Bruce Lee Philosophy

Bruce Lee Philosophy – Bruce Jun Fan Lee was born in the hour of the Dragon, in the year of the Dragon on November 27, 1940, at the Jackson Street Hospital in San Francisco’s Chinatown. At the university, Bruce majored in philosophy. His passion for Gung Fu inspired a desire to delve into the philosophical underpinnings. Many of his written essays during those years would relate philosophical principles to certain martial arts techniques. Bruce’s art was steeped in a philosophical foundation and did not follow long-held martial art traditions. Instead, it had at its core the ideas of simplicity, directness and personal freedom.

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Bruce Lee Philosophy and Climbing

I started on my road to personal enlightenment a year ago. Since starting I have been wondering how my enlightenment can be integrated into my climbing. My enlightenment came about through early life events having a negative effect on my personality and precipitating a need to use ego as protection against my failings.

It should be noted that the usual take on ego, that of having to be the best at all costs is not the only function or it’s most debilitating. When ego causes you not to perform at your best or not even perform at all due to the fear of failure then it becomes a major problem!

I have taken to studying the works of masters of their art like Bruce Lee and Miyamoto Musashi. Both practitioners of a form of martial art where both used enlightenment to improve not only their personal skills in martial art but that of their lives also. I thought that it would be an interesting exercise to take 10 of Bruce Lee’s quotes at random and assimilate them to our art of climbing. And maybe once read you may choose to take on these ideas in your own practice and in your own lives.

The Quotes of Bruce Lee

Don’t think, feel….it is like a finger pointing a way to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory!

When you just concentrate on the final objective of reaching the top of your climb. You will have missed out on all of the fun and cool moves that take you there. In fact, if the climb is at the top of your grade you will likely fail to make the top unless you have looked for and understood those moves!

Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

You may be tall, short, strong, technical, heavy, or have a reduced or wide ape. We are all different. Learn but adapt this to your own specific needs. Dump the rest of it.

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

To be good at something you must practice, practice, practice your art without distraction. We have all been to climbing gyms with our dedicated practice in mind to then only be diverted to other things. Don’t get distracted by the gym monkey dynoing the overhangs and join in. Be dedicated to your art!

Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.

We may read all of the climbing books ever written but unless we understand and apply that knowledge we can’t improve. Thinking about climbing is not enough, but we must do climbing in order to improve!

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

It always amuses and amazes me that climbers adore the Elites, the Pro’s and try to copy them. They are good in their way of the climbing art, make your climbing art your own and you will excel!

If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.

To succeed you need to get on and climb your project. No one improves through procrastination!

If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

We only have a limited time on this Earth, don’t waste it sleeping or couching. All to soon it’ll be over!

Having no limitation as limitation

To me this means having climbing goals as without goals how can we ever hope to reach them. Goals are targets to improve too, use them!

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.

Hmmm, beyond me to fully answer that one at this point in my enlightenment!

I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations. You’re not in this world to live up to mine.

Ego, ego, ego. Put it down before it ruins both your climbing art and your life. Arno Ilgner in his book ‘The Rock Warriors Way’ refers to Ego as ‘ the 1000 headed dragon’. That feels like a very useful image of Ego!

Conclusion

It is important to know the difference between self-actualization and self-image actualization. You must distinguish between being your true self rather than creating an image of yourself based on societies and climbings expectations of you.

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