Life Quotes, page 122

“Training for strength and flexibility is a must. Use them to support your techniques—techniques alone are no good if you don’t back them with strength and flexibility.”

“The highest technique is to have no technique. My technique is a result of your technique; my movement is a result of your movement.”

“The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.”

“Observe what is with undivided awareness.”

“Understanding requires not just a moment of perception, but a continuous awareness — a steady state of inquiry without conclusion.”

“It's not what you give, it's the way you give it.”

“Don't get set into one form. Adapt it and build your own, and let it grow. Be like water.”

“I have the absolute confidence not to be number two, but I have enough sense to realize that there can be no number one.”

“Change is from inner to outer. We start by dissolving our attitude, not by altering outer conditions.”

“A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard.”

“The knowledge and skills you have achieved are meant to be forgotten so you can float comfortably in emptiness without obstruction.”

“Remember, no man is really defeated unless he is discouraged.”

“With every adversity comes a blessing; a shock reminds you not to get stale in routine.”

“Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. Learn, master, and achieve.”

“He who wants to succeed should learn how to fight, to strive, and to suffer. You can acquire a lot in life if you are prepared to give up a lot to get it.”

“Practice all movements slow and fast, soft and hard. The effectiveness of Jeet Kune-Do depends on split-second timing and reflexive action, which can be achieved only through repetitious practice.”

“The mental aspect of kung-fu is the desired end; to achieve it, technical skill must come first.”

“Efficiency is anything that scores.”

“I'm not a master. I'm a student-master — I have the knowledge and the expertise of a master, yet I'm still learning. I don't believe in the word 'master'; I consider someone a master only when they close the casket.”

“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.”

“Faith is a state of mind that can be conditioned through self-discipline. Faith will accomplish.”

“Martial arts, like any art, is an unrestricted athletic expression of an individual soul.”

“Where there is no style, there is no slave. Martial arts mean honestly expressing yourself. No style. No slave.”

“Don't indulge in unnecessary, sophisticated moves.”

“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.”

“The success of an assailant's attack depends on surprise, and if you're sufficiently alert to prevent a surprise, your counterattack is already halfway to being successful.”

“Jeet Kune Do does not beat around the bush. It does not take winding detours. It follows a straight line to the objective. Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points.”

“There's only one basic principle of self-defense: you must apply the most effective weapon, as soon as possible, to the most vulnerable target.”

“I don’t believe in different ways of fighting. Unless humans had three arms and three legs, we’d fight differently. We all have two arms and two legs, so the only way of fighting should be no way.”

“Endurance is lost rapidly if one ceases to work at its maximum.”