I’ve got no experience with JKD, never seen or read much about it. There are no schools in my city either. But I was curious as to know how does one train or learn JKD? I’ve heard there is no use of forms in the style, and have become very interested in the training methods used in JKD. Is the training similar to boxing?
JKD
Hello Y.A.,
It can be like boxing, it can be like most anything. It’s all about just using what works, common sense really. So it can use any move from anything. For example, the way Bruce Lee jabs is actually a lot like a fencing thrust, and its entirely possible that BLee got it from there. And I know Bruce definatly studied boxing, but not solely. I recommend you review the moves you’ve discarded every once and a while, you may change your mind about them later.
“But I was curious as to know how does one train or learn JKD?”
Well simple, most people learn on there own or at a school. But it can be tough to find any JKD schools, but what’s worse is that it suffers the plight of many fake teachers. How do you tell if the JKD you’ve found is legite- simple, ignore the sales pitches and critically analyze what they tell you and check into the schools/instructors backrounds. I began my study of JKD on my own, though I’ve made a lot of progress at a school.
So if you can find any school(s) that teach something you believe is effective (please stay away from TKD), it shouldn’t be too hard to mix it into your JKD. I think a lot of the Filipino Martial Arts (escrima, kali, etc…) are a whole lot like JKD, so you might want to find a school that teaches that. Then there’s always Kickboxing, Tang Sue Do (spelling? just look for Kung Le) and MMA schools, all of which easily blend with JKD. Actually, most MMA schools are somehow based off of JKD!
I recommend you get a copy of “The Tao of Jeet Kune Do”, by Bruce Lee, you’d probubly like it. Then you may also be able to get some JKD tapes on the net, if you can get them from Dan Intasano’s (spelling?) school directly. I perfer Ron Biliki to Burt Richardson, just because Ron actually fights and I think Burt can be a little to flashy. Then again, if you watch NHB fights, you can learn some moves just from what lands, and that way at least you know it works.
Well that’s what I know! Good luck!