What is Jeet Kune Do?
Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is a hybrid combat system developed by martial arts icon Bruce Lee, whose legendary fighting talent shot this pint-sized phenomenon to fame in the 1970's. Trained in classical Chinese fighting disciplines, Wing Chun and boxing, Bruce diligently worked through these systems, but went on to develop his own style of fighting known as Jeet Kune Do or, The Way of the Intercepting Fist.
Favoring simple, unassuming forms with seamless chic movements applied at super speed to affect maximum impact, JKD took a bold step away from the exclusively rational (and largely unrealistic) approach of traditional styles. Although not developed as an improvement on Wing Chun or his other training, JKD became an exception which bested the rules from which it had evolved, and done so by virtue of its multiple fighting disciplines and the resulting intuitive adaptability which characterizes it. Its efficacy when applied in real life scenarios created JKD's definitive point of difference; this being that it was functional for real-life street fighting, since it operated beyond the limits of traditional training of the day.
Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is a hybrid combat system developed by martial arts icon Bruce Lee, whose legendary fighting talent shot this pint-sized phenomenon to fame in the 1970s. Trained in classical Chinese fighting disciplines, Wing Chun and boxing, Bruce diligently worked through these systems, but went on to develop his own style of fighting known as Jeet Kune Do or, The Way of the Intercepting Fist.
Favoring simple, unassuming forms with seamless chic movements applied at super speed to affect maximum impact, JKD took a bold step away from the exclusively rational (and largely unrealistic) approach of traditional styles. Although not developed as an improvement on Wing Chun or his other training, JKD became an exception which bested the rules from which it had evolved, and done so by virtue of its multiple fighting disciplines and the resulting intuitive adaptability which characterizes it. Its efficacy when applied in real life scenarios created JKD's definitive point of difference; this being that it was functional for real-life street fighting, since it operated beyond the limits of traditional training of the day.
Formidable Formless Fighting
Bruce referred to JKD as the "style with no style" and the "art of fighting without fighting" with an emphasis on his philosophy of "formlessness", and even designed an emblem to represent Jeet Kune Do (shown above).
The JKD symbol (shown above) is comprised of The Taijitu ("diagram of supreme ultimate") representing yin and yang energies (tying into the JKD principle of balancing extremities) with the Chinese characters encircling it roughly translating to mean: "Using no way as way" and "Having no limitation as limitation"
HOW CROSS-TRAINING BECAME POPULAR WHEN KUNG FU WAS MODIFIED
JKD stems from Bruce's diverse martial arts training which included:
- WU STYLE TAI CHI CHUAN (as instructed by his father Lee Hoi-Cheun)
- WING CHUN GUNG FU (under Sifu Yip Man from ages 13 to 18)
- BOXING (under tutorage of Brother Edwards at St. Francis Xavier's College High School)
JKD's philosophy of adaptability defines the best fighter as one who is able to alter his style to a given situation without being encumbered by the disciplines of traditional schools of fighting of the day. It was a revolutionary break from classical training that resulted in Jeet Kune Do becoming the trailblazer that popularized mixed martial arts cross-training, setting the trend of things to come.
Added to this mix, was his love of dancing and Bruce Lee's particular "get-real" street take on combat, which resulted in a catalytic antidote to the stale "been-there-done-that" linear approaches of classical schools of fighting of his day; (styles which, in fact, were not really holding up against the rough-and-tumble realities of street fighting.) Bruce Lee had loads of street "cred" and street smarts but, that wasn't where his savvy ended. He was a star student of Yip Man's school of Wing Chun Gung Fu (despite being marginalized by other students due to his mixed ancestry). He also managed to bag an inter-school Boxing Championship in high school and, in the same year, won the Hong Kong Cha Cha Dancing Championship in 1958.
BOARDS DON'T KICK BACK
"Boards don't kick back!" Bruce Lee.
Acing those contests were commendable accomplishments, each with its own particular value to impress upon the later creation of JKD. But, let's not ignore Bruce's wild side which frequently got him caught up in brawls with rivals and gangs in the streets of Hong Kong. There's no disputing the influence that these experiences had on Bruce and ultimately Jeet Kune Do.
His famous quip: "Boards don't kick back", still hits the funny bone today, but we cannot dispute that this quote stems from a realistic stock-taking of the shortcomings of the formal martial arts training of his day as weighed up against the gritty street brawling encounters of Bruce Lee's youth. This reality check is a driving precept at the heart of the JKD philosophy, and provided a tangible starting point for his concept of Combat Realism, a founding principle of JKD.
His wilder experiences had a definitive impact on JKD, in fact, had it not been for an incident in which Bruce butt-kicked a member of the notorious triad gang with shameful efficacy, his folks may never have decided to ship him out of the Hong Kong heat and off to San Francisco, where JKD would eventually be born in 1965.
Seize and Negate
Translated, Jeet Kune Do means "Way of the Intercepting Fist" and this "intercepting" is a key precept to mastering Bruce Lee's combat style. Whether intercepting an opponent's attack or intent - your aim is to seize and negate the strike or intent with:
- Maximum Speed
- Nominal Movement
- Optimal Impact
JKD defines four ranges of combat which are applied to different situations to intercept an opponent's attack. These ranges are:
- Kicking
- Punching
- Trapping
- Grappling
Each range is aimed at a different collection of situations, and in training, equal attention is given to each range. Jeet Kune Do also emphasizes a need for fluid transition from one range to another, as a situation evolves.
Fundamentals of JKD
The official take on the fundamentals of Jeet Kune Do according to BruceLee.com is:
- Efficiency: movement, energy and time.
- Directness: natural and instinctual responses, avoiding excess and unnecessary deviation of focus in attack.
- Simplicity: based on the Wing Chun premise that the simplest approach is best.
And, according to my unofficial take:
- Fluidity: by mimicking the fluid adaptability of water, Bruce Lee advocates an intuitive flexibility of mind and technique, which ultimately leads to greater efficacy in fighting.
Considering Bruce's consistent reference to "formlessness" and the necessity of instinctual response as opposed to conditioned reaction in combat, this adjustability would seem an important precept of JKD, if not the most pertinent of its intrinsic dynamics and is masterfully demonstrated in this inspirational YouTube tribute to Bruce Lee.
Principles of JKD
These fundamentals are easily identified in the principles of JKD which include:
1. The Straight Lead Punch (Directness)
The Straight Lead is a strike which is more about speed than power. Velocity results from the fist being held out somewhat, positioning it closer to the target while the accuracy comes from the punch getting shot straight forward from your centerline.
"The leading straight punch is the backbone of all punching in Jeet Kune Do." Bruce Lee
2. Non-classicism (Directness, Simplicity)
This principle encourages the student to lose the constraints of rigid traditional stances and unrealistic footwork which do not fit into real life fighting scenarios and also to not subscribe to pre-programmed textbook responses.
3. Non-Telegraphic Punching (Efficiency)
This is all about the element of surprise and an effective Non-Telegraphic punch requires that there is no telltale sign given of the blow you're about to deliver to "smack-down" your opponent - not a twitch, not a tensing, not even a breath of a clue to your opponent in fact!
"The concept behind this is that when you initiate your punch without any forewarning, such as tensing your shoulders or moving your foot or body, the opponent will not have enough time to react." Bruce Lee
4. Flexibility (Fluidity)
By remaining flexible (adaptable in your mental approach and fighting style) you are able to adapt to any given scenario with what works best in a given situation. JKD advocates losing the rigidity in your approach to fighting, in your mental bearing and your application of the fighting method and is perfectly illustrated in this famous quote:
"Empty your mind; be formless, shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. That water can flow, or it can crash. Be water my friend." Bruce Lee
5. Economy of Motion (Efficiency, Directness & Simplicity)
JKD promotes an efficiency of movement, energy and time based on Wing Chun's principle of the simplest approach being the best. By constant mindfulness of this economy of motion, the JKD practitioner masters the fundamentals of efficiency, directness and simplicity. To achieve this economy of motion, a JKD practitioner strives to simultaneously realize:
- Minimal Mobility
- Maximum Impact
- Optimal Velocity
6. Low Kicks (Directness, Efficiency, Simplicity)
Like Wing Chun, JKD advocates low kicks directed at an opponents shins, knees, thighs and mid-section. This also applies the economy of movement principle as targets are closest to the foot.
7. Balancing of Extremities (Fluidity, Directness)
JKD advocates the balancing of extremes, thereby neutralizing an attack of specific force by applying counter force which will neutralize it. So softness is countered with hardness, domination is countered with yielding.
8. The Centerline Advantage (Directness, Efficiency)
Another principle originating from Wing Chun, the centerline can be determined by positioning the feet astride to form the base of an isosceles triangle, and then imagining a line which dissects the body from the center point on top of the head (through the mid-section) to a point on the ground, positioned directly between the feet. The principle provides that:
- To control the centerline is to control the fight
- Occupy the centerline in order to control it
- Guard and hold your centerline while exploiting/dominating/throwing the opponent's.
9. Combat Realism (Simplicity, Directness)
Lee insisted that combat techniques should be based on how they held up in real life situations.
10. Absorbing What Is Useful (Fluidity)
This clip from JKDbodyweapon.com gives a super demonstration illustrating the principles of JKD in action.
Sources:
Images
Bruce Lee Dancing the Cha-Cha Image from Thisisnotporn.net
Bruce Lee Boxing image from Kampforum.no
Bruce Lee training with Yip Man from Wingchunarnis.wordpress.com
Jeet Kune Do Symbol - Amag.org.uky & Wikipedia.org
Video Clips:
How to Use JKD Q8 by Master Wong - Jkdbodyweapon.com
Information Sources:
Wikipedia.org
Brucelee.com
Principles of JKD Ideology - Jeetkunedoindia.tripod.com
Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do - Bruceleefoundation.com
The Hidden Structure in Bruce's JKD - Jkdmartialarts.com
