Bruce Lee

[wolfy]

Bruce Lee

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What type? I think isfp or istp. I am curious why you'd go either istp or isfp for him. I'm really interested in this one and I'll dedicate the rest of the year to it. This interests me.



Some quotes...

“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.”

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

“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.”

“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.”

“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.”

“Simplicity is the key to brilliance”

You know what I want to think of myself? As a human being. Because, I mean I don't want to be like "As Confucius say," but under the sky, under the heavens there is but one family. It just so happens that people are different.
Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview (1971)

When you're talking about fighting, as it is, with no rules, well then, baby you'd better train every part of your body!
Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview (1971)

All types of knowledge, ultimately self knowledge.
Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview (1971)

 

[Halla74]

Wow.

Dude, I love Bruce Lee's work, and respect him immensely.

I've wathced all his movies hundreds of times. The firts VHS tape I ever watched in 1982 was "Fists of Fury."

This is a tough call. Bruce was extremely technical in his fighting, getting every movement down to utmost perfection. The amount of decomposition and technical detail involved in doing that make me think ISTP.

BUT - his thoughts were extremely deep and enlightened, and that seems more ISFP to me, as xSTPs are kind of short in the spiritualituy department.

At this point I say IS(T/F)P.

A true toss up if there ever were one. Good job!

 

[wolfy]

I've read a lot of books on him. I kind of just took him as istp, partly because I find popular typing tedious to do myself. But Bruce Lee is interesting, I know a lot about him, I am willing to spend my time studying more, and it ties in with my interest in isfp and istp.

Thanks for the feed back, Halla.

 

[Halla74]

I've read a lot of books on him. I kind of just took him as istp, partly because I find popular typing tedious to do myself. But Bruce Lee is interesting, I know a lot about him, I am willing to spend my time studying more, and it ties in with my interest in isfp and istp.

I'm keeping my eye on this thread.

Thanks for the feed back, Halla.

You're welcome, Brother Wolfy! I didn't give much useful information (at least I'm consistent ) so I will thank you for the great post!

 

[Arclight]

I immediately thought ISTJ.

Here was a man who despite having a bit of a rebellious streak in him, was obviously very disciplined and ordered.

ISFP and ISTP work too , though.

 

[Edgar]

He was ISTP. His daughter is ISFP.

 

[wolfy]

He was ISTP. His daughter is ISFP.

Why istp over isfp? Edit: I can see what you mean by comparing their videos. Here is a Shannon Lee interview. I always put Lee as istp because of the cocky side of him, that confidence. It wasn't a quiet confidence, like the low profile that isfp tend to like.

 

[Edgar]

Why istp over isfp?

Well... to put it bluntly, he was too much of a hard ass to be an ISFP. And I'm not talking about his fighting abilities. I'm talking about his real life persona.

 

[KDude]

Any examples? That's something I'd disagree with for sure. He was a taoist, and very peaceful. Very emotive and pleasant in his general demeanor as well.

Not to mention something else sim pointed out on my wall earlier.. Even I was surprised.

I remember reading one story where Jackie Chan was working with him on a movie and during a stunt he accidentally gave Chan a minor injury--he was so upset about it that he began apologizing profusely and actually kissed Chan's wound to demonstrate his love for his friend and show that he would never knowingly harm a friend. That sounds pretty Fi to me.

Not to mention:


Quote:
“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.”

I could hold a knife to an ISTP's throat, and even then, they might not want to say something like that. :\

Otherwise, he could be very competitive, for sure, but so are most ISFPs (or SP's in general).

 

[wolfy]

Well... to put it bluntly, he was too much of a hard ass to be an ISFP. And I'm not talking about his fighting abilities. I'm talking about his real life persona.

Yeah, like I said in the edit above. It was the in your face confidence that made me think istp.

 

[wolfy]

Any examples? That's something I'd disagree with for sure. He was a taoist, and very peaceful. Very emotive and pleasant in his general demeanor as well.

Not to mention something else sim pointed out on my wall earlier.. Even I was surprised.

Otherwise, he could be very competitive, for sure, but so are most ISFPs (or SP's in general).

That is an interesting quote. I need to read more.

 

[JocktheMotie]

I always figured he was an ISFP poster child.

 

[Edgar]

Any examples? That's something I'd disagree with for sure. He was a taoist, and very peaceful. Very emotive and pleasant in his general demeanor as well.

Lol, he wasn't "very peaceful". He headed a gang when he was a teen, and he flipped his shit on more than one occasion. Still, he had some class and restraint, like when he fought an extra on the set of Enter the Dragon who questioned his abilities - Bruce Lee won, and then told him to get back to work (instead of throwing his ass out).

I think it is much more evident when you read about his life, instead of paying too much attention to his quotes, which tended to be poetic and "taoist" because he viewed himself as much of a philosopher as a fighter. But you have to remember that there is a difference between an "image" and an actual man.

 

[KDude]

I have a couple of his books, but they are not biographies. Just philosophy or training from later in his life, so it will skew my perspective (the books are Tao of Jeet Kune Do and Art of Expressing the Human Body).

That all said, yeah, I slipped on equating Fi with peaceful. I haven't been quite that all of my life either. FWIW, I was hanging with gangs in my teens too (Latin Kings). For a laugh really...it was stupid teen period, not much more than that. I am Fi, although not sure if I'm an S or not. And either way, ISTPs aren't any more badass than I am. Ti badassery is overrated The thing is though, I can't see them talking like the above. I could be wrong. I'd mail any ISTP here 100 bucks if they admit they could.

 

[Edgar]

I knew that somebody would mistakingly equate "hard ass" with "bad ass", that's why I specifically pointed out the difference between fighting abilities and personality, yet you jumped out to protect your "bad ass" honor anyway.

Like I said, don't read his prepared quotes. Read about his life.

 

[KDude]

Yeah, we needed to get that one out of the way anyways. For the record though, I'm not saying either type is a hardass. I am saying that Ti shouldn't be equated with fighting abilities. Or things of a similar nature, say.. like athletic stuff or something. There's more extroverted perception skills going on with those things, if anything. And I'm not trying to defend any sort of honor.. I'm just trying to be realistic. I could hold back and not offer up any personal anecdotes, but it doesn't help dispel any possible assumptions about what F's might get themselves into. Anyways, I could say more, but I'll cut it short.

Your suggestion is good one though. I probably should read a biography (for a variety of reasons).

 

[Lethe]

I immediately thought ISTJ.

Here was a man who despite having a bit of a rebellious streak in him, was obviously very disciplined and ordered.

Nah, I think Bruce is as far as one could get away from being a J, especially a SJ. Being orderly and disciplined isn't enough to be one; your entire attitude has to be configured like a J.

"The Moment is freedom. — I couldn't live by a rigid schedule. I try to live freely from moment to moment, letting things happen and adjusting to them."

"You cannot force the Now. — But can you neither condemn nor justify and yet be extraordinarily alive as you walk on? You can never invite the wind, but you must leave the window open. "

"This means that one should do nothing that is not natural or spontaneous; the important thing is not to strain in any way. "

But I can see why some would think that. ISTPs (Analyzer Operators) have a chart-the-course interaction style, while ESTPs (Promoter Executors) have an in-charge one. Which technically makes STPs the only P types to share an interaction style that is dominated by J's.
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What type? I think isfp or istp. I am curious why you'd go either istp or isfp for him.

ISTP. To be honest, I can't see the Fi-dom (or aux) in him as one could for Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and so forth. He's not nearly as self-identity oriented as many FPs are, however, he displayed some Fe in his earlier years such as desiring a firm association with a group, like gangs.

In his parochial school, Bruce often bullied other children. Interestingly enough, Bruce turned to kung fu because he felt insecure without his gang.

Bruce Lee: The Early Years

Later on, he always talks about how there is no "I", only "us" and the moment.

"The word "I" does not exist. When the opponent expands I contract and when he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, "I" do not hit, "It" hits all by itself."

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

"Real living is living for others."

Ultimately, I think Bruce is a lot more passionate about finding the freedom of thought, builds his confidence on Ti(Se) and troubleshooting. He's very task-oriented, and doesn't have much of a moral reaction ("good" or "bad") to anything, except by his usual reasoning of "it works" or "doesn't work". The F he has overall seems to resonate closely with Se-Fe than Se-Fi.

 

[wolfy]

Any examples? That's something I'd disagree with for sure. He was a taoist, and very peaceful. Very emotive and pleasant in his general demeanor as well.

Otherwise, he could be very competitive, for sure, but so are most ISFPs (or SP's in general).

I think that isfp can be very competitive. I think that generally isfp like to mediate conflict.

In any situation, I love the give and take, the playfulness and energy, the excitement and a little bit of competition, a little bit of one-upsmanship. But when it becomes abrasive and people personally attack others, I’m offended.

What an isfp will do when offended is anybody's guess. The point is that they typically won't go out of their way to create conflict.

Lol, he wasn't "very peaceful". He headed a gang when he was a teen, and he flipped his shit on more than one occasion. Still, he had some class and restraint, like when he fought an extra on the set of Enter the Dragon who questioned his abilities - Bruce Lee won, and then told him to get back to work (instead of throwing his ass out).

I think it is much more evident when you read about his life, instead of paying too much attention to his quotes, which tended to be poetic and "taoist" because he viewed himself as much of a philosopher as a fighter. But you have to remember that there is a difference between an "image" and an actual man.

You do see Fi in the quotes but the quotes are derived from Tao writings for the most part. I do like his quotes and I don't think it was just image but still, they were not his own words.

My vocabulary on ass variations is lacking so I looked up

hard ass
badass

So the hard ass is the more serious variant.

But I can see why some would think that. ISTPs (Analyzer Operators) have a chart-the-course interaction style, while ESTPs (Promoter Executors) have an in-charge one. Which technically makes STPs the only P types to share an interaction style that is dominated by J's.
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ISTP. To be honest, I can't see the Fi-dom (or aux) in him as one could for Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and so forth. He's not nearly as self-identity oriented as many FPs are, however, he displayed some Fe in his earlier years such as desiring a firm association with a group, like gangs.


Ultimately, I think Bruce is a lot more passionate about finding the freedom of thought, builds his confidence on Ti(Se) and troubleshooting. He's very task-oriented, and doesn't have much of a moral reaction ("good" or "bad") to anything, except by his usual reasoning of "it works" or "doesn't work". The F he has overall seems to resonate closely with Se-Fe than Se-Fi.

Good points, well presented. This is what really interests me about him. The split between istp and isfp and how to understand which is which.


At the moment I am leaning istp. But I have a few books of Bruce Lee's letters and writings as well as his life. I'll see if I can find something that shows his thinking process.

 

[KDude]

I think that isfp can be very competitive. I think that generally isfp like to mediate conflict.

Probably..mostly. You're a 9 though. I think we've discussed this, but I think the 4 INFP/ISFPs don't have the same appreciation for mediating.

That all said, I've read that Bruce Lee might have been 9w8 himself..? Which still doesn't illuminate much on whether he's ISTP or ISFP.

 

[wolfy]

Probably..mostly. You're a 9 though. I think we've discussed this, but I think the 4 INFP/ISFPs don't have the same appreciation for mediating.

That all said, I've read that Bruce Lee might have been 9w8 himself..? Which still doesn't illuminate much on whether he's ISTP or ISFP.

True. I've never seen him as 9w8.

Another point on conflict and isfp is that I don't mind it within my domain. The areas that I am strong I don't mind fighting and arguing. It is more the bitchy stuff that I tend to want to move away from. i don't know if that is a typical isfp trait but was thinking that might have some bearing on Bruce Lee's type.

I need to think about it some more. Hopefully I'll find something on one of these books.