Deluxe Martial Arts Forums - View Single Post

Maxximus · 12-03-2000, 07:28 AM

Nowadays, with everyone and their grandmother crosstraining to find the most effective all around strategy for themselves, whether or not you term it "Jeet Kune Do" seems to be a moot point.

I hate to say it, but I've come to see JKD as something systemized. Think about it...although JKD is supposed to be strictly an idea or concept, not just anyone can think along the lines of JKD and call himself a JKD man without a bunch of actually affiliated JKD guys jumping on his back. For someone to be characterized as a JKD man nowadays, he'd have to be a freestyle artist with background and training in a JKD curriculum, which involves training under a JKD certified instructor. If you do not have a background in Jun Fan martial arts or Filipino arts or Muay Thai, PFS or a combination of all the above, you probably will not be considered a JKD man by anyone. So you can argue that JKDC has been systemized. Thankfully enough, it has not become stylized since it is still a freestyle type of training and provides a great amount of freedom for the individual practitioners and instructors. But as for the OJKD and whatnot, they have gone as far as stylizing JKD which kinda kills the entire idea, IMO. When you get right down to it, JKD was meant to be nothing more than a simple idea that makes lots of sense. There is really no need to adorn it with a fancy sounding term like "The Way of the Intercepting Fist" and a bunch of poetic passages from the Tao Te Ching. JKD is not an idea that says you have to use Bruce Lee's personal strategy and techniques (Jun Fan). It is simply training with a freestyle mentality without limiting yourself to the confines of one particular strategy and finding the most direct and effective methods for you yourself to win quick. There are now, and have probably always been warriors and martial artists everywhere training in this fashion. Whether you call it JKD, vale tudo, mixed martial arts, or whatever really doesn't matter. Therefore, you don't really need the term JKD at all, do you? I think that was a key point Bruce was trying to make with his philosophy, but unfortunately a lot of people didn't get it. When you think about it, perhaps Bruce didn't fully comprehend the very idea that he was getting at. That's why he at first had to attach some kind of label to it by terming it "Jeet Kune Do". When he finally realized what he himself truly meant, he then regretted coining the term to begin with.

Basically, the only thing that makes something specifically JKD (rather than just freestyle practical fighting in general) is its connection to the training methods, techniques and direct influence of Bruce Lee. JKD is basically an institution. Who cares? I like being a part of that institution.

12-03-2000, 07:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
Maxximus Novice Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 216	I tend to agree with you... Nowadays, with everyone and their grandmother crosstraining to find the most effective all around strategy for themselves, whether or not you term it "Jeet Kune Do" seems to be a moot point. I hate to say it, but I've come to see JKD as something systemized. Think about it...although JKD is supposed to be strictly an idea or concept, not just anyone can think along the lines of JKD and call himself a JKD man without a bunch of actually affiliated JKD guys jumping on his back. For someone to be characterized as a JKD man nowadays, he'd have to be a freestyle artist with background and training in a JKD curriculum, which involves training under a JKD certified instructor. If you do not have a background in Jun Fan martial arts or Filipino arts or Muay Thai, PFS or a combination of all the above, you probably will not be considered a JKD man by anyone. So you can argue that JKDC has been systemized. Thankfully enough, it has not become stylized since it is still a freestyle type of training and provides a great amount of freedom for the individual practitioners and instructors. But as for the OJKD and whatnot, they have gone as far as stylizing JKD which kinda kills the entire idea, IMO. When you get right down to it, JKD was meant to be nothing more than a simple idea that makes lots of sense. There is really no need to adorn it with a fancy sounding term like "The Way of the Intercepting Fist" and a bunch of poetic passages from the Tao Te Ching. JKD is not an idea that says you have to use Bruce Lee's personal strategy and techniques (Jun Fan). It is simply training with a freestyle mentality without limiting yourself to the confines of one particular strategy and finding the most direct and effective methods for you yourself to win quick. There are now, and have probably always been warriors and martial artists everywhere training in this fashion. Whether you call it JKD, vale tudo, mixed martial arts, or whatever really doesn't matter. Therefore, you don't really need the term JKD at all, do you? I think that was a key point Bruce was trying to make with his philosophy, but unfortunately a lot of people didn't get it. When you think about it, perhaps Bruce didn't fully comprehend the very idea that he was getting at. That's why he at first had to attach some kind of label to it by terming it "Jeet Kune Do". When he finally realized what he himself truly meant, he then regretted coining the term to begin with. Basically, the only thing that makes something specifically JKD (rather than just freestyle practical fighting in general) is its connection to the training methods, techniques and direct influence of Bruce Lee. JKD is basically an institution. Who cares? I like being a part of that institution. __________________ "Son, we're not saying that there's anything wrong with you...but its just that NORMAL boys your age DON'T spend all day lifting weights and learning how to choke people to death!"