The metaphor Lee borrowed from Chan Buddhism was of constantly filling a cup with water, and then emptying it, used for describing Lee's philosophy of "casting off what is useless". Lee considered traditional form-based martial arts, which practiced pre-arranged patterns, forms and techniques, to be restrictive and ineffective in dealing with chaotic self-defence situations. Lee believed that real combat was alive and dynamic and conceived Jeet Kune Do to enable its practitioners to adapt to the changes of live combat, believing that it was only through its use in real combat that a martial arts practitioner could judge a technique worthy of adoption.
The metaphor Lee borrowed from Chan Buddhism was of constantly filling a cup with water and then emptying it used for describing Lee's philosophy of "casting off what is useless" Lee considered traditional form-based martial arts which practiced pre-arranged patterns forms and techniques to be restrictive and ineffective in dealing with chaotic self-defence situations Lee believed that real combat was alive and dynamic and conceived Jeet Kune Do to enable its practitioners to adapt to the changes of live combat believing that it was only through its use in real combat that a martial arts practitioner could judge a technique worthy of adoption