Bruce Lee: The Symbol

• He wasn't a master of any standard form of martial arts. He was closest in mastering Wing Chun.
• He invented his own style of martial arts. He based his style on the teaching of Man and what he learned of Wing Chun. He called his style Jeet Kune Do "the style of no style"
• He starred in 20 films in Hong Kong before the age of 18.
• He popularized the "1 Inch Punch" as seen in Kill Bill Vol. 2
• He was a prolific poet and philosopher. He studied poetry and philosophy in school and was even published several times.
• He was so fast, his moves were often too fast for a camera to catch.
• He only made 5 feature films in the US, his last released posthumously.

By learning to fight, he was able to better understand who he was — he could force himself out of his comfort zone, test his limits, and confront his fears. 

Bruce Lee saw life as being in constant change.

Unless we learn to adapt to it, we’re bound to experience tremendous resistance that will entrap us in a constant state of suffering.

Bruce Lee rivaled many great thinkers and philosophers with his new-age insights on life and his convictions on martial arts, family and love.

A collection of his notes, private letters, and poems are now published in the book **Bruce Lee: Artist Of Life.

Nothing is weaker than water, and in that weakness, there is immense strength. Water is fine and impossible to grasp. It does not suffer any hurt, and cannot be stabbed, or cut. It has no shape of its own but molds according to where it is placed. It can be hard as a rock and also invisible as vapor.

Being like water, humble, adaptive, resilient and ever-changing, we become masters of our surroundings.

“Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the ability to act in the presence of fear.”

To be successful, your mind and body should have the ability to flow and adapt to any situation. 

There should be less rigidity and structure in strategy and more flexibility and mobility. 

Being proficient at anything at full speed takes the willingness and patience to first go slowly, literally and figuratively.

 Any professional athlete will tell you that the ritualistic nature of slowing down your craft is the key to success in that craft. You have to walk before you can run.

Words inspire, words inform, and words can destroy - if we let them.

The martial arts will teach you not to react to other’s problems, but to pay attention to your own. Learn not to react to words that are meant for harm.

“The Art of Dying” is a metaphor and describes the Zen idea of letting our ego die. The ego is the whole set of experiences, accumulations, and memories that make up our view of ourselves. The ego holds our prejudices and distortions.

Death of the ego means we are open to criticism. We are embracing the process of learning to develop our abilities.

“Do not think about winning or losing, do not think about pride and pain. (…) The biggest mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the fight. You should not think about whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your weapons will be used at the right time.“

Like almost everything else in life, there are different variations to certain techniques, which ultimately lead to the same outcome. 

Understand that everyone has his or her own way of achieving a similar goal or outcome.

... as you might initially think.

You will also find yourself in situations where you basically get overcome by others – even when you initially felt like you had the upper hand.

No one is truly invincible, so it helps to always be humble and learn from everyone you train with.

The concept of Parkour was thought of by a then-teenager named David Belle in a small place called Lisses, near Paris, France. His father, Raymond Belle was a hero fireman and acrobat. This was in the 90s, and the teenager was greatly influenced by Spiderman and Tarzan. His acrobatic ways made him a celebrity and created a huge fan following.

Parkour is a made-up word, cousin to the French parcours, which means “route.”

The world of climbing walls without stairs and jumping off rooftops without any rope or parachute is filled with risk, thrill and adventure.

It also has its own naming system. Someone practising parkour is called a ‘traceur’, someone who traces David Belle’s footsteps. A female traceur is called a traceuse.

• The pandemic is influencing and changing the way we define a community, with people across the world gathering every day on balconies to applaud medical workers, perform music and even run marathons.
• Millions of single people stuck indoors have turned to the internet to go on virtual yoga dates, attend karaoke parties or blow out candles at WhatsApp birthday get-togethers.

Lockdowns around the globe are giving rise to a new togetherness for some and amplifying friction and conflict for others.
The external global context makes you realize that life is short. So if someone is in a bad relationship, they're probably going to decide to leave while they still can. Or the total opposite, decide that they might as well get married and have kids.