Is Jeet Kune Do effective or is it useless?

If you’re asking this question then it’s probably best to start off with a little history on Jeet Kune Do. To begin with, Jeet Kune Do (JKD) was created by Bruce Lee. This means in terms of martial arts, it is still fairly modern and isn’t traditional. Much of Jeet Kune Do was inspired by Bruce Lee’s fascination with Wing Chun. This means it has a lot of techniques and crossover with Wing Chun. However, there are a few key differences that make JKD unique. As much as anything, it’s a philosophy and way of life, more than a particular set of moves.

Due to the open-minded nature of Bruce Lee, it also borrows from various martial arts and isn’t a direct copy of Wing Chun. For those wondering about the translation, Jeet Kune Do roughly means ‘Way of the intercepting fist’ which was an idea of Lee’s. The point of this, is that his techniques and beliefs around fighting involved using your fists very often. A striking-based martial art, JKD would often intercept punches with your fist in close combat, and then counter with punches of your own. Below we shall delve deeper into the effectiveness of Jeet Kune Do and look at its pros and cons.

Why Jeet Kune Do is effective

Unlike Wing Chun, JKD offers a little more variety. Whilst Wing Chun is certainly legit, it lacks some of the variations found in JKD. For example, a lot of Wing Chun’s fighting is done in very close proximity. It also works on the assumption of jabs and doesn’t account for grappling as much. Whilst it’s effective, it’s somewhat limited at times. JKD is arguably more diverse in this sense.

Because Bruce Lee took from other disciplines, he also combined boxing and fencing. That’s right, he used stances found in fencing and added them into his fighting style. Similarly, some of the uppercuts and overhand punches found in boxing were also added to his weaponry. Because of this, JKD was more rounded, especially for its time. Of course, it hasn’t aged perfectly and is more limited in an MMA setting. However, it still teaches the fundamentals of fighting in a successful way.

Another area where Jeet Kune Do works well is within a street fighting context. This was actually the aim of Bruce Lee when making the art, as it ventured away from the competition elements of Wing Chun. Because of the big self-defense element, Bruce Lee focused heavily on ‘dirty’ moves at times such as the one-inch punch and oblique kicks. One-inch punches may not work in a full-blown fight, but at a bar for instance, it could quickly start and end a fight if someone invaded your personal space. Similarly, the oblique kick is effective in its own right, offering the possibility to break the opponent’s knee.

With this said, Jeet Kune Do is definitely effective in many areas. The oblique kick is still commonly used in fighting today, as are some of the stances developed by Bruce Lee. Of course, the one-inch punch is incredibly situational and less popular but still has its spots to work from.

Jeet Kune Do still offers a good philosophical guide to martial artists

A critique of modern MMA is that it offers fighting without the typical benefits of traditional martial arts. In short, it trains people to be skilled in fighting without teaching humility or personal skills in the process. This is dangerous as it can make for violent practitioners who lack discipline or humbleness. Thankfully, this isn’t the case for JKD.

As Bruce Lee was known for being a true martial artist, he was big on implementing the philosophical nature of martial arts into JKD. As a result, there are various texts to read on the issue which can improve you as a person. Similarly, decent JKD gyms should also be teaching the mental benefits of training alongside the physical aspects. Because of this, JKD is effective in offering mental guidance throughout life. This is priceless and cannot be understated.

Why is Jeet Kune Do ineffective?

So far, we’ve looked at the strengths of Jeet Kune Do, now we shall look at the negatives. At the same time, let’s be honest…it’s not ‘useless‘ either as some people wrongly claim. Nonetheless, Jeet Kune Do still has some issues that have kept it away from appealing to more mainstream martial artists.

The first and main issue with Jeet Kune Do is its philosophy and curriculum is arguably too broad for most people to pick up, especially beginners. This is a common complaint about people who start JKD as it requires a high level of athleticism and conditioning to begin with. It makes sense when you think about Bruce Lee who at the time had already mastered Wing Chun, so physically he would have been more than capable.

For example, one real issue with JKD is the flexibility and body-type to be able to perform certain moves. The likes of the spin kick require years of practice to perform as well as being able to be strong and flexible enough. Compared to other arts such as Boxing or Wing Chun, this means certain aspects of JKD aren’t suitable for everyone. With this in mind, some argue that JKD has more style of substance, despite being marketed for street fighting. Similarly, a lot of the moves in Jeet Kune Do require a certain degree of speed and energy. If you compare this to Muay Thai, it’s clear that Muay Thai can be just as practical but without the athleticism needed in JKD.

Jeet Kune Do performs badly against grappling

Another key issue with JKD is how it fares against grappling-based martial arts. Although JKD has some grappling and more than what is found in Wing Chun, it is still lacking in that area. Of course, back then wrestling and BJJ weren’t as popular or widely used. This means that for its time, JKD’s grappling skills were perfectly doable.

However, these days it has aged poorly in that regard. For instance, even if you do get into trapping range whilst fighting, a good wrestler could still take you down. The same can also be said if you were to fight a solid Judoka. From the floor, the JKD fighter would be at a significant disadvantage. At the time, Bruce Lee taught this with great emphasis on avoiding going to ground. This is because the entire philosophy of JKD is based on the feet and the majority of its techniques disappear when done on the floor. Similar to how a good boxer would lose their skills with their back on the floor, the same applies to JKD.

This is another problem with JKD which needs to be addressed. Of course, if you were to combine it with a grappling based art then you would be a more rounded fighter and could use your JKD with less fear. However, the point remains that this is a noticeable flaw when looking at JKD.

Jeet Kune Do has become less effective over time

Another issue with JKD is the infiltration of McDojo gyms into its culture. Like many martial arts, it has sadly fallen foul to certain gyms that offer watered down versions of the real art. For example, some argue that JKD is filled with ‘experts’ who teach fighting skills and practical methods without ever proving these methods.

We’re not saying that every instructor needs to be an MMA champion either. However, what is worrying is when certain gyms lack sparring and rely solely on anecdotal evidence. This means there’s no real way to pressure test techniques or prove whether they genuinely work or not. In brief, whilst Bruce Lee and his early followers may have been the real deal, it doesn’t mean that modern teachers are worth learning from.

At the same time, there are still many decent, genuine JKD dojos out there. The trick is finding them and sticking with them. Like many martial arts, you could argue that JKD has strayed from its original path in parts, which is sad but it happens. Because of this, it’s not the core fundamentals that are the problem, it’s the new breed of people teaching them. Even though there are some great dojos still operating, it only takes a few bad ones to harm the entire reputation of JKD.

Final thoughts when looking at Jeet Kune Do

So, we’ve addressed the strengths and weaknesses of Jeet Kune Do. To begin with, it offers an effective fighting style when focusing on close-range and also has some decent stances and footwork. Fundamentally this stuff is all as relevant today as it was when Bruce Lee was teaching it. Not only this but on a bigger scale, the philosophy of JKD is arguably more important now than ever.

In an age where respect seems lacking, the principles taught in JKD are still incredibly important. In short, this is how to behave and perform as a martial artist. This goes beyond being able to fight and enters the realms of how to behave as a good human being. Many modern martial artists such as Conor McGregor and BJ Penn could take learn from this to become more humble.

However, as has also been mentioned; Jeet Kune Do is not perfect or without faults. On one level it is too complicated for some people and requires a certain, young, fit body type to perform. Secondly, it often falls short against grappling and lastly it has lost its practical touch over the years. So, what is the conclusion? If you are reading this, you are probably wondering whether you should start training JKD or not. The answer is to find a decent school.

If you can find a good gym then you will prosper and benefit massively, improving your self-defense skills and personality too. However, be careful as these days there are many McDojo gyms out there that will quickly take your money without much in return. In essence, JKD is not alone with its problems and falls into the category of many martial arts, that it really depends on where you train as to whether it’s genuinely effective or not.