The politics of Jeet Kune Do
(a bold exploration into a world of contraversy)

Bruce Lee was a great and highly successful martial artist. Of that there is no doubt. However, as a teacher of martial arts, there is a case for saying that Bruce Lee (through no fault of his own!) was far less successful. Why? Because, it is now 30 years since the death of Bruce Lee and we still do not have one unified and undisputed Jeet Kune Do governing body. Sad but true.

The trouble with Jeet Kune Do is that its greatest strength appears to also be its greatest weakness. Bruce Lee once wrote…

"To set the record straight, I have NOT invented a new style or a modified style, that is set within distinct form as apart from 'this' method or 'that' method. On the contrary I hope to free my followers from styles, patterns or moulds." (taken from www.brucelee.com/jeet.htm)

So what Bruce Lee appears to be saying here is that Jeet Kune Do is not restricted to a strict set form (unlike Karate, for example). Not only that, but this idea of freeing yourself from set forms is constantly cropping up throughout Bruce Lee's writings. It is reasonable to say therefore, that one of the defining characteristics of Jeet Kune Do is that it is a formless (if you will) martial art.

This revolutionary concept truly separates Jeet Kune Do from any other martial art or formally recognised fighting concept. It is a revolutionary and ingenious concept! The trouble however, is that some people have taken this information as a licence to teach pretty much teach anything they want and then call it Jeet Kune Do. This is tragic!

So, what we have now is the unfortunate situation where the world of Jeet Kune Do is totally divided. On the one hand we have the so-called traditional (or "original") Jeet Kune Do practitioners and on the other hand we have the so-called concept-based practitioners. A layman's definition of these two camps would be to say that the traditional Jeet Kune Do practitioners are dedicated to learning Jeet Kune Do, as was taught and practiced by Bruce Lee while he was alive. The concepts camp would, however, be of an entirely different approach. Their argument would be something along the following lines:

"Bruce Lee was committed to continual improvement and evolution. He borrowed from lots of other martial arts and incorporated them into his Jeet Kune Do. He also encouraged a degree of individualism. Therefore, we are going to follow the same path and stay loyal to the concepts put forth by Bruce Lee".

So, for the average guy on the street, is there any practical difference between these two camps? The answer is yes. Absolutely! As a rough guide, you can normally tell which camp a Jeet Kune Do practitioner belongs to by his basic stance. If he leads with his strongest side (most people are right handed so this normally means leading with your right side), then he is probably of the traditional Jeet Kune Do camp. This is because Bruce Lee used to lead with his strongest side and when he was alive, he actively encouraged his students to do likewise.

A concepts Jeet Kune Do practitioner, by contrast, will usually lead with their weakest side. So for a right handed person this would mean leading with your left hand side, similar to an orthodox western boxer. Doing this allows the practitioner the opportunity to borrow from other martial arts without making any great alterations his or her fundamental technique (remember- the overwhelming majority of martial arts encourage the practitioner to lead with his or her weaker side!).

As an additional generalisation, traditional Jeet Kune Do practitioners are usually dedicated solely to the practice of Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. They believe that what Bruce Lee taught was enough and that there is no need for any *drastic* (key word!) alterations. Conceptual practitioners, by contrast, will often be trained in a whole number of different martial arts. For the average concepts based instructor, Jeet Kune Do will usually be only one martial art amidst a list of several martial arts styles that the person teaches.

Please let me stress that these are generalisations and it is not for me to say which of these two camps is right and which is wrong. I am not a Jeet Kune Do grand master. I am merely a Bruce Lee fan who happens to have read a lot of literature to do with Jeet Kune Do.

Over the years, there been a number of attempts to establish an authoritative Jeet Kune Do or Bruce Lee governing body. These attempts have resulted in organisations such as The Jeet Kune Do Nucleus and more recently The Bruce Lee Educational Foundation, as led by Linda and Shannon Lee. From what I can gather, the people behind such organisations are acting with honour and integrity. I note with interest however, that the Internet is plagued with many other organisations that also claim to be the undisputed authority on Jeet Kune Do. I have even observed a few particular organisations that will give you a Jeet Kune Do instructor's certificate provided you simply send them a video recording of you demonstrating some Jeet Kune Do moves (along with a large cheque, of course!). Now, I could be wrong here, but to me this seems like a rather bizarre state of affairs!

There is one serious flaw that I admit to making so far- to describe the world of Jeet Kune Do as being divided between two different camps is not entirely correct. In reality, the situation is probably even much more bleak than I have suggested so far. What we have today is nothing short of a free for all. There is an endless supply of instructors who are shamelessly cashing in on the single declaration that "I trained with Bruce Lee!" or "I was taught by a person who trained with Bruce Lee!" Other martial arts governing bodies must gloat with delight when they see the mess that the Jeet Kune Do community seems to be in.

On a personal note, I sincerely hope that the Jeet Kune Do political crisis is resolved soon. Internal wrangling on such a grand scale surely cannot be sending out positive signals to any young person who is interested in learning about Jeet Kune Do. If things carry on as they are then Jeet Kune Do (as taught by Bruce Lee) is in grave danger of being diluted and exploited till the point of virtual extinction. Let's hope that never happens!

-David Connelly

(If you wish to discuss any of the issues raised in this article, then you can catch up with me at the Bruce Lee forums)