JKD HISTORY

        Jeet Kune Do translated, as "Way of the Intercepting Fist"


was Bruce Lee's personal expression of the martial arts. It is not bound by any one system nor is it meant to be a system. It is a philosophy and an ongoing process of self-discovery.After an infamous fight Bruce had with another martial arts master that he beat; he thought that the fight took too long and that Wing Chun had it's limitations. It is then that Bruce Lee formed a set system of progression called "Jun Fan Gung Fu". Jun Fan being Bruce Lee's Chinese name. He startet to combine Wing Chun with Western Boxing,  Savate, Jiu Jitsu.... As Lee would say "Absorb what is Useful and Discard the Rest".After conducting additional research and adding in some essential principles, strategies, and concepts Lee transformed Jun Fan Gung Fu into an entity he named "Jeet Kune Do". JKD follows concepts, philosophies, and principles. However everyone's "JKD" is different. As Bruce Lee's closest friend and protégé Dan Inosanto would say, "It's like trying to fit everyone into a size 42 coat. It will fit some but not others. People are made up of different sizes and attributes and what will work with some will not work for others." This is why everyone will find his or her own JKD.
Where as other Martial Art systems build on techniques, JKD strips away to simplicity. JKD can be compared to a sculptor chipping away at a rock to make a beautiful statue. JKD practioners train in an environment that helps them develop spontaneous and deceptive combat skills with an emphasis on adaptability. JKD is all about moving, shifting, kicking, punching, trapping, blocking, and parrying. It is a continuum of perpetual motion, yet there is a flow of stillness that encapsulates awareness, perceptiveness, and intuition making them among the most skilled practioners in the world.Unlike more traditional martial arts, Jeet Kune Do is not fixed or patterned, and is a philosophy with guiding thoughts.

Bruce Lee said:

I have not invented a "new style," composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from "this" method or "that" method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds. Remember that Jeet Kune Do is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see "ourselves". . . Jeet Kune Do is not an organized institution that one can be a member of. Either you understand or you don't, and that is that. There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Jeet Kune-Do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way. Jeet Kune-Do is simply the direct expression of one's feelings with the minimum of movements and energy. The closer to the true way of Kung Fu, the less wastage of expression there is. Finally, a Jeet Kune Do man who says Jeet Kune Do is exclusively Jeet Kune Do is simply not with it. He is still hung up on his self-closing resistance, in this case anchored down to reactionary pattern, and naturally is still bound by another modified pattern and can move within its limits. He has not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all molds; pattern and awareness is never exclusive. Again let me remind you Jeet Kune Do is just a name used, a boat to get one across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one's back.

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.

Lee believed that martial systems should be as flexible as possible. He often used water as an analogy for describing why flexibility is a desired trait in martial arts. Water is infinitely flexible. It can be seen through, and yet at other times it can obscure things from sight. It can split and go around things, rejoining on the other side, or it can crash through things. It can erode the hardest rocks by gently lapping away at them or it can flow past the tiniest pebble. Lee believed that a martial system should have these attributes. JKD students reject traditional systems of training, fighting styles and the Confucian pedagogy used in traditional kung fu schools because of this lack of flexibility. JKD is claimed to be a dynamic concept that is forever changing, thus being extremely flexible. "Absorb what is useful; Disregard that which is useless" is an often quoted Bruce Lee maxim. JKD students are encouraged to study every form of combat possible. This is believed to expand one's knowledge of other fighting systems; to both add to one's arsenal as well as to know how to defend against such tactics.

Economy of motion
Jeet Kune Do seeks to waste no time or movement, teaching that the simplest things work best. Economy of motion is the principle by which JKD practitioners achieve:

• Efficiency: An attack which reaches its target in the least amount of time, with maximum force.
• Directness: Doing what comes naturally in a learned way.
• Simplicity: Thinking in an uncomplicated manner; without ornamentation.

This is meant to help a practicioner conserve both energy and time; two crucial components in a physical confrontation. Maximized force seeks to end the battle quickly due to the amount of damage inflicted upon the opponent. Rapidity aims to reach the target before the opponent can react, which is half-beat faster timing, learned in Wing Chun and Western Boxing. Learned techniques are utilized in JKD to apply these principles to a variety of situations.

• Simultaneous parrying & punching

When confronting an incoming attack, the attack is parried or deflected and a counter attack is delivered at the same time. Not as advanced as a stop hit but more effective than blocking and counter attacking in sequence. This is also practiced by some Chinese martial arts. Simultaneous parrying & punching utilizes the principle of economy of motion by combining attack and defense into two movements thus minimizing the "time" element and maximizing the "energy" element. Efficiency is gained by utilizing a parry rather than a block. By definition a "block" stops an attack whereas a parry merely re-directs an attack. Redirection has two advantages: It requires less energy to execute. It utilizes the opponents energy against them by creating an imbalance. Efficiency is also gained in that the opponent has less time to react to the nullification of their attack while having to worry about defending an incoming attack.

• Low kicks

JKD practitioners believe they should target their kicks to their opponent's shins, knees, thighs, and mid section. These targets are the closest to the foot, provide more stability and are more difficult to defend against. However, as with all other JKD principles nothing is "written in stone". If a target of opportunity presents itself, even a target above the waist, one could take advantage of the situation without feeling hampered by this principle. Maintaining low kicks utilizes the principle of economy of motion by reducing the distance a kick must travel thus minimizing the "time" element. Low kicks are also more difficult to detect and thus guard against.

The four ranges of combat

• Kicking
• Punching
• Trapping
• Grappling

Jeet Kune Do students train in each of these ranges equally. According to Lee, this range of training serves to differentiate JKD from other martial arts. Lee stated that most but not all traditional martial systems specialize in training at one or two ranges. Bruce Lee's theories have been especially influential and substantiated in the field of Mixed Martial Arts, as the MMA Phases of Combat are essentially the same concept as the JKD combat ranges. As a historical note, the ranges in JKD have evolved over time. Initially the ranges were categorized as short or close, medium, and long range. These terms proved ambiguous and eventually evolved into their more descriptive forms although there may still be others who prefer the three categories.

Five ways of attack

• Simple Angular Attack (SAA)/Simple Direct Attack (SDA).Is a simple motion (Punch or Kick) which moves with no effort to conceal it, directly to the target on the most economical route. It can also be indirect, beginning on one line and ending on another. Such as a punch that starts to the stomach (mid line) and ends on the chin (high line). SAA is an attack that is launched from an unanticipated angle that is achieved by moving in such a way as to create an open line into which to strike.
• Attack By Combinations (ABC). This is using multiple rapid attacks, with volume of attack as a means of overcoming the opponent.
• Progressive Indirect Attack (PIA). Simulating an attack to one part of the opponent's body followed by attacking another part as a means of creating an opening.
• Hand Immobilization Attack (HIA) and its counterpart Foot Immobilization attack, which make use of trapping/parrying to limit the opponent's function with that appendage.
• Attack By Drawing (ABD). The goal when using attack by draw is to "draw" the opponent into a committed attack by baiting him into what looks like an exposed target, then intercepting his/her motion. One can execute a motion that invites a counter, then counter attack them as he takes the bait     

he centerline is an imaginary line drawn vertically along the center of a standing human body; and also refers to the space directly in front of that body. If we draw an isosceles triangle on the floor, for which our body forms the base, and our arms form the equal legs of the triangle, then h (height of the triangle) is that same centerline. The Wing Chun concept is to exploit, control and dominate an opponent's centerline. All attacks, defenses, and footwork are designed to guard your own centerline while entering your opponent's centerline space. Lee incorporated this theory into JKD from Wing Chun. The three guidelines for centerline are:

• The one who controls the centerline will control the fight.
• Protect and maintain your own centerline while you control and exploit your opponent's.
• Control the centerline by occupying it.

This notion is closely related to maintaining control of the center squares in the strategic game chess. The concept is obviously present in Xiangqi (Chinese chess), where an "X" is drawn on the game board, in front of both players' general and advisors.

Combat realism

One of the premises that Bruce Lee incorporated in Jeet Kune Do was "combat realism". He insisted that martial arts techniques should be incorporated based upon its effectiveness in real combat situations. This would differentiate JKD from other systems where there was an emphasis on "flowery technique" as Lee would put it. Lee claimed that flashy "flowery techniques" would arguably "look good" but were often not practical or prove ineffective in street survival and self-defense situations. This premise would also differentiate JKD from other "sport" oriented martial arts systems that where geared towards "tournament" or "point systems". Lee felt that these systems were "artificial" and fooled its practitioners into a false sense of true martial skill. Lee felt that because these systems favored a "sports" approach they incorporated too many rule sets that would ultimately handicap a practitioner in self defense situations. He also felt that this approach to martial arts became a "game of tag" which would lead to bad habits such as pulling punches and other attacks; this would again lead to disastrous consequences in real world situations. Because of this perspective Lee utilized safety gear from various other contact sports to allow him to spar with opponents "full out". This approach to training allowed practitioners to come as close as possible to real combat situations with a high degree of safety. Donn Draeger world renown martial arts pioneer was the first Westerner to bring widespread attention to the often cited “-do” versus “-jutsu” controversy. Historically the "do" or way arts were based on the "jutsu" or technique arts without what was deemed "dangerous techniques". The "do" arts such as Judo were thus seen as a "watered down" version of their "jutsu" counterparts such as Ju-Jutsu, a combat-tested martial art, and thus considered a sport. Lee objected to these "sport" versions of martial arts and instead emphasized combat realism.

Absorbing what is useful

This is the idea that a martial artist can only learn techniques in their proper context, through a holistic approach. Styles provide more than just techniques: They also offer training methods, theories, and mental attitudes. Learning these factors allows a student to experience a system in what Lee called its "totality". Only through learning a system completely will an artist be able to, "absorb what is useful," and discard the remainder. Real combat training situations allow the student to learn what works, and what doesn't. The critical point of this principle is that the choice of what to keep is based on personal experimentation with various opponents over time. It is not based on how a technique may look or feel, or how precisely the artist can mimic tradition. In the final analysis, if the technique is not beneficial in combat, it is discarded. Lee believed that only the individual could come to understand what worked; based on critical self analysis, and by, "honestly expressing oneself, without lying to oneself.".....