| Jeet Kune Do |
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Key points of interest for Jeet Kune DO: Created by Bruce Lee Self Defence as it applies to REAL WORLD applications Build/Increase Stamina & Vitality Burn Fate & Calories Improve your mental health through lessons you can apply to life. For more information about the history of Jeet Kune Do please visit bruceleefoundation.org. Jeet Kune Do (Chinese: Cantonese: Jitkyundou Pinyin: Jlequandao, lit. "Way of the Intercepting Fist"), also Jeet Kun Do or JKD, is a martial arts combat system developed by martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. In 2004, the Bruce Lee Foundation decided to use the name Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do to refer to the system that Lee founded. "Jun Fan" was Lee's Chinese given name, so the literal translation is "Bruce Lee's Way of the Intercepting Fist." The System Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is the name Bruce Lee gave to his combat philosophy in 1967. Originally, when Lee first began research into fight styles, he gave his martial art his own name of Jun Fan Gung Fu. JKD as it survives today- if one wants to view it "refined" as a product, not a process- is what was left at the time of Bruce Lee's death. It is the result of the life-long martial arts development process Lee went through. Bruce Lee stated that his concept is not an "adding to" of more and more things on top of each other to form a system, but rather, a winnowing out. He used the sculptor's mentality of beginning with a lump of clay and hacking away at the "unessential": the end result was what he considered to be the bare combat essentials, or JKD. Bruce Lee was influenced by Western boxing and fencing. Although the backbone concepts (such as center-line, vertical punching, and forward pressure) come from Wing Chun, Lee stopped using the Wing Chun stances in favor of what he claimed were more fluid/flexible fencing and boxing stances. Bruce Lee wanted to create a martial art that was unbounded and free. Later, during the development of Jeet Kune Do, he would expand that notion and include the art for personal development, not just to become a better fight. To illustrate Lee's views, in a 1971 Black Belt Magazine article, Lee said "Let it be understood once and for all that I have NOT invented a new style, composite or modification. I have in no way set Jeet Kune Do within a distance form governed by laws that distinguish it from 'this' style or 'that' method. On the contrary, I hope to free my comrades form bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines." While practicing Western wrestling, Lee was once pinned by a more skillful opponent, who asked what Lee would do if he found himself in the situation in a real fight. Lee replied, "Well, I'd bite you, of course." One of the theories of JKD is that a fighter should do whatever is necessary to defend himself, regardless of where the techniques come from. Lee's goal in Jeet Kune Do was to break down what he claimed were limiting factors in the training of the traditional styles, and seek a fighting thesis which he believed could only be found within the event of a fight. Jeet Kune Do is currently seen as the genesis of the modern state of hybrid martial arts. You will find in class that we push to finishing an opponent. Bruce Lee's comments and methods were seen as controversial by many in his time, and still are today. Many teachers from traditional schools disagreed with his opinions on these issues. The notion of cross-training in Jeet Kune Do is similar to the practice of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in modern times-- Bruce Lee has been considered by UFC president Dana White and the "father of mixed martial arts." Many consider Jeet Kune Do to be the precursor of MMA. This is particularly the case with respect to the JKD "Combat Ranges." A JKD student is expected to learn various combat ranges in order to be effective. The Branches Although Bruce Lee officially closed his martial arts schools two years before his death, he allowed his instructors to teach privately. Since his death, Jeet Kune Do has split into different groups. There are two major branches: The Original (or Jun Fan) JKD branch, whose main proponents are Taky Kimura, James Lee, Jerry Poteet and Ted Wong; these groups principally teach just what Bruce Lee taught and encourage the student to further develop his or her abilities according to Bruce Lee's teachings. The JKD Concepts branch, whose main proponents are Dan Inosanto and Larry Hartsell; these groups have continued to modify Jeet Kune Do under the philosophy that it was never meant to be a static art but rather an ongiong evolution and have incorporated elements from many other martial arts into the main fold of its teachings (most notably grappling and Kali/Escrima material). |