Akshay Kumar in Jeet Kune Do

JEET KUNE DO

Jeet Kune Do (JKD), meaning "the Way of the Intercepting Fist," is a martial art and life philosophy founded by Bruce Lee in 1967. Unlike more traditional martial arts, JKD is not fixed or patterned, and is a philosophy with guiding thoughts. When asked to describe his new way of fighting, Lee said, “To create a method of fighting is pretty much like putting a pound of water into wrapping paper and shaping it.”

Over the years, there has been much debate over whether JKD is a style or a philosophy. Lee himself was quoted as saying “it’s only a name.” Though, he had to have some way of referring to the techniques and strategies he was using.

“Jeet Kune Do is just a name, a boat to get one across the river,” Lee once remarked. “Once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one’s back.

Lee was teaching the traditional Chinese martial art of wing chun at his school in 1964 in Oakland, California. The area kung fu instructors, unhappy that he was teaching non-Chinese students, sent Wong J. Man from Hong Kong to Oakland with an ultimatum: close the school or throw down. The challenge was met right there and the two faced off. After an excruciating three minutes, Lee realized that even though he had successfully dispensed with the challenger, the traditional arts were not as effective as he wanted them to be in a real situation. He then began studying various fighting systems.

Contrary to common misconception, Bruce Lee did not merely take techniques from various arts and throw them together. He studied and tested very specific elements, and essentially, these were elements from only two arts—Western fencing and boxing. His concept was to create a system void of rules, he said of his system that it possesses everything but in itself is possessed by nothing.

Jeet Kune Do’s stance, footwork, and major strategic points come from fencing. For body mechanics and maximum generation of power, Lee turned to boxers Edwin Haislet, Jack Dempsey, and Jim Dricsoll. JKD’s vertical-fist jab, proper alignment, striking surface, hip rotation, and kinetic chain sequence all come from boxing.

At any given time his art can resemble Thai boxing, wing chung, wrestling, or karate. Kicks are delivered low, usually to the opponent’s shin or knee, because this is typically quicker than the high kicks used in many other martial arts. Its weaponry resembles Filipino escrima and kali, and, at long range, northern Chinese gung-fu or tae kwon do.

According to Lee, the efficiency of style depended upon circumstances and range. He also believed that a style should never be the last word in application of techniques. Different situations required different techniques. The ability to flow with the change of events was very important to Lee's fighting philosophy and he likely would have continued to improve on its arsenal by continuously modifying techniques.

In 2004, the Bruce Lee Foundation decided to use the name Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do to refer to the martial arts system that Lee founded. "Jun Fan" was Lee's Chinese given name, so the literal translation is "Jun Fan's Way of the Intercepting Fist."