Amazing facts about Jeet Kun Do

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Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is a very effective and powerful martial art. In some respects it is a branch of the Chinese martial art Wing Chun. This is because Bruce Lee who was brought up studying and practising the art of Wing Chun founded JKD. He found that Wing Chun had some limitations when it came to street fighting and began putting together his own system using the best techniques, methods and philosophies that he considered appropriate to him. Bruce Lee always remained very open minded and appreciated that a technique or movement that worked well for one person may not be so well suited for someone else, so he kept Jeet Kun Do free of rigid movements and strict patterns that are often found in some of the traditional martial arts and instead promoted fluid movements and quick reactions. The concept of Jeet Kun Do is fairly simple, “the best defence is a strong offense” but there are a number of principles that make that possible.”

Jeet Kune Do (regularly seen shortened to JKD) is a form of martial arts that was created by the internationally renowned martial artist, Bruce Lee. At a young age, Lee began studying the Chinese marital art of Wing Chun. Anyone familiar with Wing Chun will be aware that, as in most different forms of martial arts the patterns and structure used can be very strict and in certain situations somewhat limiting. Whilst precision, structure and movement can make you a master in the ring and organised competitions, Bruce Lee quickly realised that amongst the chaos and unpredictability of a street fight it was not necessarily the best method.

With this in mind, the next logical question would be, “Can Jeet Kune Do be taught?”

Yes, in part. The physical, technical, strategic, aspect can be taught, whereas the spiritual, ethereal, and personal development aspect, must be realized and cultivated by the individual at a very conscious level.

Bruce Lee was heavily influenced by Taoist philosophy which incorporated a great deal of what appears to be contradiction and opposition within a thread of unification and oneness. Jeet Kun Do also contains this element, so those who do not understand the Yin-Yang opposition/continuum will continue to argue without any real grasp of of the matter.