Do you like simplicity? Are you interested in personal growth and development? If so, then Jeet Kune Do just might be for you.You Will Learn As a Jeet Kune Do student at the Hebb Institute of Martial Arts, you will learn many things, such as: • Preliminaries – on-guard position, warming up, conditioning, etc. If you truly commitment to your Jeet Kune Do training, you will develop many important qualities, such as: • Agility The one thing that you must embrace to be a successful student at the Hebb Institute of Martial Arts is learning. You must commit yourself to learning every time an opportunity presents itself. You must develop the mindset of a lifelong learner. So, embrace learning and begin to expand your knowledge by fully exploring the following areas as they pertain to Jeet Kune Do: Articles Literally translated, Jeet Kune Do is “The Way of the Intercepting Fist.” Jeet Kune Do is also the art and philosophy of Bruce Lee. But, that’s not all that Jeet Kune Do is! Jeet Kune Do is Bruce Lee’s compilation of training methods, attitudes, philosophies, combat techniques and concepts that he believed, honed, researched and taught until his untimely passing on July 20, 1973. In other words, it is Bruce’s complete body of work. It encompasses both the technical and philosophical aspects of his teachings. It is the structural framework that Bruce Lee built to facilitate his growth and development as both a martial artist and a person.
In the formative years of Bruce’s development, before Jeet Kune Do, he was inspired to revolutionize fighting. His approach focused on being simple, direct, and non-classical. These elements have been called the cornerstones of Jeet Kune Do.
Simplicity is the first cornerstone. Why use five moves, when you can use three? Why use three moves, when you can use two? Why use two moves, when you can use one? Asking questions like these and coming up with the answers is critical to understanding the JKD way of thinking and studying.
Directness is the second cornerstone. In the context of JKD, directness refers to immediacy. My infant son provides the perfect real-world example. He loves to throw balls at me randomly. Imagine standing near him and all of a sudden a ball is coming at you. You have no time to think. You simply react! This reaction is a direct response. It displays immediacy. We must train diligently in our martial arts to internalize movements until they become habits. This is what allows us to respond directly. Improving the timing of a counterattack is putting the cornerstone of directness into action. One counteraatack method may have you block an attack and then hit back. A streamlined JKD counterattack will have you intercept your opponent's attack by hitting him before he hits you or by simultaneously blocking and hitting. While the first method may be simple, it is not as direct as the second.
The last cornerstone is non-classical. The non-classical cornerstone permits freedom, personalized technique, and modification. JKD prides itself on permitting the freedom necessary to go outside the established classical system and break the rules that govern the system. JKD recognizes that there is more than one way to do something. JKD also encourages personalized technique. For instance, the foot may be angled downward or upward when delivering a round kick. "Correctness" is determined by achieving maximum result. Because JKD is concerned only with being functional, it wholeheartedly embraces modifying classical tools. This is obvious when the trapping hands of JKD are compared to Wing Chun. JKD trapping is launched into action from a very alive kickboxing-like structure. It is fast and elusive. It adheres to or dispenses with the centerline theory. These functional modifications produce a different look that barely resemble the original tools.
His approach was also committed to totality in combat. In personal, hand-to-hand combat armed only with anatomical weapons, three ranges and four aspects of combat come into play. To begin moving towards totality in combat, you must develop your proficiency in each range and aspect to the fullest of your abilities. The three ranges are: • Long Range The four aspects are: • Kicking To fully develop his revolutionary fighting method, Bruce dissected, researched, and tested many different martial arts. Bruce’s Method was influenced by eastern and western martial arts. Bruce incorporated kicking methods from northern and southern Chinese Gung Fu systems, French Savate and Thai Boxing. He incorporated hand methods from Wing Chun, Western Boxing, and various Chinese Gung Fu systems. He incorporated many elements of Western Fencing, such as footwork, sliding leverage, interception, timing, rhythm, and the five ways of attack. In his pursuit of totality in combat, Bruce also incorporated grappling, locking and throwing into the Jun Fan Method.
Despite being non-classical in many ways, Bruce Lee was still very much a traditionalist in terms of the values that martial arts could and should instill in its students. Many traditional martial arts of the Bruce Lee era frowned upon freedom and creativity, yet these elements were central to Bruce’s teachings. He was non-classical in the sense that he did not force his students to learn a bunch of classical stances and postures. While he did provide structural guidelines, he wanted his students to be free and creative. He stressed fluidity, mobility, and naturalness over tradition. Additionally, he was non-classical in the sense that he did not force his students to learn classical forms or structured two-man sets. He stressed “aliveness” over tradition. So, it’s clear that Bruce was non-classical. He did, however, retain a staunch sense of traditionalism in terms of the respect a student must pay to his teacher. When Bruce taught, he demanded that his students respectfully address him as Sifu (teacher). When Dan Inosanto took over the teaching duties at the Los Angeles Chinatown school, Bruce demanded that the students address Dan as Sifu. While you may view this as rather unimportant, it clearly shows that despite his non-classical approach Bruce did retain some elements of tradition.
Recall that Bruce set out to revolutionize fighting by developing a fighting method that was built on the cornerstones of non-classical, directness, and simplicity. Along the way, however, something unexpected happened. Jeet Kune Do became a revolutionary philosophy for personal freedom. It became a process that lead to personal growth and development. Learning, understanding, and using the valuable information and great structure that Bruce Lee left us is a great way to move forward in our journeys towards self-actualization. In this context, the body of work that you will study in Jeet Kune Do serves as a vehicle for you to develop or achieve your full potential through creativity, independence, spontaneity, and a grasp of the real world. In a nutshell, Jeet Kune Do is a prescription for personal growth and development. In the beginning, Bruce’s path was leading him towards a revolutionary fighting method, but in the end a process was born.
If you’re looking to grow as a martial artist and a person you need a powerful change agent. That change agent is the process that is Jeet Kune Do. The process of Jeet Kune Do is a tool that will lead you towards personal liberation because it does not restrict you to doing things only certain ways. Sure, there is a structure to Jeet Kune Do, but there’s also freedom within that structure. On your journey of growth, Jeet Kune Do will be a source of inspiration and delight. While you will acquire knowledge, that’s not the objective. Why? It’s not the objective because knowledge alone is useless. Only when you learn to apply your knowledge do you gain the power associated with that knowledge. In other words, your knowledge becomes usable knowledge when you can actually apply the theory you learned. So, remember – knowledge is not power! The ability to apply knowledge is power.
In life, opportunities come along that can forever change your future. Many times these opportunities are squandered due to family, fear, friends, indecision, and other real and perceived obstacles. Change requires moving outside your comfort zone. Change also requires seizing the right opportunities. By seizing this opportunity, you are changing your future for the better. For a brighter future, learn how you can get started with our
FREE Classes.
Whether you’re ready or not to begin your lifelong journey into Jeet Kune Do and the powerful and transforming world that is martial arts, you should take this opportunity to learn more about Jeet Kune Do. Recall what it takes to be a successful student at the Hebb Institute of Martial Arts – embracing the mindset of lifelong learning. So, don’t miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge! Explore the following areas of Jeet Kune Do: Articles
|
