What can I say here that hasn't been said countless times about JKD? I will only state my opinion about the subject. I often get asked what JKD is, and my one minute answer goes something like this; JKD is the idea of the best way to do anything, given any situation. It is limited by nothing, including the martial arts. It is different for each of us. We all have different assets, limitations, restrictions, and characteristics. In relation to the martial arts, it would not make sence for us each to train exactly the same, or fight the same way. We are not all the same. JKD is our personal melting pot of the various aspects that make us who we are. It does'nt have to be called JKD, it's just an idea. JKD is, for me, also a goal of where I want to be in any aspect of my life. If someone tells me that they train the martial art of JKD I still don't have a good picture of their fighting style. The four ranges of non weapon combat (kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling) each have several specific styles of martial arts specializing in them specifically. An idea of being a JKD martial artist is, for me, to be well rounded in all ranges of combat. I must be able to fit in with my opponent, always taking advantage of his weakness and flowing with, not fighting against, his energy. I may be the best grappler in the world, for example, but if I cannot defend myself against an excellent striker and am rendered unconsious before I can close the distance and take him to the ground, all of the grappling training I have done is for nothing. For me, to train in JKD means to always keep an open mind to all styles and ways. It is to take whatever I can from wherever I can, and make it my own by altering it to suite me best. It has been said that JKD has no way as way, no form as form, and no limitation as limitation. Keep in mind, my description here is not all of JKD; you can't put it in a box and pass it along like a manual of techniques or even an elaborate description.
In an attempt to help you understand JKD better, I ask you to read the following poem (From Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet kune Do) slowly and carefully. After you have done that, re-read each line, each word, slowly and with a meditating mind. I have spent several hours learning from this short poem, and each time I read it I still get more and more from it. |
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Into a soul absolutely free
From thoughts and emotion,
Even the tiger finds no room
To insert its fierce claws.
One and the same breeze passes
Over the pines on the mountain
And the oak trees in the valley;
And why do they give different notes?
No thinking, no reflecting,
Perfect emptiness;
Yet therein something moves,
Following its own course.
The eye sees it,
But no hands can take hold of it-
The moon in the stream.
Clouds and mists,
They are midair transformations;
Above them eternally shine the sun and the moon.
Victory is for the one,
Even before the combat,
Who has no thought of himself,
Abiding in the no-mind-ness of Great Origin.
A Taoist Priest
(From Bruce Lee's the Tao of Jeet Kune Do) |
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