previous martial arts experience required?

Hi, I am someone with virtually no martial arts experience, but I am looking to get involved. Jeet Kun Do Concepts definitely interests me. I noticed that many schools/websites advertise JKD as a means of combining many different techniques and making one a "complete fighter." My question is: is it advisable to start with JKD, or should I first learn a more traditional martial art or two and then take up JKD as a means of refining it all? Any responses will be much appreciated.

Hate to say it but that would all depend on the teacher i'm thinking, and on whether you enjoy what they're doing.

Honestly any art is gonna require you spend some time learning functional basic movements and such (at least they should) so I would go just go off what you are interested in, rather than abstract opinions about what style blends with what, etc.

Good training doesn't require some uber-mix of arts or that you learn some set of techniques and put them together like legos, it requires a good teacher with some depth int their understanding, and some dedication on your part.

I don't practice JKD so no offense to anyone, but I would be leary of anything that claims to "complete" your other MA training.

Start with whatever you like.

JKD does not require experience, but the thinking was that advanced people would get more benefit from it. Check it out for yourself.

Great, thanks. I guess my concern was just that I would show up to class and people would expect that I already know something.

don't worry, if the people are taught JKD well, then they will respect you, and encourage you, and help you threw it all.

my advice to you is learn the basic movements first ..it suprises me how few people even good boxers dont throw a good relaxed snappy jab. also basic footwork make it all second nature then look to joining a club that has some honesty to it not the name

I agree that the basics are more important than anything. Any decent JKD school should be teaching the core fundamentals of striking and grappling. If so, one should be able to jump in without any previous experience.


-John

Yep, i only learnt a bit of karate before i joint, so i could kick pretty high,and although the punches in JKD are very different, and there are very few high kicks, it's still similar in the way you can pick it up. All i did before i did JKD was, for about 3 months, revise the basic structure of footwork and punches etc, and then, when i went to the actual JKD class, i knew what to expect, and any small errors, they could correct me on, but it was easier than learning from scratch.

Previous martial arts experience not required but it can help out and often times it can also hinder, as you may have to break out of bad habits that were learned prior.