Budo international Martial Arts Magazine Jul.-Aug. 2014 | Page 217

best art for the given situation and then find a way to cheat within
that art. After all, when fighting for your life, there's nothing
unsportsmanlike about gouging the eyes, kicking the groin or
biting the face. Before Bruce Lee left for Hong Kong to do
films, he certified only one man as level III in Jeet Kune Do, Dan
Inosanto, leaving him in the position of Principal Instructor at
the LA Chinatown school. After Bruce Lee's passing in 1973,
Dan Inosanto was left with the legacy of Jeet Kune Do. He
continued to teach and develop the art as Bruce Lee wanted by
opening the Kali Academy. He traveled the world for over 35
years perpetuating Bruce Lee's art and philosophy. Thanks to
Inosanto's influence over the last 35 years there are qualified
JKD instructors around the globe. The beauty of JKD is in its
ability to change and adapt. Over the years, Dan
Inosanto and Paul Vunak added Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
and the biting and gouging of Kina Mutai, to
deal with the dangers of ground fighting.
Whether it is someone who outweighs
you by 50 or more pounds, or a
multiple attacker scenario, the
ability to handle yourself on the
ground and pop back up to
your feet is paramount for
success in a street fight or
military operation.

Contemporary
Jeet Kune Do the MMA
influence
As JKD continues
to change and
evolve, so do our
training methods.
If your art is to
consider itself
contemporary
and functional at
any given time
period then it
needs to stand up
to the strongest art
of that time period,
and right now we consider
that art to be MMA. No longer
do we do our techniques out of
static reference points - we do
them out of sparring. Practicing
techniques with the threat of a
jab to the face or a kick to the
leg keeps you honest, and
better represents the reality of
combat in today's world. If
you were lucky enough to get
into the JKD class in the late
70's and 80's, at Inosanto's