QUESTION : What advice would you give to a woman who is forced to defend herself against a big, powerful brute?

Bruce Lee : The trouble is that circumstances must dictate what you do. But too many people are looking at what is from a position of thinking what should be. However, I don’t care what you’ve heard, there’s no such thing as a 90 pound weakling tossing a 250 pound giant. And if a 90 pound woman is attacked the only the she can thing do is strike hard at one of three place – the eyeballs, goin, or the shins. This would sufficient self- defense to put the man off balance for just a moment . And then she’d better run like hell.

More on definition .

QUESTION : You have mentioned that gung fu goes by many different names. Can you list some of them and also give a definition of gung fu that is common to all styles?



BRUCE LEE : Gung fu, the prevalent term now used in the United States, has quite a few other names. In China, For-mosa, and Hong Kong, gung fu is called kuo shu or kuo chi: while in Japan, it is known as kempo. Historically, the name of chuen yung was first found in The Book of poetry and the following chart will show that in different dynasties, gung fu took on a different term.

Chuen young – the Book of Poetry Chiyung – Ming Dynasty

Wu ni – Chun Chiu Era Chi ni – Ming Dynasty

Chi chi – Chan kuo Era Pai shou – Chin gDynasty

Shou Po – Han Dyanasty Wu shu – Chinese Republic

Shou po – Han Dynasty Kuo shu – Chinese Republic

Kung shou – Ni Dynasty Kuo Chi – Chinese Republic

The two words gung fu mean accumulation of work or training. However , in the sense of martial art, it means training and discipline toward the Tao of an object – be it the Tao of health promotion, the Tao of cultivation of mind, or the Tao of self – protection.

The “best” way to learn. 

QUESTION: What is the best way for a person to learn Chinese gung fu?

BRUCE LEE: By being himself. The main thing is teaching a man to do his thing, to just be himself. The individual is more important than the style. If a person is awkward, he should not try to be agile. I’m against trying to impose a style on a man. This is an art, an expression of a man’s own self.

Do we need more than basics?

QUESTION: I am training with a Chinese instructor who drills us again and again on the basics-like side kicks, straight punching, etc. When we spar, we are instructed to use only his chosen basic techniques, though sometimes we can use combinations and everything.

Do you not think we need variety?

BRUCE LEE: The best techniques are the simple ones done correctly. And in material art, it is not how much you have learned, but how much you have absorbed in what you have learned. As long as the basics are on meaningful means that will lead to the ultimate end of actual application in broken rhythm, they are never wasted. Efficient basics are like the strong foundation of a house. Of course, one must avoid basics that have the “aliveness” taken out of them and are “performed” in rhythmic routines. Have patience, my friend. I’m sure your teacher knows what he is doing.

On the need for belts in the martial arts

QUESTION: Most proficient karate people have black belts. Some really advanced masters have red belts. You’ve been called a master of martial art, so what color belt do you have?

BRUCE LEE: I don’t have any belt whatsoever. That is just a certificate. Unless you can really do it-that is, defend yourself successfully in fight-that belt doesn’t mean anything. I think it might be useful to hold your pants up, but that’s about it.

The problem with black belts

QUESTION: You seem down on the whole idea of black-belt rankings.

Why is this?

BRUCE LEE: There simply isn’t time in man’s life-if he were to train the proper oriental way-to receive such an honor. If Orientals can’t earn it, surely Americans who practice one or two nights a week can’t. I’m very much against this “become a holy terror in three easy lessons” mentality.

The natural versus the supernatural

QUESTION: Some martial artists indicate the “true masters” of their various styles have developed an “inner” spiritual type of gung fu that enables them to perform incredible, almost supernatural feats such as being impervious to swords and knives. Do you think that this kind of thing is real?

BRUCE LEE: I think to be really good martial artist one already has many things to learn in this life, so why should a person learn that? Therefore, I really don’t have any interest in this “supernatural” gung fu. If you ask me what I will do in heaven, I will say this: “There are many things in this life I have not finished. Why should I think about something so far away?” Moreover, I think that those who trust in this “spirit-possessed” power have a vested interest in doing so. Why else would they trust in something so unscientific? I do not think for example, that a man will not hurt himself when he falls from the twelfth floor of a building-regardless of how proficient he may be in his particular style of gung fu. I also do not believe that a man’s flesh is impervious to sword and knives.

The nature of water

QUESTION: Could you please explain the principle of the Glass of Water as it applies to gung fu?

BRUCE LEE: Well one of the best example of gung fu is a glass of water. Why? Because it is capable of adapting itself to any situation. If you pour it into a cup, it becomes the cup; if you pour it into a bottle, it becomes the bottle; if you pour it into a glass, it becomes the glass. Water is the softest substance in the world, yet it can penetrate the hardest rock. Water is also insubstantial; by that I mean, you cannot grasp hold of it, you cannot punch it and hurt it. So every gung fu man is trying to do that; to be soft like water, to be flexible and able to adapt himself to the opponent.

Gung fu versus jujitsu

QUESTION: What is the difference between jujitsu, which seems to be rather long and involved, and gung fu, which is very quick, if you have an opponent?

BRUCE LEE: Sometimes you will read in a book or in martial arts magazine, that when somebody grabs you, you are told to “first do this, and then this, and then , and then, and then, and then”-thousands of steps before you do a single things. Of course, these kinds of magazines would teach you to be “fared by your enemies and admired by your friends” and everything else in between. But in gung fu, it always involves a very fast motion. For instance, if a guy grabs your hand, it’s not the idea in gung fu to do so many steps. Rather you should simply stomp your opponent right on the instep-he’ll let go. This is what we mean by “simplicity.” The same things applies in striking; it has to be based on a very minimum motion so that everything can be directly expressed in one motion-boom!-and he’s gone. Doing it gracefully.

More on wu wei

QUESTION: Why is we wei so important in the process of becoming a better martial artist?



BRUCE LEE: The principle of wu-wei is entirely an action of creative intuition, which opens the wellsprings within man. While the action of assertion, man’s common tendency, is preconceptual and rational, it cannot penetrate the hidden recesses of creativity. The action of assertion is viewed from the externals of intellection, while the action of nonassertion is activated by the inner light. The former action is limited and finite, the latter free and limitless.

Wu wei and chi sao

QUESTION: I’m still not sure how wu wei ties into the practice of chi sao or sticking hands. Can you explain?



BRUCE LEE: The understanding of chi sao is an inner experience in which the distinction between self and opponent vanishes. It is an intuitive, immediate awareness rather than a mediated, inferential, or intellectual process.

The rise of gung fu

QUESTION: Why do you think that gung fu is becoming so popular these days?



BRUCE LEE: The art of gung fu is gaining popularity, especially among the college students, for it is not merely some fighting tricks or brick-breaking stunts, but it is not merely some fighting tricks that has 4,000 years of refinements in it. Also, its theory is logical and its application is practical. In addition, gung fu serves to cultivate the mind, to promote health, and to provide a most efficient is comparatively nonstrenuous, and serves to normalize instead of overdeveloping or overexerting the body. However, above all else, gung fu develops confidence, humility, coordination, adaptability, and respect toward other.

The basic theory behind gung fu

QUESTION: What is the basic theory behind gung fu?



BRUCE LEE: Well, the basic idea is simply to “fit” harmoniously into your opponent’s movement like the immediacy of the shadow adjusting itself to the moving body. Instead of opposition, there is co-operation. It is like a pliable reed that neither opposes nor gives way in the wind. Every movement in gung fu has a flowing continuity without any dislocation. Defense is attack, attack is defense, each being the cause and result of the other. Its techniques are smooth, short, and extremely fast; they are direct; to the point, and are stripped down to their essential purposes without any wasted motions. Simplicity is the key word in this art-to do the utmost in the minimum of motion energy. The method of gung fu parallels that of the flow of water, as running water never grows stale.

Applying the centerline and body weight theories to judo

QUESTION: I’m quite taken with your theories regarding the centerline and also putting all of your body weight into your strikes instead of simply arm power. However, I’m a judoka-not a gung fu man-and we use throws rather than strikes. Does this render these principles invalid?



BRUCE LEE: Not at all. It is most interesting to work on the coordination of arm and body for that will make a judoka able to exert twice (perhaps triple) his power and a gung fu man to strike his body weight. Using arm force alone is indeed characteristic of the untrained person (in fact, a a lot of instructors are practitioners of this) and since striking is mainly used in gung fu, I’ll discuss the relationship of arm power and body power (waist or hip movement) in a punch. I’m sure that there will be a similar basic source as in throwing. It will facilitate the analysis of putting in the waist with the arm by dividing the human body into two halves with an imaginary centerline as in Figure one.* Figure two* (Top)shows a person releasing his right side and propelling his body weight (as in an ordinary right hand punch) by bracing himself on his left foot that acts as the hinge around which his right side body weight and power rotates. The hip and shoulder are driven first to the imaginary centerline then the arm comes into play “explosively.” The whole idea is to transfer the weight to the opponent’s target area before the weight transfers to the left leg. That is also why in stepping in to strike, the leading foot should not land first, or the body weight will rest upon the floor instead of being behind the striking hand. Of course, all these are coordinated very, very fast, but the waist reverse does come a split counter his attack to it.

There are more than that I’m sure, but in order to build on it, one has to jump out from the classical rigidity and see the field in a more practical light-as weight training (not bodybuilding) has contributed to judo.