JEET KUNE DO

BRUCE LEE - A Legend's Biography
According to the Chinese calendar, 1940 was the year of the Dragon, a cantonese film actor named Lee Hoi Chun was performing in San Francisco accompanied by his pregnant wife Grace. By November Grace had gone into labour and was taken to hospital, her husband carried on to New York to perform there. On the 27th of November 1940 at the Jackson Street hospital, Grace gave birth to a baby boy, he was named Lee Jun Fan, which meant "To Return Again", the child would return to it`s place of birth someday. The doctor attending the arrival gave the child the English name Bruce ... And the legend was born !!

At the age of 6, Bruce started to appear in numerous Chinese films. His first film was called "A beginning of a boy". As he made more films it was decided that he should star in a film together with his father. The film was called "My Son Ah Cheun", Bruce had a bigger role than his father. In each film he played a problem child, always stealing and fighting, he made at least 20 of these cantonese films including "Black Boy Jungle" and "Boys on the Street"

When Bruce was 14, he got beaten up in a street fight, so, after discussing the matter with his mother he decided to learn martial arts and develop his physique and self defense abilities.
Most people think that Bruce was born mucsular - he was actually totally the opposite, he was always rather frail as a child and never ate well even when he returned to the U.S in 1958. Only through constant training and proper eating did he build hiself up into the super human physical specimen that he was to become. Bruce was never to lose a single fight ever again !!.

Although his 1st teacher was his father, who had him wielding a sword at 6, His 1st REAL teacher was the Wing Chun master, Sifu Yip Man. Bruce became obsessed with the whole concept of Wing Chun and soon became very good. One of the Wing Chun training methods was the wooden dummy - A training device which builds both speed and focus. Another one of his teachers was Siu Hon Sung, a kung fu expert. Bruce had been learning Cha Cha dancing and offered to trade his knowledge of it for some of his kung fu lessons. It would normally take 3 weeks to learn 30 kung fu moves, but Bruce mastered them in only 3 nights, Siu Hon Sung never did learn any Cha Cha.
In 1958 he become the Hong Kong Cha Cha champion. He then made 2 more cantonese films, "The Orphan" and "Thunderstorm". Thunderstorm is the only film where he doesn`t have a single fight, although there are certain confrontations.

As time passed, Bruce would fight in the streets trying to see just how good he was, eventually the police warned his mother Grace, that if it didn`t stop, Bruce would be Arrested. So in April 1958, his father gave him 100 USD and sent him to San Francisco, his place of birth with the hope that Bruce would change and become more responsible.
He boarded a boat and left. He made a little more money on the way there giving Cha Cha lessons to the fellow passengers.

In San Francisco Bruce lived with a friend of his fathers, Ruby Chow, who owned a restaurant. Bruce worked in the restaurant whilst his living quaters were in the attic.
After he had finished High School, he was still constantly training and developing his skill in the martial arts. For Bruce it wasn`t good enough to be a good martial artist, he had to be the BEST.

Bruce grew tired of the restaurant and headed for Seattle to learn Philosophy at the University of Washington.
In 1959, he met a fellow Asian called Taki Kimura, he was twice Bruce`s age and had suffered many years of racial abuse. Bruce persuaded him to take pride in his Asian identity and taught him martial arts. Another student was Roy Hollingsworth, Eventually they suggested that he opened a school to make money.

In Hong Kong, kung fu was a secret Chinese weapon and was never taught to any non-Chinese persons, but Bruce welcomed ANYONE who was interested in learning what he had to teach. In his opinion the Chinese people were not the only worthy persons to learn this great art, and so he broke the racial barriers that had been forged over time !!

In 1961 whilst teaching some fellow university students a met a young girl called Linda Emery. They soon fell in love with each other and got married ... Linda fell pregnant and Brandon was born followed a couple of years later by Shannon.

In 1963, Bruce wrote a book called "Chinese Kung Fu", it was incredibly detailed with precise drawings.

In 1964, at a Karate tournament hosted by Ed Parker Bruce demonstrated his abilities to a large audience ... At Long Beach, with Taki Kimura as his assistant, he showed off his 2 finger press ups and his legendary one inch punch.
A noted television producer who was really impressed by Bruce's intensity and focus approached him and screen test was arranged for this lead to his playing the role of Kato in the Green Hornet series which was filmed in 1965.
While making this, Bruce left Taki Kimura in charge of his kung fu school. Although the Green Hornet never really took off, it lasted for 30 half hour episodes. Bruce, surprisingly, as Kato become more popular than the main star, especially in Hong Kong.
In the documentary (Bruce Lee: The Martial Arts Master) Van Williams who was the main star of the Green Hornet recalls how Bruce used to run around the set practising his kicks, he would jump up and tap you on the ear with his foot, but this stopped when one of the extras turned around and got his jaw dislocated). During filming Bruce liked to work in close to improve the fight scenes, but he also injured quite a few stuntmen by doing this, they found it pretty hard to find them in the end. Bruce had to slow his movements down because on film, he was practically a blur and you couldn`t see what he was doing properly !!.

After the Green Hornet, Bruce opened up another kung fu school called "Lee Jun Fan, Gung fu institute", this is where he learned to use the nunchaku`s from fellow student Danny Inosanto, here he taught actors like James Coburn, Steve Mcqueen and Karreem Abdul Jabber, he had now become so popular, that he could charge up to 300 USD an hour for instruction.

This was also the place where he created his own technique of Jeet Kune Do, which means (The Way of the Intercepting Fist), he thought it would be better to intercept and attack, rather than blocking and then attacking.
Bruce believed intercepting an attack would be a lot faster than blocking and then attacking as the latter was comprised of two seperate movements.

In 1967, Bruce starred in "A Man Called Ironside", as a martial arts instructor, Bruce always did his own stunts as well. He then filmed 12 episodes of Longstreet, a short series where he teaches a guy his new Jeet Kune Do technique. This was a great idea that would let Bruce show the world his new technique.
He became more and more interested with making a Hollywood movie and wanted to make more money than Steve Mcqueen, per film ... This Bruce eventually did achieve !!.

In 1970, Bruce realised after the advice of one of his students James Coburn, that his immediate film career was to be in Hong Kong.
When appearing on a TV show, it was there that he broke 4 out of 5 one inch thick boards, and one dangling piece as well (Breaking a dangling one inch piece of wood is an amazing feat).
This was seen by TV producer Raymond Chow who had just opened up Golden Harvest studios, he offered Bruce a two picture deal and they flew off to Thailand to film "The Big Boss". During filming, one of the Thai`s thought that the fight co-ordinator was faster than Bruce, 5 minutes later ... he didn`t!!!.
Another thing that surprised the cast was Bruce opening a bottle of drink with one thumb (The kind that normally needs a can opener). The movie became a smash hit breaking all known box office records. He then flew to Shanghai and filmed "Fist of Fury", Raymond Chow told Bruce that he would play a bigger part in producing it, than in is last film. This once again broke all the box office records, including the ones from "The Big Boss".

By now Bruce had become a national hero and started up his own company called "Concord Productions" and decided that he would write, direct and star in his next film. He went to Europe location hunting, finally deciding on Rome. He brought in 3 top martial artists, Bob Wall, Whong In Sik and Chuck Norris, who he would fight at the end of the film. The result is another sellout, police had to arrive to halt the traffic jams and big crowds.

All 3 of these films had Bruce arriving in a strange town, not knowing his potential enemies. In "The Big Boss", he was in Thailand working at an ice factory with his cousins, In "Fist of Fury", he had come to Shanghai to attend his teachers funeral, finding his school abused and insulted by the local Japanese school. In "Way of the Dragon" he come's to Rome to help out at a friends restaurant, which is being hassled by a protection racket. Also the enemies were never Chinese, always foreigners like the Thai`s, Japanese, Europeans and Americans. Even when there was the odd bad Chinese guy, it`s clearly pointed out that they`re just misguided pawns of a foreign boss.

Bruce would often be challenged by the extra`s, but he was never actually defeated, apart from the time when he was 14. Bruce didn`t drink, so the parts he played didn`t drink either, he always showed himself like he was in real life, "The Way of the Dragon" is the best example of Bruce in real life. In the only bedroom scene he ever filmed in "The Big Boss", a prostitute gets him drunk and takes him back to her place, only to watch him then fall asleep. He would also show off his ability to play all kinds of different characters, In "Fist of Fury" he dresses up as an old newspaper guy as well as a telephone repair man.

Bruce, James Coburn and Stirling Silliphant had been trying to put together a project to be called "Silent Flute". 20th century fox agreed to do it, but on a tiny budget and providing that it could be shot in India. They spent weeks location hunting there and in Nepal, India they decided was a waste of time. In Nepal Bruce saw a Bigota (Tall Tower). This gave him the idea for "Game of Death", Bruce only filmed 1/3 of this film before being interrupted to film the eventual Hollywood smashhit "Enter the Dragon".
"Game of Death" was completed in 1978 after Bruce`s death. The story line is changed and Bruce only appears for 10 minutes at the end. This is footage from the Tower version, from which he had intended. The 1st 95% of the film is NOT the missing scenes !!

"Enter the Dragon" was the 1st time a U.S and Hong Kong film company had come together to make a film. This was the film that brought Bruce world wide fame and made him the world`s first Asian superstar. The big fight scene at the end took 7 days to film, it was during this that an extra challenged Bruce in real life. He wanted to experience Bruce`s Jeet Kune Do, Bruce drew a circle on the floor and told him that he had 3 punches to knock him out of it. He couldn`t, so Bruce told him, "OK my turn", he pointed to his shoulder blade and said "I`m going to hit you right here, are you ready?", the guy said "What do you mean, am I ready?", before he could say anything, his teeth started falling out of his mouth, Bruce was just SO fast. Another extra challenged him, they sparred for a bit, then the guy got kicked in the head...and that was enough.
The mirror scene took hours to set up, getting the mirrors in the perfect place, so they don`t reflect any cameras. People would argue over whose job it was to do stuff, this is where Bruce came in ... The chinese would die for him. Eventually the film was completed.

During the time of filming "Game of Death", Bruce had been working with some new character ideas, they would have wielded weapons, like swords and long knives. On the documentary "The Legend" you can see photo`s of at least 4 of these characters. One of them is a blind swordsman, his version of a character called Zatawichi, (A popular Japanese film at that time). Unforunately we`ll never see Bruce in these roles, but it is interesting to think about the kind of sword films Bruce could have produced. Like the classic "Duel to the Death".

On the 10th May 1973, the trouble for Bruce Lee had begun. While dubbing the sound effects for "Enter the Dragon", he passed out for a whole half an hour. He went to the hospital, and was prescribed the drug Manatol, it was used to reduce an apparent Brain Swelling.

On July 20th 1973, Bruce had arranged to meet Raymond Chow along with actress Betty Ting Pei who would star in "Game of Death". He stopped off at Betty`s house and told her that he had a headache, she gave him an Aquagesic (A painkiller, that she regulary used herself), Bruce lied down in her bed and went to sleep. During his sleep, the brain swelling returned and triggered an allergy to the painkiller called a cerebral adema.
Later Betty tried to wake him but couldn`t, panicing she called Raymond Chow, who come over and called the doctor. Bruce was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth hospital, he was barely alive and the ambulance crew was fighting to resusitate him, but Bruce was pronounced dead on arrival.

As the news spread across the world, people talk about nothing else, refusing to believe it. Bruce had two funerals, one in Hong Kong and one in the U.S. Over 27,000 people attended his funeral, few could hide their grief, people were just breaking down and crying when they saw him in te open coffin. A banner is placed amongst the many tributes reading "A star sinks in a Sea of Art".
When the press found out that Bruce had died at Betty`s house, they were quick to speculate that Bruce had died while they were having sex, to this day vicious rumours have still spread across the world. At the airport, Linda breaks her silence and tells Hong Kong to drop it and that she blames nobody, and that Bruce had died of natural causes.
His funeral in Seattle was attended by all his friends, family and former students. James Coburn and Steve Mcqueen acted as pallbearers. Should you wish to watch the funeral, you can find it on the documentary (Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend). Finally on the July 31st 1973, Bruce was laid to rest in Seattle at the Lake View Cemetary.
His and Brandon's graves are regulary visited by people from all over the world. There is ALWAYS fresh flowers on their graves each day. Some day, I too will place mine there and pay my respect to my most favourite person in the whole world.

Soon after the funeral, as the wild rumours continued, the autopsy results were that Bruce had died of a cerebral adema in reaction to the painkiller that he had taken ... The result was death by misadventure.

For years Betty Ting Pei had kept quiet, ignoring the insults thrown at her. until in 1983 when she 1st broke her silence on a TV show and told the world that she wouldn`t have done nothing to hurt Bruce as he was a very friend. But the rumours are STILL going, one`s I`ve heard are that a Chinese mafia gang arranged his death, who supposedly had control over all of the Chinese actors. That he`d been killed by Shaolin monks for teaching the secrets to the outsiders.
The other rumour is the curse, Bruce supposedly was haunted by personel demons. He had premonitions that he would die half his fathers age of 64, which he did at 32, also a protector of evil blew off his roof to warn away evil spirits, the previous occupants of his house had it blown off also and disaster had befallen them. Karreem Abdul Jabber`s basketball number was 33, Bruce would have been 33 that year in November ... The rumours just go on. Personaly I believe in the cerebral adema, the swelling was brought on by great stress over work, Bruce practically wore himself out to a dissapointingly early grave.

In 1978, the producers of "Enter the Dragon" decided to finish "Game of Death" as a tribute to him. In my opinion they`d have been better to show us the entire 30 minutes of the REAL version. The 1st 95% is not the MISSING scenes but a crappy changed storyline.

To this day many Bruce Lee Imitators have tried to be just like him, but have all just faded. Maybe a star like Jackie Chan can rise to the limits, but even Jackie Chan doesn`t claim to be the new Bruce Lee, there will never be a NEW Bruce Lee.

This is Bruce Lee ...... The Legend !!!



SO WHAT IS THIS ART OF JEET KUNE DO ??
Many claims have been made over the years with regards to the proper definition of Bruce Lee's art of Jeet Kune Do. To some it is a process of "Change", others see it as just a form of "modified" Wing Chun, whilst many recognize Jeet Kune Do to be simply a mixture of various different elements from numerous fighting styles, all combined to hopefully, at a later stage form something meaningful to the individual concerned.
However ...
There is but ONE definition of Jeet Kune Do (As stated by the Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Nucleus) ... "Jeet Kune Do is the complete body of technical (physical, scientific) and philosophical (mental, social and spiritual) knowledge, that was studied and taught by Bruce Lee during his lifetime. It is concerned solely and exclusively with Bruce Lee's personal evolution and process of self-discovery through the Martial Art, as supported by written record (personal papers and library) and oral recollections (by those students who spent time with and/or studied under him)."

A distinction is made between this body of work (Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do), and the individual student's own personal process of self discovery through the martial art, as each student is free to use all, some or none of Bruce Lee's teachings to assist him !!.
Jeet Kune Do accepts you as you are and is not about setting up restrictions or "Ways" of doing things - It seeks to be a source of inspiration and delight for those who possess an interest in Bruce Lee, and the martial viewpoints that he created.

Jeet Kune Do should be considered as the "Root" that was established by Bruce Lee, and NOT the ultimate goal of any practitioner, as students are expected to modify, add, and delete all aspects of Jeet Kune Do until they develop something that is uniquely their own (You the individual become, through this process of self-discovery your own best teacher).

With this explanation still fresh in your mind I urge you to continue reading through my web site - I hope my explanations and ideas on this wonderful art and Philosophy prove to be helpful and enlightening.



THE ART OF JEET KUNE DO
*****
This is my small contribution and brief introduction to the art of Jeet Kune Do as I understand it. Although I never had the opportunity to meet Sifu Bruce Lee I continue to feel indebted to him for the changes his art and Philosophy have brought on my life - changing me mentally, physically and spiritually. I am hoping that this short passage will make you want to explore all the aspects of this interesting art, and so use it as a means of self-discovery ... Developing a NEW way of life !!
*****
To begin with, Jeet Kune Do (abbreviated JKD from now on) means "The way of the intercepting fist" and with this combat phrase in mind, it is basically concerned with the interception of an attack, a movement or even an intention by your opponent to launch an attack.,
It is one of the most popular and well debated (due to each persons understanding and application of JKD being different to the next) martial arts in existence today.

There are two schools of thought in JKD practice today ... Jun Fan/JKD practitioners, and the JKD Concepts practitioners. Jun Fan/JKD practitioners concentrate on Bruce Lee's original teachings, training and fighting methods, whilst the JKD Concepts practitioners use Bruce Lee's ideas and theories and explore and add techniques from many other martial arts to their training - Whatever form of JKD you choose to follow, it is really up to yourself to find your own truth in the art of Jeet Kune DO !!!

Well, you might ask ....
What are the main theories, principles and techniques involved ? What is the structure of this method ? What training methods are used ? How can you get involved in the learning process ? .... I will cover that in a little more detail shortly.

Although Wing Chun, a Southern form of Chinese martial art still remains the nucleus of the JKD system, western fencing with it's non-telegraphic motions, footwork as well as attack and defense theory were also incorporated. Bruce Lee also liked the way that boxers fought and so body mechanics, footwork and all the evasive tactics were taken from boxing and also incorporated into his JKD system. Bruce Lee, after researching several methods of kicking, also came up with his own unique way of kicking - very fast and very direct !!
It is therefore safe to say that JKD consists primarily of Wing Chun, Fencing, boxing and Bruce's own unique way of kicking.

Learning the art of JKD is like putting together a large puzzle. Each period of Bruce Lee's life holds important pieces of the puzzle - The more you learn, the more complete your puzzle becomes. It also helps to learn as much about Wing Chun as possible so that you can better understand the roots of the system - You will find that the study of Wing Chun will really solidify your knowledge and understanding of JKD (It is after all the real foundation !!).

There are three major areas of concentration in JKD :-
1. Simplicity
2. Directness and,
3. Non-classical attitude

Simplicity means doing only what is necessary to complete a task as quickly and efficiently as possible - This is by no means as easy as it sounds and requires a lot of thought and practice through continual drilling of all the basics.

Directness means to follow the shortest and safest possible route to an opponent (Normally a straight line) with non-telegraphic motions and doing as much damage as possible. The principle of directness in JKD can be found in the individuals ability to use his longest weapon (Usually his lead hand or leg) against the nearest target on his opponents body.

Non-classical means that all the techniques are delivered in a practical manner, unlike the majority of "fancy" techniques that are used and taught in traditional martial arts.

The first thing that must be considered is the fighting stance (Bai-jong), or the on -guard stance which Bruce Lee believed must have your power side forward - In this position your most powerful weapons are closest to your target. This stance is highly mobile with good offensive and defensive capabilities ... Plus much much more !!
Mobility, more than anything else is highly stressed in JKD, as combat is a matter of movements ... Footwork is light, quick and economical. Good footwork is essential to close (bridge) the gap to your opponent and attack powerfully, or evade and counter an opponents attack. The JKD fighter will use linear, lateral, angular and circular footwork patterns, so as to put himself in the best possible range that he would like to be in.

There are three fighting ranges emphasized in JKD :-
1. Long range
2. Medium range and,
3. Close range

Each of these three ranges must be trained in - The fighter must understand the tools applied in each range and how to use them effectively. Long range is known as the fighting measure, and is the most favorable position to maintain when you are not attacking. In this long range you are basically very "safe" and it is from here that you can test your opponent's reactions without being in too much danger of being hit. You can test your opponent's reactions by using feinting or probing attacks which appear to be real !!.

Kicks, punches, trapping and grappling movements can all be used in the medium range. As a general rule, by the time your opponent is moving into the medium range you should have already intercepted him and countered his offense with an attack of your own.

Once we get into the close range head butts, elbows and knees can now be used - This is generally where close quarter grappling occurs (Chokes, strangles etc.) and is a very deadly range due to the serious nature of the natural body weapons that can be employed.

Physical blocking of an incoming blow is only used as a last resort by the JKD practitioner ... instead he uses the four corner parry which redirects the incoming force. The best defense in JKD is to attack !! The next preferred method of defense is the simultaneous attack and defense whereby you parry the opponents attack while delivering (at the same time) an attack of your own to the open line. An even more effective form of defense is to fire a fast powerful attack of your own into the same line as the incoming attack, thereby deflecting the oncoming attack and landing successfully on your target - This form of interception is called the stop-hit, when using the foot for interception it is called a stop-kick. When you have honed your interception skills damage is done immediately to the attacker, both mentally and physically !!!
The most important factor in JKD training is sensitivity training. Every offensive and defensive movement will have a certain type of energy and energy flow. Sensitivity drills that are used in JKD are referred to as Chi Sao or "Sticking hands" and use of this drill will enable the student to "sense" the opponents energy quickly and subsequently trap and counter him immediately. Chi Gerk or "Sticking legs" develops the sensitivity in the legs for sweeps, deflections and counter kicks practitioners.

Another area of vital importance in JKD is Bruce Lee's five ways of attacking. Bruce lee realized that there are essentially only five was that you can attack an opponent and that every empty hand attack ever conceived will fall into one of these five categories.

One of the most useful pieces of equipment for the JKD practitioner is the Mook Jong or the wooden dummy (Refer to the last picture in my photo album) from the Wing Chun system of Chinese Kung Fu - This piece of equipment allows you to train alone when no partners are available. The wooden dummy consists of a head, trunk, two upper arms, a lower arm and a lower (sometimes metal) extension that represents the lead leg of an opponent ... All the offensive and defensive moves can be performed on the dummy. Striking the dummy and performing your defensive moves on it also conditions the arms and the legs for impact - This was one of Bruce Lee's favorite pieces of training equipment !!

As you can see Jeet Kune Do is a very well rounded and balanced martial art which has something special to offer everyone from a mental, physical and spiritual point of view. It is, and will become - If you let it ... "A NEW WAY OF LIFE".

Jeet Kune Do Fitness
Intense physical training is a must in JKD or any other external Martial Art for that matter !!
Please excuse the brutality in what I am about to say, but the last thing that you want to happen to you is to lose your life due to not being prepared or not in a good enough shape to carry through with a confrontation.

Bruce Lee emphasized fitness over and over again with all his students - Cardiovascular, flexibility and strength training. Cardiovascular conditioning can be accomplished through running, cycling, rope skipping, running stairs, rowing, swimming, shadowboxing and/or footwork mobility drills to name but a few ...To just give you an idea of Bruce Lee's physical prowess, he would run four miles a day in 24 to 25 minutes, thereafter he would ride his stationary exercycle full speed - 35 to 40 miles per hour continuously for 45 minutes to an hour !!

Flexibility can be maintained by implementing a serious stretching routine of at least two twenty minute sessions per day.

Strength training can be accomplished through the use of isometrics, static contraction exercises, free weights, weight machines etc.

An important element that all JKD practitioners must experience is lots of good, hard sparring with protective equipment - This brings all the fitness aspects together, as well as conditioning your body for impact, developing self-confidence, mobility, timing, power, reflexes, range awareness and the endurance necessary to succeed in an all out confrontation.

THREE GREAT BRUCE LEE QUOTES
"A martial artist is a human being first"

"Just as nationalities have nothing to do with one's humanity, so they have nothing to do with the martial arts."

"Life is a constant process of relating."

"Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style."

Wing Chun

TAO OF JEET KUNE DO
BRUCE LEE'S BOOK
This is a must get book for any serious Martial Artist out there ... Read and Learn, but most important of all adapt these teachings to YOUR specific needs !!!

The design of the book itself is unique.
A rarely seen image of Bruce is given on the cover with his unbeatable expressions. His face is full of confidence about what he is going to say in his book. Calm, cool, determined and ready!
Linda Lee's introduction is yet another interesting point in the book. It is short and to the point. She has finished it with the hope that those who will read the book will know Bruce Lee better and hopefully he will get to know himself better.
Then the credit goes to Mr. Gilbert L. Johnson who has sorted out everything and placed all the pieces in proper place so that we are able to get these pearls of wisdom from the master in the form of book.
The background of the formation of this book is a story. Bruce used to consider himself a martial artist first and then an actor. He used to live martial arts. He had more then 2000 books in his library and countless book he read about the art of fighting. He was deeply interested in the philosophy behind the art. And as we all know the master had that special gift of implementing philosophy to the art of self defense. He always found his ways in the philosophies of Zen, Krishnamurti, Taoism etc.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE KUNG FU