Hello Everyone!

As most of you know, there has been a growing riff between myself and some of the other JKD groups for a long time! I do not agree at all with their attitudes regarding the Wing Chun Gung Fu influence on Jeet Kune Do, as well as their attitudes toward trapping, mook jong training and the practice of Sil Lim Tao! Jeet Kune Do as practiced by them is turning into, I hate to say it, but just plain kickboxing with the power side forward!

My feelings on this matter are that you must HAVE STRUCTURE before you can start to, as Bruce Lee would say, chissel away the innesential elements of combat. First of all, innessential for WHO? From what I have seen, most of the people in one group think that you can just start off where Bruce Lee was just before he died and develop a Bruce Lee like skill level! I have news for them ... it is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! They will never have TRUE Jeet Kune Do! NEVER!

I also do not agree with the "add anything you want and call it Jeet Kune Do" approach! Some of the arts being added are NOT AT ALL advocates of the main priniples of Jeet Kune Do, which are (1) Simplicity, (2) Directness and (3) Non Classical Attitude in thinking, training and fighting. There are actually very specific principles, techniques and guidelines that clearly define what Jeet Kune Do is (as developed, practiced and taught by Bruce Lee). And guess what? Those things are EXACTLY what we are doing! I have said it before and here I will say it again! JEET KUNE DO IS JEET KUNE DO ... ANYTHING ELSE IS NOT!!!!

Bruce Lee went through a long process to get to where he was skill-wise! What makes anyone think that they can just jump in there and do what he was doing right at the end of his life and have exceptional Jeet Kune Do skills? You must know where you have been to see where you are going! The Wing Chun Gung Fu foundation that Bruce Lee got in Hong Kong, the Seattle curriculum, the Oakland curriculum and the L. A. Chinatown curriculum all hold VITAL pieces of the puzzle, and are very necessary to develop the structure that makes everything else work! Bruce Lee left us a fairly detailed road map. All we have to do is follow the routes, hopefully without missing any important turns!

These people downplay the importance of trapping, and even somewhat deny its existence. It is as if they are attempting to brainwash all of us into thinking that nothing matters but what they are doing! There are many "so-called" JKD practitioners who say that you don't need phon sao, or trapping. Well, I have some late breaking news for them! IT IS a valuable and very necessary part of Jeet Kune Do, and is one of the MOST IMPORTANT elements that makes Jeet Kune Do what it is! Some groups have tried to remove the very heart of the system, the very nucleus of what makes it unique, and therefore extremely effective for use against the unexpecting opponent! ANYONE can learn to deal with a basic kickboxer! Jeet Kune Do is far from being just kickboxing!

These same people now say that you don't need energy/sensitivity training or mook jong training! They are trying to take EVERYTHING that makes Jeet Kune Do what it is away from the art! And yes, energy/sensitivity drills such as chi sao are necessary to develop your trapping skills to the max, just like you need mook jong work to economize your structure and increase the speed and power of your traps. Then you need reference point trapping drills to perfect the mechanics of the trapping movements. I'll tell you what it REALLY is here! These people are just TOO LAZY to put forth the effort and the time that it takes to develop these skills! That same laziness will get them KILLED in the street!

Then there are those who continue to deny the importance of learning and practicing the Sil Lim Tao form. It was a valuable part of the Jun Fan Gung Fu curriculum, and the benefits to structure are just as valid for us today as they were for Bruce Lee in Hong Kong and Seattle in the late 50's/early 60's! That is why Sil Lim Tao is and will continue to be an important part of the Hardcore Jeet Kune Do curriculum! FOUNDATION STRUCTURE is and will continue to be the MOST important part of our development as martial artists and fighters!

It is much easier to just remove these things from the curriculum and say that you "don't need these things" or that Bruce Lee "wasn't spending much time" on these things at the end, than it is to actually do the work and put forth the effort necessary to learn these skills and become effective at their use! There is NO EXCUSE for this! NONE WHATSOEVER! As the Nike people are fond of saying ... JUST DO IT!!!! L-A-Z-Y is the worst of all the four letter words! Don't let it be YOUR downfall!

Also, to further prove my point here, Bruce Lee had FIVE Ways of Attack that were emphasized, not four! Hand Immobilization Attack (HIA), AKA "trapping hands", is one of those FIVE Ways of Attack. Now, if that is left out is someone still doing Jeet Kune Do? NOT IN MY BOOK!

Bruce Lee himself said that the three most important arts in the founding of Jeet Kune Do were Wing Chun Gung Fu, Fencing and Boxing, with Wing Chun Gung Fu being the most important part of that equation! Why, because that is where our FOUNDATION STRUCTURE comes from! Take the Wing Chun Gung Fu out of Jeet Kune Do and what you have is, as I stated already, kickboxing with the power side forward!

The MAIN GOAL of the Hardcore Jeet Kune Do Chinese Gung Fu Association is to PRESERVE, PROTECT, PROMOTE and PERPETUATE the ORIGINAL TEACHING, TRAINING and FIGHTING METHODS of the late Bruce Lee. NOT to let it degenerate into just "kickboxing" with the power side forward! Next thing you know they will be doing away with that! Let this be a WAKE UP CALL to all of us to be the best we can be, and work hard to uphold and maintain the high standards that keep what we do HARDCORE! If there is NO OTHER GROUP left out there promoting Bruce Lee's ACTUAL, ORIGINAL teachings, let's see to it that WE are doing just that! WE CAN DO THIS! I KNOW WE CAN!!!!!


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

Amen!

Keep up the good work, Sifu!

We are with you!

Dick

One big problem with this is that the majority of the people who need to hear this are too closed minded to try it.

Say what you will about Ted Wong, but he did train with Bruce Lee and, although I disagree with his opinion, he is entitled to it. He can give reasons why he does the things that he does. Many people just read a book or two, train a certain way, and decide that what they are doing must be the best. If this person believes that the sky is green, and you tell them that it is actually blue, not only will they not believe you, but they won't even go to the window and look for themselves. They know it is true because they beLIEve it, and they beLIEve it because it is true.

I have been practicing Jeet Kune Do for years with Sifu Davis, but I have also taken lessons in Boxing, Ju Jitsu, Karate (just a little), and MMA. I have had lessons in JKD from Patrick Strong, Larry Hartsell (sp?), Zee Lo, Chris Sutton, Tim Tackett, William(Bill? I can't remember which he goes by) Holland, and a few others who I have probably left out. I can tell someone why I believe the things that I do. I can also tell them why I practice JKD and why I study from who I study under. (note - This is not necessarily to say that I agree or disagree with any of these instructors absolutely, but I can tell you what I did/did not like from the specific experiences I have had with each of them. Generally, I liked some things but not others, although some instructors weighed more heavily on one side than on the other.)

Anyone is entitled to their beliefs, IF they can give reasons why they hold these beliefs and they can back their reasons up with experience.

-Jack Harris

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink!"

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

An interesting experiment would be to post on the Bax forum that the sky is blue and see if anyone argues with you.......

Hi Jack,

Actually, the sky isn't "blue".

If you do the research, you'll find that it's actually.....



...just kidding.

Hit the nail on the head there Sifu, i think alot of people just don't want to put in the time and effort to develop these skills while others are as Jack said, closed minded. BL said , in my words not his, be an empty cup, by that i believe he meant was to be open to all sorts of things then analize them and see if they fit into your jkd structure before you banish it as being non-esential.

Why people believe that you can obtain BL type skills without travelling a similar road as he is beyond my understanding.

I am currently training under a Ted Wong instructor and he stated to me at the very begining that he can only take me so far then it's up to me from there as to how i furhter develop. He is open minded enough to know that he does'nt have all the answers and i know JKD is a life long journey that will be an never ending learning process and i plan on enjoying every minute of it

Sounds like a humble, good instructor Gary. Good find!