--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like the cobra, you remain coiled in a…" description: "\"Like the cobra, you remain coiled in a loose but compact position and your strike should be felt before it is seen.\" — Bruce Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/bruce-lee-430_cobras_like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-lo_2444306.jpg" --- # Like the cobra, you remain coiled in a loose but compact… ![“Like the cobra, you remain coiled in a loose but compact position and your strike should be felt before it is seen.” quote by Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/bruce-lee-430_cobras_like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-lo_2444306.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/bruce-lee-430_cobras_like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-lo_2444306.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/bruce-lee-430_cobras_like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-lo_2444306.jpg) > “Like the cobra, you remain coiled in a loose but compact position and your strike should be felt before it is seen.” [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He compares a person to a cobra, urging readiness to act swiftly and decisively before others notice. **In simple terms:** Be ready to act quickly and unnoticed. Key Takeaway Stay prepared and strike decisively. Themes readiness strategy surprise Mood focused alert Type metaphor advice When to use this quote - sports competition - business negotiations - personal goals Key Concepts anticipation control Questions to Reflect On - When is the right moment to act? - How to balance patience and speed? A Different Perspective Over‑preparation can cause hesitation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cobra Remain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cobra-remain-516020/) [Cobras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cobras/) [Coiled Loose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coiled-loose-516023/) [Compact Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compact-position-516022/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Like Cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-cobra-516019/) [Remain Coiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remain-coiled-516021/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) ## Related quotes > [Like a cobra, your strike should be felt before it is seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-a-cobra-your-strike-should-be-felt-before-it-is-seen/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [We must enlist our own snake and strike like a cobra against their vitals with an attack on Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/we-must-enlist-our-own-snake-and-strike-like-a-cobra-against-their/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“Veronica: We feint, we prey, we approach, we retreat. We're like a cobra and mongoose dancing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riverdale/veronica-we-feint-we-prey-we-approach-we-retreat-we-re-like-a-cobra/) [Riverdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riverdale/) > [One of the reasons I appreciate being in a Pirates uniform is the greats who have worn it in the past. There was Bill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccutchen/one-of-the-reasons-i-appreciate-being-in-a-pirates-uniform-is-the/) [Andrew McCutchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccutchen/) > [If someone were to ask me for a short cut to sensuality, I would suggest he go shopping for a used 427 Shelby-Cobra. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/if-someone-were-to-ask-me-for-a-short-cut-to-sensuality-i-would/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [He was WBC champion, I was mandatory. He had his opportunity to earn big money and defend against me, and he chose not to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/he-was-wbc-champion-i-was-mandatory-he-had-his-opportunity-to-earn/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [Real shapes and real patterns are things you would observe in nature, like the marks on the back of a cobra's hood or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-woodring/real-shapes-and-real-patterns-are-things-you-would-observe-in-nature/) [Jim Woodring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-woodring/) > [The chronic kicker, even the most violent critic, will frequently soften and be subdued in the presence of a patient, sympathetic listener— a listener…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/the-chronic-kicker-even-the-most-violent-critic-will-frequently/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [A woman in such an emotional tempest is as perilous as a blind cobra to any about her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/a-woman-in-such-an-emotional-tempest-is-as-perilous-as-a-blind-cobra/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) > [In everything we do, the serpent ego is rising up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/in-everything-we-do-the-serpent-ego-is-rising-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer. Leopards, cobras, monkeys, rivers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/mother-nature-is-always-speaking-she-speaks-in-a-language-understood/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [You may control a mad elephant; You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger; Ride the lion and play with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/you-may-control-a-mad-elephant-you-may-shut-the-mouth-of-the-bear-and/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [I am from the jungle where the lion eats the cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-am-from-the-jungle-where-the-lion-eats-the-cobra/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [That's how quickly New York City comes about - like a weather wane - or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-s-how-quickly-new-york-city-comes-about-like-a-weather-wane-or/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More by Bruce Lee > [Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference and heaven and earth are set apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/do-not-like-do-not-dislike-all-will-then-be-clear-make-a-hairbreadth/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-great-mistake-is-to-anticipate-the-outcome-of-the-engagement-you/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The more aware you become, the more you shed from day to day what you have learned so that your mind is always fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-more-aware-you-become-the-more-you-shed-from-day-to-day-what-you/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The usefulness of the cup is its emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-usefulness-of-the-cup-is-its-emptiness/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/my-style-you-can-call-it-the-art-of-fighting-without-fighting/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The founder of any branch must be more ingenious than the common man. However, if his achievement is not carried on by disciples of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-founder-of-any-branch-must-be-more-ingenious-than-the-common-man/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I don't believe in different ways of fighting now. I mean, unless human beings have 3 arms and 3 legs, then we will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/i-don-t-believe-in-different-ways-of-fighting-now-i-mean-unless-human/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Be a practical dreamer backed by action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/be-a-practical-dreamer-backed-by-action/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [In order to taste my cup of water you must first empty your cup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/in-order-to-taste-my-cup-of-water-you-must-first-empty-your-cup/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Truth comes when your mind and heart are purged of all sense of striving and you are no longer trying to become somebody; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/truth-comes-when-your-mind-and-heart-are-purged-of-all-sense-of/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [A person cannot forget someone who is good to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/a-person-cannot-forget-someone-who-is-good-to-them/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The highest art is no art. The highest form is no form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-highest-art-is-no-art-the-highest-form-is-no-form/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [To live is a constant process of relating, so come on out of that shell of isolation and conclusion, and relate DIRECTLY to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/to-live-is-a-constant-process-of-relating-so-come-on-out-of-that/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I hope martial artists are more interested in the root of martial arts and not the different decorative branches, flowers or leaves. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/i-hope-martial-artists-are-more-interested-in-the-root-of-martial/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Art lives where absolute freedom is, because where it is not, there can be no creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/art-lives-where-absolute-freedom-is-because-where-it-is-not-there-can/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) [Explore all 562 Bruce Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) ## More Cobras quotes > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [That's how quickly New York City comes about - like a weather wane - or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-s-how-quickly-new-york-city-comes-about-like-a-weather-wane-or/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [I am from the jungle where the lion eats the cobra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/i-am-from-the-jungle-where-the-lion-eats-the-cobra/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [Like a cobra, your strike should be felt before it is seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-a-cobra-your-strike-should-be-felt-before-it-is-seen/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [You may control a mad elephant; You may shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger; Ride the lion and play with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/you-may-control-a-mad-elephant-you-may-shut-the-mouth-of-the-bear-and/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer. Leopards, cobras, monkeys, rivers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/mother-nature-is-always-speaking-she-speaks-in-a-language-understood/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [In everything we do, the serpent ego is rising up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/in-everything-we-do-the-serpent-ego-is-rising-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [A woman in such an emotional tempest is as perilous as a blind cobra to any about her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/a-woman-in-such-an-emotional-tempest-is-as-perilous-as-a-blind-cobra/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) > [The chronic kicker, even the most violent critic, will frequently soften and be subdued in the presence of a patient, sympathetic listener— a listener…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/the-chronic-kicker-even-the-most-violent-critic-will-frequently/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Real shapes and real patterns are things you would observe in nature, like the marks on the back of a cobra's hood or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-woodring/real-shapes-and-real-patterns-are-things-you-would-observe-in-nature/) [Jim Woodring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-woodring/) > [He was WBC champion, I was mandatory. He had his opportunity to earn big money and defend against me, and he chose not to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/he-was-wbc-champion-i-was-mandatory-he-had-his-opportunity-to-earn/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [If someone were to ask me for a short cut to sensuality, I would suggest he go shopping for a used 427 Shelby-Cobra. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-sahl/if-someone-were-to-ask-me-for-a-short-cut-to-sensuality-i-would/) [Mort Sahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-sahl/) > [One of the reasons I appreciate being in a Pirates uniform is the greats who have worn it in the past. There was Bill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccutchen/one-of-the-reasons-i-appreciate-being-in-a-pirates-uniform-is-the/) [Andrew McCutchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccutchen/) > [The reason I moved to California the first time was to build the Cobra. I thought it was stupid to have a 1918 taxicab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-shelby/the-reason-i-moved-to-california-the-first-time-was-to-build-the/) [Carroll Shelby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-shelby/) > [The city of angels? It's the city of devils. The city of smiling cobras.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-young/the-city-of-angels-it-s-the-city-of-devils-the-city-of-smiling-cobras/) [Sean Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-young/) [Browse all 41 Cobras quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cobras/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Like the cobra, you remain coiled in a loose but compact position and your strike should be felt before it is seen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-loose-but-compact-position-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cobras" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-loose-but-compact-position-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/bruce-lee-430_cobras_like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-lo_2444306.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/bruce-lee-430_cobras_like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-lo_2444306.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/509/bruce-lee-430_cobras_like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-lo_2444306.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like the cobra, you remain coiled in a loose but compact position and your strike should be felt before it…” — Bruce Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bruce Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Like the cobra, you remain coiled...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-loose-but-compact-position-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/like-the-cobra-you-remain-coiled-in-a-loose-but-compact-position-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```