Jeet Kune Do?

Question

It is true that it is a different style itself?

Reason I ask is Chuck Norris learned Tang Soo Do in the army way before Bruce Lee taught him Jeet Kune Do. This means Bruce did not teach Chuck Norris everything he knows.

So am I right?

Answer 1

*Gasp*

Ok, first and foremost.

Jeet Kune Do is not a style, it is a philosophy. In theory every person would have a different Jeet Kune Do. It is using what works for you, cross training taking techniques and testing them and finding out what works for you. It is not a preset style, with preset moves. It is different for each individual, that is Jeet Kune Do.

Second, Bruce Lee never taught Chuck Norris, Chuck learned Tang Soo Do in Korea while in the AIR FORCE.. Chuck and Bruce knew each other, Chuck considered Bruce Lee to be superior, they studied together shortly during the filming of "Game of Death" and exchanged ideas, but they didn't train together for an extended period of time.

So no, Bruce Lee taught Chuck Norris very, very little. In addition Chuck was already a multiple Karate champion prior to meeting Bruce in 1967.

Answer 2

Actually, Jeet Kune Do is a style there are many instructors that are 2nd generation Lee students who still teach it today. It focuses more on the lead hand strike. Bruce's philosophy behind the lead hand strike is the straight like to the target is much shorter so you can close the distance much faster and land more successive blows doing more damage over time than strong rear hand shots that are easier to avoid.

p.s. Chuck Norris is a hack who probably started the Chuck Norris faqs in a last ditch effort to resurrect his non-existent popularity.

Answer 3

Of course you are right. Chuck Norris actually beat Bruce Lee in two out of the three exibitions they fought. The only one he lost was when he was wearing a cast. Bruce Lee's early death and cult status has spawned many larger than life stories about the guy. Norris and Lee were proficiant in many styles and adapted those styles into their own way of fighting that best suited their individual skills.

Answer 4

"What do you think Jeet Kune Do is, a martial art or philosophy?" My view, based on reading Bruce Lee's notes, is that JKD is a philosophy/approach first and foremost. The idea was to be fluid and formless, not restricted by a limited way of doing things. Some instructors teach "Original JKD", and believe that what Bruce Lee taught in his lifetime is the "only" JKD. This is a widespread view, and many respectable instructors hold it, but it does seem contradictory to what Lee's growing philosophy on fighting was about. But out of respect for that, I would view what they teach as "Jun Fan Kung Fu". "Is JKD taught a martial art, a philosophy or both?" Depends largely on who's teaching it. Those from the Dan Inosanto camp/lineage refer to "Jeet Kune Do Concepts", where they filter any martial art they study through the founding principles of JKD (efficiency, non-telegraphic, etc). They are, in fact, encouraged to study and incorporate other systems, such as Muay Thai, Kali, Wing Chun, Shooto, and BJJ. Others, like Jerry Poteet and Ted Wong, hold on to the idea that only Bruce Lee could truly develop "Jeet Kune Do", so they teach what they learned, as they learned it. At the same time, the core principles of efficiency, non-telegraphic techniques, and so on, are shared, though they may be expressed in different ways. Go on any open martial arts forum and ask this question, and you'll get strong arguments from both sides.

Answer 5

you are right. My question is what do you mean by style?
Street fighting, dojo fighting and competition fighting are so different when it comes to results. I think that is one reason of many why Ultimate Fighting is growing in popularity, I do not mean the TV show I mean the fights in the wharehouses of your inner city. Ask & you'll find.
In street fighting you don't pull punches and if you break bones well better you doing the braking than them.
Bruce Lee was a street fighter and Jeet Kune Do was created with this in mind.
Street fighting is like fighting an 800 lb. gorilla: you only get done fighting when the gorilla gets done fighting.

Answer 6

Yup. Judomofo is right. JKD is a Philosophy or simply put, a training principle. It is a guide for customizing your skills for your body type.
Bruce never really taught Chuck Norris anything, they just trained and sparred together a few times and Bruce helped Chuck with strength training for one of his fights since Bruce basically was one of the pioneers in using weight training in martial arts back in the 60s and 70s. But since Bruce became pretty famous after he dled back in the 70s, most people considered it a compliment and a boost to their reputation to be considered a student of Bruce Lee. Chuck never claimed to be his student, but people just assumed he was since he was a friend of Bruce.

Answer 7

Yes IMO. Bruce stated that he was developing a new style that was formless and totally adaptive, and he wrote a book on it called the Tao of Jeet Kune Do.

Some of his first students like Inosita are still teaching his art.

so you tell me is that not a different style then? He has his own book on it, teachers all over teaching it, it has to be a style of its own just based on breaking down the logic.

Answer 8

who the hell said bruce lee taught chuck norris everything he knows??? chuck was a multiple world karate champ before he even met lee. infact i would say chuck was the more credible martial artist at the time becuase he had wolrd titles.

they met trained together and shared ideas equally

Answer 9

it's a different style