The Philosophy of Bruce Lee Gets Explored in a New Podcast

Years ago, we fea­tured a won­der­ful clip show­ing Bruce Lee, only 24 years old, audi­tion­ing for a part in the 1960s TV show, “The Green Hor­net.” In the clip, Lee puts on a remark­able dis­play of his mar­tial arts skills, all while explain­ing the phi­los­o­phy that guides his moves. The actor, who stud­ied phi­los­o­phy in col­lege, looks at the cam­era and explains the rela­tion­ship between kung fu and a glass of water. He says: “water is the soft­est sub­stance in the world,… but yet it can pen­e­trate the hard­est rock or any­thing, gran­ite, you name it. So, every kung fu man is try­ing to do that,… to be soft like water, and flex­i­ble and adapt itself to the oppo­nent.”

That’s a good prompt to tell you about the brand new pod­cast that explores the phi­los­o­phy of Bruce Lee, who died in 1973. Launched by his daugh­ter Shan­non Lee, each episode promis­es to “dig deep into Bruce’s phi­los­o­phy to pro­vide guid­ance and action on cul­ti­vat­ing your truest self.” As the pod­cast moves along, it will help you find wis­dom in Lee’s pro­nounce­ments, like: “Emp­ty your mind, be form­less, shape­less like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bot­tle, it becomes the bot­tle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” By now, you’re start­ing to see, Lee had a thing for water.

You can get the pod­cast via iTunes and Stitch­er. Below, stream one of the first episodes that delves into his phi­los­o­phy.

Relat­ed Con­tent

Bruce Lee Audi­tions for The Green Hor­net (1964)

Watch 10-Year-Old Bruce Lee in His First Star­ring Role (1950)

Bruce Lee’s Only Sur­viv­ing TV Inter­view, 1971: Lost and Now Found

Kung Fu & Mar­tial Arts Movies Online