Bruce Lee was a master of his craft. As an actor he revitalized interest in Chinese martial arts in the United States. As a martial artist he developed a style and philosophy unique unto itself for its simplicity.

The Tao of Jeet Kune Do is Lee’s master work. Jeet Kune Do is Lee’s personal fighting style, developed over years of training, fighting, and reflecting on existing martial arts forms.

One line from the Tao of Jeet Kune Do sums up everything about Bruce Lee’s personal philosophy on art:

Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. -Bruce Lee

Learn the principle.

Learn the basics of your art, whatever it is.

For writers this is grammar, punctuation, and composition. Read Strunk & White, read On Writing, take a creative writing course.

Learn as much as you can about your art, writing, as you possibly can.

Abide by the principle.

As you gather knowledge, practice that knowledge.

There is only one way to practice writing: write. Grab a pen and notebook. Clack away at a typewriter. Start a blog. But write.

A lot of people suggest writing every day, without fail. That’s good advice, but it’s incomplete. Abiding by the principle means not just practicing for the sake of practicing, but practicing while following the rules.

As you write, focus on your grammar. Worry about sentence structure. Make sure you’re following the rules.

Make the writing as technically perfect as you can.

Dissolve the principle.

Perfection is unattainable, but as you practice with perfection in mind something will happen: it will become instinct. Soon you will notice that you don’t have to THINK about practicing the principles, they will just happen.

THAT is when art happens.

The basics are out of the way. Subconsciously you KNOW that you’re on your game. That’s when you can dissolve the principle, let go of the rules.

The fundamentals of the art are there, all that’s left is for you to create.

photo credit: Ian Muttoo via photopin cc