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Jeet Kune Do

截拳道

Bruce Lee's system from the late 1960s, rejecting closed styles. He started from wing chun but concluded that any fixed system is a limitation.

Quick Facts

Founder
Country of OriginUnited States
Founded1967
RegionNorth America
Primary FocusHybrid
Contact LevelFull contact
Belt System5 levels

Character & Origin

StatusLiving, organized
LineageModern synthesis
Era of Origin20th century

Training

AttireNo specific attire
SparringMedium contact
Role of WeaponsWeapons optional
Role of FormsNo forms
Typical Frequency2 × per week

Who It Suits

Typical Minimum Age14 years
Kids ProgrammesRare kids groups
Senior FriendlySuitable with adaptation
Physical Demand3/5
Injury Risk2/5
Learning Curve4/5
Self-Defence Value4/5
Fitness Value3/5

Organisation & Competition

Grading SystemNo grades
Competition FormatNo competitions
Weight ClassesNo
Olympic StatusNot Olympic
World Federationbez jediné světové federace; síť certifikovaných instruktorů
Estimated Practitioners10k–100k

What the style is built from

Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.

Hand strikesCore
KicksCore
Throws & takedownsMarginal
Ground fightingMarginal
Locks & holdsSignificant
WeaponsSignificant

Catalogs & Databases for Jeet Kune Do

👥 People & Masters6 items
🎬 Films featuring this art5 items

About Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do was created by Bruce Lee in the late 1960s as a rejection of closed styles. He started from wing chun, learned under Yip Man, but came to the conclusion that any fixed system is a limitation: a real fight does not keep to a form, so training should not bind the fighter to a canon of techniques. The name means "the way of the intercepting fist" and points to the central principle — hit the opponent at the moment his attack begins, not after it finishes. Technically JKD draws from wherever it can: punches from boxing and from fencing (Lee studied fencing and took from it the handling of distance and the lead hand), kicks from karate and savate, footwork from boxing, grips from judo and wrestling. The stance is bladed with the strong hand forward, because the fastest route to the target is the shortest one. Lee died in 1973 and left no closed system — he left principles and notes. That is the source of a lasting dispute: one line teaches the specific material Lee taught (Jun Fan Gung Fu), the other treats JKD as a method of personal enquiry and changes the material. Both claim the same name. Its historical importance is beyond doubt — JKD anticipated the logic of modern MMA by twenty years. The practical quality of any given school today, however, depends purely on what is actually trained there and whether they spar.

Similar styles

Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.

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