Ok - how's this for starters

[YODA]

Great - let's go

 

My 1st question....

 

Where ever I go in martial arts I meet lots of people, who train in Tae Kwon Do, Karate or whatever - and say things like...

 

"I love JKD"

 

"I think Bruce Lee was great"

 

etc etc...

 

My question is - why do so many people "Love JKD" yet so few take the time to actually seek out a bona-fide school & train it?

 

 

 

 

[Blade13]

Great point YODA. I think it is just the reputation Bruce Lee has. People want to be him. He is seen, in the western world, as one of the greatest fighters ever. When they say that they love JKD, they only say that they love the fact that Bruce Lee could beat the crap out of almost anyone. Thats all there is to it. Most people see JKD as an actual fighting style and nothing more. At a tournament I went to, I was having a chat with a man twice my age (I was 14 at the time) and JKD was mentioned in the conversation. He went on for a few minutes trying to sound like an expert, and I had to spend a few extra minutes correcting him. He even asked me if I was a black belt in JKD!! Bruce Lee has that legendary feel about him, and people envy it, so they go on and on about false knowledge of JKD in hopes that they will be compared to him. Fortunately, JKD is becoming slightly more main stream now, so there is a declining numbers of (for lack of a better term) posers out there. Still, there will always be Bruce Lee wannabes out there. I find it quite funny that they try to be more like Bruce Lee by doing the exact opposite of what he did. They copy, Bruce created.

 

 

[three60roundhouse]

Maybe it is becasue of the low amount of schools. I for one have a hard time finding schools in my area. Even mt tae kwon do school had just moved near me, so I was lucky. I searched forever to find a jiu-jitsu school, and now I am only beginning to train the art becasue my TKD instructor will come down to my TKD dojang every week to give a lesson.

 

Also, moving up in rank is important to many. I for one would prefer to move up in skill, but doesn't JKD not use belts? That might be a deterrant for people who just want to be "black belts".

[Jiggy9]

Yea - I'd second that...

 

I just cant/couldnt find a JKD school here..

 

There was one, which did Judo side by side, but then they closed down - Which annoyed me a great deal. So as much as I wish to train it - I cant.

[YODA]

One problem I see is people's perception of what JKD actually entails. What they see and what they "love" is often what we call "Theatrical JKD" i.e. the stuff he did in his movies - which is a far cry from the stuff he actually taught his students.

 

I had a guy come into our class once saying he wanted to learn to "kick like Bruce Lee". So I showed him the low Jeet-tek, o'ou tek jik-tek that are the foundation of his method -all low kicks to the knee & groin. "No, No -the spinning kicks he used to take out 2 guys at once with in Enter the Dragon!" was the response I got - Doh!

 

Hey Three60 - we DO use belts Not many JKD based schools do - but my Sifu does & so do I. Most JKD schools use coloured T-Shirts or "phase levels" - I don't see the difference.

 

"Using All ways - Bound by None" Remember? Bound by NONE means that although Bruce Lee didn't use belts, if we find they help our stuident's growth then we CAN.

 

The difference is that we use them because they are valuable - not out of tradition.

 

 

[YODA]

Hey Blade13

 

JKD Contacts in GA

 

Francis Fong

 

Frances Fong Academy

 

3260 Satellite Blvd Ste 600

 

Duluth GA 30096

 

Phone: 770-623-8090

 

http://www.francisfongacademy.com

 

Lineage: Bruce Lee --> Dan Inosanto --> Francis Fong

 

Steve Grantham

 

Grantham Martial Arts Academy

 

1498 Buford Hwy PMB-C113

 

Sugar Hill, GA 30024

 

Phone: 770-945-3434

 

Website: http://www.granthammartialarts.com

 

E-mail: Steve.Grantham@onecoast.com

 

Lineage: Bruce Lee --> Dan Inosanto --> Steve Grantham

 

Adam & Rory Singer

 

The Hardcore Gym

 

780 Gaines school rd apt 44a

 

Athens GA, 30605

 

Phone: 706 - 543 -8368

 

asinger0@home.com

 

Lineage Bruce Lee --> Dan Inosanto --. Paul Vunak --> Adam Singer

 

 

 

 

[Joecooke007]

Ok People love JKD cause people loved Bruce Lee that guy could of beat the crap out of anyone. There aren't that many schools around though because Bruce Lee said that none were able enough to teach his art.

 

 

[YODA]

.... Pricicely Joe. That's why we don't teach his art. We "use" his art as a base to develop OUR art - This is the essence of the JKD Process

 

 

[Blade13]

Thanks for the info Yoda. Unfortunately, I live in south georgia. Thats about 180 miles from any of those locations. This summer, Im going to Duluth to train at the Francis Fong Academy as part of a new yearly tradition since I cant train there full-time. Ill just have to do a month's work, practice that for a year, then come back and do more. Hey, I taught myself martial arts and I came in first place at a tournament in black belt forms and second in black belt sparring, so this wont be THAT bad for me. haha Im really looking forward to training there. They have four out of five of the "styles" that I would most like to learn...JKD, Muay Thai, Capoeira, and Wing Chun. Ive decided to go to college near Duluth so I can train there when I move out. Oh yeah, Im 15 years old. lol

 

 

[YODA]

Sounds like a great plan for the future Blade - if I can be of any help at all in your journey then I'm here!