Wanted to clear something up when I was teaching the adult self-defense classes this last week in Bloomingdale and Rockford… so I wrote a short blurb about the “techniques” in Bruce Lee’s JKD. This what we focus on at our Bloomingdale location as well as our Rockford school.
I want my students to really ask questions in class regarding this issue so I can show it. If you’re a visitor to this site, and have questions, please email me at matt @EliteJKD.com . Enjoy!
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Jeet Kune Do Fighting Techniques
Learning Jeet Kune Do or JKD isn?t about mastering certain moves in a particular way. It?s about the shortest, most efficient way to strike. In Jeet Kune Do, you don?t waste time, rather you strike directly and forcefully in a way that?s designed to protect you and disable your attacker. People are drawn to JKD for more reasons than simply being a fan of Bruce Lee and his fighting techniques and moves. They?re drawn to Jeet Kune Do because of its background. Even the Jeet Kune Do seal or symbol reads ?Having No Limitation as Limitation.? In other words, when practicing JKD fighting techniques ? there are no rules, no regulations, no specific ?ways? ? but rather positioning yourself for the most economical, most efficient attack possible.
What Makes Jeet Kune Do Fighting Techniques Different than Other Martial Arts?
Perhaps founder Bruce Lee explained the philosophy behind Jeet Kune Do best when he said, ?I have not invented a “new style,” composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from “this” method or “that” method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds. Remember that Jeet Kune Do is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see ?ourselves?. Jeet Kune Do is not a martial art in the traditional sense that it has a specific method or pattern for doing things. Sifu (teacher) Lee compared it to filling a cup with water and emptying it out ? discarding what?s useless and retaining only the crucial moves and information. If you ever hope to truly master JKD, you have to free yourself of the restrictions you have in your mind on what, specifically, are ?Jeet Kune Do Fighting Techniques? ? because there are no rigid, set definitions for each move.
Jeet Kune Do Influences
That?s not to say that Jeet Kune Do students simply move any way they want to and hope for the best. Rather, JKD borrows from many different styles including Wing Chun, boxing and fencing. Each of these specific practices draws on one area of emphasis ? for example, close-quarters fighting, weapons and grappling to name a few. When you start to learn Jeet Kune Do fighting techniques, you?ll soon realize that transitioning from one style of fighting (close-quarters) to another (range fighting) is done smoothly, directly and simply ? without a lot of time or energy wasted. Sure, it might not look as ?flowery? as some other fighting styles ? but that?s the inherent lesson in understanding Jeet Kune Do techniques ? when you?re trying to defend yourself or protect your loved ones, should you be concerned about how your fighting stance looks, or should you get in there and knock your attacker down?
Getting to the core of the simplicity and effectiveness of JKD is a lifelong study and not simply something you can say you understand after trying it for a few days. The best Jeet Kune Do techniques are those that you make ?your own? and which form a backbone of strength that you can draw on in times of need.
Lee, Love and Life,
Sifu