Finger Pointing at the Moon · Path of the Dragon

Finger Pointing at the Moon

"It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory"

I'm sure every fan of Bruce Lee will recognize this quote from Enter the Dragon.

But I started to read Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and Linda Lee's words led me to a new level of understanding.

Of course in the context of the movie, Bruce Lee is mentoring a junior martial artist. But like most of his teachings, the advice goes beyond fighting. And I dare to say, I feel this quote also encapsulates a huge struggle he had to face in his own life.

It's no secret that his Jeet Kune Do was a mix of Eastern and Western schools of martial arts and philosophy. But I didn't know how big of an influence the Western ideas really shaped him.

According to Linda Lee, many of Bruce Lee's own theories are directly related to those expressed by boxing and fencing coaches, such as Edwin L Haislet, Julio Martinez Castello, Hugo and James Castello and Roger Crosnier.

For those who don't know, like I didn't, Edwin was a boxing coach who wrote Boxing. Julio Martinez Castello was a legendary Spanish fencing figure. And Roger Crosnier wrote Fencing with the Foil.

When I had the image of boxing and fencing in my head, I could see how Bruce Lee got his footwork and quickness from.

And I'd like to point out his quickness, which ironically isn't about being physically quick. In his Chinese handwriting, he said, "physical power is weak relative to that of the mind; the body is slow but the mind is fast."

From my experience playing basketball and competing in sports. I absolutely agree with him that being fast really is about mentally prepared. When you can anticipate situations and know your options, you get to act immediately when situations arise.

Now anticipation of situations must not be confused with anticipation of results. The latter is wishing for certain things to happen. And it's a dangerous trap! Bruce Lee specifically called this one out. If you anticipate winning, you relax at times you shouldn't and will be caught off guard. If you anticipate losing, you freeze at the moment you should act.

Jeet Kune Do in Chinese literally means the Way of Intercepting Fists. One must observe and flow with the opponent and the environment. Be patient. And let the opponent strike first, but intercept the strike in its mid motion. You see that with boxing and fencing.

The invention of Jeet Kune Do was not only groundbreaking but also taboo, because the martial arts culture had always mandated to keep a pure pedigree and preserve tradition.

Mixing techniques was often seen as betraying one's teacher or watering down the art.

Bruce took Western influence despite him having studied the wing chun style of gung fu since the age of 13. He definitely didn't mind the skin color of the finger. And he didn't mind multiple fingers, as long as they eventually led him to identify where the moon is.

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