Anyone who possesses a good working knowledge and understanding of Jeet Kune Do is aware that one of the fundamental philosophical foundations of the art has always been that of seeking truth in combat (without becoming locked-in or bound by any martial art style or system). One actively seeks to discover truth, experience truth, evaluate truth, and then apply truth for themselves.
However, there is another aspect of the overall process that often seems to be forgotten or left out. And that is to ‘forget the carrier of truth.’ Many people in the JKD world continually reference where something that they do or use came from – “This technique came from this art” – “This action came from such and such art,” etc.
JKD has always had a certain disregard for such things as formality and tradition. One of the guiding maxims I grew up with in JKD was, “It doesn’t matter where it comes from. If you understand it and can use it, it belongs to no one; it’s yours.”
For example, let’s take the element of hand immobilization (commonly referred to as ‘trapping hands’). If the truth you learned was effective trapping skills, the carrier of that truth may have been the Wing Chun system of gung fu (there are other martial arts systems that possess forms of hand immobilization). However, once you’ve developed and mastered your hand immobilization skills, there is no need for you to keep associating your trapping skills with Wing Chun. It was simply the vehicle you used to get you where you wanted to be.
The same approach could be taken any other element, such as striking skills. Western boxing may have been the carrier of truth for punching skills. For kicking the carrier may have been an art such as Savate, Muay Thai, or a particular Chinese gung fu system. However, once you’ve developed that skill, and you’re not bound in any way to continually associate your punching with Western boxing or your kicking with Muay Thai, Savate, or whatever. As I said, it now belongs to you; it’s yours.
Forgetting the carrier of truth is a difficult concept for many people to understand and apply because we have often been entrained to label and categorize things since we were young. And some martial art teachers believe that doing so is a sign of disrespect.
That is not true at all. Forgetting the carrier of truth doesn’t mean that we should no longer respect where truth came from. It means that there’s no need for us to keep referencing where something came from as if our lives depend on it. Jeet Kune Do is and has always been about personal liberation. Forgetting the carrier of truth can emancipate you and help you move toward your personal liberation as a martial artist.
留言