http://www.jkdresurrection.com/
I just found out that I can be trained in jkd without traveling 2 hours, wohoo. Although I would love to find a good place that teaches traditional kung fu, I am also interested in JKD, and that interest has increased considerably after reading the tao of jeet kune do.
If you please, check out the site and tell me what you think.
There is one thing that I have noted in my mind in regards to the practice of JKD in the americas.
I find that people like it because it does away with a lot of the traditional structure of chinese martial arts teachings.
Bruce Lee was big on geting rid of the “classical mess” as he called it. Personally, I think this was due to his own ego on a lot of levels. The guy was a movie star first and was desperate for fame. He didn’t know what a gem he had in his hand and while he spent his time trying to be like McQueen and Coburn, McQueen and Coburn were wishing they could have had the chance to have the teachings from Yip Man that Lee got.
It really is a “grass is greener on the other side” scenario.
Kung Fu practice builds you up by breaking you down.
It is part of the traditional ways, to crush the ego of the student so that they will come to a clear understanding of their capabilities and more importantly their weaknesses.
The student must actively participate in this rebuilding of the self to really understand them selves. If you block the breakdown because of a sense of self that is too strong, then your cup can’t be filled, because it isn’t empty.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people out there learning and teaching that do not have an “empty cup” attitude.
But, that’s humanity for you. In the west here, where there is not much suffering for the common person, the emptying of ones cup is that much more difficult because of the paradigm we develop about ourselves in a fairly sheltered society.
when you break out of this mold, you either become a detrament vis a vis anarchistic and iconoclastic tendencies, or you become a conformist to the paradigm and wind up serving society or you simply become yourself as you truly are. THe latter of these three is the most difficult path because even when you are there, you don’t know!
Anyway, Bruce wanted to get rid of all the things “he” didn’t like about chinese martial arts and this is perpetuated in many JKD schools.
The only thing that Bruce forgot about was an old idea intrinsically connected with Martial arts practice, particularly Chinese martial arts, and that is…
“You must taste bitter, if you do not taste the bitter, you cannot truly know what is sweet.”
The bitter is more than sweat and time and effort.
It is being filled with self doubt, being rigorously drilled on a day when you don’t feel like it, taking abuse and letting it go, personality conflicts with others and handling them, dissapointment, failure and rejection, these things are needed in building character which will in turn manifest in your Kung fu ability and skills and your own sense of fairness and mercy based on your direct experience.
when you have eaten all that, you can move on and live your life with your Kung Fu.
peace
you know normally i would have made fun of the big fat ass, but my last teacher was a jkd/ninjitsu/kempo guy and was nearly his size. fu cker would sit at the steak house accross from school eating 2 huge steaks and drinking bear before class. he was also one of the fastest people i have ever seen in my entire life. it was almost humorous the first time you saw him move … and then it was kinda scary. he was also extremely powerful and awesome with weapons.
however his speed was all with his hands. he could have beaten down 5 of me, but he wouldn’t have had a prayer against our late senior student.
he’s good, but i like where i’m at now allot better. the stuff i’m learning in kf is actually more practical and easier to perform, especially under pressure. but this is most likely due to the teachers … from what i hear around here it’s rare to find good kf. cosidering that you would probably be best to check out the guy close to you.
I’m amazed of big fat guys that are fast 
Bruce Lee was not a movie star first…yes he starred in some in some kid movies…but his goal when he hit the USA was to focus JKD on street effective tools. So he did away with a lot of stuff( forms etc… ) he considered non essential. I’m sure WONG SHUN LEUNG and his seniors broke down his ego many times beating him during training.
This guy is definitely from the teaching of JUN FAN JKD. Anyone sponsored by sifu lamar and u’ll get the original teachings of Bruce Lee. U should expect him to have descent boxing and trapping skills.
I like JKD and live training. If your ego doesn’t get beat down when you get hammerred and man handled by class mates, then I don’t know what will. You have to swallow your pride and your ego when you train because of the fact that you’ll get beat on so much.
If you look at “traditional” and “contemporary” styles, as far as combat goes, they are pretty equal assuming the “traditional” class has a focus on combat. To me Bruce Lee’s philosophy was outstanding, in the past alot of articles have been written and some of his notes been published like Tao of Jeet Kune Do but they are only a small fraction of what he thought or in most of the articles case misinformation. Alot of people want to be a tough guy and are to macho so they focus on the “not doing forms” and the “boxing” aspect of JKD, others hold on to the “original teachings” and that is just like any other “traditional school”. From all the sources I’ve read, the best being the John Little series of Books, his main message was that when it comes to useful technique don’t be concerened about the name it comes from(style) cause in the end we are all people and nobody has a monopoly on combat and nobody should dictate what is right and wrong for you to do in combat. I like how he said all styles started out as hypothosis and later became law and how he regretted nameing Jeet Kue Do, makes you look at what is going on with JKD now a wonder if everybody missed his point.
Insightful as always kung lek, but I was asking what you thought of the the site I linked ^^
Thanks for the replies, and yes my biggest concern was the large fellow as JKD is heavily into body conditioning, but I guess he uses that size to his advantage.
It’s good to hear that about sifu lamar, I think I’ll check it out.
From the ashes of Hamilton, there is . . . A RESURRECTION!
Hello to all the doubters and believers . . .
Since I’m a late arrival to this forum, and this thread let me run down the line and respond in order.
Kung Fu Guy
I do train and teach primarily JKD, but I have had extensive training in Wing Chun Gung Fu. I can teach you traditional Wing Chun if that is what your interested in, but to me JKD is more alive and realistic when it comes to combat situations. I’m not putting down Wing Chun, it’s very useful and destructive. I’m just giving my opinion.
You may be interested in our JKD seminar with Sifu Lamar M Davis on April the 27th and 28th in Hamilton. I am an apprentice instructor under Sifu Lamar, along with two friends. We are his representatives for all of Eastern Canada. I have also trained with Ted Wong and Jerry Poteet.
As you know, to try and learn JKD as it was originally taught by Bruce Lee in our area is impossible. We are the first JKD instructors in Hamilton in over 5 years, the rest have either left or stopped teaching. Throw me an e-mail if you want to train sometime, go to the seminar, or you just want to ask questions.
Kung Lek
Awesome explaination of the difference between traditional and non-classical MAs. JKD is a non-classical MA that concentrates on what is, instead of what might be. Good stuff.
Legend
Good call! I’d like to think that I have good trapping and boxing skills. After working with Sifu Lamar, my trapping and sensitivity has improved 200%! As for my boxing skills my friends have nicknamed me “The Hook”. 
I’d also like to think that for a “big guy”, I’m pretty light on my feet.
GunnedDownAtrocity
Hmmmm . . . “big fat ass” eh? You know normally that would make me angry, but then I realized that people like you don’t matter at the end of the day.
To any other critics . . .
No one has a perfect body, or body type, but it’s that search for perfection that makes us who we are.
Not that I need to justify myself to anyone, but those pics were taken in October 2001. I’ve lost 25 pounds since then. In the entire year of 2001, I lost 75 pounds. NO FAD DIETS, just hard work, and long hours at the gym. If you still want to question how hard I work at my JKD, play on! Critics make me work harder than I normally would have. It’s the people who underestimate me who get the rude awakening.