Dan Inosanto on Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do

In this interview with Dan Inosanto on Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do Rick Tucci asks the master various questions in apparent response to discontent in the JKD community. The interview was recorded in 1995. Inosanto himself is a man internationally recognized for his expertise and knowledge of martial arts, and Filipino arts in particular while being most famous as Bruce Lee's top student and the man charged with spreading the art / concept of Jeet Kune Do.

Dan Inosanto on Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do

Dan explains that he met Bruce Lee in 1964 at the famous International Karate Championship in Long Beach, California and he began training privately with him immediately after.

In February 1967 the China Town school in LA opened and at this point Dan Inosanto was given Instructor ranking by Lee as Inosanto would be doing the main bulk of the teaching there. Lee himself was more interested in his own training and used the private sessions with Dan Inosanto to pass on his more experimental ideas and techniques. Another contributing factor to Bruce Lee's lesser involvement in the teaching was the tendency among Chinese martial artists of the time to be secretive (to the extent that many of them refused to teach non-Chinese).

The curriculum at the China Town school was constantly evolving to reflect Lee's mindset at any particular time. This is a tradition that Inosanto has maintained as he has also continued to approach martial arts from the point of view of being in a 'permanent revolution'. An example of this sets. Surprisingly Lee originally taught sets (forms or kata) before deciding that wasn't the direction he wanted to go in and so they were discarded.

This constant evolution meant that someone studying in 1967-1968 would have a different - even very different - view of what Jeet Kune Do was compared to someone commencing training just a year or two later. For example, in the early days public classes resembled Wing Chun kung fu while privately Inosanto and Lee were working out in a manner similar to Muay Thai; then this kickboxing approach made its way into mainstream JKD training and so the art evolved over time and would have appeared different to different people training at different times. Bruce Lee was also prone to teaching a student according to his background; boxers used their art as a base while wrestlers started from a grappling base.

Lee was already at this time investigating the essential principles of arts like Muay Thai and Silat. Inosanto for his part was simultaneously training in Filipino Kali and Escrima and exposed Lee to these arts too.

Dan Inosanto begins by responding to the request to describe the difference between the original Jeet Kune Do and Jeet Kune Do Concepts. Inosanto points out simply that there are no differences; but to understand Jeet Kune Do Concepts you have to be trained in the original Jeet Kune Do or Jun Fan gung fu as it was originally referred to. The idea was to use this as a base from which you would pursue a path to your own personal enlightenment. However, to make the situation more confusing, and as noted in the video above, the original Jun Fan gung fu was in a constant state of change from year to year. What was original in 1967 was no longer practiced in 1968.

Dan Inosanto goes on to distinguish between being a Jeet Kune Do student and an instructor of the art / concept. Dan himself is one of only two people to receive the Third Degree Instructor rank in Jeet Kune Do, along with the late James Lee.

Turning to Bruce Lee's teaching method, Inosanto notes that his master was, for the most part, very patient. Sparring was a non-event as Dan Inosanto was completely outclassed. Lee was fast and powerful and comparable to a boxer with his hands.

Following the death of Bruce Lee Dan Inosanto was not teaching Jeet Kune Do for mass consumption. However, so many people around the world were claiming to be teaching the art that Inosanto slowly began to step out of the shadows and bring the true method to the public. Lee's death in many ways was the catalyst for Inosanto to shift his teaching from a small group of people in his backyard to making his ideas and approach more accessible.

Initially most of Dan Inosanto's teaching was on blending different arts in his mainstream classes, while the JKD group was by invitation only. In turn, Inosanto encouraged his students to research different arts for their own interest and development, endorsing Lee's famous quote:

Research your own experience Absorb what is useful Reject what is useless Add what is specifically your own

This research was intended to supplement and complement the core training in Jun Fan gung fu / Jeet Kune Do, but was not in fact necessary to learn the core art.

Turning to Dan Inosanto's personal training, since Lee's death (remember the video was shot in 1995 - a little over 20 years since the loss of Bruce Lee) he had been training in Thai Boxing (Muay Thai), Burmese Bando, in elements of Wing Chun kung fu, Shoot wrestling (an early form of Mixed Martial Arts and still popular today), Pentjak Silat,Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Small Circle ju jutsu with Wally Jay and different Chinese internal arts.

At the time of the interview Dan Inosanto had already been training in various martial arts for around 45 years. His tips for continued training are to budget your time carefully (something Inosanto admits to being difficult for him when, paradoxically, he had a lot of free time). A busy schedule helps him to avoid complacency, a factor potentially made worse by spending too much time teaching. He recommends finding a balance between teaching and training. That said, Inosanto endorses the idea of teaching (believing it to be the highest form of learning) as you can learn so much about your art this way.

Jeet Kune Do

Rather than a style, Jeet Kune Do, the Way of the Intercepting Fist, is a concept. More specifically, it is, truly speaking, Bruce Lee’s concept, a reflection of his own enlightenment and understanding of combat and life. It is an idea on how to approach combat based on certain guiding principles that Lee discovered through his years of training before his death in 1973 at the age of thirty-two. The most basic, and most essential, of these concepts is the idea of striking your opponent at the moment he launches an attack. This concept was borrowed from European fencing, though other Asian arts, on close examination, often espouse similar ideals. Japanese swordsmanship has the concept of Sen sen no sen, which means much the same thing and has been borrowed by other Japanese martial arts. It is at this point of extreme vulnerability that the art of Jeet Kune Do finds its greatest expression.

Jeet Kune Do (or JKD) developed from the more formal style of Jun Fan kung fu, which was based predominantly on Wing Chun kung fu. Jun Fan reflected Bruce’s early experimentation with his core style and his attempts to accommodate his early experiences upon arrival in America from Hong Kong. This change in environment brought to the young Chinese man a great many different experiences and exposure to a variety of fighting arts and the non-Asian personalities who practiced these styles, many of whom number among America’s finest martial artists. Bruce, naturally expressive and creative as a child actor, found the perfect catalyst for his personal development. Though most famous as a movie star performing incredible kicks and punches, Bruce Lee was a pioneer (in the West; there was a tradition already established in the East of assimilating different aspects of different arts) in blending different martial systems together to create an art that was both an expression of himself and a highly viable combat method: Jeet Kune Do. Lee is often cited as being a major force in the creation of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) which itself blends various arts, most notably Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, boxing and Muay Thai.

Bruce Lee combined elements of all arts together in a way that suited him. He was critical of what he labeled the ‘classical mess’, or the empty performance of ritual. At that time few in the world, including Lee, understood what the rituals - the forms or kata - of arts such as kung fu and karate symbolized and Bruce cannot be criticized for reaching these conclusions. Time and further research has taught us however that it was not so much the rituals (the kata or pre-established forms) that had no meaning, but rather the confusion lay in how they were interpreted. Bruce became unpopular with traditionalists, but very popular with those looking for a more individual approach to combat, one that they saw as reflecting more closely real fighting. Bruce used a variety of different equipment and his knowledge of contemporary science to enhance his skills. He was, for example, an early proponent of protein drinks, which he would make himself. He sponsored the practice of free sparring and contact (wearing protective equipment) and purposely kept classes small so that the instructor could give personal attention and feedback to each student. Actually, traditionally this is how an art would be learned, and it was only as a result of the widespread popularity gained by martial arts in the early twentieth century, first in their Asian home countries and later abroad, that caused class sizes to increase.

Jeet Kune Do: The Way of No Way

Strictly speaking Jeet Kune Do is not a style. My JKD and your JKD will necessarily be different, reflecting our different characters Bruce would lecture. One of Bruce’s more famous quotes, found in the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, is ‘Research your own experience; absorb what is useful; reject what is useless; add what is specifically your own.’ Training then was not about accumulating knowledge, but about freeing the body and mind of preconception. Training emphasized a return to simplicity, to be achieved by the repetitive practice of basic techniques in a multitude of ways (against pads, bags, a moving opponent, the air, paper suspended from the ceiling and other methods). The pursuit of simplicity however was to be mindful, and was not a path for the lazy. Bruce tirelessly applied his method of investigation to numerous arts and became adept in kicking, punching and trapping. His death unfortunately prevented him from truly delving into the grappling arts of the world, though that would have been the next direction that he would have taken. His students have continued research in this area however and JKD practitioners were amongst the first in the world to recognize the effectiveness of Gracie (Brazilian) Jiu Jitsu. Continued training has accessed numerous other arts and brought them to the attention of a wider public. Most notably, top JKD experts have cross trained in Kali / Arnis / Escrima (Philippines), Pentjak Silat (Indonesia) and Thai boxing (Thailand).

In combat then the JKD master of the late 1960s excelled in using blinding fast strikes to close with an opponent before controlling the other’s limbs and finishing with elbow strikes and sweeps. A specialty of the JKD practitioner is the stop hit. A modern day JKD practitioner can more or less include any number of styles or individual techniques in his repertoire that keep to, reflect and express the underlying principles of the philosophy of the intercepting fist.

Jun fan gung fu

Jun Fan Gung Fu, originally the name given by Bruce Lee to his first kwoon (basically equivalent of a Japanese dojo, a training hall), came to describe the original style of martial art created by Bruce Lee from which grew his later concept Jeet Kune Do. In simple terms, the former was more clearly defined in terms of technique than the latter JKD. Schools were opened in Seattle, Oakland and Los Angeles during Bruce’s early adulthood. Jun Fan Gung Fu was heavily based upon Wing Chun kung fu but at the same time incorporated longer range kicking techniques not seen in the original form. Bruce had trained in Wing Chun from his teenage years, being a student of the famous Yip Man. The short, close range style of Bruce’s primary art was supplemented by longer range techniques that he learned from training in and observing other kung fu styles.

Jun Fan signaled an early move away from traditional fighting systems. This appealed to some, but left other traditionalists dismayed and upset. On at least one occasion Bruce was challenged by a staunch defender of karate, though the resulting fight was short and resulted in the defeat of the challenger.

On the other hand, one young man, James Lee (no relation), a classically trained martial artist, recognized the skill of Bruce and the two formed a strong friendship. Together they decided to admit trainees of all races to their training hall. Again, this upset Chinese traditionalists in the community. This led to at least one well-documented challenge match with a high-ranking opponent. On this occasion Bruce fought a kung fu expert to a draw, learning two things that would be forever reflected in his approach to training: the need for a high level of physical fitness and the limitations of Wing Chun. Lee’s opponent employed a longer range fighting style and both fighters found it difficult to close with the other and bring their arsenal into play.

It was in 1964, while still developing the style of Jun Fan Gung Fu, that Bruce got his first big break. That same year there was an International Karate Championship. Bruce, though not a karate practitioner, gave a stunning demonstration. Film of this can be seen today. Witnessing it was a man named Ed Parker, a central martial arts figure in the United States and a man ready to lend support to Bruce. It was Parker that played a leading role in getting Lee the part of Kato in the Green Hornet TV series, the first step to bringing international fame to the Chinese-American youngster and to the art of kung fu.

Training in Jun Fan concentrates on physical conditioning and developing speed and sensitivity so that any stimuli can be reacted to immediately with overpowering techniques fired in rapid succession. Bruce himself was highly innovative in the use of training aids and students follow in his footsteps. Kicking techniques are also emphasized, but Jun Fan, though a step away from Wing Chun, still lacked the grappling moves that would have made it a truly rounded fighting style.

In combat the Jun Fan expert is comfortable fighting with kicks, punches and elbow strikes and traps. A primary tactic is to close quickly, using kicks, then execute powerful fist and elbow strikes in rapid succession while controlling the limbs of the opponent. As such, it is vital that strength be developed in both arms as early as possible.