JEET KUNE DO
Jeet Kune Do was conceived by the late Bruce Lee in 1967; literally "way of the intercepting fist." Unlike many other martial arts, there are no series of rules or techniques that constitute a distinct jeet kune do (jkd) method of fighting; jkd utilizes all ways and means to serve its end. It is bound by none and therefore "free." It possesses everything, but in itself is possessed by nothing. Those who understand jkd are primarily interested in its effects of liberation used as a mirror for self-examination.
In the past, many have tried to define jkd in terms of a distinct style, i.e.,
Bruce Lee's gung-fu, Bruce Lee's karate, Bruce Lee's kick-boxing, or Bruce Lee's
street fighting. To label jkd Bruce Lee's martial art is to miss its meaning;
its concepts cannot be confined within a system. To understand this, a martial
artist must transcend from the duality of the "for" and "against" into one unity
which is without distinction. The understanding of jkd is a direct intuition of
this unity.
Truth cannot be perceived until we have come to full understanding of ourselves
and our potential.
According to Lee, knowledge in the martial arts ultimately means self knowledge.
Jeet kune do is not a new style of karate or kung-fu. Bruce Lee did not invent a
new style or a composite, or modify any style to set it apart from any existing
method. His main concept was to free his followers from clinging to a style,
pattern, or mold.
It must be emphasized that jeet kune do is merely a name; a mirror in which we see ourselves. There is some sort of progressive approach to its training, but as Lee said, "To create a method of fighting is pretty much like putting a pound of water into wrapping paper and shaping it." Structurally, many people tend to mistake jkd as a composite style because of its efficiency. At any given time, it can resemble Thai boxing, wing chun, wrestling, or karate.
Its weaponry resembles Filipino escrima and kali, and, at long range, northern
Chinese gung-fu or tae kwon do.
According to Lee,the efficiency of style depends upon circumstances and range: a
staff, for example, would be the wrong weapon to bring into a telephone booth to
fight, whereas a knife would be appropriate.
A good jkd practitioner must develop intuition. According to Lee, a style should
never be like a bible in which the principles and laws of which can never be
violated.
There will always be a difference with regards to quality of training, physical
make-up, level of understanding, environmental conditioning, and likes and
dislikes.
Thus jkd is not an organization or an institution to which one can belong.
"Either you understand or you don't, and that is that," in Lee's words.
When Lee was teaching a Chinese system of qung-fu upon his arrival in the U.S.,
he did have an institute of learning; but after that he didn't believe in a
style or system, Chinese or otherwise.
According to him, to reach the masses some sort of organization had to be
formed, both domestic and foreign branches with affiliations; but he also felt
it was not necessary to have these because a martial artist finds himself more
often in places that are contrary. To reach the growing numbers of students some
sort of pre-conformed sets had to be established as the standard for these
branches. As a result, many members will be conditioned according to the
prescribed system; many will probably end up as prisoners of systematic
drilling.
This is why Lee believed in having only a few students at one time, because it
requires constant alert observation of each student in order to establish a
direct relationship. A good teacher can never be fixed at a routine, and today
many instructors are just that. As Lee so often said, "A good instructor
functions as a pointer of the truth espousing the student's vulnerability,
causing him to explore both internally and externally, and finally, integrating
himself with his being. Martial arts, like life itself, are a constant
unrhythmic movement, as well as constant change.
Flowing with this change is very important. Finally a jeet kune do man who says jkd is exclusively jkd is simply "not in with it." He is still "hung up" on his own self-closing resistance, anchored to reactionary pattern and naturally bound by another modified pattern and can move only within its limits. He has not digested the simple fact that the truth exists outside of all molds and patterns.
An awareness is never exclusive. To quote Lee, "Jeet kune do is just a name, a
boat to get one across the river. Once across it is to be discarded and not to
be carried on one's back."
In 1981 jkd concepts were taught in only three places: by Dan Inosanto and
Richard Bustillo at the Filipino Kali Academy in Torrance, Calif.; by Larry
Hartsell in Charlotte, N.C.; and by Taki Kimura in Seattle, Wash. As taught in
Torrance, the curriculum includes western boxing and Bruce Lee's method of
kick-boxing, called Jun Fan boxing. It is felt that students should gather
experience rather than technique. In other words, a karate practitioner who has
never before boxed needs to experience sparring with a boxer. What he learns
from this experience is strictly up to him. According to Lee, a teacher is not a
giver of truth; he is merely a guide to the truth and the student must discover
for himself.
The total picture Lee wanted to present to his pupil was that above everything
else he must find his own way. He always said, "Your truth is not my truth, and
my truth is not yours." Lee did not have a blueprint, but rather a series of
guidelines to lead to proficiency.
Using equipment, there was a systematic approach in which you could develop
speed, distance, power, timing, coordination, endurance, and footwork.
Jeet kune do, for Lee, was not an end in itself nor was it merely a by-product;
it was a means of self-discovery; a prescription for personal growth, and an
investigation of freedom, freedom to act naturally and effectively not only in
combat but in life. In life, to absorb what is useful, to reject what is
useless, ideally, a student will seek experience in many arts-judo, jujutsu,
aikido,western boxing, kicking styles, wing chun, kali, escrima, arnis, pentjak
silat, Thai boxing, French savate, etc.-and to understand the strengths and
weaknesses of each.
It is not necessary to study all of these arts, but to understand the high and
low points of each, as well as the range, distance, and effectiveness of each.
There is a distance in which western boxing is superior to any kicking style,
whether it be from Korean karate or northern Chinese styles of kicking.
No art is inferior or superior to any other. This is the object of jeet kune do:
to be bound by no style and in combat to use no style as style. In the Zen
maxim: "In the Landscape of spring there is neither better norworse. The
flowering branches grow, some short, some long." (DAN INOSANTO)
The Original Concepts Method
by Dr. Jerry Beasley
The concepts of JKD are as follows:
1) Seek the truth in combat (Find arts/styles that are functional for real
combat.);
2) Experience and master the truth (Box the boxer, wrestle the wrestler, and
master each range.);
3) Forget the carrier of the truth (Don't be limited by using this art, then
another.); and
4) "Response in the nothing" (The nothing means no particular art.). Simply
answer the attack using JKD--no way as way.
If you are "JKD Concepts." you are following this pattern. If you are " Original JKD," you are following this pattern. Both are the same. Both are yin or both are yang. There is no difference. Now, hang on, because I am going to explain what has happened.
Original art. Bruce Lee took the concepts and sought the truth in self defense.
remember, he had spent years learning wing chun. however, in a real fight, he
ended up chasing a kung-fu guy around the room with little success. So wing chun
was only a partial truth, as is any art, with built-in limitations. Fencing,
boxing, Northern Shaolin, tai chi, judo, etc., each represented a partial truth.
When used together (Not as this art and then the other, but as elements from
each, along with Lee's personal attributes of speed, sensitivity, and power,
etc.), they became something new.
When Lee used the wing chun way, he was limited to the domain of wing chun. In
an effort to find his own way, Lee experienced and mastered truth at each range.
He then put aside the carrier of the truth. In other words, he at no time tried
to be a boxer, then a judoka. He disassociated himself with fixed arts. Boxing
was only a boat to get to the other side. Once there, it could be discarded.
Using no art, he became all arts (at least he could become all the arts that he
had experienced). When he used no way as way, he meant that he used no
particular way--no way that he had been taught. JKD is self discovery, and Lee
used these concepts to discover exactly what worked best for him. We call his
personal method original JKD.
Original JKD is a proven, effective self-defense method which is a
non-classical, contact-functional, and research-oriented martial art. Original
JKD is, for most, a partial truth. It is a carrier of the truth that has
considerably more functional information than most classical styles. Within the
framework of the original art are the JKD concepts which encourage continued
self development.
Now let's examine JKD concepts. JKD concepts is original JKD. Anyone studying
JKD concepts is supposed to have been taught the original art. It would be
helpful if we dropped the various names--jun fan, JKD concepts, original art,
JKD strategies, matrix JKD, etc., and simply agreed that if a person maintained
the concepts, he/she was considered JKD. However, there is a problem. People are
different, and each can review the concepts and achieve a different
presentation. As a result some people look like stick fighters, some look like
kickboxers (stand-up fighters), and some resemble trapping/grappling. There is
nothing wrong with this except that it causes confusion for some.
Remember, JKD is no way as way. A JKD performer does not try to perform every
art he has learned. He attempts to find out what works from each art for him. He
then drops the various arts and , using no particular way, is free to simply
answer the attack. This seems easy to understand.
Every JKD player has a matrix. You can only develop your own JKD based on the
arts you have studied. If some JKD people practice kali, silat, etc., they will
have to resemble these arts. Some JKD people will always resemble stickfighting,
for example, as their primary focus. If a JKD person has wing chun, boxing,
judo, or shaolin in his matrix, he may reflect these arts ( as did Bruce Lee) in
his performance of JKD. No one who practices kickboxing can be expected to
outclass a stickfighter in weapons defense. Conversely, a weapons man will not
be competitive against a kickboxer in punch-kick range. Controlling range
insures success. And to be JKD, we must discover what range we can control.
Applying the Concepts
Everyone in JKD (concepts, original art, strategies, etc.) begins at the
beginning. They seek realistic combat/self defense skills. They gravitate not
toward traditional karate/kung fu/judo, etc., but toward function-oriented
combat methods. If someone says "this works," then we in JKD want to take a look
at it. All of us intend to (step two) experience and master the carriers of
truth. Kali is a partial truth. Silat is a partial truth. Jiujitsu is a carrier
of the truth. Boxing works, etc. Level one is seeking the truth.
I am going to call the JKD level two the research mode. In JKD we are
researching different arts. If we research arts A/B/C, then we will reflect arts
a/b/c/. To complete level two, we must master whatever arts are necessary to
cover the four ranges. To get to level three, we must set ourselves free of the
arts we have mastered. At level four we become JKD. We use no way, but we still
must reflect, to some degree, our original training.
Specifically stated, if Joe Lewis, Ted Wong, and I investigate gung, fu, boxing,
karate, and grappling, etc., our expression of JKD must reflect our efforts. On
the other hand, if another group focuses on kali, silat, and Thai, then when
they present JKD it has to resemble training in those arts. Using all ways as
way means using all of the arts you have mastered. Therefore, my JKD (truth) may
not be your JKD (truth). A lot of people still can't understand this simple
fact.
The research mode can be deceptive. It is possible for a person to get so caught
up in cataloguing so many arts that he loses sight of his original goal (
efficiency in combat, simple and direct). Many have made the observation that
some groups seem to stagnate in this research mode. They collect so much
material, so many training drills, that they have no time to fight (spar).
Sparring is a great opportunity to test out your accumulated skills and chip
away the unessentials. It is easier to move to level three when you lose
attachment to a specific art or instructor.
In JKD research mode a person is free to experience any art. There is no single
best way. Combat may involve weapons, grappling, or kickboxing (stand-up
fighting). But remember, the arts that you research (experience and master) are
going to be reflected in your personal JKD. In the UFC fights kickboxers are
never good grapplers and the grapplers simply cannot win standing up. Original
art people are most often identified with knife and stick fighting. Generally
speaking, original art groups think in terms of empty hands while concepts
people tend to relate heavily with weapons training. Remember, the way that you
practice has to be reflected in the way you perform. You will never be sure that
your way will work until you try it out. Put on the equipment and spar.