Jeet Kune Do is a weak style?

[Tai-Jutsuka]

A friend of mine who knows 7 forms of kung fu told me that he fought a JKD martial artist at a competition and beat him very easily. He says that it was because the JKD guy was very repetitive in his strikes and he was not very good at hiding his intent. Is this because he is no good at it or is it because the style isn't what I thought it was, which is a very strong and unpredictable style?

[red_fists]

Tai-jutsuka.

There is only one way to get an asnwer to that question, IMO.

Fight that guy yourself and fight with a large selection of other JKD Guys at different levels.

Just my 2 Yen worth.

[curtis]

Come on!
thats not fair, judging a hole system on one fight.
perhaps you should take a closer look,before you make up you mind.
C.A.G.

[Rolling Elbow]

The problem with most of the JKD people is that they come from the Vunak line...looking a certain way when you hook, trapping a certain way, holding teh hands certain way, knee+elbow+dumag....ya know, the same old sh%t. The ones who know what they are doing flow as freely as a competent classical stylist. The majority are learning how to emulate, rather than to grow at ease in their own bodies.

[Ford Prefect]

Rolling Elbow,

I train under a Vunak instructor, and I haven't noticed any type of emulation. Everybody progresses differently and fights differently.

[Rolling Elbow]

You are an exception then...

Not that Vunak is bad..He is good and allot of his people are good . BUT, when they all learn to fight in the same emulated manner, they become predictable to someone who has seen it.

SO..JKD is NOT weak. IT "can" be very predictable though. Then again, bad ninjutsu or TKD is the same.

[Cyborg]

"those who know what they're doing flow as freely as a competent classical stylist" That's funny, I haven't met any classical stylists that flow really well. But... I'll not be judgemental on the ones that I've seen. There's some out there I'm sure!:D

[apoweyn]

taijutsuka,

how old is your friend? by my calculations, you're 16. presumably, your friend is around that age himself. and he's learned 7 forms of kung fu? is that 7 styles or 7 forms?

i ask because this is the sort of reasoning i expect from very inexperienced people. i know that's offensive, and i'm sorry. but generalizations like this are absurd. nobody conducting serious research on any issue at all contents themselves with one observation. nobody. why would your friend be any different?

you at least knew enough to get other opinions before buying into that line of reasoning. that's to your credit.

ask your friend to seek out, say, four more practitioners of JKD. from varying skill levels and instructors, ideally. see if, after doing a more thorough investigation, he feels the same way.


stuart b.

[apoweyn]

actually, in rereading your post, i have to concede that your friend didn't say that JKD was telegraphic and easily defeated. he made that observation about the guy he sparred. and that's fair enough.

to answer your question, then, no i don't believe it reflects badly on the style itself. only on that particular individual. and even then, it says he had a bad day. not necessarily that he was a bad practitioner.

it's very difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from one encounter.


stuart b.

[Tai-Jutsuka]

Yes, I am 16 years old. My friend is 17. He says that he knows 7 forms of kung fu not styles. As much as I would like to fight someone who knows Jeet Kune Do, it and pretty much all other forms of martial arts are pretty much nonexistant where I live. The only karate is the bullsh*t karate that they teach small children, an extremely watered down version of T'ai Chi, and an incredible kung fu school about 2 hours from where I live. Maybe in the next competitions I partake in I will encounter some JKD.

[apoweyn]

perhaps, yeah. but, again, no it doesn't mean that JKD is a bad style.

by the way, seven styles of kung fu would be a lot for anyone to learn, nevermind a 17-year-old. seven forms is a bit misleading if he's talking about individual sets (kata, poomse, etc.) within one style. if he is, i've learned about 18 forms. and that's far from extraordinary.

keep an open mind and you'll be fine.


stuart b.

[CannonFist]

Actually most martial arts can be viewed as predicatable. Some may say that Vunak is predicatable, you know the same old straight blast, elbows knees, head butts. You can also say that Choy Lay Fut kung fu is predicyable with its kwa sao charp combos(singinging type back fist, overhand strike, straight punch). If you want to talk about predicatable, you may want to consider Dan Inosanto, this guy can flow seamlessly into all kind of technqiues from boxing to kicking to trapping to wrestling. But I think Dan is most efficient in kali and silat type stuff.

[Ryu]

Vunak makes his stuff work. He can pull it off.
I have trained with the man himself, and I look nothing like him when I actually train, spar, or fight. My stuff looks more like MMA/NHB
any sincere individual researches his own experience.

Ryu

[jkund34]

If you want to talk about predicatable, you may want to consider Dan Inosanto,


Are you saying that Dan is or isnt predicatable?

[LEGEND]

Sounds BS...since I haven't notice many JKDD sparring in competition other than MUY THAI and KICKBOXING events. Vunak is excellent in his trapping. I feel that his students from VA doesn't do anything like him...some are capable at MUY THAI while a few at trapping...others at grappling. Master my ass...still haven't seen many master put themselve in competition to get that type of title or respect.

[CannonFist]

I was trying to say that if you think that JKD is predictable, then you should consider again and see the seamless flow into a wide range of different techniques.