Bruce Lee's road of JKD

Discussion in 'Jeet Kune Do' started by kazgeroth, May 16, 2003.

  1. kazgeroth

    kazgeroth New Member

    Remember JKD is The Way of the Intercepting Fist. It was a style at first, when Bruce later used the quote "Use no way as way and no limitation as limitation." He had quit JKD he was doing the Art of Expressing the Human Body. Thats why he closed down his schools when he got his back hurt from (severed nerve or spinal cord damage) I don't remember which. He read something like 500 or 5000 books I don't remember which. This was in 1969 or 1970, thats when he made the discovery that the perfect style wasn't the answer and style was the problem. He has a 30 minute interview where he says "I do not teach karate anymore, because I do not believe in style." He says karate cause most Americans around that time mistook Martial Arts as Karate. I'm not saying Karate isn't martial arts i'm just saying that when they heard martial arts it was "What kind of karate do you do or something like that."

    I hope this enlightens you, it did me when I heard it all and pieced together the puzzle.
     
  2. YODA

    YODA The Woofing Admin Supporter

    eh?

    Bruce Lee NEVER taught Karate.

    Replace the word "Karate" with "Gung-Fu" in your post and it reads a little better :D

    and..... the title "The Art of Expressing the Human Body" is a title invented recently for a book dealing with the physical training routines found in Bruce Lee's notes. At the time of his death he was still refering to what he did as "Jeet Kune Do" - although he had moved away from the confines of "style".
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2003
  3. Greg-VT

    Greg-VT Peasant

    I sent a personal message to kazgeroth, a moment after he made this post I believe.
    I made comment that Bruce did not call Jeet Kune Do 'The Art Of Expressing The Human Body', but what he used to describe Martial Arts.

    Yoda, you might find a quote of him saying this in the book you mentioned.
     
  4. kazgeroth

    kazgeroth New Member

    Why don't you guys read the post like actually read it. He says the art of expressing the humand body in a quote, and in an interview he says thats WHAT He does. This was after he hurt is back and he said karate in the interview instead of jkd because because MOST americans didn't know the difference, they heard martial arts or anything like that then they would ask "What kind of karate is that?" The Art of Expressing the Human Body isn't JKD. There different JKD is a style. If you guys did research instead of reading The Tao of Jeet Kune Do and then thinking you know everything maybe you would understand what i'm trying to say :D. Go rent his 30 minute interview this interview is after he closed down his jeet kune do schools. Also has his famous be water speach. The interview was the only english interview he ever did. I mean seriously why do you think the real reason he closed down the schools was, if your going to continue being closed minded on the subject you deserve to be :woo:
     
  5. Andy Murray

    Andy Murray Sadly passed away. Rest In Peace.

    I do understand what you're getting at Kazgeroth.

    Lay people do tend to call every Martial Art 'Karate', even after you've explained the difference. If Bruce gave in and used the term in an interview, I can understand why.

    There are several people here who have thoroughly researched Bruce Lee. Yoda could probably write a book on the subject.

    Just a quick tip though. If you want people to respond to your post, it needs to ask some clear questions ending with a '?'

    Andy
     
  6. YODA

    YODA The Woofing Admin Supporter

    As Andy said - I have a little knowledge of JKD. Much of it comes from actually TRAINING with Bruce Lee's students - not reading books.
     
  7. shadow joe

    shadow joe seeker of truth

    here's a good site,


    http://www.wingchun.com/JKD.html



    and I'll have to check but didn't Linda Lee give a foreword in one of his books that said he didn't want to even call it JKD because then people would label it as a style. He always wanted an evolving thing. He closed the Jun Fan GUng Fu schools, because he was no longer teaching that, they became or moved to JKD schools. Like the one in LA that Guro Danny Inasonto opened where Maestro Ted Lucay Lucay first trained.


    As you said "quote 'Use no way as way and no limitation as limitation."

    I think Sigung Bruce Lee always wanted something continuing from the beginning. I'm sure a lot of people wish he could have lived longer. I wonder what his impact would have been like then? More or Less?
     
  8. kazgeroth

    kazgeroth New Member

    Shadow Joe knows what i'm talking about, I think Bruce was trying to get rid of the lable JKD, cause JKD means A WAY and he came up the quote that says use no way and this was after he closed down his schools. So personally I believe near the end of his life he was calling it The Art of Expressing The Human Body. Its an opinion and a well thought out one (at least I believe so).

    The Art of Expressing The Human Body is always changing and I think thats what he was going for with JKD but it wasn't quite working out because everyone was teaching it the way they were taught and not the way most beneficial for the student.

    I mean there are some schools that go to far and say that doing it the most natural way is the best and they have there students swinging like apes. I mean natural is better but you still need to be able to put power behind it and not fight like a ape.
     
  9. Andy Murray

    Andy Murray Sadly passed away. Rest In Peace.

    "Don't concentrate on the finger......."

    Kazgeroth, chill hunnybunny!

    Yoda's da man on JKD. He understands what you are getting at, as do most folks here.

    You can learn some real fresh stuff here!
     

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