William Shakespeare and Bruce Lee are both revered as geniuses; Shakespeare in literary world, Bruce Lee in the martial art world. But what do these two men have in common? According Jonas Lehrer in his book “Imagine,” “… at the time Shakespeare was in London and developing himself as a writer, he was surrounded by other literary geniuses such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson, John Milton, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Francis Bacon, and numerous others. Shakespeare had a huge library which was very diverse and included respectable fiction, a wide range of popular romance stories. He drew from Ovid and Plutarch, borrowed from history books, read popular pamphlets which were the literature of the street, read Edmund Spencer and Chaucer as well as younger poets like John Dunne, and  studied Thomas Wilson’s sonnets. Sometimes this literary approach got him into trouble. His peers repeatedly accused him of plagiarism, and he was often guilty, at least by contemporary standards. What these allegations failed to take into account, however, was that Shakespeare was pioneering a new creative method in which every conceivable source informed his art. He would analyze, deconstruct, and reconstruct. For Shakespeare, the act of creation was inseparable from the act of connection. Although Shakespeare was surrounded by literary geniuses, his genius remains unsurpassed.”

The following is an excerpt from my latest book -- “LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom”

The following is excerpted from my latest book, “LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom” which is now available in both paperback and e-book formats.

The following is excerpted from “P.L.A.N. - Personal Liberation Action Notebook” - a resource workbook and personal journal which I wrote to accompany my book “LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom.”  In the workbook each worksheet is laid out as a separate page for the owner to write in.

Is JKD in danger of turning into simply another martial art “style”? I’ve been pondering this question for quite some time now, and my personal feeling is that there is a distinct possibility that such a thing might happen in the future. There are several factors involved in this.

The following is an excerpt from Chris Kent’s new book, LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom, which is currently available through Amzon.com or www.chriskentjkd.com.

When the first public Jeet Kune Do training facility opened in 1974, it quickly became the “Mecca” for anyone interested in learning about or studying Bruce Lee’s art and philosophy. Known as the Filipino Kali Academy (the words “Jeet Kune Do” didn’t appear anywhere on the outside), people came from all over the globe to train at the school. In my years of training and assisting at the Academy, I saw countless people whom I refer to as “Bruce Lee shadow chasers” come and go. I called them “shadow chasers” because they spent their time running after the image or “shadow” of Bruce Lee. These people believed that if they performed the exact workout that Lee did, ate the same food he ate, read the same books and listened to the same music Lee listened to, dressed the way he did, even cut their hair in the same style that they could literally become just like Bruce Lee. Some of these individuals would imitate every little nuance and action Lee did in his movies, from the way he held his hands, to shaking his head, to pulling up his trousers before kicking. They would mimic his facial expressions and even his cinematic vocal noises.  These people adopted the persona of Bruce Lee instead of being themselves. What they failed to understand is that it wasn’t being “like Bruce Lee” that was integral to Lee’s success, but in his being Bruce Lee, in expressing fully the honest feelings, emotions, and nature of his innermost being.

The following is the first part of a multi-part blog series dealing with the art of teaching.

If you are a teacher, you possess the ability to change people’s lives through your teaching. As a teacher you can influence your student’s lives in many ways. Part of your job is to nurture the physical, mental and emotional progress of a student into one complete person.

The following transcript came from The Bruce Lee Memorial Issue magazine published by Black Belt magazine -- © 1974 by Rainbow Publications

Bruce Lee as seen through the eyes of students of Jeet Kune Do

DAN INOSANTO

My relationship with Bruce was as a friend and an instructor. As a friend, I don't think I've had anyone who has helped me as much as Bruce has. As an instruc­tor, I feel I am very fortunate to have trained under him.