Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Page 216

Jeet Kune Do
The Evolution of Jeet
Kune Do
Wing Chun - The Nucleus
Of all the styles of kung fu being
taught in Hong Kong in the 1950s,
why did Bruce Lee pick Wing Chun?
Even though Bruce Lee had some
training in the flowing movements of
Wu-Style Tai Chi from his father, his
serious training in martial arts began
at the age of 13. When he enrolled in
the Wing Chun school headed by
Grand Master Ip Man, Lee's sole
purpose was to be able to survive the
dangerous street fights he would
encounter in the back alleys and roof
tops of Hong Kong. As a teenager
Bruce had some run ins with gang
kids and began to develop a
reputation as a street fighter. For his
own security, Lee spent countless
hours sharpening his skills with Ip
Man and his senior students. Bruce
learned all three classical forms: Si
Lum Tao's “little idea form”, Chum
Kil's “seeking the bridge” and the
“shooting fingers of “Bil Jee.” From
this foundation, he went on to learn
Chi Sao - sticking hands - and 60 of
the 108 movements on the Mook
Jong (wooden dummy). Wing Chun
was the only formal martial arts
training that Bruce received, and it
forms the nucleus of Jeet Kune Do.
The ideas of economy of motion,
simultaneous block and hit, centerline
theory, interception, constant forward
pressure, and sensitivity training are
the core fundamentals of JKD. Even
at this early stage, Bruce had a very
curious and inquisitive mind. He
would seek out masters of other
styles and trade martial arts secrets
with them. He also incorporated
principles of fencing from his brother.
He even took part in, and won, a high
school western boxing tournament.
At the age of 18 Bruce Lee left Hong
Kong and came to America, where he
immediately began to adjust his
system of fighting to fit his new
environment and larger opponents.
Considering the traditional form “too
rigid” Bruce began to adjust the
angles, stances and footwork of Wing
Chun. He felt that Wing Chun placed
too much emphasis on close-range
hand techniques at the expense of
long-range kicking techniques.

Jun Fan Gung Fu
A major tur ning point in the
metamorphosis of Bruce Lee was his
infamous clash with kung fu master
Wong Jak Man. Bruce ended the
fight within a few minutes, and had to

“Bruce Lee wrote
that Jeet Kune Do
was just a name,
and that we
shouldn't fuss
over it”
be pulled off of his challenger. After
the fight Bruce began to analyze his
actions, and was less than impressed
with his performance. He felt that he
should have ended the fight in
seconds.
His adherence to his style, kept him
from adjusting to his opponent's Law
Horn Kuen techniques. He was also
unusually winded at the end of the
encounter, and felt that he was in less
than perfect shape. This encounter
intensified Bruce's search for the
ultimate reality in combat. Through
this lens, he could finally see the limits
of the Wing Chun style and realized
the
importance
of
physical
conditioning, functional strength and
attribute development. Bruce Lee
became fanatically devoted to overall
development as an athlete - so much
so that the principles and training
strategies he employed in the 60's
and early 70's are still cutting edge
nearly 50 years later. Jun Fan Gung
Fu derives its name from a variation of
Lee's Chinese name. It's a hybrid
form in which Wing Chun formed the
main nucleus, and a total of 26 other
styles revolved around it. It was while
developing Jun Fan that Bruce Lee
found his own particular style of
kicking, based on Northern Chinese
styles and French savate. This was
the art that was taught at the schools
in Seattle and Oakland during the
early sixties. Up until 1967 Bruce Lee
and Dan Inosanto dissected the 26
arts in their search for universal
combat truths, the evolution of a their
research and training in these 26 arts
became the art known as Jun Fan
Gung Fu.

THE TWENTY SIX FIGHTING ELEMENTS
OF JUN FAN
1. Wing Chun
2. Northern Praying Mantis
3. Southern Praying Mantis
4. Choy Li Fut
5. Tai-Chi Chuan (Wu Family style)
6. Paqua
7. Hsing-I
8. Bak-Hoo Pai (White Crane) BakFu Pai (White Tiger)
9. Eagle Claw

10. Ng Ga Kuen (Five Family
System)
11. Ny Ying Ga (Five Animal
System)
12. Bak Mei Pai (White Eyebrow)
13. Northern Shaolin
14. Southern Shaolin
15. Bok Pai
16. Law Horn Kuen
17. Chin Na
18. Monkey Style
19. Drunken Style
20. Western Fencing (Foil)
21. Western Boxing
22. Western Wrestling
23. Jujutsu
24. Escrima
25. Filipino Sikaran
26. Muay Thai (Thai Boxing)

Jeet Kune Do
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