no condition is too “tough” to take in order to win. Such an attitude can be developed only if winning is closely tied to the practitioner’s ideals and dreams.

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.

To understand techniques, you must learn that they contain a lot of condensed movement.

Use no way as way, make no limitation, limitation.

The martial arts are based upon understanding, hard work and a total comprehension of skills. Power training and the use of force are easy, but total comprehension of all of the skills of the martial arts is very difficult to achieve.

...good technique includes quick changes, great variety and speed. It may be a system of reversals much like a concept of God and the Devil. In the speed of events, which one is really in charge?...to put the heart of martial arts inyour own heart and have it be a part of you means total comprehension and the use of a free style. When you have that you will know that there are no limits.

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

The body performs better when the athlete lets it go than when he tries to drive it.

Effort within the mind further limits the mind, because effort implies struggle toward a goal and when you have a goal, a purpose, an end in view, you have placed a limit on the mind.

He who knows not, knows not, he knows not, he is a fool shun him. He who knows not and he knows not, he is simple teach him. He who knows and knows not that he knows, he is asleep, awaken him. He who knows and knows that he knows, he is wise, follow him.

Memory: Recognizing the value of an alert mind and an alert memory, I will encourage mine to become alert by taking care to impress it clearly with all thoughts I wish to recall and by associating those thoughts with related subjects which I may call to mind frequently.

Let yourself go with the disease, be with it, keep company with it—this is the way to be rid of it.

Knowledge is fixed in time, whereas, knowing is continual. Knowledge comes from a source, from an accumulation, from a conclusion, while knowing is a movement.

Nothingness cannot be defined; the softest thing cannot be snapped.

He who knows not, knows not, he knows not, he is a fool shun him. He who knows not and knows he knows not, he is simple teach him. He who knows and knows not that he knows, he is asleep, awaken him. He who knows and knows that he knows, he is wise, follow him.

Discipline must conform to the nature of things in their suchness.

The difference between an expert and a novice fighter is that the expert makes use of each opportunity

Do not practice finely skilled movements after you are tired, for you will begin to substitute gross motions for finer ones and generalized efforts for specific ones. Remember, wrong movements tend to supervene and the athlete's progress is set back. Thus, the athlete practices fine skills only while he is fresh. When he becomes fatigued, he shifts to tasks employing gross movements designed principally to develop endurance.

Artistic skill, therefore, does not mean artistic perfection. It remains rather a continuing medium or reflection of some step in psychic development, the perfection of which is not to be found in shape and form, but must radiate from the human soul.

the whip of the arm is caused by turning the body away from the arm until the range of movement in the shoulder joint is completely used. Then, the arm must turn with the body. Executed quickly, this causes the arm to whip forward as if released from a bow.

I’m moving and not moving at all. I’m like the moon underneath the waves that ever go on rolling and rocking. It is not, “I am doing this,” but rather, an inner realization that “this is happening through me,” or “it is doing this for me.” The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.

It’s not daily increase but daily decrease—hack away the unessentials!

Some quote here

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.

Some martial arts are very popular, real crowd pleasers, because they look good, have smooth techniques. but beware.They are like a wine that has been watered. A diluted wine is not a real wine, nto a good wine, hardly the genuine article. Some martial arts don’t look so good, but you know that they have a kick, a tang, a genuine taste. They are like olives. The taste may be strong and bittersweet. The flavour lasts. You cultivate a taste for them. NO one ever developed a taste for diluted wine

Relaxation is a physical state, but it is controlled by the mental state. It is acquired by the conscious effort to control the thought as well as the action pattern. It takes perception, practice and willingness to train the mind into new habits of thinking and the body into new habits of action.

Las herramientas, tus armas naturales, tienen un doble propósito: 1.- Destruir a tu rival frente a ti, el aniquilamiento de cosas que están en el camino de la paz, en el de la justicia y la humanidad. 2.- Destruir tus propios impulsos resultantes del instinto de conservación. Destruir cualquier cosa que moleste a tu mente. No para hacer daño a alguien, sino para vencer tu propia codicia, ira y locura. El Jeet Kune Do está dirigido hacia uno mismo.

Art is never decoration, embellishment; instead, it is work of enlightenment. Art, in other words, is a technique for acquiring liberty.

When you start to learn it, you will find that it is awkward to you. That is because a good technique includes quick changes, great variety and speed. It may be a system of reversals much like a concept of God and the devil. In the speed of events, which one is really in charge? Do they change places with lightning speed? The Chinese believe so. To put the heart of the martial arts in your own heart and have it be a part of you means total comprehension and the use of a free style. When you have that, you will know that there are no limits.

«La sucesión del verano y el invierno se convierte en una bendición en el momento en que renunciamos a la fantasía de la primavera eterna»