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The combatant should be alive in sparring, throwing punches and kicks from all angles, and should not be a co-operative robot. Like water, sparring should be formless. Pour water into a cup, it becomes part of the cup. Pour it into a bottle; it becomes part of the bottle. Try to kick or punch it, it is resilient; clutch it and it will yield without hesitation. In fact, it will escape as pressure is being applied to it. How true it is that nothingness cannot be confined. The softest thing cannot be snapped.

Bruce Lee#139

Martial artsPhilosophyAdaptabilityFlexibilityFlowWater

About this quote

What does it mean?
Fight with the flow of water, adapting to any shape or pressure without breaking.
In plain terms
Be like water in a fight, fitting any situation smoothly.
What can you take from it?
Stay fluid and responsive under pressure.

Where it applies

  • sparring
  • negotiation
  • problem solving

Putting it to work

  • visualize water
  • practice yielding
  • move without rigidity

Questions to consider

  • How do you yield without losing strength?
  • Where do you need more structure?

Another view

Being too fluid can lack decisive power.

More from Bruce Lee

  1. The aim of art is to project an inner vision into the world, to state in aesthetic creation the deepest psychic and personal experiences of a human being. It i…

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  2. The first rule is to keep yourself well covered at all times and never leave yourself open while sparring around the bag. By all means use your footwork - side…

    Permalink to quote #140
  3. Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.

    Permalink to quote #137

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