More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Turn into a doll made of wood: it has no ego, it thinks nothing, it is not grasping or sticky. Let the body and limbs work themselves out in accordance with the discipline they have undergone.
The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.
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.”
Establish nothing in regard to oneself. Pass quickly like the non-existent and be quiet as purity. Those who gain lose. Do not precede others, always follow them.
Do not run away; let go. Do not seek, for it will come when least expected.
Art reveals itself in psychic understanding of the inner essence of things and gives form to the relation of man with nothing, with the nature of the absolute.
Creation in art is the psychic unfolding of the personality, which is rooted in the nothing. Its effect is a deepening of the personal dimension of the soul.
The aim of art is not the one-sided promotion of spirit, soul and senses, but the opening of all human capacities — thought, feeling, will — to the life rhythm of the world of nature.
Approach Jeet Kune Do with the idea of mastering the will. Forget about winning and losing; forget about pride and pain.
Punches and kicks are tools to kill the ego. The tools represent the force of intuitive or instinctive directness which, unlike the intellect or the complicated ego, does not divide itself, blocking its own freedom.
Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.
To express yourself in freedom, you must die to everything of yesterday. From the “old”, you derive security; from the “new”, you gain the flow.
If you follow the classical pattern, you are understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow — you are not understanding yourself.
A powerful athlete is not a strong athlete, but one who can exert his strength quickly. Since power equals force times speed, if the athlete learns to make faster movements he increases his power, even though the contractile pulling strength of his muscles remains unchanged. Thus, a smaller man who can swing faster may hit as hard or as far as the heavier man who swings slowly.
