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Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino Martial Arts

It's no doubt that many of us have heard of Dan Inosanto, but to those who have just tuned in, here's a quick recap.

Dan was one of Bruce Lee's close friends and student. Before meeting Bruce, Dan was in his own rights an accomplished martial artist. He studied Kenpo Karate under the late Ed Parker, Sr. For someone with such stature it would seem impossible for someone like Dan to learn under the tutelage of Bruce Lee. Bruce openly criticized the traditional arts - which made the masters of these arts furious. But not for Dan. Instead, Dan willingly gave up his "black belt" status and with an open-mind journeyed to a whole new way of learning the art of unarmed combat. He emptied his cup in order to taste another cup of tea.

In February of 1967, Bruce Lee awarded him a third rank in jeet kune do (JKD), the level that Bruce considered necessary to teach JKD. To this day, Inosanto is the only individual to receive a third rank in JKD from Lee.

The only man senior to Dan Inosanto is Taky Kimura, who is ranked 7th in JKD and who has personally ranked Dan rank 6 in JKD. Rank 8 is reserved forever for Bruce Lee as the founder of the art.

After Bruce's passing, it was Dan who took responsibility in the preservation and evolution of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. With the help of Richard Bustillo, another Bruce Lee student, they both took JKD to a level in which, in my opinion, Bruce Lee would have been proud of.

Aside from the training methodologies created by Bruce, both Dan and Richard created a whole new training regimen without diluting JKD's true essence. They incorporated training methods and techniques found in the Filipino martial arts such as Kali/Escrima/Arnis, Pananjakman, Panantukan, Dumog, Sikaran, etc. Both felt that in order for JKD to survive it must be able to evolve and adapt new ways of fighting (and training). Concepts such as defanging the snake, limb and nerve destructions, and zoning, are just a few examples of what the Filipino arts have contributed to JKD.

Another well-known JKD practitioner and instructor who has taken JKD to yet another level is Paul Vunak, head and founder of Progressive Fighting Systems. Mr. Vunak's Rapid Assault Tactics (RAT) is the logical extension of Bruce Lee's JKD incorporating moves and training methods from Filipino arts such as Kali, Pananjakman, Dumog, Panantukan as well as other arts like Savate, Wing Chun, Muay Thai, Grappling, etc.

To some the incorporation of Kali (and other Filipino arts) have somewhat diluted the very essence of JKD. But we must understand that we are constantly evolving. Old ways must be updated to adapt to the current situation. We are alive and we therefore must move towards our goal, not back to where we started. Saying that incorporating Kali, or any other art in general, into JKD is like saying that Fencing (where Bruce took the concept of the stop-hit) must not as well be part of JKD itself! As long as we hold on to the core of JKD, adding another art is not going to dilute Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do.