BramptonJKD

When Bruce Lee lived in Hong Kong, he learned Wing Chun from Yip Man's school. His primary instructors were Wong Shun Leung and William Chung. Two grand masters in their own right. That was from the age of about 13 to 18. From some of the things I have read, they trained 6 or 7 days a week for long hours each session. Before starting Wing Chun, he trained Tai Chi with his father. Just after he started Wing Chun he was also fighting in Western Boxing tournaments in highschool. So by the time he was leaving Hong Kong at the age of 18, he had an amazing base in a few different disciplines. So definitely NOT self taught.

Hello all, Just a quick note to the original poster of this thread. First I want to say that I applaud you for your list of ranks in the various arts that you have trained. Accomplishments you should absolutely be proud of. I noticed in your second post that you listed 5 things that you follow 1) 5 ways of attack 2) aborb what is useful 3) learning all ranges 4) not being bound to any style or culture 5) economy of motion extc. Here is what I would say to respond to that: 1) The 5 ways of attack are nice to know, and nice to train, but "in the moment" it's not something you will be thinking about. 2) absorb what is useful - I was never a big fan of this saying. It gives people the wrong impression that JKD is a "anything I want to do" Martial Art. It makes people think that the more arts I learn, the more I understand JKD. Not so. Bruce Lee advocated "daily decrease". Meaning, refine your technique, discard the useless ones. Don't do something for the sake of tradition. 3) learning all ranges - What ever classification of ranges you learn, it will really come down to instinctively knowing what you can and can't do in relation to your position to your opponent. 4) Yes, but don't be afraid to dive deeper into what interests you, and what comes naturally to you. If that means studying one style , or 100 styles, because it is coming to you easily. 5) YES! YES! and YES! Economy of Motion, Simplicity and Directness should be all things that you consider when trying to refine your technique. Unnecessary movements only allow your opponent the time to counter what you are doing. I absolutely suggest seeking out a qualified JKD instructor, someone that you feel comfortable learning from, and find out for yourself. (Don't take my word for it!) Be honest with yourself when it comes to what you are learning. It needs to be effective and work for you.