IS JEET KUNE DO AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

BRUCE LEE IS ALMOST UNIVERSALLY CITED AS THE BEST MARTIAL ARTIST EVER, SO WHY ISN'T JKD MORE POPULAR?

Years ago, claiming that you were a teacher of jeet kune do brought prestige even though you might still be fine-tuning your understanding of the art. These days, however, if you say you teach JKD, it might mean nothing - plenty of martial artists insist that no such art exists because Bruce Lee died. Others argue that you cannot teach JKD by itself because the system encompasses multiple styles. Of course, there's always the chance that you'll just be accused of being a phony out to capitalize on Lee's name.

The JKD situation started changing as soon as Lee passed away in 1973. Immediately afterward, practice of it almost came to a halt. Then the art of Jun Fan gung fu surfaced courtesy of the first generation of Lee students, and it was taught alongside supplemental martial arts that were deemed relevant.

In the late '80s, JKD as an art gained traction with the public, but it usually was taught in private. Instructors did not openly advertise.

In the '90s, there was greater interest in learning JKD, but if you claimed you were a teacher, you were looked at with scrutiny.

Potential students wisely sought to separate the legitimate instructors from the wannabes.

By 2000, seemingly everyone was teaching JKD. Ten years later, few people seemed to care. When questioned, many respondents would ask, "What is JKD?" -as if the world had already forgotten.

To guarantee its continuance, jeet kune do needs to revert to its original status. From there, it should be allowed to resume its evolution so it can continue to raise the bar in the self-defense world.

However, before that can happen, today's problems must be identified.

THE SPLIT