Questions without answers

[Silent]

Hello everyone. This is my first time posting here. I was wondering if you guys could answer a few questions for me, but first some backround on me.

I started taking Martial Arts when I was around the age of 6 and have been taking it ever since for 7 years. I practice the art of Ching Shan Gong Fu. It is an offshoot of Wah Lum Tan Tui Tong Long, or Flower Forest Springing Leg Praying Mantis and Shaolin Five Animals. It has been modified with principles drawn from Ba Gua Zhang. My Sifu is the founder and the only person who teaches it.

I have been interested for a while in checking out other Martial Arts and I have heard alot about Jeet Kune Do. It sounds very interesting and I was wondering if someone would mind explaining it to me. I know the basic concept; that the only boundary is no boundaries and so on. Thanks to anyone that responds.

-Silent

[moe_eubleck]

Hmm interesting question. I guess I'll step up to the plate and try to answer it.
Jkd is a very young martial art. Its not thousands of years old, nor was intended to be used on an ancient battlefield, fighting off horsemen . spears and swords.
Therefore the techniques in JKD are intended for use in a modern setting. Like on the street or in a bar or what have you.
The beautiful thing about JKD is the fact that it keeps evolving with the times, Unlike some forms of kung fu which havent changed in the last 500 years.
Each jkd instructor seems to stick to the Bruce's philosophies but each have also added elements that Bruce just hadnt studied yet
Like Brazillian Jujutsu. I think if Bruce were alive today he would be very enthusiastic about it because of its proven effectiveness.
The whole idea is basically to simplify. To cut down all the unessary movements and just get down to what combat is really all about. Its about instinct and self expression.
I hope that helps ya!! IF ya want better info then go to any bookstore and open up some JKD books. I spend hours in bookstores myself just absorbing everything I can! I always take something home with me and I never even have to purchase anything. yeah yeah so im kinda gehtto!:P

[Ryu (JKD?)]

Hi Silent,
Here is my take on it.

JKD, as Bruce wanted it, was a way of self-evaluating yourself and your fighting ability. The only way to do that physically is through realistic and "alive" training. You have to test your abilities with someone who is strong and is resisting you 100%. In order to have any idea how you'd fair in a real fight, you have to A. Compete, B. Fight or C. Spar and train with resistence. Not everyone wants to compete. In order to do that you have to spend much of your time preparing and have an absolute devotion for it to do well. Fighting on the street is illegal, not to mention the moral and emotional aspects that kind of lifestyle would bring. So many JKD instructors and practitioners (or at least most of them SHOULD) train with complete aliveness and spar on a regular basis. And that means you put on gloves, headgear, and go at it with your partner. There shouldn't really be many rules. You should fight in every range and try to take the fight to ranges you feel you're good at. So you box, kick, clinch, grapple, throw, takedown, ground and pound, go for submissions, knife fight, stick fight, etc.
This kind of sparring and training is very demanding and you can really only do it with someone you trust a great deal.

This will give you a very real understanding of the truths of combat and how you as YOURSELF can do within those truths.
You learn quick that there's always tougher guys then you, and murphy's law can come into play a lot of times as well. You learn quick that martial arts doesn't make you superman. It's a very humbling type of realization. Keeps your ego in check too.
Bruce said once "kicks and punches aren't tools to knock the hell out of the other guy, but tools to knock the hell out of your own ego."

the spiritual aspects of JKD are again about self-realization, and understanding of the world around you. You can use the same philosophies of JKD for life as well. However realize that "absorbing what is useful, rejecting what is useless" can be done within JKD itself... Don't blindly follow things... strive to understand them. "Absorb what's useful, reject what's useless, and add what is specifically your own." are powerful words to me. To really delve into that means that you have to really delve into yourself, and understand your deepest emotions. And just as JKD changes and evolves, so do you.

Anyway, that's my take on it. Hope that's not too "mumbo jumbo" for ya

Take care,
Ryu