I disagree with SimonX on Bruce Lee’s ability. Dan Inosanto is now the leader of JKD, and he has stated many times that Bruce Lee was the best. His reactions were second to none, he was in prime physical condition and he trained non-stop. Three very important things for any fighter.
That said, JKD at the time wasn’t a finished product, nor was it intended to be. Sifu Inosanto has continued to develop it and make it what it is today: A martial art that uses what is useful, and discards the rest. It is more of a style to help bring your other abilities into focus, less of a style in and of itself. Sure it has specific moves, but if, for example, you want to use a plain boxing jab instead of JKD’s jab because it works better for you, then by all means, go ahead. In fact, it can be said that Sifu Inosanto has done more for JKD than Bruce Lee did, as Sifu Inosanto has been improving it for over 25 years.
In the end, it is all speculation anyways. The man died 30 years ago and history has a way of being twisted. The opinions on either side are based on circumstantial evidence and stories told over and over again from one person to the next. I just know that the best martial artists I have met in my life come from the JKD/Kali schools. These people are excellent, practice hard, know exactly what they are talking about and can transfer that knowledge to students in ways that anyone can understand. The classes are tough but fun, interesting and knowledgable, precise but fair, and exceedlingly useful. For that I must give respect where respect is due. Bruce Lee started and devoted his life to JKD and it has developed into something larger than he could have ever imagined. Was he the best? I believe so, based on what I have observed in my short life. Is JKD the best for me? Most certainly. For you? Perhaps not.
It would seem that someone who is benefitting monetarily from the reputation of BL might not be an impartial judge.
Fair enough, (if you take “second to none” figuratively); however, I have reason to believe that more than “half-dozen people on the planet” also share these characteristics.
IIRC, at least once BL was filmed. This footage is what I’ve used to make my judgement that he doesn’t look that impressive in his movies.
Dan I isn’t the only individual “benefitting monetarily” from the rep of BL. (Nor, should I add, is it entirely accurate to describe him as "the head of JKD.)
I’ll point out that just about anyone who wishes to support themselves through teaching martial arts, aims at “benefitting monetarily” from someone else’s rep and achievements.
I’ll also note that BL is held in pretty high esteem by several folk - Jesse Glover, Steve Golden … really, how long of a list do you want? - who are not significantly benefitting monetarily from MA. And if you think folk like Jesse and Steve cannot fight and teach fighting, then you obviously have never trained with them.
My impression is that at this moment, given the actions of BL’s estate, more and more folk are moving to distance themselves from certain outward relationships with BL/JKD.
And I’ll point out that these individuals might not be impartial judges of whoever’s reputations they are benefitting from. BFD.
Being held in high esteem is not the same as saying that only “half-dozen people on the planet” are on par or better than BL. This is also different than saying that BL is “The Best. This is non sequitor.”
This also is non sequitor. I was respondning to the allegation iampunha made about a “half-dozen people on the planet.” Whatever I would think about the people you mentioned, (if I did think about them), has no bearing on my opinion of the comment about BL.
What I am saying is that based on the performances of BL’s that I’ve seen in his films I don’t find him to be that impressive. Certainly not one of the best ever or one of the top half-dozen on the planet.
I find it so cute when folks try to support their position by tossing in misspelt Latin phrases.
If you wish to limit the discussion as to whether the “half a dozen people on the planet” is a stupid statement - I heartily agree.
And if your familiarity with BL, his teachings, and his students is limited to watching his films, well, I am unable to discuss this intelligently because I do not watch many MA films, including BL’s.
I apologize for mistakenly thinking that your statements such as the Bruce Lee legend is Hollywood hype extended beyond the original “6 people on the planet” claim.
I am not exactly sure what you mean by the statement that JKD philosophy/style- it is old hat. IMO, such a statement belies an ignorance of BL’s theories and teachings - an understanding and appreciation of which require far more than watching Enter the Dragon and reading the Tao of JKD.
JKD certainly was not “old hat” when BL advanced it 30 years ago. And to deny a significant lasting effect of BL’s teachings to this day suggests to me a lack of insight into many areas of MA.
There seem to quite a number of silly statements that tend to attach themselves to BL’s name. The half-dozen people is just one example.
In addition to silly statments, silly stories also seem to have a habit of springing up around his name.
I’ve met people who hold BL in semi-mystical reverence.
I’m not trying to belittle BL’s actual accomplishments.
Those speak for themselves reagrdless of what anyone says.
There are other schools/ styles that encourage using whatever works and combine the efforts and experience of many different masters and styles that predate BL himself let alone JKD. The Chin Wu academy is just one.
No matter what it suggests to you, I didn’t do it.
I suppose a definition of what I consider to be the BL legend would be in order. But, it will have to wait a bit.
To get an idea of what i’m talking about when I use the phrase the Bruce Lee legend, enter “Bruce Lee” into google.
A site at the top of the list is calledThe Shrine to Bruce Lee, and says “dedicated to the greatest martial artist ever.”
“To tell you the truth, I could beat any man in the world.”-Bruce Lee.
An idle boast? Yeah, probably. But Bruce Lee was undoubtably world-class; he was a zealot and trained like a fiend. He would attend martial arts seminars and demonstrate the speed of his punches by pointing to the exact spot he was going to punch on black belts and telling them to try to block it. They couldn’t. A lot of screen artists are show for the screen, but Bruce Lee wasn’t one of them. Underneath the silver screen martial artist was a real dedication and mastery of the martial arts. Nothing mystical about it, just a man who trained very, very hard.
Guro Inosanto may be benefitting from the propagation of the Bruce Lee legend, but I don’t think that’s the reason he holds him in such high esteem. I think it’s more a matter of having trained under him and respecting him as a teacher.
