My JKD is:

[Cheatin' Chad]

Man there sure does seem to be alot of bitterness and hostility in the JKD world. I have seen the argumenst from both sides and in my opinion it's a waste of time and quite silly.
You may feel differently than I do. That is ok with me. You probably have different views on abortion,gun control, and capitol punishment than I do as well.Just because you have different opinions than myself does not make you correct. It does not make you wrong either. I feel as long as someones opinion is based on good research and facts than it is valid.
I mention those particular hot topics for a reason. When people care very much for something they tend to form strong opinions.As you are on a Martial Arts forum I assume it is at least interesting to you. That being said, my JKD is not your JKD nor do I want it to be. We are now and always will be different people. I have come to the conclusion that JKD is about effectiveness. what works best in any given situation for the individual that is practicing it.
I will never move like Bruce Lee. I am 6'0 180lbs and I just don't think the laws of nature will allow it. I don't neccessarily want to move and behave like Bruce Lee. I have a height and weight advantage and think it would be silly for me to not do what I can to capitolize on it. I would love to be able to strike with the power that he did or with the speed. I may someday be able to do just that.Again even if I can hit as hard or move as quickly I will not be just like him.
Jeet Kune Do as is being taught to me seems extremely practical and it just makes sense. I have no desire to wow people with my acrobatic kicks or beautiful movements.I want to defeat whomeer is trying to cause me harm.That being said I have decided to adopt what I consider the "basic philosophy of JKD" and that is to learn what I can and then apply only what works best for me. If I have to get into another fight my concern will not be to make sure I have perfect form when I kick or that I am using the stance dictated by my instructor. My ONLY goal will be to get that fight over as quickly as possible and with the minimal amount of harm done to me and/or my loved ones.
I am going to take what I feel is best from my teacher. This may not be exactly what he wants me to do so I will plainly state that he is not condoning or endorsing anything I have or will say on this forum.

If you believe that JKD at it's core is not what I believe it is and that upsets you.Then just tell yourself "He is not practicing JKD" and be respectful of my stance on this subject.Call what I am doing what you will it's just a name to me.

Thanks

[fenwick99]

re:

I think there are some of the difficulties you have in many family fights.
Also, Bruce did teach many things to many people. Bruce's agenda seemed to change over time. Many ex-students teach what they were taught, or what they have modified.
My sense is also, that there are many teachers out there in Dan's line, or who claim to be in Dan's line, who know muay thai, bjj, kali, etc. but have no jun fan, and yet they are out there claiming to be jkdc or jkd. This is not Dan's fault, but perhaps some of the olbs's blame Dan for this. I believe that Dan has always been true to Bruce and true to himself.
There are probably also some karate guys who read the Tao on their own and who then teach jkd.
My own view that that the art needs to be carried on, whether it is called jfjkd or something else.

[m_calingo]

This is truly such a sad mess. The worst thing is that Bruce himself ended up closing his three schools just at the time his fame was rising, and that he died before he could further expound on his art/philosophy.

In my own case, I wanted to learn the art he taught to his students as he himself taught it. Prior to his schools in Seattle, LA and San Francisco, no one else taught the blended martial art he was teaching.

Today, I can go to any number of martial arts schools and take Muay Thai, Kali, boxing and wrestling, or BJJ. None of those schools will teach what Bruce Lee taught during his day. Of course, it can be always be said that Bruce took a little of this from Muay Thai, a lot of that from boxing, some of this from Wing Chun, and some of this from fencing. However, a lot of folks on their own, spending a lot of time, and a lot of money, still won't come up with what Bruce Lee was teaching when he was alive.

The debate as to whether "original" JKD or JKD concepts should hold the rightful crown as to what "real" JKD, or whether JKD is an art, or a philosophy reminds me of the argument as to whether light was a wave, or composed of particles. In physics, the answer depends on the situation, and in one case light behaves as a wave, and in another, as a series of particles. I feel that this JKD argument is the same, and that the two sides are like the two sides of a coin. The Jun Fan JKD can serve as the launching point, and the "concepts" can serve as to what it evolves to.

I feel the importance of the Jun Fan JKD training is that it provides the essence of what Bruce Lee was teaching when he was alive. Certainly, the concept of the "non-telegraphic" punch can be applied in Muay Thai, or other striking arts. However, if one has never experienced seeing a non-telegraphic punch, let alone trained in how to execute it, how does one attempt to teach that to another in another style?

During my training I was also exposed to other arts like Kali, Muay Thai and Silat and I am grateful for that. However, the directness and simplicity of JFJKD has always impressed me.

[John McNabney]

One OBLS on another forum said to someone...."are you worried who's right or what works".....To me, that just about sums it up! :-)


Take "IT" Easy,
JFM

[tel]

i think guro dan has done what bruce lee wanted him to do. find the cause of his igorance. so dan felt his path was to research different systems. where sifu poteet felt it was great as it was.
for me i like training in the ojkd stuff as a base and also to keep it alive, but i believe dan's way is good when you have learned the jun fan jkd and then you desolve it.
as long as you abide by the principles when you are doing your jkd it is correct.learning other arts gives you the clay to chip away at.
like john said there is no right or wrong

[John McNabney]

Hey Terry......How 's thing going training? I glad You can see with an "Open Mind"......I see you are now under Sifu Jerry Poteet, thats great! Keep up the good work.

Here my two cents....."To me, Jeet Kune Do is a inner gift, that not everyone that trains in it, is ready to present it neither for or against."


Take "IT" Easy My Friend,
John

[tel]

Hey Terry......How 's thing going training? I glad You can see with an "Open Mind"......I see you are now under Sifu Jerry Poteet, thats great! Keep up the good work.

Here my two cents....."To me, Jeet Kune Do is a inner gift, that not everyone that trains in it, is ready to present it neither for or against."


Take "IT" Easy My Friend,
John

hey john.
training is good. hope your's is.

funny thing is if you read the jkd book that john little complied. its all mixed around, in one part it says that you should use anything that will score, other part say that jkd is x and is seperate from y, then it goes it should not be seperate. at first jkd was supposed to be one great style, but then he come to the conclusion that jkd should be different for everyone because is different

[robertlee]

No art is about being like some one else. You arew who you are. What you learn to do that is yours. Passing down what you learn to others gives them the option to take what they will and go on from there. JKD has much politics. But neglect that and train. After all its about and what you want..

[Tim McFatridge]

Hey tel, I have read that book to and was very disappointed in it. I came away with the opinion that Mr. Little worked to hard to get his opinion and views across in the book. I would like to see all of Bruce Lee's notes in one book...and it would be nice if they could all be in chronilogical order...but I know that will never happen.

There is way to much politics in JKD and way to much finger pointing that goes on. I believe that everyone and anyone who trained personally with Bruce Lee has something to offer. I also believe that anyone who trained with Bruce's to three students (Dan, James and Taky) back in the day has something to offer as well and that they all deserve respect and deserve to be heard.

[gungfuhero]

I took that letter to mean "don't take my JKD material and call it Kenpo." It has more to do with giving due credit than fighting functionality.

[tel]

I took that letter to mean "don't take my JKD material and call it Kenpo." It has more to do with giving due credit than fighting functionality.

yeah i see what you mean, good post

[John McNabney]

I believe that everyone and anyone who trained personally with Bruce Lee has something to offer. I also believe that anyone who trained with Bruce's to three students (Dan, James and Taky) back in the day has something to offer as well and that they all deserve respect and deserve to be heard.


Tim...... Exactly, I been saying this for years! :-)


Take "IT" Easy,

[Nutz]

My view of JKD, Bruce's philosophies, etc are this:

My JKD is not your JKD, or Bruce's JKD. In fact, giving it name implies its a structured system, which we all know JKD is not. To that extent I don't practice JKD at all. What I do practice is the application of what I think Bruce came up with (and people have lost sight of): a process of systematically reducing and refining one's "tools" to become as effective a fighter as one's attributes and potential would allow. In following this approach Bruce came up with a structure that worked for him, heavily rooted in Wing Chun, western boxing, etc, and that's what he called Jeet Kune Do. And as he progressively applied this systematic approach he found that some things worked better and some tools were useless to him.

Bruce also started to see how certain fundamentals were generally applicable to anyone that would train with such an approach ("....so long as humans have two arms and legs...."). For example, knife and stick training help bring out a variety of attributes and elements of combat that otherwise would be hidden from view. This discovery has resulted in many people training knife and stick drills. Western boxing is another good example of a universal form of training, in this case stand-up striking skills. If you haven't noticed yet, most people in our circles train that as well. Those are the sort of "basics" I'm referring to in the context of near universals.

Now, something I've been seeing a lot of in JKD practicioners is their thinking that what they're doing is JKD, when in fact only Bruce could do JKD. When he came up with the name it was his expression of himself in martial form. And wouldn't you know it he outgrew it as he progressed and kept refining things. An example of this is trapping and interceptions, both of which many JKD people consider staples of the art (which is another problem right there): Bruce had phenomenal hand-speed, which is something many people do not posses--expecially at the level Bruce was at. This is where people need to make a gut check and ask themselves: Is it true to Bruce's philosphies and scientific, systematic approach for damned near everyone to train trapping and interceptions like he did? Personally speaking, I don't think so. The good news is we see a lot of aspects of Bruce's application of refinement in many JKD schools and MMA practicioners. Unfortunately many miss the point of refinement based on the individual, and they keep trying to aspire to what Bruce had attained. The reality is that a lot of people are training in circles, and drills and techniques, that often don't serve them best when other material more applicable to their martial self is available.

And that's my $.02

[chillaplata]

I like Ajarn Chai Sirisute's pithy description of JKD (in the FAQs section of his website, www.thaiboxing.com) as part of his answer to the question whether Muay Thai is "part of" JKD:

Jeet Kune Do is a conceptual process conceived by Bruce Lee in 1967 that grew out of his personal fighting method of Jun Fan Gung Fu.