In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been very inspired by Bruce Lee. Although I haven’t seen any of his movies yet, I’ve heard and seen interviews with him, I’ve seen a couple documentaries and various clips and videos online, and I’ve been reading a book on his training techniques to see what I might incorporate into my own exercise routines. No one is perfect, so I don’t hold up Bruce or anyone else as an ideal example or a pinnacle of humanity, but I wanted to write a post to celebrate and honor the best that he represents to me and collect a few links to share with people.
I like Bruce Lee so much because I think his excellence was well-rounded and well-integrated. He is probably best known for his amazing physical skills in martial arts, but he was also philosophically interesting and compelling, extremely determined and focused, scientific in his approach, humorous and entertaining, attractive in physique and style, and just a nice, down-to-earth guy. He seemed to be a well-integrated person, with his philosophy influencing his skills and vice versa. He lived life vibrantly and with gusto and encouraged those around him to do the same.
Here are some of the ideas that come to mind when I think of Bruce Lee:
- Be true to yourself.
- Express yourself authentically. (in words, action, and movement)
- Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.
- Amazing things are possible.
- Dedication and effort with passion can produce amazing results.
For a basic introduction to Bruce Lee and his philosophy, here are a few links:
- Wikipedia page on Bruce Lee
- The “Lost” Interview on The Pierre Burton Show (1971)
- Wikipedia page on Jeet Kune Do, Lee’s martial art
- Jeet Kune Do Training Film
- Interview with Ted Thomas
- The Official Bruce Lee Website