7:10 I hear that. What Bruce Lee taught was watered down in translation. His direct students brought us his JUN FAN GUNG FU. They know that the big idea is to have a good understanding of Bruce’s methods. Beyond that. We are instructed to branch out n move on. Interception can be done any way you like. That’s the fun of it. We do have a curriculum. It is an art. If you’ve been sold out by a CERTIFICATE CHASER, you’ll find yourself digging the music without ever really considering if the materials work well or not? For instance. The JKD PAK SAO. We use BUI SAO (pak sao and BUI GEE to enter. We have 5 ways of attack. Bruce’s art was made for everybody, not just the people who HAD THE PRIVILEGE to learn directly from BRUCE. ❤😂
The looking for similarities between different schools and approaches to JKD is what Bruce did with all martial arts. He was, in my mind, the first-or certainly the most successful-martial SCIENTIST. The science was how he researched and analyzed the commonalities between various martial methods; learning what made something work regardless of what, where, or whom it came from then distilling his findings into a set of physical/philosophical principles initially called Jun Fan Gung Fu, the core “system” on which JKD was built. The ART, since we’re talking about martial arts, is how you use that system and its principles to develop your own approach, i.e. absorbing what is useful, discarding what is useless, adding what is specifically your own. The essential problem, however, with blending a pragmatic, scientific approach with an individualistic, creative one is that, as Bruce said, once someone finds something that’s true for them, the tendency is to turn it into the “gospel truth” for everyone. Because, hey, if it’s useful for me it should be useful for you, right? And since what I’m doing is “scientific” and empirically right, then anyone who’s not doing the same thing is empirically wrong. Yeaaah…is it any mystery why the founder left the name Jeet Kune Do behind and walked on?
So many master in chinese martial say "I don't want to name a style after me" And what do their students right after the master dies ? Name the style by the master's name, codify everything and let no room for inovation x)
You made my day when you stated that we cannot replicate JKD as expressed by Bruce Lee because we don't have his attributes. No idea how many times I've said this. Thank you for your insight, honesty and attempt at clearing and clarifying misconceptions. Concise and very weel thought out.
The thought that we can't do jkd s we don't have his attributes?! Come on . Jkd is based on science , kinesiology, bio mechanics physics body mechanics ect using certain tools against certain targets , kicking the lead leg or groin , finger jabbing the eyes and throwing the lead to the jaw , and using proper alignment and body mechanics to generate maximum force behind each shot is as efficient to you and me as it is him , whether it's from the 70'sor not . It's the human art
@@simonalpin2365 I agree with your statements however, and perhaps this has more to do with my choice of words being vague or that you misunderstood me. I never said you cannot do JKD. I said JKD as expressed by Bruce was very unique in that it's manifested through his attributes. For example, Not everyone regardless on how much they train will be able to acquire his speed, as that has to do with specific muscles fibers, but they could train to develop impeccable timing and so forth. Hope this provides you with some clarity. One can only express oneself by understanding limitations where those are present and becoming the best version one can become. But trying to imitate Bruce, well it's just that, pale imitation.
If you really get technical, and stick to JKD's core concepts--technically--TECHNICALLY--JKD is the best martial art, period. At least it CAN be--if you do it right.
I have had to make the difficult choice to leave my city and return to my hometown, after a long series of bad events that have left me depressed and feeling hopeless. The biggest reason I stayed here is because I love my martial arts school, MKG Seattle, where I was introduced to JKD and Kali, along with a blend of other arts. It became my passion in life and has saved my life both from actual violent altercations, and my own internal struggle. It sucks what the corrupt politicians have allowed to happen to Seattle, where my hero's gravesite rests. It pains me to leave my school behind, especially after I just recently began helping teach the kids class. But I can't stay here solely for that. My hometown in Arizona doesn't have any JKD or Kali schools. But I have decided to adapt and try something else, follow my own path, and do what I believe is right for me. My school is much more focused on striking, so I plan to get into BJJ and wrestling so I can be a more rounded martial artist. I feel that Sijo Bruce has taught me that the true essence of JKD is not merely going to a JKD school. It is about adaptation and self-expression. Each martial artist must follow their own path, and be like water. So I will choose to see this as a new container to fill, and another way forward, instead of as a setback.
@@metrolinamartialarts thanks, Ed. Your videos have been a big inspiration for me, and this one in particular helped me a lot with remembering what JKD and martial arts is really all about. It's my dream to be an instructor and have my own school some day, too. Sometimes you have to accept when you've hit an obstacle in the way, and just find a new way to flow around it in order to move forward. I am sure you have faced this same kind of thing in life. To see how you overcame those struggles to achieve victory, and realize your dream to share the gift of martial arts with others, is a beautiful and motivating thing. Thank you, Sifu.
the great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement. you ought not to be thinking... of whether it ends in victory or defeat; but let nature take its course... and your tools will strike at the right moment. the consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance... to the proper execution of all- the knowledge and skill you have achieved are meant to be forgotten. so you can float- to obtain enlightenment in martial art... means the extinction of everything which- the way to transcend karma lies in the proper use of the mind and the will. jeet kune do is not to hurt... but is one of the avenues through which life opens its secrets to us. relaxation is essential... for faster and more powerful punching. let your lead punch shoot up "loosely and easily. " do not tighten up or clench your fists... until the moment of impact. all punches should end with a snap several inches... behind the target. the art of jeet kune do is simply to simplify. It favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms. kung fu, karate, tae kwan do. all the classical styles are attempts... to arrest the flux of conflict. but in actual combat, the opponent doesn't wait for formalities. he's not a robot, but a human being, fluid and alive. for instance- for instance! like a sculptor who doesn't keep adding clay to a statue... but strips away the inessentials until the truth is revealed. I have developed a way of fighting with no fixed positions... with no set movements. the fancy mess of martial arts... solidifies what was once fluid. It is nothing but blind devotion to the systematic uselessness... of routines that lead nowhere. - Bruce Lee
I like the nuanced discussion. How deep do you go in different martial arts before you decide what’s useless? I ask because I relook at different techniques for bjj with wrestling and judo but the deeper I get in bjj I am finding more value in these techniques that I had discarded.
I'm glad I found your channel. You're reminding me of why I act the way I do with martial artists claiming "'X' martial art isn't real/effective." If it was effective for you, and if it can be applied when pressure tested, then the martial art is effective.
@@metrolinamartialarts thank you in return, and Mahalo and Aloha, from my instructor, to ones whom teach me and remind me of who I am. I love your channel and hope to meet with you some day for a good old sparring match. I'm 31 this year, so no worries, I'm "old" now, according to the "youth" lol.
no one Surpassing Bruce Lee for his time and error and the impact he had.i see no one in enlisted practice's of there own.from with in uninfluenced and only self..that's the gift of true artist .no how to conceive new ways that work with all and approaches concepts other don't have .or no and by the time if no there 50 years behind the intovater.
I've never done jkd but I 100% find things from different styles and yoink them. Dutch kickboxing defense and counters, tdk spinning attacks, catch wrestlings more rare submissions, some savate kicks, and 1 Kung Fu style punch. I love taking things that work for me and taking them. There's a lot more from different styles that I took and I use them all the time because they work. Maybe I'm accidentally doing the jkd philosophy
I've always preferred to refer to it as a martial philosophy and the triple threat of Wing Chun, fencing and boxing were just the styles he focused on in life. I like learning how he did it and have a lot of fun with it. Great video!
Metrolina martial arts when I was a kid I was overweight but then after watching Bruce Lee and many martial arts Legends I lost weight became more stronger faster smarter with martial arts and when I heard found out Bruce Lee died I told myself I will surpass him but I will do it my way my style my system and with Krav Maga combat sambo sanda/sanshou which you know are the best militarized MMA styles of all time in history are effective and work in self-defense street fighting against multiple opponents attackers and you can learn them anywhere in America not just in their place of origin and once I've mastered them only then will I know I'm ready it's all Focus concentration and most of all having faith in GOD 🙏
So my practice has a similar tension between following in the way one's parent or lineage lived and/or shared, and growing one's own "from scratch" it feels like sometimes. How we resolve it is: using the philosophy (and our failures to be exactly like our parents or teachers) to make us meet the reality of ourselves. That means admitting I probably won't kick or whatever quite the same way, but it also means we get to find what's good about how we say words or whatever. Bringing that point home: happy birthday. :)
I’ll be taking my next class in JKD next week which will complete my first month of learning this martial art! I’ve been having so much fun learning this martial art and learning more techniques, philosophies, workouts, and diet that Bruce Lee incorporated while creating JKD. Thank you for this video and I’m looking forward to more videos since I add you to my subscribers!
Jeet Kune Do is simply the application of a set of principles put together by Bruce Lee. All principles are being used to implement JKD‘s strategy. The reason why people get confused is because they keep looking for techniques and not principles and strategy.
As a original JKD guy, i don't agree with you entirely but i do agree some point that you had made, especially the point you had said, like focus on the similarity not the differences, keep out the work, Sifu Ed!!!
Well put! My stepdad was a Lima Lama practitioner. From the time I was 2 years old he would drag me around the dojos in the San Francisco Bay area and Hawaii on occasion. I don't remember much from the early years due to my age. But I thought there was a JKD school in San Fran. Was it "Rock Paper Scissors"? Please correct me where needed. My understanding is that many of these incredible people knew one another and trained together. My Stepdad has passed so I cannot ask him. Thank you for the video.
Fantastic explanation and dive into the mindset/philosophy. Spot on brutha! Keeping the flame alive as always. Plus... I absolutely love that your JKD class is of the path of "keeping the numbers small, but the quality big" 😉 you sir are awesome.
It's hard to say jkd doesn't work without standardizing it which is what bruce didn't want people to do, as bruce said jkd is just a word so it could be anything you want it to be.
Yeah he was definitely one of those guys that would always be constantly evolving he's like the best warrior the best martial artist you ever want on your side but the worst you ever want to be standing in front of you coming at you because whatever different thing you would do beat him or give him problems or whatever in a fight he will learn from it he will evolve and he will come back stronger and not too many people can do that also you mentioned you know that you're on RU-vid I bet that Bruce Lee would have loved to RU-vid both to be on it and to also watch and enjoy all these different martial arts and videos and stuff I just have a feeling that he would enjoy RU-vid as much as we do
This video is a very earnest and thoughtful answer to a deceptively complex question. Funny coincidence, I actually answered this same question -- "what is JKD?" -- just today for my friend at lunch. I answered it this way. I explained it this way... In one sentence, JKD is the synthesis of Western philosophy (Immanuel Kant and utilitarianism most directly) and traditional Chinese philosophy (taoism generally speaking) applied to unarmed combat. Bruce Lee was a man of synthesis. He was mixed race (approximately 3/4 Chinese and 1/4 European). He came from Hong Kong -- which was one of China's biggest trading cities where east and west mingled and (at the time of his youth) was an UK protectorate and a synthesis of English and Chinese culture. He spoke Cantonese and English. He grew up on both Chinese and American cinema. etc etc. His entire life was about finding value in unconventional combination. Just as you say in the video, that's what JKD is as a philosophy -- its a set of principles for synthesis. The practical form that JKD took -- the synthesis of styles that came through the lens of Bruce Lee's life -- started with the Wing Chun kung fu (from the Ip Man line) that was his foundation and layered in Western boxing (which he first participated in in high school and later was a passionate student of when he moved to the US) and fencing (which he also studied in school). Judo, karate, savate, etc. were layered in at later phases of his life. And subsequent practitioners -- most famously Dan Inosanto -- added FMA, jiujitsu, muay thai, etc. We think of martial arts as an Asian thing, but its really a human thing. Every human culture produces martial arts. Some have been recorded and curated better than others, but every culture has them. We see evidence of this in the earliest written word and the earliest art. In my assessment, American culture has produced a few martial arts. Americans became the leaders in the art of boxing that came over from Europe and many sub-styles evolved. Likewise, there are several strains of American karate (originally from Okinawa) and freestyle wrestling (originally from Europe). But -- in my opinion, there are really only two martial arts that were truly born in and of the United States. One of them is JKD and the other is gunfighting. JKD came directly out of Bruce Lee's character and experience as an American -- his immigration experience, the education he got at U of Washington (though he never graduated), his experience as a small business owner, his experience in Hollywood, his exposure to the Golden Age of boxing, etc etc. The idea of synthesis and freedom of thought thrived in America in ways it could never have thrived anywhere else.
deeper understanding is well articulated! P.S. you said "unscrupulous" just fine, but there are other pronunciations based largely on where one's from...
I'm interested in movement in an "apes constantly stumbling but effortlessly adjusting to chaos" way as opposed to a "copy this exact movement perfectly until you succeed" parkour type way (which I HATE and think interferes with moving naturally) and I wonder if JKD might be for me. I'm 51 and used to box and did the whole "trying to be Patrick Swayze and also a Ninja" bit when I was younger. I've dabbled a bit in BJJ and hit a couple of MMA gyms, but the new me only really gets anything out of the sparring/rolling/play aspects. You've got me thinking not only is there a philosophical problem, but JKD is closer to on the same fundamental page. Feels more mentor-y than coach-y
It is very true what you said, about Jeet Kune Do. I was thinking that when you made the video with Icy Mike that you point out the downfalls in not having sprawl in their grappling defense. Even Sijo Lee did encourage to add what is useful and take out what is useless. In another word, you can keep a lot of JKD but teach it the way it makes sense to you. If you don't think something doesn't work the way, Bruce Lee meant it to work and possibly got it to work. As you said, we don’t have the same attributes as him. What worked for Bruce Lee won’t work for us. I love that scene of Long Beach. Bruce Lee would have been 33, if he lived passed his birthday, but he died on June 20, 1973 would made him only 32. June 20th of this year would be just 49 years to the day of his death. Like always Ed awesome videos.
If you think about it Bruce Lee wasn’t allowed to master Wing Chun since he wasn’t a full Chinese. Even though he train with Ip Man (Yip Man) for five years even though, he also trained under him he trains with Wong Shun-Leung. This is one of the reasons why when he went to America people in China Town didn’t believe he knew enough to teach nor they didn’t like that he taught foreigners their secrets. Where people believe is the reason for the fight of Wong Jack-man. Not saying that Jeet Kune Do people who are certified in that art is invalid. Bruce Lee had to fight to prove that he is a true master. Dan Inosanto did a video on what Bruce’s rank was in Wing Chun and it wasn't complete he was just only on his third level out of 12 levels of Wing Chun and still taught it at the highest level because he had the black sash level understanding of it even though he wasn't at that level.
This was a excellent plethora of information, also it was also very intriguing how you explained the mixing of the philosophical idea's but also trying to convey it in laymen terms, I felt it was very thought provoking & it helps you engage in critical thinking❗thanks for sharing, big like on the video
I've done a couple of weekend seminars with a teacher named Su Dong Chen. His style has some similarities to Jeet Kune Do, except it is based on Xing Yi Quan instead of Wing Chun. Check it out; I think you'll find it interesting. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WO74W63iIog.html
Hey, I understand the respect and appreciation you have for your direct lineage to Bruce lee. On the other hand do you think that a practitioner with no lineage but with his form of Jkd following the philosophy of Bruce Lee is less relevant? For me if your Jeet kune do is efficient and follow Jkd philosophy its all that matter, lineage or no lineage, base form following jun fan jkd or following an other martial art...
It'd be your jeet kune do as opposed to Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. But as long as it works for you and you're able to pressure test it, you're on the right path
This guy sadly hasn't got a single clue as to what he's talking about, he's totally blind and confused as to what JKD is. He's a classic example of the cramped and distorted man stuck in the 'Fluidity'. He has one foot in the boat and the other on the shore and he'll never make it across to walk on. 😞
I hate when people like you say something bad about someone but dont even bother explaining why. What did he say that was wrong, and why? Your stupid parables mean nothing if you don't explain why
@@metrolinamartialarts thank you for that. Our school utilizes the belt system and I am 5 months away from testing for my first degree black belt. I am humbled and honored to step into that lineage.
And also is Jeet Kune Do style or philosophy I need to know so I can add it to the list of martial arts I told you in the first comment of this video and everything I told you in the first comment was no joke I'm being serious and I'm a fan of Bruce Lee and I know becoming the grand martial arts master takes time and I know I will surpass him one day if not become a legend like him in my own right and I will do it with the help of others but also with the help of GOD 🙏👋😀
@@metrolinamartialarts hey man i stand on what i said i will learn krav maga,combat sambo,sanda which you know are the best militarized mma styles of all time in history effective and work in self defence,street fighting and i can learn them anywhere in the usa not just in the place of origin
with krav maga,combat sambo,sanda i will be my very own mixed martial artist and the rest well you know but yeah i can do it just have to believe myself and GOD always
