Bruce Lee was, without a doubt, one as one of the most influential martial artists of the twentieth century as well as one of our foremost contemporary martial arts innovators. He was also well known for his exceptional martial arts performances in movies such as Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon and Game of Death. His untimely death on July 20, 1973 was a true loss to the entire martial arts world.

At Contemporary Fighting Arts we recognize and appreciate all of Bruce Lees contributions to the martial sciences and as a tribute to his memory we would like to present you with some of his very insightful quotes.

“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” - Bruce Lee

“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.” - Bruce Lee

“Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.” - Bruce Lee

I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude.” - Bruce Lee

“If you make an ass out of yourself, there will always be someone to ride you” - Bruce Lee

“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.” - Bruce Lee

"A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer." - Bruce Lee

“Let an opponent graze your skin and you smash into his flesh; let an opponent smash into your flesh and you fracture his bone; let an opponent fracture your bone and you take his life! Do not be concerned with your escaping safely; lay your life before him!” - Bruce Lee

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not you go out and look for a successfully personality an duplicate it.” - Bruce Lee

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” - Bruce Lee“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” - Bruce Lee

“As long as I can remember I feel I have had this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision. It is all these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand.” - Bruce Lee

"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” - Bruce Lee

“Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.” - Bruce Lee

“The possession of anything begins in the mind” - Bruce Lee

“If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” - Bruce Lee“

"To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.” - Bruce Lee

“A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.” - Bruce Lee

“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.” - Bruce Lee

“Obey the principles without being bound by them.” - Bruce Lee

“It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.” - Bruce Lee

“To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special; the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is.” - Bruce Lee

"To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person." - Bruce Lee

"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successfully personality and duplicate it." - Bruce Lee

"I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine." - Bruce Lee

"Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable." - Bruce Lee

"You just wait. I'm going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world." - Bruce Lee

"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying." - Bruce Lee

"Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it." - Bruce Lee

"The more relaxed the muscles are, the more energy can flow through the body. Using muscular tensions to try to 'do' the punch or attempting to use brute force to knock someone over will only work to opposite effect." - Bruce Lee

"There are lots of guys around the world that are lazy. They have big fat guts. They talk about chi power and things they can do, but don't believe it." - Bruce Lee

"I'm not a master. I'm a student-master, meaning that I have the knowledge of a master and the expertise of a master, but I'm still learning. So I'm a student-master. I don't believe in the word 'master.' I consider the master as such when they close the casket." - Bruce Lee

"Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there." - Bruce Lee

"Unfortunately, now in boxing people are only allowed to punch. In Judo, people are only allowed to throw. I do not despise these kinds of martial arts. What I mean is, we now find rigid forms which create differences among clans, and the world of martial art is shattered as a result." - Bruce Lee

"If you don't want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today." - Bruce Lee

"Eliminate "not clear" thinking and function from your root." - Bruce Lee

"Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that I've understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. The height of cultivation is really nothing special. It is merely simplicity; the ability to express the utmost with the minimum." - Bruce Lee

"Out of chaos, find simplicity, From discord, find harmony." - Bruce Lee

"Put every great teacher together in a room, and they'd agree about everything; put their disciples in there and they'd argue about everything." - Bruce Lee

"The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or in defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment." - Bruce Lee

"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering." - Bruce Lee

"Use only that which works, and take it from any place you find it." - Bruce Lee

"When you fight, if it is a real fight, use every tool that you have, use your whole body. Use your fists, your legs, your fingers, your head if you have to, and hit them in every vulnerable spot, the balls, the eyes etc. to win." - Bruce Lee

"The best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt on any style. He kicks too good for a Boxer, throws too good for a Karate man, and punches too good for a Judo man." - Bruce Lee

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