Jeet Kune Do. Teri Tom
when it was still unconventional to do so. As you'll see, there are passages in the Tao taken directly from one of the first kinesiology textbooks, which was written by Philip J. Rasch and R.K. Burke. You'll find that all the techniques in the JKD arsenal are in accordance with the principles of biomechanics and kinesiology and still hold true and are taught today. Because this is such an important part of JKD, I've dedicated a chapter solely to general biomechanics. As we go through each technique, you will want to refer to this chapter for further insight on the how's and why's behind them.
Finally, there has been so much malicious misrepresentation of Bruce Lee's art over the last three decades, I've cross-referenced, as I did in my last book, the original sources of Bruce Lee's writings. In accordance with the saying "talent borrows, genius steals," almost all of the technical notes that comprise the Tao of Jeet Kune Do and Commentaries on the Martial Way are passages that come from other sources. You will see that there are no references to wing chun, kali, or escrima. There is also very little coverage of grappling techniques. This is why there are only nine pages of grappling techniques in the Tao. The majority of that book, as is the case with Bruce Lee's personal notes, is almost exclusively comprised of passages on boxing technique and fencing strategy. Having actually been through Bruce Lee's handwritten notebooks, I can say that, with the exception of the sections on Zen philosophy, virtually everything is Western in origin. Most of the fencing notes come from Aldo Nadi, Julio Martinez Castello, and Roger Crosnier. There are also boxing influences from a wide range of sources including Jack Dempsy, Jim Driscoll, Thomas Inch, Edwin Haislet, Peter McInnes, and Bobby Neill.
The passages in those volumes of personal notes make up the majority of the Tao and are also found in Commentaries on the Martial Way. These notes are from the most advanced stages of JKD development. There are those who claim all sorts of origins of JKD—from Filipino martial arts to wing chun. They will want to argue this point endlessly. I suggest they first take the cross-references here, track down the original sources and see for themselves, clear as daylight, that Jeet Kune Do is Western in origin.
INTRODUCTION
THE NECESSITY OF TECHNIQUE
Before we get into the nitty gritty of technical explanations, a few points require clarification. As I discussed in my last book, over the last 30 years, there has been rampant misrepresentation of Bruce Lee's art. A lot of the philosophical notes published in the Tao have been taken out of context and twisted to serve a purpose for which they were never meant. Phrases like "using no way as way,"1 "circle with no circumference,"2, 3 "the best form is no form",4 and "learning gained is learning lost"5, 6 have been used as justification for haphazardly throwing any technique from any other art and mislabeling it as JKD.
What these pseudo JKD instructors aren't telling you is that these philosophical statements have their origins in Zen Buddhism,7 and placed in that context, they take on an entirely different meaning. One of the basic tenets of Zen Buddhism is that the physical cannot be separated from the spiritual. It's fine to spew philosophy but if you do not have a physical, tangible vehicle through which to test and express it, it is utterly meaningless. Zen is both principle and physical experience. You cannot divorce one from the other. D.T. Suzuki explains this beautifully in Zen and Japanese Culture:
"But we must know that it is not enough just to see what the Mind is, we must put into practice all that makes it up in our daily life. We may talk about it glibly, we may write books to explain it, but that is far from enough. However much we may talk about water and describe it quite intelligently, that does not make it real water. So with fire. Mere talking of it will not make the mouth burn. To know what they are means to experience them in actual concreteness. A book on cooking will not cure hunger. To feel satisfied we must have actual food. So long as we do not go beyond mere talking, we are not true knowers."8
The problem with our charlatan JKD "masters" is that they never really bothered to learn the physical aspects of JKD. This demonstrates not only a blatant lack of respect for Bruce Lee but a complete misunderstanding of the message he was trying to convey. Levels of transcendence cannot be reached unless you have something to transcend. This is the vehicle by which you practice Zen—be it swordsmanship, tea ceremony, or JKD. But you first must learn the rules before you can transcend them. This is the trouble with saying that JKD is anything you want it to be. If this were the case, then there is no discipline to learn! And with no discipline, there is no way to practice Zen or to understand the philosophical underpinnings of JKD.
There are those who argue that there is no structure to JKD. But once again, this is Bruce Lee taken out of context. Lee himself wrote:
"People often mistakenly [believe] that JKD is against form. I don't think I'll go into detail on that, as other paragraphs will clarify that. One thing we must understand: that is, there is always a most efficient and alive manner to carry out a movement (and that the basic laws of leverage, body position, balance, footwork, and so forth, are not to be violated). However, alive, efficient form is one thing; sterile classical sets that bind and condition are another. Aside from the above mentioned, one must also distinguish the subtlety between 'having no form' and having 'no-form.' The first is ignorance, the second transcendence."9
You cannot move from ignorance to transcendence without first learning the "basic laws," and yet, this is exactly what so many would-be JKD masters are preaching. Now it could be argued that counterfeit JKD is its own discipline because techniques are taught. But it is not JKD. And it most certainly has nothing to do with Bruce Lee. There's no crime in investigating other arts or techniques. And it is certainly admirable to spend time and energy in the pursuit of excellence in any endeavor.
But I've said this before, and I will continue to say it until my dying day—you cannot throw in techniques from any art you please and call it JKD. Nor can you take an art like wing chun and mislabel it as JKD. To do so is disrespectful to both Bruce Lee and to wing chun masters, or to any other art from which techniques are pilfered and then mislabeled. It also contributes to the destruction of one man's entire life's work. There are indeed basic physical techniques and laws that comprise the art that Bruce Lee spent his lifetime developing.
The technical evidence for what JKD really is, is outlined in The Straight Lead, where it is apparent through Bruce Lee's own writings that JKD's origins are in Western boxing and fencing and that Lee was, in fact, looking to develop an art that was a complete departure from wing chun.
You will notice that there are no grappling techniques in this book. There is a reason for this. As Ted Wong knows firsthand, it was not something that Lee emphasized in his own training. With the exception of a few wrestling diagrams and references to joint locks, which have been published, there are hardly any notes on the subject in Lee's personal writings. This is not to say that grappling is not something Lee would have further explored. The sad truth is that he died before we had a full picture of the art.
I feel that close range skills are essential, but I will not be writing about them under the banner of "JKD." It is not for us to assume what would have been. We cannot guess at what direction Lee would have gone and presume to label it as JKD. We must trace everything back to the evidence that was left behind—his writings. Again, there is nothing wrong with exploring other techniques, but do not cite elements that you cannot trace to Bruce Lee and mislabel them as JKD.
The "conceptualization" of JKD really runs counter to everything that Bruce Lee was about. What is so offensive about this blatant misrepresentation is that it flies in the face of Bruce Lee's own writings which tell us to "daily minimize instead of daily decrease,"10 and to "simply simplify,"11 In reality, JKD consists of about 5 punches, 3 kicks, and a few ground techniques. The reason for this is incredibly simple. When the pressure's on, you cannot be rifling through a large library of techniques. You need enough techniques to cover all your situations, and then that's it. Everything must be simplified so that in the moment, you do not think. This is the essence of Zen—mushin ("no mind").
Unfortunately, many JKD "instructors" have sold Bruce out in