First of all, I don't usually make statements like that about people, but her opinions and her book "The Straight Lead' are honestly quite idiotic. Yes, I borrowed the book from my local library and read through it. There were some interesting tips about bio-mechanics, but that's about it. For starters, just look at the pictures of her doing her straight lead and she's extended all the way out and off balance like hell. Yes, you do extend but not like that! She was talking about how a boxer's jab is inferior because the range is so short compared to her so-called straight lead. There's a reason why a good boxer would never over-extend like that. He wouldn't be so damn stupid to go so off balance. Even if you look at Bruce Lee's old photos, he never extended like that. He would step in to close the gap, not reach out like that! She also claimed that Bruce Lee abandoned Wing Chun. This is completely ridiculous. So many of the core concepts like centreline, immovable elbow, the gates, stop kicks, vertical fist, inch power, forward energy, etc all come form Wing Chun, and they were with him right to the end. Anyone who knows anything about Wing Chun knows that it's more about structure and strategy than individual techniques. He may not have looked much like a classical Wing Chun guy, but he certainly never abandoned it. Six years or so after Bruce Lee supposedly abandoned Wing Chun, he used it in sparring against Chuck Norris, who later claimed that Lee's trapping and in-fighting skills frustrated the hell out of him. And then, she devoted a whole chapter to talking about what JKD is not, saying that Bruce Lee never practiced Kali or Silat and other arts. Therefore, we shouldn't either. She was too gutless to say it, but it's quite clear that was directed toward Dan Inosanto, who has got to be one of the best JKD authorities on the planet! And this was coming from someone who supposedly knew Bruce Lee's JKD so well, that she claimed he abandoned his Wing Chun. Yes, he made many changes and learned many new things, but he never abandoned it. He changed it to suit himself as any martial artist should. I guess Teri Tom thinks that if Bruce Lee didn't do it, we shouldn't. Well Bruce Lee was continuing to learn right up to his dying day. Who knows what would have been added or taken out. Is she forgetting that he died at the ripe old age of 32?! JKD was a work in progress. It was never finished as it is supposed to be constantly evolving and personalized to the individual. "Add what is uniquely your own". She also stated "JKD is not made up of 27 arts". Does anyone know of any teacher or practitioner anywhere that claims this? You'd have a hard time even thinking of 27 different arts and there is no way in hell that Bruce Lee sat down one day and said "Gee, I was born on the 27th day of November, so I should learn 27 arts to make my JKD complete." In closing, all I can say is I'm glad I didn't have to pay for that book. I would have felt really ripped off. I am well aware that some of the people on this forum will have some strong opinions about what I've said here, but I really don't care. I welcome any and all comments.
Well, this should start quite a discussion. I don't do JKD, but I remember a while back someone (I forget who) posted something like "Bruce Lee took what worked for him; why shouldn't the rest of us do the same?" I thought this was a very good argument for JKD differing with each person, rather than everyone following Bruce Lee's stuff exactly. I mean, it's not like the man was a god, and his JKD was the ultimate - it's just what worked for him.
Dude, Jeet Kune Do is made from Wing Chun, Boxing and Fencing. It is not what Dan Inosanto currently teach. Dan teach the JKD concept because he promise Bruce he would not teach Original Jeet Kune Do to the masses. Plus, if you look at the early student of Dan, they to look like Original Jeet Kune Do. This is after Bruce died several years earlier. Regarding Teri Tom, she is a student of Ted Wong, Bruce Lee sparring partner and in many ways, the closest to Bruce in fighting style. Heck, if Linda Lee, Bruce widow and likely to be closer to Bruce than Dan said that Ted Wong is the most similar to fighting style, who are we to disagree. Plus, how do we not know that Chuck Norris actually try to fight Bruce? He was friends with Bruce Lee and are not likely to fight back when Bruce do the Wing Chun thing to him.
This thread contains a big fat slice of what is wrong with JKD. Too much debate over words rather than action. I don't agree with everything she says, but if it's her opinion and it works for her, who gives a crap?
It does matter because people in the martial art world are confused on what really is jeet kune do. If you look at Zee Lo, Brandon Lee classmate under Dan Inosanto, he look like original Jeet Kune Do. Heck, even Dan said once to Brandon that he can just learn the Jun Fan (read Jeet Kune Do) that his father develop. Plus, don't you think Bruce would prefer Ted than Dan being that both of them are from Hong Kong and are able to speak the same language. You guys might not realize this, but most people even if they are not racist still felt more comfortable with their own kind. To the concept people who refuse to listen to Linda Lee, you don't think she is closer to Bruce being that she gave birth to his two children?
To be honest just because she was married and had kids with Bruce Lee, Doesn't mean she know everything or at most very little of what Bruce was doing with jkd. I have heard what she has to say in person and am not that impressed and there are more people you should listen to.His students!!. I agree with february its much more important to train.
Crazy humans... every guide that's sent to you, you miss the message and end up in factions fighting each other over what the real message was. In which case, it's obvious enough that the message is neither of your standpoints. I'm thinking now that maybe insight can't actually be passed on... and maybe that's why it was called 'in-sight' in the first place. Damn - I think I just upgraded.
i'm beginning to think that bruce should just have copyrighted the name jeet kune do and allowed it's use only by himself, and by no one else, so no one could have claimed to teach "jeet kune do", and could only teach their method "inspired by", or "based on", bruce lee's JKD
It sounds to me that she has lost what the true meaning behind JKD was. Which is research and learning to shape your martial arts knowledge. Good post
She must not be that much of an idiot since Ted Wong took a few minutes from teaching at his seminar to endorse and promote her latest book 'Jeet Kune Do: The Arsenal of Self-Expression"...
People are more concerned with subscribing to brands and camps as opposed to becoming better at what they do. There is no "generic" JKD, just like there is no "generic" MMA. look at the problem, look at your tools, then then think about how best you'd use the tools to solve it. That's what JKD is about. That's why tried and tested strategies from boxing and fencing are more inline with actual fighting than un-tried and un-tested theories of Wing Chun. How many people here test what they do seriously in the lab and how many are more concerned with the cult of the Sifu? Plenty of subscribers. Plenty of collectors. How many actual fighters?
I couldn't agree with you more. Pmosiun let me clarify why Dan Inosanto's instruction looks so much different today, then it once did. I was a student of his method for years, and can clear up some of your speculation. It's very simple. When he was a student and instructor under Bruce Lee he taught and practiced Bruce's method. After Bruce passed on, Dan developed his own JKD, to fit his needs, skills, and abilities. Now he teaches both his personal JKD and Sijo Bruce Lee's. It would be ignorant and detrimental for Guro Dan to not expand on his own personal skill, experiences, and understanding of martial arts. Bt teaching only OJKD he would be doing exactly what TMA guys have been doing forever. Which is making one person's understanding of fighting into gospel, freezing it, and ultimately killing it. Personally, I think Teri Tom is an idiot, and I always have. She needs to shut up and train more. Have you watched her in action? 1 dimensional and I'm pretty sure I could take her.
I read the book - I'm neither a WC or JKD practitioner - but Tom backed up just about every claim she made with historical, scientific, or BL examples on film. 95% of the book is just on the mechanics and reasons and history of the straight lead, but everyone here is focussed on the line or two where she disagrees with Inosanto. I've looked at the photos - I don't believe she is over-extended because she is still balanced. Commited, yes, which is how she should be - but not over extended. They're just examples, and she never said she was as good as BL - are you with your little critique? You write a book, genius.
it would be just as valid as her book. everyone's entitled to their own POV. everyone's also entitled to their opinion about your POV!
Disagreeing with someone's politics doesn't make them an idiot. She spends a lot of time backing up her claims with original documents. Her explanation of the physics and mechanics sounds good, at least, although one reviewer on Amazon didn't think so. I though her chapter on what JKD is or isn't was unnecessary, and I didn't like her bringing politics into the mix, but again, that doesn't make her an idiot. I also wondered where the hell she got her info on what boxing does or doesn't do, because I was taught differently than what she portrays in her book. Her research is definitely one-sided. Ted Wong is her primary source, and Lee's family obviously wants a certain spin put on things. That doesn't necessarily make it wrong, but more research into other opinions would have lent more credibility to her work. I hate to be "that guy", but Lee did die in the bed of a woman he was having an affair with. Plus, how much first-hand experience did she really have with Lee's training methods? A few months early in her time with him, then what? Guys like Norris, Lewis, Inosanto, Wong, Kimura, Bremmer, etc. have more first-hand experience with his training than she does. I'm not saying she's an invalid source of information, but I don't think one can get the whole picture going only by her information. JKD has more heads than a hydra. It's pretty evident that Lee taught his students a little differently, for whatever reason. To claim that there is "one true JKD" is short-sighted.
What simply is!! What JKD really is Jeet Kune Do is the art of self-expression, a way of thinking, a philosophy, freedom, growth, a creative process, a tool, a path to total individuality. JKD enables you to go beyond style. As an artist I think of Jeet Kune Do this way. Colours are made up of primary, secondary and treachery colours. Jun Fun Gung fu fighting system represents the primary colours the basis that we expand from, other styles of fighting are single colours. If you start to mix other colours with the primary colours you make more colours, more moves and techniques will be available as you explore your knowledge and self. Your body is a blank canvas; you must paint your picture. But it depends on situation what picture or emotion you show To paint a picture an artist needs tools; these tools are paintbrush, pallet, pallet knife, Linseed oil, water and turpentine. When one chooses the JKD path he is the paintbrush, the pallet, the pallet knife, the Linseed oil, water and turpentine. You are all these tools combined. YOU the individual are the creator in your own individual right towards your no style A fist does not necessarily mean a fist; the fist represents the object in the way of your goal, to get to your goal one flows around the object, problem, or obstacle in the way. How do you intercept your fist answer that and you have truly understood JKD What Sijo Bruce lee truly wants! He wants the human race to understand that man IS adaptive to adapt one must create!! When one creates fully and whole-heartily true individuality is released. If anybody manages to get there hands on the Jessi Glover book please read it . It has all the proof that Junfan gung fu (also called original JKD) is made up of 26 elements or more. I have studied Junfan JKD for 8 years now and have read all the books on JKD there is. look at my vid if you do not believe me [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4PrYkWytow&list=UUzxczVZVyCUMQ_ReIWrppCg&index=1"]JKD What simply is! - YouTube[/ame] People say that Bruce lee did not do escrima but in Enter the dragon he is using double sticks and nunchukus. It is a well known fact that Guro Dan Inosanto taught him bits of escrima and the nunchukus. I personally asked Guro Dan Inosanto about kali and silat on one of the seminars. In his very own words he said to me "kali and silat have nothing to do with JKD I teach kali and silat becuase I like to teach it. Bruce Lee was my very first silat teacher" In my opinion BL wanted us to realize something. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STYLE OF FIGHTING!! through all his resurch in different arts he concluded himself. "You cannot stylize violence" in his very own words. As soon as you stylize you limit yourself. Using no way as a way, using no limitation as limitation. Jun fan gung fu in my opinion has all the basic movements and weapons that are in all martial arts. once you master the basics you then simplify by ABSORBING WHAT IS USEFUL (using the JKD concept) techniques that work for your body then you expand upon the basics by looking into other marital art styles. this is the beauty of the JKD concept. the jKD practitioner (the individual) has total freedom to develop his WAY! then you absorb from other styles of fighting. One last thing guys Teri Tom also says that Ted wong trained with BL the most. this is WRONG. Guro Dan Inosanto started training with him in 1964, Ted wong started training with him in 1967.
What simply is Like I said I have studied Junfan/JKD for 8 years. Have been reading about it and have been training in JKD for 8 years. Both of my instructors are under Guro Dan himself. I have also been to many Guro Dan Inosanto seminars, he knows my face!! I am also at the moment training in krav maga also. At the moment I am concentrating on krav maga, when I get to G1 I will go back and complete my training in Jun Fan/JKD.
Hello and welcome! It's always great to be doing something you're so passionate about. How is your KM training going, and have you found anything in particular (techniques, concepts or training methods etc) that you will integrate into your JKD? Also, how will you know when your JKD training is complete? Cheers! Harry
