JKD101.com

It’s a fact that Bruce Lee had an interest in grappling and was training it to some extent. But should it be a part of Jeet Kune Do?

We have the late Larry Hartsell who is famous for the 33 formal grappling techniques. ( Click Here to read Larry Hartsell’s article on Jeet Kune Do grappling with excerpts from Bruce Lee’s notes. ) But this was very limited. Almost no extended groundwork. As far as I know, Bruce Lee never taught grappling as part of his curriculum.

Since Lee never had the chance to develop this part of his system, should it be included?

I think most serious JKDers will agree that training grappling is important. After that, the paths split. Some believe wrestling favors the JKD mindset. Some believe arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu provide a better groundfighting base.

I guess it comes down to your own views of Jeet Kune Do as to whether grappling should be included. Is JKD the actual art & philosophy that Bruce Lee taught in his lifetime? Or is it a concept that governs your choice of fighting tools & arts?

Personally, I belong to the former group. But I also see the value and necessity of training grappling. I just believe it should be kept separate from the art of JKD. My main argument for this is because Bruce Lee didn’t have the chance to develop this aspect of his art.

Given time, with the interest Bruce Lee showed in grappling, I’m sure we would be seeing much more of it. But that didn’t happen.

There are many great grappling systems that can fit with the stand-up art of JKD. In a future article, I would like to examine some of them and exactly how well they integrate within the art.

If we were to take the grappling techniques that Bruce Lee actually trained and put them in JKD, would this be acceptable?

I don’t think so. Compared to the grappling systems that we see today, this would be an inadequate addition. As stated before, I don’t think Bruce Lee had the chance to develop this aspect of his fighting art to the fullest extent. Other people and systems have done this, though. So it shouldn’t be hard to adapt this to your preferences.

I am going to follow this article up with an examination of different grappling arts and how they can fit within the Jeet Kune Do structure. I welcome any questions or comments on this subject, as it is one that interests me greatly.

Let me wrap this up by saying that, in my opinion, grappling should NOT be a part of Jeet Kune Do. I am more of a traditionalist when it comes to this art. I believe that in order for it to be called JKD, it should follow the teachings and guidelines set forth by the founder. Since Bruce Lee didn’t have the chance to flesh out this aspect of his art, there is no way we can know where he would have gone with his grappling.

I also believe that every serious JKDer MUST train grappling. If for nothing else but to learn to deal with it.

_{Copyright 2008
Kip Brockett
All Rights Reserved}