A couple of years ago I met an instructor in Kajukempo, kali, BJJ, JKD...etc. I was talking to him and we were discussing the arts we train in. He mentioned that his school bases their JKD off of Kajukempo. My school in wich I train at bases JKD off of Muey Thia with grappling and weapons mixed in along with Wing Chun. When I come accross schools like this, I wonder what is REALLY being taught. Is it someones personel style based off of JKD concepts and theories. In all reality you cant call it JKD, becaue we are being taught very specific styles. If you noticed, all JKD schools utilize the Pak Sao from wing chun. Thia roundhouse from Muey Thia And the exact same entry techniques to close the gap to your opponent. I know that Guru Dan Inasanto has over 40 different styles that he uses techniques from in his school when he teaches JKD. But is it actual JKD concepts or his personel blend of the arts that he is teaching. Dont get me wrong, I know the basics are needed in every style before one can go further But I dont see much originality when it comes to teaching JKD. From what I seen most techniques are the same. It seems that what we were supposed to do was "free your mind" but what we did was cloud our own vision and became robots again. All said was just my opinion based off my experience, not ment to offend anybody.
Not mine mate I can see where you're coming from - many people have replaced one classical mess with a new one. Blind faith is well - -blind
as bruce lee said in his lost interview, its VERY hard for one to express themselves proberly in martial arts.
And this brings up one more question. If you stay in this school long enough and get your blackbelt, what would you be a blackbelt in? Remember JKD has no belts. Yet the school teaches a blend of styles and calls it JKD. Would you be a black belt in various styles or one style combined of many styles? The one thing I still see true is that its still a ' nameless art '.
Hi thiaboxr2, I know what u mean, its very hard to explain but il try my best... Jeet Kune Do in Bruces words is just a name, it is different from other martial arts as it is actually your OWN "fighting style/system" - bruce wanted ppl to use everything that worked for THEM, and throw away everything that didn't work. that is why so many different arts are involved in JKD - it is considered limitless - hence the quote on bruces original club logo. HOWEVER, JKD has to be taught somehow, therefore it has to have its own sylabus with its own set of techniques etc. hopefully you understand what im trying to say and hopefully i haven't confused u back to your last question i guess when you have a black belt in JKD it doesn't mean your highly trained in all the arts that are involved... just the fighting art of jeet kune do
I think the definition of JKD can appear to be so open-ended at times, which is probably why there is so much confusion about. The confusion then leads to all the politics that we hate. Going off topic a bit, it can be safe to say that the concepts behind JKD is influenced by the principles of many styles, eg Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Boxng, Fencing etc. Some schools emphasise certain aspects more than others. I think thats fine. It's like making a cup of tea. Some people prefer it with milk, some don't etc. The blend is different but essentially, it is still tea by definition. However, what people shouldn't do is assume they have mastered that system just because they've skimmed through those various systems. I feel JKD as a philosophy does say that it's ok for you to look for the best out of different styles. If you see something you like, then there is no harm into studying that style in depth. The important thing is not be bound by it. I personally think thats where all the confusion lies. However, for me, its fun learning about other arts! Thats why I do it when I can!
I liked what you said too Genki Anyway.....When I was doing jeet kune do traing. I learned all about what it was about, it's concepts, and different lil' tricks and stuff....you know...different lil' things But for the most part we did a lot of training in wing chun, kick boxing, and brazilian jujitsu. That was it, for 3 years My insturctor also, started teaching us kali after a while..... but I wasnt' attending those classes then. I moved on to shaolin and capoeira (only 1 year) and then later to wado ryu karate (only 4 months) What will be next.....I don't know, but I'm looking for something else to do (martial arts that is) Probally will be some style of karate being that is what the majority is in my area
redactive JKD all who are interested in "deciphering the classical mess" should do themselves a favor. go out and buy a copy of "the way of no way" by jerry beasley. jerry is a long time student of JKD, under joe lewis (the kickboxing champ). thhe basic concept behind the book is that although it is impossible to categorically label something "JKD" it IS possible to label things that are "not JKD" and thereby we can outline what's left over. this is called redactive reasoning, or redactive JKD in this case. also if you leave neaar radford virginia jerry, and joe (as well as other rotating guests, such as ted wong) hold yearly seminars at radford university. the only basic concepts that are always true to the spirit of JKD are being well versed in the 5 ways of attack, and the 4/5 ranges of fighting.
what is your jkd To me jkd is combining your personel strenght and your personel weaknesses into the form that you find the most comftorable and successful to you the individual, now in order to do this you need some form of schooling, the key is not to restrict yourself in your training and education of the arts, one persons failure can be another person success to me JEET KUNE DO IS ALL TRIAL AND ERROR, if you are a puncher punch, if your a kicker kick, never force yourself to kick or punch if it is uncomftorble to you, once agian use only what is best for YOU never comprimise this because people say you should, strengthen YOUR tools thru practice practice practice and you will be a master of this art called jeet kune do, HAPPY FIGHTING
'My Jeet Kune Do" is basically the core system that Bruce taught, because it has all its bases covered (except grappling, and weapons. which I suppose I'll go into detail on later). I however give preference to the straight lead, the front leg hook kick, the front leg sidekick, the lead hand hook, the backfist, and the lead hand uppercut. Those are the ones I find work the absolute best for me, though I still make use of the cross, the rear straight (basically a more powerful but more unwieldy cross), the corkscrew hook, and the ever popular rear leg roundhouse kick. The grappling my school teaches only differs a bit from standing to actual groundfighting. The groundfighting is almost entirely derived from gracie jiu-jitsu, but the standing takedowns are more from Silat, due to similarities between the stance silat operates from and our own, so striking can quickly be chained to a takedown with minimization of excess motion. Our weapon facet is pretty much filipino kali, not only because of it being probably the best form of unarmored armed combat there is, but also because the stance it operates from is again, damn near the same as our own. This allows for a much easier transition between these different aspects of fighting, allowing us to move between them almost as freely as if Bruce had managed to incorporate them into the core system before his unfortunate death. If any are curious as to the school I attend (or did attend, I have been dealing with the aftermath of a nasty sprain to my left ankle, and as those who train in the core system know, that rear foot is the one most important part of it), I highly recommend training there if you are interested in Jeet Kune Do, and in the area. It is New York Martial Arts Academy, in Little Neck, NY. The owner is Sifu Dino Orfanos, a broadly experienced martial artist, who is also very wise, but amicable and funny. Students are only turned away if it seems they will take the fruits of the arts and use them for unsavory purposes. Sifu Dino also offers seminars, including Ted Wong, whose seminars I guarantee will leave you much better off at doing something before he goes. If anyone has any other questions about what I do or the school I'm very proud to have attended, and hope to return to as soon as possible, you can hit me up on AIM, I'm usually very bored and pleased to talk to just about anybody.
I coppied this from the styles section of the magazine "JEET KUNE DO meaning 'way of the intercepting fist' Jeet Kune Do was developed by the late Bruce Lee and is not a style as such but more a philosophy. Jeet Kune Do practitioners learn to absorb what is useful and reject what is useless. There are no regimented lessons taught in J.K.D. instead the instructors main aim is to show the student the paths they can take to developing their own style. Advanced practitioners are encouraged to study many styles and take from them what they feel will be of use to them."
And I've absorbed what is useful and rejected what I found useless. But part of the reason for training is to teach people to develop a good judgment of what IS useful or useless, and anything inbetween. One is not born knowing the absolute best way to do something, even something that is unique to oneself as fighting is. Students should only be encouraged to incorporate new things that occupy a position that previously wasnt, or replace whatever was in that position before (this would be why every JKD school has to look into other arts to cover weapons and grappling). Redundancy in one's repertoire just means more tools to divide your time amongst sharpening, which is not JKD at all.
I haven't seen much mention of Jun Fan yet. There's a lot of talk about Kali, Wing Chun, BJJ, etc etc, but at the very core of JKD is Jun Fan Gung Fu. As I understood, this was the foundation upon which all else was / is built. Having been out of that side of things for quite a while now, could someone tell me if it has been replaced, reduced or simply made redundant today? Are there any teachers out there who teach the full Jun Fan curriculum?
there are a good # of people still teaching the jun fan curriculum. Are you trying to find something Dee Tee? But as for the "original" material being replaced, in some schools yes , but like i said just earlier there are a good deal of people left that still teach the core of JKD. In response, I have no JKD. I may practice JKD, it has a structure, but as for my personal expression of it, I have yet to really discover it, heck it might take my entire life to figure that one out. As Bruce used to say what have you really mastered?
Guro Dan Inosanto teaches Jun Fan Gung Fu. This art has fixed techniques, specific stance, etc. It is the foundation of JKD. This gives you the tools so when you learn what your particular JKD is, you have these tools as a base. JKD is freedom but there are certain strategies that are unique to JKD. Everyone's got a different opinion of what JKD is. Here is mine: 1. Learn and master Jun Fan Gung Fu 2. Learn the principles and strategies of JKD which are particularly: a. Bai-jong stance b. longest weapon to closest target c. five ways of attack - Single Direct Attack (SDA), Attack by Combination (ADB), Hand Immobilization Attack (HIA), Progressive Indirect Attack (PIA), Attack by Drawing (ABD). d. Footwork (all done with advancing and retreating or right and left leads)- Step and Slide, Slide and Step, Push Shuffle, Triangle Step, Curve Step, Pendelum, Steal a Step, Side Step, Step Through e. The concept of interception (the name Jeet Kune Do was based off of this strategy). f. Boxing punches that also includes vertical ones as well as the traditional horizontal ones. g. closing the gap theory h. straight blast (battle punch of JKD) i. Shorest distance between two points is a straight line j. eliminate wasteful moves k. centerline theory - going off centerline for only a moment just to get back on centerline if need be l. learning distancing, timing, and broken rythm m. eye jab (bil-jee) n. sparring (all out with protective gear) to develop a sense of realism o. finding the right technique, at the right time, in the right environment instantantaneously that affords the most amount of damage, done under the least amount of time and movement (simplicity) This is where other arts can be incorporated. p. four ranges of combat: kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling After all this, research other arts, and absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is essentially your own. If whatever technique from a certain art you choose to use fits the practical and simple strategies noted above, then that's where the freedom to use techniques from other arts not known or used by Bruce Lee can come in handy.
Sure in the begining of someones martial art study of JKD you need to give a person some tools. How can a man that dont know anything about punching, punch effectively? You have to show him the right way to punch first. You have to give him the tools before he can decide himself that they are useful or not. Yeah sure there are schools out there that say they are teaching JKD but are infact using that as a marketing tool and not sticking to the right Principles (we all know this).
Does it really matter if what your learning can technically be Jeet Kune Do? At the end of the day, as long as your learning to win the fight, does it really matter?
