Simultaneous Parry and Hit: Instead of blocking a strike and then returning a strike, it is more efficient to parry and hit at the same time.
Hammer: By lowering one’s lead hand slightly at the elbow, with a motion like a hammer’s, one can subtly gain distance on an opponent. This enables one to strike from a closer distance to reach the target more quickly.
IT IS EASY to be confused about what constitutes Jeet Kune Do because people view the art in different ways. When Bruce Lee was still alive, relatively few people trained in the art and Lee could exercise control over what was taught. Since his passing, different interpretations of Jeet Kune Do have arisen. This has occurred because Jeet Kune Do itself is somewhat open-ended, with no fixed number of techniques and, in most cases, no set curriculum. In addition, Jeet Kune Do encourages individual freedom of expression, such that different instructors emphasize different aspects.
As a result, different camps have emerged, each claiming to follow the true path laid down by Lee. These range from individuals who believe strongly in preserving Jeet Kune Do just as it was practiced when Lee was alive, to those who believe in Jeet Kune Do as primarily a framework for formulating an individualized approach to fighting. The following is an overview of the major interpretations.
Jun Fan/Modified Wing Chun
Individuals in this category practice techniques and methods that Lee embraced during his early years in the United States. They consist primarily of the modified Wing Chun trapping that Lee taught at that time. Some practitioners faithfully preserve Lee’s teachings. Others have modified the art, bringing their own distinctiveness to it. Strictly speaking, this art is pre-Jeet Kune Do. Some believe that it is actually more practical and combative than Jeet Kune Do. These methods were taught and developed at the Seattle Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Hence, they are regarded as arising during the “Seattle Era.”
Original Jeet Kune Do
These practitioners emphasize the art as taught and practiced by Lee from the mid-1960s to 1973. This interpretation consists of some of the Jun Fan trapping methods from the earlier period and the fencing, kickboxing, Western boxing, and grappling influences that were later added. Original Jeet Kune Do was taught at the Oakland Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute and the Los Angeles Chinatown Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Hence, the art, as taught during this time, is known as the “Oakland Era” and “Chinatown Era.”
The strongest push for perpetuating this interpretation of Jeet Kune Do came from the Bruce Lee Educational Foundation during the 1990s. This organization was composed of Lee’s widow and daughter; first-generation students of Lee from the Seattle, Oakland, and Los Angeles eras; and a few second-generation students. The efforts of these individuals exposed more people to Lee’s art, as it existed during his lifetime.
Proponents of this interpretation are often accused of remaining stuck in the past and refusing to change with the times. However, they view the original art as remaining effective because principles such as directness, economy of motion, and interception remain just as valid today as they were back then. They believe that, rather than adding to Lee’s art, as many seemingly have done, practitioners should concentrate on refining their techniques and improving their skills.
Jeet Kune Do Concepts
These practitioners view Jeet Kune Do not as a system or style, but rather as a philosophical approach towards developing a personal expression of fighting. Although they regard Lee‘s original art as a starting place, they believe that a student should evolve from there. Just as Lee researched many arts during his lifetime, Concepts proponents encourage martial artists to examine different styles to add those elements that work best for them.
Hence, Concepts practitioners will often study, in addition to Lee’s original art, Filipino martial arts, Muay Thai, shoot wrestling, Silat, and Brazilian jujitsu. They stress Lee’s philosophical approach to martial arts, rather than specific techniques and training methods, as the true spirit of Jeet Kune Do.
Some think that Concepts practitioners have watered down Lee’s art by adding other arts. They believe that some of Jeet Kune Do’s principles, such as simplicity, strong side forward, and directness, have been compromised as influences from other arts have crept in. Concepts students respond that Lee’s original art can be preserved but that Jeet Kune Do is a highly individualized process to explore one’s own freedom of expression.
Functional Jeet Kune Do
More recently, some are pushing the definition of Jeet Kune Do even further. Calling their approach “Functional Jeet Kune Do,” they seek to recapture the notion of training and fighting with “aliveness.” Dissatisfied with what they regard as “dead pattern” drills taught by many Jeet Kune Do instructors, they emphasize constant training against moving and resisting partners rather than passive recipients.
The proponents of this approach do not carry on most of Lee’s original art. Indeed, they regard trapping techniques to be virtually useless against modern-day fighters. Instead of the kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling methods that are part of many Jeet Kune Do curricula, Functional Jeet Kune Do practitioners train in Western boxing, Thai boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, and Brazilian jujitsu. They believe that these training methods help students to become competent fighters more quickly than traditional approaches to Jeet Kune Do. As a result, they probably have more in common with students of mixed martial arts than with other Jeet Kune Do students.
There are undoubtedly practitioners who hold other interpretations of Jeet Kune Do, but these are the more prominent approaches practiced today. Proponents of each interpretation sincerely believe that they are following the path that Lee laid down.
part 2
getting started
IT TAKES A SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENT of time, energy, and usually money to study a martial art such as Jeet Kune Do. Although you can potentially learn useful self-defense skills in a short period of time, in order to gain proficiency in the art as a whole, you must be willing to make an investment of your resources. Hence, rather than dive in blindly, it makes sense for someone who is thinking about Jeet Kune Do to understand what to expect in a teacher and in his or her training.
In the next few chapters, we will take a look at how a prospective student can go about selecting an appropriate school or teacher. The task is not as simple as looking up a training facility in the phone book. We will also examine what a typical Jeet Kune Do class is like and what to expect during the first few months
