Jeet Kune Do is an eclectic and hybrid martial art system and philosophy of life founded by the martial artist Bruce Lee (1940–1973) in 1960 with simple and direct, or straightforward, movements and non-classical style. The system works by using different "tools" for different situations, where the situations are divided into ranges, which is kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling, where we us
e techniques to flow smoothly between them. It is referred to as "a style without style" or "the art of fighting without fighting" as said by Lee himself. Unlike more traditional martial arts, Jeet Kune Do is not fixed or patterned, and is a philosophy with guiding thoughts. It was named for the concept of interception or attacking while one's opponent is about to attack. However, the name Jeet Kune Do was often said by Lee to be just a name. He himself often referred it as "the art of expressing the human body" in his writings and in interviews. Through his studies Lee came to believe that styles had become too rigid and unrealistic. He called martial art competitions of the day "dry land swimming". He believed that combat was spontaneous, and that a martial artist cannot predict it, only react to it, and that a good martial artist should "be like water" and move fluidly without hesitation. Jeet Kune Do seeks to waste no time or movement, teaching that the simplest things work best, as in Lee's base art of Wing Chun. Economy of motion is the principle by which JKD practitioners achieve:
Efficiency: An attack which reaches its target in the least amount of time, with maximum force. Directness: Doing what comes naturally in a disciplined way. Simplicity: Thinking in an uncomplicated manner; without ornamentation. This is meant to help a practitioner conserve both energy and time, two crucial components in a physical confrontation. Maximized force seeks to end the battle quickly due to the amount of damage inflicted upon the opponent. Rapidity aims to reach the target before the opponent can react, which is half-beat faster timing, as taught in Wing Chun and Western boxing. Learned techniques are utilized in JKD to apply these principles to a variety of situations. Enterprise Academy of Martial Arts is associated with Progressive Fighting Systems and has been since September 2013. We are the area's only authorized school to teach contemporary Jeet Kune Do and we are proud to be able to service San Benito County. For more information, please go to www.fighting.net
