JKD Groups

[IFAJKD]

It is easy to verify but the whole Ted Wong, Jerry Beasly and Joe Lewis scam is very confusing to most people. I spoke with John Little and he stated that Ted had as much time with Bruce as Dan did. I have never heard that from anyone else. Regardless....Bruce did not certify him. Joe had aprox 6 meetings with Bruce and some of these were simply meals with Linda and Joes wife....Not even close to certification by Bruce....Bruce did, according to witnesses pound Joe into the ground on one occassion over a certain issue I can't really mention but it was very fast...

 

[Cthulhu]

I think Ted Wong was certified for some ranking in JKD (don't know if they were using the old 8 level ranking system at that time); however, he was never certified as an instructor by Bruce. Some people find it important to note that Wong was one of the few Lee students who had no prior martial arts training. I know he spent considerable time with Lee, but I don't know if it equaled Inosanto's time with Lee. I do know he never taught for Lee, as Inosanto, Kimura, and J.Y. Lee had.

I'll not even mention Lewis and Weasely. Whoops! I just did

Cthulhu

 

[IFAJKD]

can't take away from anything Wong has done but If he wanted to certify anyone in JKD he should have first gone through Dan. At that time Taky was not certifying anyone. It's a matter of respect for Bruce as I see it.

 

[Cthulhu]

Hurm, I was not aware that Wong had been certifying people without having been certified as an instructor himself. This is disturbing.

Reminds me...

I was looking my copy of one of those "Bruce Lee's Fighting Method" books publishine in '77. They are credited as being written by Bruce Lee and M. Uyehara, but the copyright belongs to Linda Lee. At any rate, you can really see that Wong had no previous martial arts experience before training with Lee.

For the most part, the demonstration of classical techniques in the book are done by Inosanto. However, there are a couple of pictures of Wong demonstrating traditional blocks. Urgh. Horrible. Looks like he's breakdancing.

Cthulhu

 

[IFAJKD]

Linda has the rights to all of it and she has turned all of it over to John Little. John has written quite a few books on Bruce but he is quite slanted away from Dan as his stable as I discovered comes out of Joe Lewis, Weasley and Wong. In the end it doesn't matter what they do, people will see it for what it is

 

[Cthulhu]

I'm guessing that Mr. Little has steered more towards Wong, Spew-is, and Weasely because they're probably more forthcoming than Inosanto. By this, I mean that Inosanto seems to stay away from things where people might try to make money off of Bruce Lee's name. You know Weasely will suck every penny out that he can.

I think Dan's refusal to join the so-called Jun Fan/JKD Nucleus is another factor. Little's loss, really. Though he does have the enviable position of having access to Lee's notes.

Cthulhu

 

[IFAJKD]

I would love to see his notes. the things that haven't been published.

 

[Cthulhu]

As far as I know, Little has been the only person allowed to see everything, which is a shame. Supposedly, Lee kept a log of the fights he had as a kid in Hong Kong. That'd be real interesting to see.

Cthulhu

 

[IFAJKD]

He is releasing all of it (supposedly) in a slow release of books. $$$$$$$$$ gotta cash it in for the foundation. I wonder if he and L are....?????oh well that's another thread

 

[Cthulhu]

I don't even know if he's a JKD practitioner. Maybe a casual student. Not sure. It's amazing that someone can make a living simply by arranging someone else's notes into a book form.

Cthulhu

 

[IFAJKD]

I want that job too. As for Little..He trains with The Tedster

 

[Cthulhu]

Okay, Jim...I've got martial arts notes scrawled all along the margins of both my MA books and school lecture notes. Let's make books out of them and clean up! (as if anyone would buy them )

Tedster, eh? Does Mr. Wong know about this little nickname, hmmmm?

Actually, that goes a long way to why Little doesn't really get any info from Inosanto. I've actually talked to people who claim that Wong was the intended 'successor' to JKD. I find this hard to believe for several reasons? What? Of course I'll tell you! :soapbox:

1) Wong never received instructor certification from Lee. Period.

2) Some claim Wong was Lee's personal student for the longest time, which is the basis for their claims. Whether this is true or not, he was still never certified to teach. I'm sure he never even assisted Lee with teaching.

3) Wong had no previous MA experience before training with Lee. How can someone with no previous experience truly appreciate the 'liberation' of JKD? Like I've always said, you can't be liberated from the 'classical mess' if you've never been bound by the 'classical mess'. Inosanto, J.Y. Lee, Kimura, and most of the current instructors all have previous training in 'classical' martial arts to contrast against their JKD training. I've always felt this to be essential before taking up JKD.

Hmmm. Okay. Off the soapbox. Please forgive.

:asian:

Cthulhu

 

[IFAJKD]

I don't want to take anything away from the Tedster. He did train with Bruce but even Little said he hadn't the time Dan did or at least as much...which tells me he didn't have as much time duh. The fact that BRUCE DIDN"T PLAN ON DYING was a point that many forget. he didn't name a successor because....why.! also he hated traditional schemes and was very reluctant to even coin the term JKD. He didn't believe that MA could be taught in large classes and he didn't think it should take people long to get good. Before he died he even closed his schools and later allowed Dan to teach in his back yard. No one else. Dan. Also Dan was the ONLY student to be certified in all three arts Bruce taught.
:soapbox:

People cashing in... what else. I do believe however that if Bruce met you (Cthulhu) (you have to come up with a real/shorter/easier name).. anyway, he would have left it to you

 

[Cthulhu]

I thought he let Taky teach 'a small group of friends' or something to that effect. I think by the time Lee closed the schools, James Lee was either dead or dying. Am I wrong about that?

Oh, and I'm not casting any doubt on Ted Wong's skill either. However, I did find it odd that Lee used him to demonstrate classical blocks when Wong had no classical training.

Cthulhu

 

[jaybacca72]

hey renegade why do you ask? if you want the jkd info just call me or are you to busy to talk with your friends now that you have the fulltime school. ha ha
later
jaybacca
cry of the wookie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ps are you going to see ted?

 

[IFAJKD]

My understanding is that he didn't allow anyone but Dan to teach at that time. That was about the time Chris Kent entered the scene with Dan. But never met Bruce. Taky didn't teach until much much later. James Lee died from cancer while Bruce was in Hong Kong and before he closed the schools. As far as Ted goes, I never thought you were trying to take away from him but many people don't keep it all in perspective in terms of Bruce's original students. I don't care what Ted does as he still has significant things to offer. I do hate the Beasley, Lewis farce. It just chaps my @#$

 

[Aikia]

On another forum I had asked the question "Does anyone make a living teaching JKD?". The answer was no. There are apparently no full time professional JKD instructors,certified or otherwise. The issue was then raised "Are there any full time professional JKD organizations that derive their main income from teaching/promoting JKD? Again the answer is no. Yet there are some that think that people gravitate toward JKD to make money. The survey concluded that a teeange TKD instructor with an active school of 100 students could make more income than a group of JKD instructors and their organizations. So why all the fuss?Interesting.
In 1982 a magazine editor contracted with me to write an article on the Larry Hartsell JKD club in Charlotte NC. There I was introduced to Dan Inosanoto who had just started a full time business of teaching seminars. I published the article in American Karate magazine. As a writer ( as well as being a fifth dan master instructor with a doctorate an a University teaching position) Dan and I hit it off rather well. I told him about an idea to write a book. I traveled to perhaps a dozen JKD camps or seminars over the next five years. I promoted seminars with various JKD instructors. I trained and spent hours with Dan (this was before Paula). At the 1984 camp Dan outlined a program for me to follow when teaching kali to my karate school members. In 1988 I published the first book on JKD "concepts". The manuscript was reviewed by Dan before publication and received a endorsement from Dan. After the book was published the door was suddenly closed to me in the Inosanoto camp. Did they think I was making big money as a JKD "expert"? I did not attend JKD/Kali seminars for certificates or to become an "apprentice". Most of the people attending the seminars were beginners or intermediate students. I simply had no interest in becomming a JKD instructor.
As a writer and researcher (trained in college to conduct research) I was fascinated with the philosophical sayings provided by Bruce Lee. In my book I asked JKD instructors to define JKD. Their answers varied. So I choose to discover the meaning myself.
Since I make no income as a JKD instructor, and have no interest in being known as a JKD instructor I am supprised at the comments some have made. In later postings I will provide more information. I will ask the questions of those who may be misinformed about me "what is JKD? How may one "float in totality? How can we "Use no way as way"? Answer these questions and you will have no interest in complaining about who is and who is not JKD.

Jerry Beasley,Ed.D
Black Belt Hall of Fame
Instructor of the Year 2000
www.aikia.net

 

[William E. Holland II]

I have been studying Jeet Kune Do since 1976.
Being that I live in Southern California, I have had the good fortune to have trained with several of Bruce's original and 2nd Generation students including: Jerry Poteet, Ted Wong, Bob Bremer, Pat Strong, Joe Lewis, Steve Johnson, Dan Lee, Dan Inosanto, Larry Hartsell, Richard Bustillo, Tim Tackett, & Ted Lucay Lucay.

I am still and always will be a student but have formed an organization to help pass along what I have learned Bruce's Art and wisdom through his students, friends and family.

My organization is the International Jeet Kune Do Alliance and can be reached at www.ijkda.com or www.tactixtrainingcenter.com

Best Regards to All

William E. Holland II

 

[ThuNder_FoOt]

Of the OJKD Instructors. I have to say that many are being certified by a person who had "potentially" 4 to 5 meetings with Bruce Lee and not all of them were training times. This person has since been certifying others in JKD when he has had very little experience with it. In addition many of these people are very well published and popular and seem to get much press. The down side is they influence those people who read the articles. Right or wrong it gives a tainted picture of what the history is as well as who is who for real. I all comes back to Dan Inosanto or Taky Kimura as the two only living certified people by Bruce. Of anyone ever certified, Only Dan was certified in all of the Three arts Bruce offered Certification, Jun Fan Gung Fu, Tao of Chinese Gung Fu and Jeet Kune Do.

Amen to that!

 

[Aikia]

Please read my response to the thread ..."Something I've been pondering". Part of the answer applies to this thread as well.

Jerry Beasley, Ed.D.