Philisophical JKD

[Heijutsu]

From everything I have read, it seems to me that Bruce Lee's JKD was more of a philisophical art than a physical one. Did Bruce really want people to study what worked best for him? Or explore the various arts for themselves then pick what worked best for them? Having been someone who has studied JKD I feel it has some gaps at least for me. What do you guys think?

[sikal]

Re: Philisophical JKD

Originally posted by Heijutsu
From everything I have read, it seems to me that Bruce Lee's JKD was more of a philisophical art than a physical one. Did Bruce really want people to study what worked best for him? Or explore the various arts for themselves then pick what worked best for them? Having been someone who has studied JKD I feel it has some gaps at least for me. What do you guys think?

I make no claims to be a JKD guy ... but here's my personal take on it.

JKD is a philosophy ... period. Jun Fan is the physical foundation upon which one's personal JKD is built. For some people, the Jun Fan methods that Bruce developed are enough. For others, they need other elements ... but they still start with a firm foundation in the Jun Fan method.

Just my take, Mike

[Maxximus]

If you feel that your training has certain gaps that need to be filled, I feel that you owe it to yourself to see what else is out there and fill those gaps, regardless of how this might pertain to JKD (I don't feel that most people in the JKD community see this as wrong anyway). As for JKD as philosophical versus physical, this is one of the biggest paradoxes to be debated about JKD. JKD was definitely always intended as a philosophical, fluid outlook on training rather than a classical indoctrinated style, but at the same time the physical avenue through which Bruce tried to materialize JKD to his students was by teaching them JUN FAN! Perhaps he would've changed that had he lived longer...during his life his martial arts path evolved and went in different directions as he matured. Or perhaps he would not have. Who knows? It's all speculation and there is really no one who could answer that question but Bruce himself. With Bruce dead, I feel that it is really up to those of us who are left with JKD to determine an answer for ourselves. Let's face it, he's gone and his work was left incomplete in many ways. So now JKD must move on and find its answers and further evolution without his guidance. No great martial art has ever been based solely upon the work of one man alone. Why should JKD be any different?

Now here's my personal opinion on the matter: martial arts exists on a physical as well as a philosophical/mental level. If you want to truly understand any martial path, you need some level at which you not only have a philosophical understanding of the concept, but you also have a physical ability/medium to materialize those concepts. If you have a mental concept and philosophy but no clearly distinct physical expression of it, then you really don't know what you're doing. While Bruce was conceptualizing about JKD, the physical embodiment of it that he developed and taught were his own techniques (Jun Fan). So if your goal is to learn the way of JKD, you must have a good knowledge of Jun Fan. That doesn't in mean that you must be bound by the Jun Fan method (let's face it...the techniques of Jun Fan by themselves is far from complete)...it doesn't even mean that you have to stick to the Jun Fan technical approach in fighting. JKD is still a philosophical art, not a classical style. But Jun Fan is the language that embodied and materialized many of the important concepts behind JKD. If you understand the purpose behind the technique, then you understand the concept and philosophy. For example, a few important concepts in the JKD philosophy are directness/efficiency and interception. Now...for the physical translation of these ideas, study the use of the Jun Fan straight lead! See what I'm saying? I feel that once you have that base understanding, THEN you can create your own physical expression of JKD through mediums other than Jun Fan. But the closest way for one to get a good grasp of JKD as Bruce conceived it remains in the study of Jun Fan as somewhat of a base or reference point (no pun intended). You don't have to be a slave to Jun Fan in order to express JKD, but at the same time, to just study several random styles of MA at your own discretion and then say that you've "absorbed what is useful" and have a firm understanding of Jeet Kune Do is complete nonsense.

[gungfuhero]

I believe that one can practice their own JKD without studying Jun Fan. Granted, it would be hard, but I think that with the right training regimine one could learn the five ways of attack, economy of motion and the importance of an understanding of range. It is my opinion that Bruce Lee taught Jun Fan (sometimes he even refered to it as JKD because he was refering to his own path of research and development) to his students so that they could see what JKD was as it pretained to him so that they could then learn what JKD was for themselves. I believe that is pretty much the same thing that Paul Vunak, Burton Richardson and Matt Thornton are doing. They teach their expression so that their students can have an idea of what they are looking for.


By the way, the Gateway Inosanto camp was awesome! It was an excellent learning experience and great training.

[Maxximus]

gungfuhero's point also sounds very valid. As I said before, everyone must decide for themselves what path is best. Who says there can only be one right answer? As long as you are learning under a good JKD instructor, you can have faith that you are being pointed towards JKD. The fact that we have great JKD men who focus on Jun Fan AND great JKD men who do not proves that both ways are correct

[Heijutsu]

I gotta say Thanks! The posts so far have been great and positive. I have to admit I expected a little more negativity, maybe I'm just used to all the bickering I see on other lists. Thank you all for you honesty. Keep them coming.

[dwoolman]

I know theres more to it but:
Jeet Kune Do is based upon the simplest fastest way to end a fight, every movement and thought has a purpose and is kept to the absolute minimum. In some ways this would be saying JKD is the ultimate self defense but then again JKD is just a way of thinking. Jun Fan is the foundations but if you study hard enough at any style you can apply JKD principles to it.