Functional JKD

[Troll Virus]

I don't know if you want to start that old debate of what JKD is and hopefully get everyone chiming in and causing a fuss. It doesn't matter because the point will always remain true. Matt Thorton does not teach Bruce Lee's personal expression of martial arts.(Jeet Kune Do, JKD) Matt teaches others his personal expression of martial arts that he got from following Bruce's ideals and concepts. So if anything, Matt should be calling his expression something else, not banking on what all those people in the early 90's did, and taking the easyway out in declaring himself as being a Jeet Kune Do instructor. Matt should be willing to let his expression of martial arts stand the scrutiny/praise of others by standing by itself instead of hiding behind the name JKD. That doesn't mean that Matt shouldn't espouse others to use Bruce's ideals and concepts to better themselves. He just shouldn't bank on a name that's not his personal expression of martial arts.

LOL.
Didn't someone once say "The name is not the thing"?

If Matt, and others like him, could prove, statistically, that wearing PINK had a positive affect in RBSD, then not only would they adopt it, but they would patent their own particular shade.
There would then, no doubt, ensue a series of costly seminars on 'PINKNESS' (pat pending).

[7r14ngL3Ch0k3]

quick question

What are the martial arts used in RBSD? Is a blend between FMA's, BJJ, wrestling, boxing, and thaiboxing? Or what?

[doubleouch]

RBSD- Invite all your friends to the gym. Everyone bring 2 six packs. Drink the beer. Invite the girlfriends over and start hitting on them. Fight. Someone remember to call the police halfway through. There you have it in a nutshell.

MMA,
maybe you should call Matt and tell him? I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing from you. Get back to the gym and quit trashing someone you don't know.

[MMA Apostate]

RBSD- Invite all your friends to the gym. Everyone bring 2 six packs. Drink the beer. Invite the girlfriends over and start hitting on them. Fight. Someone remember to call the police halfway through. There you have it in a nutshell.

MMA,
maybe you should call Matt and tell him? I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing from you. Get back to the gym and quit trashing someone you don't know.

Stating that he does not teach Bruce Lee's personal expression of martial arts, but markets as if he does is not trash talking it's stating the obvious.

And I have walked into Matt's Straight Blast Gym in Portland, Oregon off MLK and I conversed with the man behind the counter about fighting and what was taught there at the gym. And get this, I had to inform the man behind the counter what a straight blast was and why it was applied by Bruce. He had no idea, and then he told me that classes like that were not taught there. It was just Sport MMA.

Yeah...so with my face to face research of Matt's gym I came to the conclusion that what he markets about being JKD is not true. It's just like any other MMA gym in my neighborhood. Actually, There's another place acouple of miles south on the same street that actually teaches(Jun Fan) JKD, Kali, BJJ, boxing, and kickboxing. They're called NW Fighting Arts. My observation,was that the teachers were very proffesional, humble, and produced great results in getting there students to obsorb and apply what was being taught to them. And they don't feel it necessary as being known as bringing Functional JKD to the people. Nor are there advertising of what they are about misleading.

[Thai Bri]

JKD is not restricted to Bruce Lee's personal interpretation of fighting. It is an ideal by which we are all supposed to apply in our own way.

Are we clear?

[MMA Apostate]

JKD is not restricted to Bruce Lee's personal interpretation of fighting. It is an ideal by which we are all supposed to apply in our own way.

Are we clear?

Wrong.

JKD is what Bruce named his personal expression of MA. Which he later regreted doing. It was the means that led him to create his own way of fighting that he wanted others to pay attention to. Not the name. People who would really look into Bruce's work would realise this.

Here are clips of someone expressing themselves through Bruce Lee's martial art http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBTM6_l-Gdk and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC1NtJmoBws

Now here's Matt's trailer to his Functional JKD dvd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAatMyvtQxM

Now as you compare video clips you can see that Matt is clearly expressing himself through his own martial arts not Bruce's. However, he still seems to want to use the name of Bruce's art to help sell dvds.

[doubleouch]

MMA,
I spent a few years training at the school across town that you mentioned. I even taught there. SBG is light years ahead of that place. You are right about the instructor there though. Jeff is a great guy.


You are correct though that we don't teach the JKD straight blast at the gym. I can say that nobody at SBG cares one bit about the term JKD and what you call what we do. It's only people outside of the gym that seem to have a problem with it. If you polled 50 people at our gym and asked about JKD I think you would find out that most have no idea, nor do they care about all the controversy. I've been with Matt for about 5 years and have never even heard the term JKD used or spoken by anyone at the gym. I know Matt personally believes that what he is doing meets Bruce's definition of JKD, but he doesn't have a hard on about it. Frankly, he has moved on. The argument doesn't intrest anyone in SBG anymore. If someone has a problem with it they don't have to buy the videos. It's all good.

[MMA Apostate]

Doubleouch,

If he has disconnected himself from "JKD" in his teachings, as you say he has done. Then why does he still espouses that he does "JKD"?

Answer?: To sell DVD's to those who don't know the difference between JKD, Bruce Lee's concepts and MMA

IMHO, Matt just brought a philosophy (Aliveness) to MMA. There's nothing wrong with that, however he does not espouse Bruce Lee's personal expression of MA(JKD) so he shouldn't sell it to others that he does.

On a side note. A place that is named after Bruce's move "Straight Blast" but doesn't teach it... Sounds like a bait and switch place to me. Which takes me back to my original argument that Matt is a business man and a marketing expert.

[Thai Bri]

I guess nobody "does" JKD then, since Bruce Lee is dead.

[doubleouch]

Well MMA,
I'm sure you know Matt better than me having never met him and spending a grand total of 15 minutes in the gym. Your ignorance is showing. I'm done with this thread. If you are in the area you are welcome to come in and try a class though. I teach monday nights. Matt is there most thursday nights.

[MMA Apostate]

I guess nobody "does" JKD then, since Bruce Lee is dead.

If I had a gold star I'd stick one on your forhead. You're right no one expresses themselves like Bruce did in his art JKD. Alot of people try to go down the same road as Bruce. Wanting to have the same body structure, speed, power, delivery system, ect, and those people do, for the most part, train in JKD.

The Matt's of the world followed Bruce's "principles/concepts" to develop themselves into there own unique well rounded fighter. However, the end result when someone takes this path is not JKD(Jeet Kune Do). It's there own personal expression of MA.

And to Doubleouch,
Matt is a business man and marketing expert. He does not teach people JKD even though he markets as if he does. And yes, after researching SBGi and looking at the facts. I have come to the personal conclusion that SBGi is just a Sport MMA gym with a philosophy. Sure I'm not buddy buddy with Matt like you are, but maybe that's the reason why I can clearly see these things and you choose not to. I don't doubt that you are a good friend to Matt(Your Employer) and you are willing to stick up for him. However, that doesn't mean what I have written on this subject is incorrect.

[b.h20s]

i was wondering if anybody here has ever sparred with boxers in 16 oz gloves wing chun trapping is almost impossible any advice other than striking first to someone with jeet kune do training vs. good weastern boxers when out boxing thems almost impossible

[gungfuhero]

I don't know what terms are and aren't used in the gym itself, but SBG propaganda is most frequently used within a context of being an alternative to the JKD camps rather than simply relying on its own merits. It always seems to be in reference to JKD or being compared to JKD in the way that it is promoted. JKD web formums, compared to JKD in advertisements, the DVD's are called "Funcitonal JKD," etc. As a separate branch of martial arts, all the luck to them, but they do not function independently of JKD with their promotion.

[Troll Virus]

Can you show me an example of a WC guy attempting to trap a boxer while wearing 16oz gloves?

Can you show me an example of what happens when a boxer tries to hit someone who doesn't fight to the rules of boxing?

I think in all honesty, Matt T would never diss Inosanto, nor Lee, but once he'd made that clear, he'd be analysing which seminar attendees were the most affluent.
That's not a criticism in the great scheme of things, as I don't think the aforementioned would be any different.
I do think they had/have a lot more to offer though.

[Calv1n]

Jesus why dont you just go train....I think Bruce Lee or Dan Inosanto would like you to work on having a better cross then debating what is and what is not JKD. In the grand scheme of things, why does it really matter?