Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is the name Bruce Lee gave to his combat philosophy in 1967. 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. The metaphor Lee borrowed from Chan Buddhism was of constantly filling a cup with water, and then emptying it, used for describing Lee’s philosophy of “casting off what is useless”. He also used the sculptor’s mentality of beginning with a lump of clay and hacking away at the “unessentials”; the end result was what he considered to be the bare combat essentials, or JKD.
Bruce Lee, and thus JKD, was heavily influenced by Western boxing and fencing . Although the backbone concepts (such as centerline, 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. The claim is that they allowed him to “flow”, not to be stuck in stances. For instance, instead of using footwork to position the body for maximum fighting position vis-a-vis the opponent, JKD uses flowing “entries” that do not require “bridges” from Wing Chun.
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 fighter. 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 distinct form governed by laws that distinguish it from ‘this’ style or ‘that’ method. On the contrary, I hope to free my comrades from bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines.”
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. The metaphor Lee borrowed from Chan Buddhism was of constantly filling a cup with water, and then emptying it, used for describing Lee’s philosophy of “casting off what is useless”. He also used the sculptor’s mentality of beginning with a lump of clay and hacking away at the “unessentials”; the end result was what he considered to be the bare combat essentials, or JKD.
Bruce Lee, and thus JKD, was heavily influenced by Western boxing and fencing . Although the backbone concepts (such as centerline, 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. The claim is that they allowed him to “flow”, not to be stuck in stances. For instance, instead of using footwork to position the body for maximum fighting position vis-a-vis the opponent, JKD uses flowing “entries” that do not require “bridges” from Wing Chun.
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 fighter. 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 distinct form governed by laws that distinguish it from ‘this’ style or ‘that’ method. On the contrary, I hope to free my comrades from bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines.”
Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do Quotes
- “The usefulness of a cup is its emptiness”. – Be prepared to accept new knowledge and not be hindered or biased by old knowledge.
- “Using no way as way”. – Don’t have preconceived notions about anything.
- “Having no limitation as limitation”. – Don’t be confined by anything, achieve true freedom.
- “From form to formless and from finite to infinite”. – Don’t be confined by limitations and forms.
- "The consciousness of 'self' is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action" – This is actually a Zen or Chan maxim which means to 'be in the moment' and NOT be distracted by your own thought process. The Zen quote is: “If you seek it, you will NOT find it”. The 'Western' counterpart to this is the term “Being in the Zone”.
- “If people say Jeet Kune Do is different from 'this' or from 'that', then let the name of Jeet Kune Do be wiped out, for that is what it is, just a name. Please don’t fuss over it.” – Don’t get hung up on labels and parameters. JKD is alive and therefore always changing; don’t try to box it in.
- ” To reach me, you must move to me. Your attack offers me an opportunity to intercept you." – Lee explaining the principal of interception to Duke Paige from the television show Longstreet.
- ” Empty your mind. Be like water. Put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. Put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. Put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, it can creep, drip or crash! Be water, my friend.” – Lee explaining the principle of being like water in a Hong Kong television interview.
JKD KAli
Kali (also known as Eskrima or Arnis) is one of many traditional Filipino weapons based martial arts which are being constantly modified and added to. We use the term Kali in our JKD-Kali to encompass our use of a blend of Filipino Martial Arts, these being from many different backgrounds & sources.
Such as our weapon based “Kali”, grappling based “Dumog” styles, the “Mano a Mano” empty hand systems.
This allows us to blend together many Filipino fighting styles in a true JKD fashion, by striping away the non essential & refining what we learn for use in the over all application of our art. The primary weapon for this art is the rattan (bamboo) stick, but we also train with knives, swords, kubotan & other improvised weapons.
Such as our weapon based “Kali”, grappling based “Dumog” styles, the “Mano a Mano” empty hand systems.
This allows us to blend together many Filipino fighting styles in a true JKD fashion, by striping away the non essential & refining what we learn for use in the over all application of our art. The primary weapon for this art is the rattan (bamboo) stick, but we also train with knives, swords, kubotan & other improvised weapons.
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