what is JKD

lol i know its a martial art, and yes i know about the Tao, and of Bruce lee.
1
but is JKD an actual style with a strict syllabus???? and it is nearly practiced the same at most schools like Karate, TKD, Judo....

2
or is JKD just a philosophy that you should think of to help you train harder and give you advice

3
or is JKD a mix of the practitioners favourite techniques that work for him/her??? like does each person make it up for them selves

because if 3 is correct then how the hell can u learn JKD at a school???, wouldnt u make it up for yourself??? and if 2 is correct then u r either self taught martial artist or u cross train. and if 3 is correct then this forum on JKD is pointless and no1 here studies JKD they study their own JKD

chen zen i think u can answer ma question, lol, its just that i have heard so many different things about JKD and i am not sure if it is a style or a philosophy

-cheers

lol whats with the lol? lol u **** lol lol me don' kno' what jkd lol is lol isnt that lmao funny? rofl! lol

Forgive the above post. Most of us here just prefer normal english in lieu of computer chat.

As for your question, its more like a combination of all three. JKD does have a curriculum, however, it constantly evolves. No two schools really do the same things. Its all similar but each teacher teaches his own perception of JKD. Thats a problem. JKD wasnt a clear cut black and white system. Bruce created it this way so that the practitioner has room to explore his own needs. JKD is also a philosophy. JKD concepts can be applied to nearly any art. JKD is also a mix of a practitioners favorite techniques. JKD is molded around the student. Not the other way around as in most styles. Each students JKD is different. No two people are alike, no two people live the same lives, and no two people think the same. So each person interprets what they see differently. They use what works for them and they throw away the rest.

thank you Chen Zen for your informing post, it was good and i kinda have a clearer understanding of JKD

-cheers

Uh yeah, sorry, that was a bad day...

JKD IS A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT MADE UP BY BRUCE LEE TO REMAIN A MYSTERY TO EVERYONE. JOE LEWIS EVEN SAID HE WAS CONSTANTLY CHANGING THE MEANING OF JKD.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FormlessForm:
JKD IS A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT MADE UP BY BRUCE LEE TO REMAIN A MYSTERY TO EVERYONE. JOE LEWIS EVEN SAID HE WAS CONSTANTLY CHANGING THE MEANING OF JKD.[/QUOTE]

JKD is just a simple philosophy that governs one's training.

How concepts of "economy of motion", daily decrease, etc be declared bull**** is beyond me -- but that's exactly what the person above me just posted.

It's clear you have ZERO knowledge of what the hell you're speaking of bro.

-John

LOOKS LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. LOOK IT UP. JOE LEWIS SAID BRUCE WAS ALWAYS CHANGING THE MEANING OF JKD.

Yeah, he did, whe nhe got more excperience he changed it. He made it better. So what is someone is making his own art better? Isn't that the idea? Seems like you blame him for making jkd better.

He sent Joe Lewis to tournaments to try different things, to see if they were effective, then get back to him.

According to Dan Inosanto the name jeet kune do was coined about 1967. From 1967-1971 Bruce Lee operated a JKD kwoon in LA and a smaller club in Oakland. Students who studied JKD from 1967-1971 did in fact learn a style called JKD. Bruce asked his student Joe Lewis to tell others that he was a student under Bruce and that his style was no longer karate but jeet kune
do.
In 1971,according to Bruce Lee estate writer John Little, Bruce closed his JKD kwoon and disbanned the teaching of jeet kune do. Bruce was afraid that his students would mistake the skills they had learned for the art of JKD. Bruce asked all of his students not to teach the techniques he had taught them and call it jeet kune do. Bruce died in 1973. He left no designated successor, he told no one exactly what his intent was regarding his style. He left no messages to explain the riddle of using no way as way. As a result JKD continues to be controversial.
Although he had sworn to his sifu not to teach skills and call it JKD Dan Inosanto eventually agreed to teach a method of discovery he called the JKD Concept. Developed by Dan Inosanto the JKD concept is a method for linking arts together to create a "flow" using the principles developed by Bruce Lee. The JKDC became popular in the early 1980's as Inosanto traveled the country promoting an interest in the Filipino martial arts and teaching the JKD concept. Today many mistake the physical skills associated with the JKDC as JKD.
In the late 1980's several former Dan Inosanto seminar students (including this writer) began to call for a return to the Original art of JKD. I used the term "Original JKD" to refer to the specific skills taught and practiced by Bruce Lee prior to his death in 1973 (Pre-73 JKD). Today many former BL students teach and practice the skills taught by Bruce Lee and once called JKD.
Today I am inclined to beleive that JKD is best understood as a philosophy for gaining liberation from the bondage imposed through the practice of classical martial arts.
The once "secret" principles of JKD ( 5 ways of attack, economy of motion, non-telegraphic, weapon first etc) have been openly taught to the martial arts community as early as 1968 when Joe Lewis traveled the country teaching the JKD methods to karate seminar participants.
MMA certainly follows the JKD concept and may well represent and advancement of JKD theory. The real science of JKD can be found in the effort to understand the various JKD phrases including "using no way as way" etc.
Jerry Beasley Ed.D.

Hey guy. The basic priniple of JKD is that you have to be able to adapt to any opponent. So, when you fight someone, you make up moves that will work effetively and you use different tehniques in your fighting.
This is what "no way as way" means. Having no definate style, but finding weakspots, and thinking on your feet when you fight is what this quote means; this creates a "style" in it's self.

To learn JKD, you need to know understand and be able to perform many diffent attacks, be flexible, and strong. Then you can train to adapt instantly to someone's style or attacks. Also, studying the moves of bruce lee in movies really helps out alot.

I guess it kind of is what you are saying in number 3,"...like does each person make it up for them selves" and partly one, "or is JKD just a philosophy..."

keep wise and fight well

It’s funny how something so simple can be so complicated. I myself didn't understand it fully until I began training realistically.

JKD is pure philosophy not only for MA but also for life.

It is not a technique or a group of techniques or a style it’s a philosophy to discover truth, in this case truth in combat.

Bruce used it in his quest for the perfection of his fighting skill which he called Jun Fan.

But even that name was abandoned. You can call it what you like it’s your fighting style. But JKD was not the style it was the philosophy behind the style.

New techniques were experimented with constantly, when something was found to work better than something else it was added and the other faded away. (It evolved)

Today most JKD guys are trying to play catch up. Because for so long they didn't get it they added but didn't take away. Bruce talked about daily decrease or constantly seeking what truly works and simplifying the whole thing at the same time.

The new generation of JKD guys broke from the old ones armed with the pure philosophy in a search for the truth, exactly as Bruce originally intended.

The SBG and many others are now living the pure philosophy and have advanced combat far beyond what Bruce taught, it now looks nothing like what he did. And that is exactly what he wanted, if he could see his original students doing basically the same thing he was doing way back then, well I guess it was what he expected would happen that’s why he abandoned all the names and schools in the end. He could see they didn't get it, the very ones who got it from the horse’s mouth were still in the dark.

It reminds me of Jesus and his disciples even after his death some of them still didn't get it.

I disagree, what people have turned jkd into is a pile of ********. most of the things jkd teaches nowadays is completely irrelevant to the original techings of the late bruce lee. and who are you talking about that changes jkd? why would you care about him? who cares of some lameo ******* wants to create his own version of jkd? thats what lee intended in the first place, for everyone to create their own style thats fits them best. the absolute truth. you dont have to get stuck in someone elses style because it isnt right for you. im sure if you knew anything about jkd you have known that but obviously not since your contradicting lees own methods.[> [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif[/IMG]]

EDITED DUE TO LAUNGUAGE ISSUES> PLEASE PLAY NICELY. ID SURE HATE TO KICK ANYONE OFF THE PLAYGROUND! REMEMBER, WE DO HAVE YOUNGER STUDENTS HERE. THIS IS SOMEWHAT OF A DOJO AND IN THAT SPIRIT< THERE MUST BE RESPECT. THANKS CZ

[This message has been edited by Chen Zen (edited 04-15-2005).]

It's funny how people commonly believe that jun fan is the original material where in fact, jun fan denoted the earlier stages of Bruce's development towards JKD. JKD is an actual Martial art, with its principles and philosophy, with all three fitting nicely.

sorry for my outburst earlier, formless form got me all riled up. The original philosphy of jkd that lee was trying to get across is that we cannot use another style because aomebody else just made it up. it isnt meant for us. of course we can achieve some level of proficiency through mechanical drills but we still wont be at the top of the game so to speak. he creatd his own style with his own moves by philosphizing and taking away all the unwanted things in his combat experience. he discovered using no way as way or being formless like water and clear minded is much better because you can respond to any situation with a clear head and respond instantly. anyone who screws up these principles does not study jkd. theyve just made up their own style which may or may not be as good. but lee, i believe, wanted this to happen. by getting us out of the train of thought that we need to study a certain style and into the train of thought that we should create our own style. then one person, one day will come along and create his own personalized style that trancends all others. he freed our minds of the chains of thousands of years of tradition. he merely gave us the guidelines to get us started. perhaps his death wasnt an accident, perhaps a suicide so people would stop looking at jkd like the style that he himself was using. by permaturely killing himself we would see jkd as the "style" that he was using. thus miss the entire concept of jkd. so make your own style, build yourself up, take away all of the unnecessary things that hinder your present style and see yourself and your style as the things that you truly are and are truly meant to be. THAT, i think, is what he was trying to get across.