MARTIAL ARTS

LIVING LEGACY: THE EVER- CHANGING WORLD OF JEET KUN DO INSTRUCTION

A surefire way to start a controversy is to create a top-10 list — in any field. Similarly, if you want to start an argument in the martial arts community, try telling a Bruce Lee follower who is and isn’t qualified to teach jeet kune do. You can relax. This article doesn’t attempt to do any of that. Rather, my intent is simply to identify individuals who have contributed and are still contributing to the ever-changing world of JKD instruction.

Early Days

Lee considered himself a “scientific street fighter.” He spent countless hours researching other arts, not to replicate their moves but to discover the best ways to counter any form of aggression offered by those styles. He also understood the importance of strength and conditioning and proceeded to build his body to maximize his abilities. Most important, he tested each technique in full-contact fighting to determine which ones to keep and which ones to discard.

The end result of Lee’s research was JKD, a martial art that really isn’t a style. It’s meant to be a personal expression of the individual’s ability. The more he engaged in R&D, the more confident he became that the art of fighting was best taught one-on-one or in small groups. Although he once envisioned owning a chain of schools, he came to realize that JKD was not meant for the masses. In January 1970, he closed his schools and, in his own words, “disbanded the teaching of jeet kune do.” Regarding his reason for stopping, he said he feared that “students would take the agenda for the truth and the program as the way.”

Lee continued to move forward, however — so much so that the JKD of the 1970s didn’t mirror the JKD of 1967, when the term was coined. One of his personal students, legendary screenwriter Sterling Silliphant, recalled that Lee was constantly developing his system, “which he continued to evolve right up to the time he died.” Because Lee taught different things to different people at different times, interpretations of JKD can and do vary. Those who like the jeet kune do/kali/silat blend tend to favor the Inosanto method.

Those who prefer the strong wing chun influence often trace their lineage to the likes of Jerry Poteet and Steve Golden. Those who follow in the footsteps of Ted Wong or Joe Lewis typically have less association with wing chun and focus on the latter-stage kickboxing approach with an emphasis on testing via full-contact sparring. Now let’s look at those lineages and the people who propagate them.

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FIFTY YEARS ON, BRUCE LEE'S LEGACY SQUARES UP TO MODERN LIFE  HONG KONG 

Fifty years after the death of Bruce Lee, who galvanised the imaginations of generations of young people worldwide with feats of kung fu immortalised on screen, it sometimes seems as if his legacy of the martial art he practised is fading in Hong Kong.

Born in San Francisco but brought up in the southeast Asian financial hub which would make him famous, Lee died of cerebral edema (brain swelling) aged 32 on 20 July 1973, just six days before the release of Enter the Dragon, his most popular film.

“He was exceptionally talented and it’s a shame he passed away at such a young age,” says 60-year-old Dorothy Tam, whose hair is now greying, as she punches a sandbag in a small martial arts school covered with bamboo scaffolding in western Kowloon.

Sebby Peng, three-and-a-half years old, studies at the Mindful Wing Chun School (Reuters)

Captivated by the skill displayed in Lee’s performance, Tam, who was just 10 at the time, became a lifelong admirer.

But only in 2019 did Tam overcome her initial apprehension towards Hong Kong’s male-dominated martial arts scene to start learning Wing Chun, the southern Chinese style of the martial art in which Lee had trained.

“Martial arts are not solely about fighting,” Tam adds. “My instructor often emphasises that self-defence is about avoiding conflict and focusing on self-improvement.”

Nima King, 38, teaches Amber, seven, the principles of Wing Chun (Reuters)

Lee’s contributions to martial arts, film, and philosophy have inspired legions of global fans but the legacy that endured for half a century is sometimes seen as a relic of the past in the former British colony.

On his return from Hollywood in 1971, Lee made four Hong Kong films in just two years, among them Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon.

He helped popularise Kung Fu through such blockbuster films and a hit American television series, The Green Hornet, but Wing Chun exponents have struggled to win disciples.

A man walks near photos of Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man and his student Bruce Lee, at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (Reuters)

The swift pace of life in one of the world’s most expensive cities often conflicts with the time and effort required to master the traditional martial art, while soaring rents make it tough to set up schools.

“The rent is very expensive, and student tuition fees are not enough to cover that,” says Dennis Lee, chairman of the Ving Tsun Athletic Association, where Tam practices.

“How can you make it your career?”

The association holds classes and social events and arranges annual memorial ceremonies such as grave-sweeping for Ip Man, under whom Bruce Lee studied at the age of 13. But of late, attendance at such rituals has been dropping off.

Students practice nearby grandmaster Ip Man’s bronze statue, at a Wing Chun school (Reuters)

Set up in 1967 by seven Hong Kong disciples of Lee’s influential teacher, the association functions out of a flat bought to serve as its headquarters, staying mostly unchanged for six decades, with original brown tiles still intact.

One of Lee’s most famous maxims, “Be water, my friend,” from an interview in 1971, inspired 2019’s pro-democracy movement.

Heung Yee Kuk Yuen Long district secondary school students attend a nunchaku performance event by the sea, in a tribute to Bruce Lee in Hong Kong (Reuters)

It provided a template for months of wildcat protests citywide against Beijing’s tightening grip on Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Even though he has been dead for 50 years, Lee indirectly influenced King’s career, the instructor says.

“It’s not just about the movies. We respect that spirit. And that’s why we’ve got to work hard to keep preserving it,” he adds. “That’s Bruce’s legacy.”

- Jessie Pang, Tyrone Siu, Joyce Zhou

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