beginning JKD

[electroguy]

I am 15, and I have just read a book on JKD, and I want to learn it. But there are no experts or training facilities in the town I live in. How can I go about learning JKD?

-James Tunnell

[Paul Sharp]

James,
Where do you live?

Peace,
Paul Sharp

[electroguy]

I live in Snohomish, WA, which is near Everett, which is near Seattle (about an hour away).

[rage]

So u want to learn JKD? well JKD is based on Wing chun and many other styles. The concepts of wing chun and JKD are the same, both styles are based on simplictiy...maybe u can learn wing chun first then move on to JKD in the future.

[electroguy]

I checked listings, and no where in WA can I find a place to teach Wing Chun, and the nearest JKD school is an hour away. This wouldn't be problem if I could drive, but I'm 15. What I really want to know is, what is the best way to go about preparing myself (phsyically, mentally, etc.) to become a student of JKD? What kind of exercises and workouts would you advise? And what books should I read to familiarize myself with basic principles?

[Paul Sharp]

James,
I completely understand your situation. I think we can come up with a few options that will develop some serious attributes.

Are you on the wrestling team at your school? If not, why not? Wrestling will give you knowledge of conditioning, mobility on the ground, holding base and a good Top game. It also gives you the most important thing, a realistic view of your abilities. Some of the schools in my area also offer Greco-Roman training to their wrestlers in the off-season. If possible take advantage of that. Lots of people will say wrestlers give up their back too fast, so what, as long as you don't give up your neck you aren't in trouble. Don't worry about that for now. Just get some skills on the mat.

Most places also have a Police Athletic League or P.A.L. for short. Check the yellow pages or call your local Police Department and ask. You can alos look around for other local Boxing gyms. They usually don't charge much or you can work out a deal to pay your way. In the Standup game your worst nightmare is a good boxer. Boxing will give you Footwork, timing and more experience against a resisting opponent.

Your number one priority is too develop some serious athletic ability. You have too work on your endurance, strength and flexibility. If you get on the wrestling squad your coach will help you with that. A good boxing coach will also help with these things.

I don't know if I can recommend any books for instructional value. Most JKD books are entertaining at best.

Mentally you will get plenty of exercise digesting your ego If...., you get on the mat or in the ring.

If I could recommend any reading material I would say you should check out anything that causes you to examine yourself and your motivations. Ken Wilbur, Joseph Campbell, Krishnamurti and others have given me plenty of reasons to try and find a realistic view of myself and not the view I hope is realistic.

Hope this helps.
Peace,
Paul Sharp

[rage]

I understand how u feel as i cant find any JKD schools where i live..but i did find a wing chun school and as u know bruce lee learnt wing chun and from wing chun he combined it with many other martial arts to form JKD.

I have read The Tao of JKD by bruce Lee and i found it really interesting and exciting. The book talks about everything!! training, mind, body. I think it gives u a good insight of what JKD is about, after all he did create the form.

[Edited by rage on 02-03-2001 at 03:53 PM]

[MikeJKD]

Electro,
I think I may have written to you about this before, but let me make a few suggestions. Some truly awesome books out there are Paul Vunak's Jeet Kune Do; Concepts and Philosophies, and his killer Instinct package. The book may be out of print, but do some digging. It's worth it. Obviously, the Tao of JKD, and also Dan Inosanto's book Jeet Kune Do, the Art and Philosophy of Bruce Lee.

I think Paul Sharp has some excellent suggestions as well, and you'd do well to follow his advice. I know that kickboxing should be pretty common in your area as well, so look into it. I think all of us that are halfway serious about JKD probably train in five or six different places, so don't feel like you're not learning "real" JKD just because you're going all over the place to train. Heck, even when I trained at the Inosanto Academy, I was travelling to train with Paul Vunak, Tom Cruse, and others. Lots of diversity and experience are going to be your best tools for development.
Mike

[Decado]

Electro,

I would suggest that you get as many of Paul Vunak's JKD Street Fighting videos as you can. I am not sure what you finacial resources are but you may be able to talk your parents into getting them for for birthday or X-mas presents. (A girlfriend I had a while back bought me 3 for X-mas)

These videos are really good (I have most of them) and I think they will help you as long as you are willing to practice. I watched them many times before I flew out to train with Paul and MikeJKD and they really helped me out.

Best of luck!!

Decado