The ''System''

Jeet Kune Do advocates may utilize techniques from any martial art; the trapping and short-range punches of Wing Chun, the kicks of northern Chinese styles as well as Savate, the footwork found in Western fencing and the techniques of Western boxing, to list but a few. Bruce Lee stated that his concept is not an "adding to" of more and more things on top of each other to form a system, but rather, a winnowing out. 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". He also used the sculptors's mentality of beginning with a lump of clay and hacking away at the "Unessentials". The end result being what he considered to be the bare combat essentials or Jeet Kune Do (JKD).

Jeet Kune Do as it survives today – if one wants to view it "refined" as a product, not a process – is what was left at the time of Bruce Lee's death. It is the result of the life-long martial arts development process Lee went through. JKD in its later phases was heavily influenced by Western boxing and fencing (whereas the backbone concepts such as centerline, four gates, vertical punching, straight blast, "entering", and forward pressure come from Wing Chun). The result was that Lee stopped using some of the Wing Chun stances he had learned, in favor of what he claimed were more fluid, flexible Western fencing and boxing stances. The claim is that allowed him to "flow", not to be stuck in stances, a positioning that Lee believed was a feature of some of traditional Wing Chun that he dismissed as the "classic mess". For instance, instead of using footwork to position the body for maximum fighting position vis-a-vis the opponent, JKD uses flowing boxing "entries" that do not require "bridges" from Wing Chun.

Dan Inosanto, who was to be Bruce Lee's student in Jeet Kune Do, once said that originally, Bruce Lee wanted to create the "ultimate fighting form", but later in the development of Jeet Kune Do, he wanted to use the art for personal development as well, not just to become a better fighter.

Jeet Kune Do not only advocates the combination of aspects of different styles, it also has to change many of those aspects that it adopts to suit the abilities of the practitioner. Additionally, Jeet Kune Do advocates that any practitioner be allowed to interpret techniques for themselves, and change them for their own purposes. For example, Lee almost always chose to put his power hand in the "lead," with his weaker hand back, therefore he almost always used the right hand stance of Western Fencing. He labeled this stance the "On Guard" position. Lee incorporated this stance into his JKD as he felt it provided the best overall mobility. Lee felt that the dominant or strongest hand should be in the lead because it would perform a greater percentage of the work. Lee discarded both the left hand and center stance, whereas most traditional martial arts train their practitioners to be ambidexterous. Lee believed that these decisions should be done within the context of "real combat" and/or "all out sparring". He believed that it was only in this environment that a person could actually deem a technique worthy of adoption.

Bruce Lee emphasized what he believed to be the combat effectiveness of Jeet Kune Do, and did not stress the memorization of solo training forms or "Kata", as most traditional styles do in their beginning-level training. While practicing Western wrestling, Lee was once pinned by a more skillful opponent, who asked what Lee would do if he found himself in the situation in a real fight. Lee replied, "Well, I'd bite you, of course". One of the theories of JKD is that a fighter should do whatever is necessary to defend oneself, irrespective of where the techniques used come from. Lee's goal in Jeet Kune Do was to break down what he claimed were limiting factors in the training of the traditional styles, and seek a fighting thesis which he believed could only be found within the event of a fight. Jeet Kune Do is currently seen as the genesis of the modern spate of hybrid martial arts.

Jeet Kune Do practitioners claim that it is not a fighting style so much as a fighting philosophy. What Jeet Kune Do practitioners describe as the weakness of traditional martial arts is their rote memorization of techniques (Lee compared doing forms without an opponent to attempting to learn to swim on dry land). They claim that these memorized movements will not be of any help in an actual combat situations. Lee believed that "Real" combat was "alive" and "dynamic". Circumstances in a fight change from milli-second to milli-second and thus pre-arranged patterns and techniques being static are not adequate in dealing with such a changing situation. Adherents believe that Jeet Kune Do does not make one a good fighter, just a better fighter. As an anecdote to this thinking Lee once wrote an epitaph which read: 'In memory of a once fluid man, crammed and distorted by the classical mess.' The "classical mess" in this instance was what Lee thought of classical martial arts.

Bruce Lee's comments and methods were seen as controversial by many in his time, and still are today. Many teachers from traditional schools disagree with his opinions on these issues, especially seeing what Lee described as their lack of strategic flexibility due to "rote" teaching methods to be a misunderstanding on Lee's part. Most, if not all, traditional martial arts teachers say "fluid" strategy is a feature of martial training that is indeed addressed in the curricula of most traditional styles at advanced levels, when the students are ready. The schools Lee criticized tend to see their initial conservatism as a safety feature; a legacy of practical experience passed down from generation to generation, said to ensure that their students are thoroughly prepared for advanced martial arts training, skipping nothing and developing intangibles such as good character, patience and discipline. The hierarchy of the traditional schools is said by this reasoning to provide a level playing field for all students by instilling respect and care for one's seniors, peers and juniors, so that everyone, not just the physically gifted, has an opportunity to benefit from the training provided in a martial art school.

The notion of cross-training in Jeet Kune Do is similar to the practice of mixed martial arts in modern times -- Bruce Lee has been considered by UFC president Dana White as the "father of mixed martial arts". Many consider Jeet Kune Do to be the precursor of Mixed Martial Arts. This is particularly the case with respect to the JKD "Combat Ranges". A JKD student is expected to learn various combat systems within each combat range to thus be effective in all of them; just as in Mixed Martial Arts.

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Jeet Kune Do Principles

The following are principles that Lee incorporated into Jeet Kune Do. He felt these were universal combat truths that were self evident and would lead to combat success if followed. The "4 Combat Ranges" in particular are what he felt were instrumental in becoming a "total" martial artist. This is also the principle most related to mixed martial arts. The "5 Ways of Attack" are attacking categories that help Jeet Kune Do practitioners organize their fighting repertoire.

I. Be like water

Lee believed that martial systems should be as flexible as possible. He often used water as an analogy for describing why flexibility is a desired trait in martial arts. Water is infinitely flexible. It can be seen through, and yet at other times it can obscure things from sight. It can split and go around things, rejoining on the other side, or it can crash through things. It can erode the hardest rocks by gently lapping away at them or it can flow past the tiniest pebble. Lee believed that a martial system should have these attributes. JKD students reject traditional systems of training, fighting styles and the Confucian pedagogy used in traditional kung fu schools because of this lack of flexibility. JKD is claimed to be a dynamic concept that is forever changing, thus being extremely flexible. "Absorb what is useful; Disregard that which is useless, and Add what is Essentially your own" is an often quoted Bruce Lee maxim.

JKD students are encouraged to study every form of combat possible. This is believed to expand one's knowledge of other fighting systems; to both add to one's arsenal as well as to know how to defend against such tactics.


II. Economy of motion

JKD students are told to waste no time or movement. When it comes to combat JKD practitioners believe the simplest things work best.

A. Stop hits & Stop kicks
This means intercepting an opponent's attack with an attack of your own instead of a simple block. JKD practitioners believe that this is the most difficult defensive skill to develop. This strategy can be a feature of some traditional Chinese martial arts.
B. Simultaneous parrying & punching
When confronting an incoming attack; the attack is parried or deflected and a counter attack is delivered at the same time. Not as advanced as a stop hit but more effective than blocking and counter attacking in sequence. This is also practiced by some Chinese martial arts.
C. No high kicks
JKD practitioners believe they should target their kicks to their opponent's shins, knees, thighs, and mid section. These targets are the closest to the foot, provide more stability and are more difficult to defend against. However, as with all other JKD principles nothing is "written in stone". If a target of opportunity presents itself; even a target above the waist one could take advantage of the situation without feeling hampered by this principle.

III. Learn the 4 ranges of combat:

• Kicking
• Punching
• Trapping
• Grappling

IV. Five Ways Of Attack

A. Single Angular Attack and its converse Single Direct Attack.
B. Hand Immobilization Attack and its counterpart Foot Immobilization Attack, which make use of “trapping” to limit the opponent to function with that appendage.
C. Progressive Indirect Attack. Attacking one part of the opponent's body followed by attacking another part as a means of creating an opening.
D. Attack By Combinations. This is using multiple rapid attacks as a means of using volume of attack to overcoming the opponent.
E. Attack By Drawing. This is creating an opening with positioning as a means of counter attacking.

V. Three Parts of JKD

Jeet Kune Do practitioners believe that techniques should contain the following properties:

• Efficiency - An attack that reaches its mark
• Directness - Doing what comes naturally in a learned way.
• Simplicity - Thinking in an uncomplicated manner; without ornamentation.

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Jeet Kune Do Branches

Although Bruce Lee officially closed his martial arts schools two years before his death, he allowed private teaching by his then current instructors. Since Bruce Lee's death, Jeet Kune Do has fractured into different groups by way of legal and personality conflicts. The main division can be split into two major branches:

• The Original/Jun Fan JKD branch, whose main proponents are Taky Kimura, Ted Wong, Tim Tackett and Jerry Poteet, say they teach only what Bruce Lee taught, and leave individual development of the martial art beyond this framework to the individual student;

• The JKD Concepts branch, whose main proponents are Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo, Larry Hartsell, Paul Vunak and Burton Richardson, have continued to develop Jeet Kune Do, under the philosophy that it was never meant to be a static art but an ongoing evolution. This branch has incorporated elements of the Filipino Martial Arts, Escrima, Silat, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and elements from many other martial arts into the main fold of its teachings.

To understand the braches of JKD it is important to understand the difference between the two "types" of Jeet Kune Do:

• A. JKD framework - This type of JKD provides the guiding principles. Bruce Lee experimented with many styles and techniques to reach these conclusions.
  To Lee these principles were truisms. The JKD framework is not bound or confined by any styles or systems. This type of JKD is a process.

• B. JKD Personal Systems This type of JKD utilizes the JKD framwork along with any techniques from any other style or system to construct a "personal system". This approach utilizes a "building blocks" manner in which to construct a personalized system that is especially tailored to an individual. Lee believed that only an individual could determine for themselves what the usefulness of any technique should be. This type of JKD is thus a product.

Lee believed that this freedom of adoption was a distinguishing property from traditional martial arts.

There are many who confuse the JKD Framework with a JKD Personal System (IE. Bruce Lee's personal JKD) thinking them to be one and the same. The system that Bruce Lee personally expressed was his own personal JKD; tailored for himself. Before he could do this however he needed to first develope the "JKD Framework" process. Many of the systems that Bruce Lee studied were not to develop his "Personal JKD" but rather was used to gather the "principles" for incorporation in the JKD Framework approach. The uniqueness of JKD to Lee is that it was a "process" not a "product" and thus not a "style" but a system, concept, or approach. Traditional martial arts styles are essentially a product that is given to a student with little provisions for change. These traditional syles are usually fixed and not tailored for individuals. Bruce Lee claimed there were inherent problems with this approach and established a "Process" based system rather than a fixed style which a student could than utilize to make a "tailored" or "Personal" product of their own.

The two branches of JKD differ in what should be incorporated or offered within the "JKD Framework". The Original (or Jun Fan) JKD branch believes that the original principles before Bruce Lee died are all that is needed for the construction of personalized systems. The JKD Concepts branch believe that there are further principles that can be added to construct personalized systems. The value of each Branch can be determined by individual practioners based on whatever merits they deem important.

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Bruce Lee (1940-1973)

Bruce Lee studied the martial art style of Wing Chun as a student of Yip Man sifu in Hong Kong and was a movie star early on. Later, he studied other Chinese martial arts, as well as the sports of Western boxing, Western fencing and Greco-Roman wrestling. Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto studied 26 "official" martial arts (mostly Chinese kung fu styles) and 4 "unofficial" martial arts during the process of refining Jeet Kune Do. The term Jeet Kune Do actually comes from an off-hand comment Bruce Lee once made about his art being an "intercepting" martial art. But one of Bruce's last statements was not to make too much of the name, because the process is what is important, not some product (indeed, some schools now claim to teach the "art of Jeet Kune Do", but that is not believed by other Jeet Kune Do teachers to be in Bruce Lee's original concept of the "art" being a process). The term Jeet Kune Do occured in 1968 while Dan Inosanto and Bruce Lee were driving around in his car. The conversation involved western fencing and Lee commented that; "the most efficient means of countering in fencing was the stop-hit...When the the opponent attacks, you intercept his move with a thrust or hit of your own.." Lee then said "We should call our method the 'stop-hitting fist style;, or the 'intercepting fist style". Dan Inosanto then said; "What would that be in Chinese?" in which Lee replied "That would be Jeet Kune Do".
Full Biography Page

 

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Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do Quotes

• "The usefulness of a cup is its emptiness".[4] - Be prepared to accept new knowledge and not be hindered or biased by old knowledge. This quote originates from the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism. [5]
• "Using no way as way". - Don't have preconceived notions about anything.
• "Having no limitation as limitation". - Don't be confined by anything, achieve true freedom.
• "From form to formless and from finite to infinite". - Don't be confined by limitations and forms.
• The consciousness of "self" is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action[6] - This is actually a Zen or Chan maxim which means to "be in the moment" and NOT be distracted by your own thought process. The Zen quote is: "If you seek it, you will NOT find it". The "Western" counterpart to this is the term "Being in the Zone".
• "If people say Jeet Kune Do is different from "this" or from "that," then let the name of Jeet Kune Do be wiped out, for that is what it is, just a name. Please don't fuss over it."[7] - Don't get hung up on labels and parameters. JKD is alive and therefore always changing; don't try to box it in.
• "To reach me, you must move to me. Your attack offers me an opportunity to intercept you. - Lee explaining the principal of interception to Duke Paige from the television show Longstreet.[8]
• "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 into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can either flow, or it can crash! Be like water, my friend." - Lee explaining the principle of being like water in a Hong Kong television interview.[9]
• "Jeet Kune Do, It's just a name, don't fuss over it. There's no such thing as a style if you understand the roots of combat."

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References

External links

• The Inosanto Academy of Martial Arts (Los Angeles, CA)
• Hybrid Martial Arts Academy (Miami, FL)
• IMB Academy (Richard Bustillo)
• Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Grappling Association (Larry Hartsell)
• Jerry Poteet Jeet Kune Do Association (Jerry Poteet)
• Practical Self Defense Training Center (Ron Kosakowski)
• Jeet Kune Do Ideology (Prof. Dr. Deepak Rao)
• IJKD Bruce Lee/Ted Wong lineage JKD philosophy, tactics & techniques (Prof Mark Stewart)
• Bruce Lee/Jerry Poteet Lineage

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Future Development

Is largely dependent on hardwork. As Bruce Lee once put it, "JKD, ultimately is not a matter of petty techniques but of highly developed spirituality and physique".Jeet Kune Do is about physical and spiritual strengthening; And the effort was high for every two inches of progress made, but well worth it!

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