Numerous misperceptions exist today with regard to the art and philosophy of Jeet Kune Do. The following is one of what I consider to be the most fundamental misperceptions.
In order to learn or understand JKD you need to learn Wing Chun Gung Fu
There have been numerous comments floating around on the internet in the past several years concerning Jeet Kune Do and its relationship to Wing Chun Gung Fu. Some individuals have put forth the idea that Bruce Lee never learned the entire Wing Chun Gung Fu system, and that if he had he would not have developed (or needed to develop) Jeet Kune Do. There also seems to be an attempt by some people, including some members of the JKD community, to realign JKD with Wing Chun and in a sense, try to reunite or reconnect them.
I ran into a very nice man at a martial event who happened to be a practitioner and teacher of Wing Chun. During our conversation he kept adamantly saying that “Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do, they’re the the same thing…” I realized that it would take much more time than I had to discuss with him the reasons why they were not, so I smiled politely and allowed him to continue on.
Some people mistakenly believe and have put forth the notion that in order for a person to truly understand JKD, it is necessary for them to study Wing Chun Gung Fu in depth, including learning the forms and the 108 movements on the wooden dummy. They're incorrect. The fact is that from the time Lee arrived in Seattle, he began to modify his classical Wing Chun method. He began to adjust the stances, angles and positions of his Wing Chun techniques, also adding longer-range kicking techniques from some of the northern gung fu styles. Over time, as Lee’s martial evolution continued, he discarded many “core” elements of Wing Chun methodology as well as absorbing different techniques and principles from other combative arts both Eastern and Western, developing his own training methods and developing a personal philosophy that that differed greatly and created a breach between Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do.
While it's true that there are elements that are part of the Wing Chun system which Lee continued to practice and teach his students (such as the use of chi sao and other exercises to develop tactile awareness, understanding of energy, and develop contact reflex actions, as well as well as such things as controlling the centerline and trapping components) he also discarded many things which he felt were impractical or unnecessary, including the practice of the classical forms.
In the book “Wing Chun Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do – A Comparison (Vol. 1)” which is co-authored by William Cheung (WCGF) and Ted Wong (JKD), under the section “Origins of Jeet Kune Do" one can read the following –
“Wing Chun does indeed form the foundation of Jeet Kune Do in concept, but not in character. There are many Wing Chun principles in JKD which were taken completely unaltered or were modified: economy of motion, directness, simultaneous attack and defense, non-opposition of force, the centerline, and the four corners. But Bruce also added many new dimensions to his system. His fighting method eventually diverged so far from Wing Chun he renamed it Jeet Kune Do.”
When I was training in the JKD class in Sifu Dan Inosanto’s backyard and the Filipino Kali Academy he often used to tell me, “Remember, while JKD possesses the elements of hand immobilization and tactile awareness, you are not a Wing Chun person.” (In the same way he use to tell me, “JKD has the element of boxing in it, but you're not a boxer.”)
There are individuals who put forth the notion that if Bruce Lee had really learned the entire Wing Chun Gung Fu system he would not have developed (or needed to develop) Jeet Kune Do. My question to these people is what do they base this idea upon? Obviously it couldn’t be based upon an understanding of Bruce Lee’s mindset or his personality. It's a fact that Bruce Lee came to the realization that while Wing Chun was a great art, it still represented only a piece of totality of combat (especially following his fight with Wong Jak Man in Oakland.
In an interview on one of his training videos, Dan Inosanto makes the following comment concerning Bruce and Wing Chun -- ”Bruce never learned the complete system, but what he did was take the ‘essence’ of Wing Chun and make it work for you.”
Jeet Kune Do is not, as some people have implied, a synonym for or mere variation of Wing Chun Gung Fu, or simply “modified Wing Chun.” Wing Chun simply served as one brick (albeit an important one) in the wall of Lee’s total martial arts development. It would be more accurate to say that Wing Chun served as the martial art foundation from which Lee evolved himself into Jeet Kune Do. Personally, I believe that the real ‘root’ of JKD is not Wing Chun, but Bruce Lee himself.
This is not an attack upon the Wing Chun system by any means (although I am sure there are some people out there who will take it such). Through my years training with and assisting Sifu Inosanto I had the opportunity to meet and train with a number of excellent Wing Chun teachers including such people as Francis Fong, Hawkins Cheung, and Nino Bernardo. And I have great respect for the art. If you’re practicing Jeet Kune Do and wish to investigate Wing Chun in greater depth, then by all means you should feel free to do so. However, do not make the mistake of assuming that JKD and Wing Chun are the same thing, and that in order to understand JKD you need to learn Wing Chun. JKD is not Wing Chun, and Wing Chun is not JKD. Each is an wonderful entity unto itself.
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