JKD looks interesting, worth it?

[benevolentdemon]

I have another thread in the mma forums right now asking for suggestions on what martial arts to take. I recently looked at some vids of JKD in action and it looks real neat, but I have some questions.

1. Is it reliable for self-defense.

Ah well thats all I can think of right now I'll probably have more questions later though.

[Garland]

Depends on who's teaching it, the emphasis of their particular field of study, their beliefs, and your personal abilities and preferences as well. JKD is actually not an art, per se...more like a series of concepts and philosophies to help people become better fighters and all round better people also.

[chillaplata]

I've been training at a JKD concepts school for about a year and I love it. Together with a whole lot of luck, my JKD training has helped me survive a couple of altercations I got into when drunk and stupid. If you find a school headed up by a good instructor (look for someone who has trained under Guro Inosanto, Sifu Vunak or one of their senior students) that (i) emphasizes Thai-boxing and Western boxing stand-up techniques, (ii) teaches students to be well-rounded across all ranges of fighting (including the ground), (iii) stresses the importance of conditioning and attribute development, and (iv) requires students to engage in at least light-contact sparring on a regular basis, I don't think you can go far wrong.

[jubaji]

I should know!

Together with a whole lot of luck, my JKD training has helped me survive a couple of altercations I got into when drunk and stupid.

The problem with being drunk and stupid is that only one of them wears off.

[chillaplata]

That sounds Churchillian:

"You, sir, are drunk."

"Yes, and you are stupid. But tomorrow, I shall be sober."

[ZeroAquaduct]

Here's a good article to read about JKD:

https://www.bruceleecentral.com/jeetkunedopolitics.htm

There are 2 different "versions" of JKD. One is the original JKD that was taught by Bruce Lee at his schools. The other is simply modified martial arts using JKD-concepts.

There's a local school in my area that advertise in the papers that they teach JKD classes. But after thoroughly reading their website, they actually say that they don't teach JKD, but rather JKD-concepts.

So you have to do your research when looking for a JKD school. Learning from a school that teaches JKD-concepts instead of the original JKD is OK, but you better make sure that school is reputable. You definately don't want to end up learning from a greedy instructor who's simply teaching you his own modified martial art and trying to label it as "JKD."

You could read more of this chaos at Bruce Lee Foundation:

https://www.bruceleefoundation.com

They actually renamed JKD as "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do" just to separate the original JKD with the JKD-concept styles.

[aseepish]

Here's a good article to read about JKD:

https://www.bruceleecentral.com/jeetkunedopolitics.htm

There are 2 different "versions" of JKD. One is the original JKD that was taught by Bruce Lee at his schools. The other is simply modified martial arts using JKD-concepts.

There's a local school in my area that advertise in the papers that they teach JKD classes. But after thoroughly reading their website, they actually say that they don't teach JKD, but rather JKD-concepts.

So you have to do your research when looking for a JKD school. Learning from a school that teaches JKD-concepts instead of the original JKD is OK, but you better make sure that school is reputable. You definately don't want to end up learning from a greedy instructor who's simply teaching you his own modified martial art and trying to label it as "JKD."

You could read more of this chaos at Bruce Lee Foundation:

https://www.bruceleefoundation.com

They actually renamed JKD as "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do" just to separate the original JKD with the JKD-concept styles.

I'll beat Jubaji to the punch: Here we go again

[aseepish]

And Zero- if you are talking about Trevor Clarkson's school in Richmond, you would be hard-pressed to find a better instructor in BC, if not the whole of western Canada.

[chillaplata]

I agree that it's important to research your instructor's background and to understand exactly what you will be training at a "JKD" school, but I wouldn't be too concerned with labels and politics. Measure the school by what people actually do rather than by what they call it. Are the instructors and students in shape? Do they spar frequently, at least light-contact? Do people train realistically in all ranges of fighting, including the ground? Can you imagine yourself using the techniques taught at the school in a real fight (or in the ring, if you are interested in competition)?

I have to admit a certain bias toward the JKD Concepts approach, as my instructor is a student of Guro Inosanto and that's what is taught at our school. Regardless of what "JKD" is defined to be, I do not think anyone should limit their training to only those specific techniques taught and practiced by Bruce Lee thirty years ago. That said, I imagine many of the good "Original" JKD schools now cross-train in lots of other arts along with OJKD. Terminology aside, I'm not sure that approach differs very much in practice from the JKD Concepts approach.

Just my $0.02 as a JKD noob -- happy to be corrected by the more advanced JKD practitioners on the board. And sorry if I am rehashing ground covered a thousand times before, as I probably am.

[ZeroAquaduct]

BTW, I'm not trying to stir anything up. I said in my original post that it's OK to learn from a JKD-concept school. I'm not comparing anything or saying who's no good and all that. I'm strictly looking it from a consumer's point of view.

I just wanted to give a heads up to the original poster so he knows what to look for when looking for a martial arts school. That's all.

[ZeroAquaduct]

And Zero- if you are talking about Trevor Clarkson's school in Richmond, you would be hard-pressed to find a better instructor in BC, if not the whole of western Canada.

I have a feeling you guys are misinterpreting my post.

I used the local JKD-concept school as an example of how a new student could get confused on whether they're learning Jun Fan JKD or JKD-concepts. I never said they were good nor bad.

If the original poster watched a JKD-concept video, but ended up in a Jun Fan JKD school, he'll be disappointed on what he learns. If the video he watched was a Jun Fan JKD video, but ended up in a JKD-concept school, he'll be disappointed on what he learns.

The best martial art in the world is the martial art that fits your own personal goals. But to meet that goal, the original poster needs to know the difference between "Jun Fan JKD" and "JKD-concepts."

[aseepish]

My bad!

Trevor is my old JKD instructors' instructor, so I get testy.

All I'm going to say more on the matter is that Jun Fan kickboxing does not equate with Jeet Kune Do. There is a mericifully closed thread that went on and on about this elsewhere on this forum.

And MA politics suck.

[ZeroAquaduct]

My bad!

Trevor is my old JKD instructors' instructor, so I get testy.

All I'm going to say more on the matter is that Jun Fan kickboxing does not equate with Jeet Kune Do. There is a mericifully closed thread that went on and on about this elsewhere on this forum.

And MA politics suck.

I read some of those threads too. Things can get nasty around here. LOL