In his relentless pursuit of truth and self-actualization, Bruce Lee developed a four-step guide that outlined his approach to the study of martial art:

Research Your Own Experience

Absorb What Is Useful

Reject What Is Useless

Add what is specifically Your Own

“Your own worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.”

                                                                                                                                             - Buddha

Dealing with “external” opponents is one thing. Dealing with “internal” opponents is quite another. What do I mean by “internal” opponents? Internal opponents are the “invisible enemies” we create in our own mind. These enemies include such things as self-doubt, fear, worry, anxiety, anger, poor self-esteem, etc. No one, regardless who they are, is impervious or immune to attacks from these type opponents. So how do we go about combating them?

That’s the sixty four thousand dollar question for today -- What are you training for? -- Why do you study martial art?

In his martial art notes, Bruce Lee talked about maintaining what he referred to as a “playfully serious” attitude during sparring, writing, “Turn your sparring into play -- but play seriously.” My teacher, Dan Inosanto, used to relate the same idea to me, telling me that when it came to sparring, and even training for that matter, one should “train seriously, but not seriously train.” He didn’t mean by this that we should take a “who cares” approach to training, but rather that there should be no long, serious faces while training, and that even though it might be challenging and frustrating at times, we should enjoy ourselves while engaging in it.

Someone wrote to me the other day concerning the idea of “lineage” in JKD, and questioning what “generation” they were. They told me that they assumed that they were one generation whereas someone from another faction told them they were another.

Confrontations between the mind and body are an inevitable and integral part of training in Jeet Kune Do. As each of us move along our personal martial art path we will find ourselves dealing with barriers that, if we allow them to, will impede our performance and prevent us from achieving personal growth.