Hard Hitting Legendary Bruce Lee and the Vicious JKD!

VIDEO: Would you want to be in a fight with Bruce Lee after seeing this?!

Jeet Kun Do teaches that interception is the best form of defese and therefore much of the teachings involve recognizing and anticipating an attack and having access to the skills, which will allow you to effectively intercept and counter attack. Another concept that he focused on was “a strike should be felt before it is seen.” His style of fighting revolved around attacks that appeared to come from nowhere. There was no suggestion or forewarning that an attack was coming, which would generally leave opponents defenseless and off balance. This opened them up perfectly for further attacks. Other forms of martial arts tend to have forewarnings such as a step forward or tense shoulders giving the opponent time to react to the foreseen attack. Lee stood firmly by the theory that even the slightest twitch is enough for a good martial artist to pre-empt a strike and plan accordingly.

Another term that features regularly in Jeet Kun Do is simultaneous parrying and punching. This is the act of deflecting an attack whilst delivering a counter attack at the same time, within the same motion. This much more effective than blocking at attack and then following up with a counter attack, which is much slower and less efficient. This principle goes hand in hand with yet another Jeet Kun Do principle described as economy of motion. This means not wasting time on unnecessary movement, which goes a long way in providing efficiency, directness and simplicity, all crucial components of Jeet Kun Do.

Did Jeet Kune Do die with Bruce Lee? Is JKD simply a mishmash of “whatever works”? Can Jeet Kune Do be taught?

Just search Jeet Kune Do in any martial arts online forum and you’ll soon discover hundreds, if not thousands of experts declaring that JKD is not a style and cannot be taught. They say it’s a philosophy, not a system, and that anyone claiming to teach Jeet Kune Do is a fraud. They twist and distort Bruce Lee’s words saying that teaching Jeet Kune Do is teaching a “crystalization” that goes against everything the founder stood for.

First, learn the original body of knowledge that Lee taught to his various students, now known and Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. Then, spend a few years cultivating a strong base level of skill and application based experience. Once you have reached a certain level of mastery and intuitive understanding of the art of combat, begin exploring your own interpretation of Bruce Lee’s living art.

You’re now on the path to learning real Jeet Kune Do.

For those who want to take the training to it’s greatest potential, pass on the knowledge, using your base of experience to help the student, but keeping clearly defined lines between your own adaptation of JKD and Lee’s original teachings. In this way, the founder’s methods remain intact and the living, catalyzing JKD philosophy can live on and continue to inspire others in its original form.