Hello Everyone!
I can tell from some of the recent posts on this and my other forums, that some people actually understand (or at least are starting to) the process that is Jeet Kune Do, while others still do not have a clue! Everyone that trained with Bruce Lee holds valuable pieces to the puzzle. Bruce Lee was well known for bringing out the best in everyone that he worked with. He could look at a student and see what their strengths were, as well as their weaknesses. Everyone got something a bit different from Bruce Lee. This is why it is not possible to get everything from just one of Bruce Lee's original students. This is also why you cannot say that any one student is best to train with! They ALL have something unique to offer!
My goal has always been to learn as much as possible from each of the original Bruce Lee students so that I could hopefully have a very complete picture of what Bruce Lee taught. This makes it easy for me to share the knowledge with those who train with me! Unfortuantely, this also causes some problems, as there are slight differences in opinions as to what is most important about Bruce Lee's teachings!
The Wing Chun/Jeet Kune Do issue is and example of this! Some feel that Wing Chun is not that important to the development process of the Jeet Kune Do practitioner, while experience has taught me that Wing Chun is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the equation when it comes to really getting what Bruce Lee actually taught! It forms the foundation for what we do, and an art without foundation structure is like a building of concrete and steel placed on a styrofoam foundation! IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!!!!
Now, don't misunderstand me here! I AM NOT saying that you have to go out and learn the entire Wing Chun system. I do feel that you should at least learn the things that Bruce Lee felt were important to the development of Jeet Kune Do. You will find a list of these things on my Hardcore Jeet Kune Do website under the Wing Chun category heading.
Oh, and as for money, this has absolutely nothing to do with me making money, but instead that I want to be sure my students are getting THE MOST from the money they are paying to learn from me! Knowing what I know now, if I did not share this with my students I would feel like I was ripping them off! I feel obligated to share EVERYTHING that I have learned from First Generation students, not just a partial, fragmented presentation of the material!
As I have already stated in another post on this forum, the process was Wing Chun Gung Fu, Jun Fan Gung Fu and then finally, Jeet Kune Do. To leave out any part of this journey is doing yourself a great dis-service, and limiting yourself severely. I refuse to become a part of that limitation! My students will learn AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE of what I have learned from all of Bruce Lee's students, not just a limited view of what I have learned from any one! THAT, my friends, is what HARDCORE JEET KUNE DO is all about!
Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
JKD@windstream.net
http://www.HardcoreJKD.com
http://www.DragonBlastMA.com
Phone (205) 296-7070 (Incoming Only)
"Hit Hard, Hit Fast, Hit First - ALWAYS!"
"The REAL future of Jeet Kune Do belongs to US, the few, the proud, the HARDCORE! Now, what are we going to do with it?" _ Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
