Kaju_influenced Posted March 31, 2003 Posted March 31, 2003 NinjaMaster saidIt makes it a system on its own. That is not entirely correct like every style there is often a base for instance JKD, Wing Chun for its close quarters aspect an kickboxing for its longrange aspect. The diffrence between lets say a type of Karate style and JKD is that most karate styles will limit thereselfs to a range of fighting aspect where in the other hand JKD will see them from all ranges therefore as i said before turning it into a concept of fighting not a style that binds. Take this parable from the book of confucious for example- "Master what is the point of death?" his disciple asked. "My friend how can one understand death when one does not yet understand life!" or even what the great Brenden Lai once said as example " To disregard that ones knowledge has come from the past is to disrepect ones predessesors".Go to JKD and you get shown what they think works. You cant go to JKD classes if you are following the concept because the work has been done for you That is also not entirely true, yes u are taught a basis of a fighting aspect but as u grow in the concept u soon learn to disregard something that is useless to U. Not what is useless to others might just be usefull to u, so u c its not a style that binds u as i explained but more a concept u must grow from. I have studied JDK with my sifu and aswell as Guro Inosanto and he can also concur with this concept. JDK is about decreasing oneself or more for expressing oneself being truthfull to urself without lying so it is most of all a concept over a style. KEEP TRAINING AND ALWAYS WORK HARD AT IT! "Sweat more in the dojo,bleed less in the street"Kajukenbo fighters axiom.
Lee Posted March 31, 2003 Posted March 31, 2003 Ofcourse work has already been done, but by individuals for their own JKD. Just because they have done the work and found something that works for them and teach it to you does not mean it is the best or the correct technique. If whatever JKD school and instructor you went to did not emphasize this and simply told you this was the best, studies were made and this way to attack is the best so learn it, then it is not JKD. Take for example Dan Inosanto. While Bruce was alive and for a while after his death, Dan had kept using the more upright stance from Wing Chun that Bruce used and taught. It worked for him so Dan kept it. That is until he met up against a very good Muay Thai fighter (forgot his name, sorry) who whooped him up. When he asked the Thai fighter how he was beaten so easily and quickly, the fighter told Dan it was because of his stance. The Thai fighter simply made a shin kick to his thighs everytime Dan's legs came together for an attack. Students of the Thai fighter also defeated Dan's best students with relative ease. Dan realized the weakness in the stance he had been using and so modified it into a more square, Muay Thai stance. Dan changed it because it worked for him and he incorperated something into his personal JKD which was a better way of doing something, in this case the stance. Now did Dan teach his students this new stance? Yes. Did Dan tell them, "I lost to some Muay Thai fighters, so I changed my JKD to adapt to the weakness and so all of you should do and follow me because this is the best stance"? No. If the original JKD stance worked better for you then you should keep it. If Dan's more Muay Thai square stance worked for you better, than use it. If you prefer a Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu, etc. stance more than use it. The emphasis of JKD is to create your own personal expression of martial arts. If you simply go to a JKD class and mimic your peers and instructor techniques, who they themselves had to work to find what worked best for themselves, then you are not learning JKD. By following 100% what is taught by the instructor you are defeating the purpose of JKD and you in turn, like you said Ninjamaster, are learning a style. But it is not JKD, it is the specific style of the person (in your case the instructor) who you copied. "Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. Put water into a tea pot, it becomes the tea pot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water my friend."- Bruce Lee
Martial_Artist Posted March 31, 2003 Posted March 31, 2003 JKD was intended to be a concept, a martial arts philosophy. An approach to understanding the martial arts. In Bruce's "Tao of Jeet Kune Do" he recognizes this and states it quite plainly. Jeet Kune Do was not intended to be a taught style or system, but a concept or philosophy governing one's approach to learning the martial arts. LEE and Kaju_Influenced are correct. Only I don't believe that JKD should be taught as a solitary system in a school. At least, that's not what I gathered from reading Bruce's own writings. MA "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.Imagination is more important than knowledge.Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Einstein
Kaju_influenced Posted April 1, 2003 Posted April 1, 2003 Jeet Kune Do was not intended to be a taught style or system, but a concept or philosophy governing one's approach to learning the martial arts. Very well said and that is the truth more important to bruce was ones self truth as u explained JKD was intended for. Growth and decreasing ones ego or his/hers "preconceived fixed notions". "What the caterpillar sees as the end of the world the master will call a buterfly" -TRUTH- KEEP TRAINING AND ALWAYS WORK HARD AT IT! "Sweat more in the dojo,bleed less in the street"Kajukenbo fighters axiom.
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