JKD in UFC?

bambammccoy

bambammccoy

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How would Jeet Kune Do based mixed martial artists fair in the UFC?

I would think pretty well seeing as how Sambo and JKD are totally different but both are as close to mma as you can get without being so. And Sambo seems to do pretty well in mma since it seems like not such a big transition.

Is my logic a little off? Thoughts?
 
Jeet Kune Do is extremely vague, much more of a mindframe than a technique or a fighting discipline.
 
I don't think so. JKD is what Bruce Lee came up with, then he sort of grew up from that sort of fighting style, so I don't think, from what I understand, it is fair to associate JKD with what Bruce Lee pursued without confining himself into one martial arts under one label. He seemed to have progressed from Wing-chun to JKD, and then sort of quit practicing under one specific martial arts.
 
But, then again, I just wikipediaed it, and maybe the first guy who replied to this thread had a correct point about JKD. I was quite into Bruce Lee in high school, and it's been a while.
 
JKD is a philosophy, not a particular art form. An outdated one that paved the way for modern MMA.
 
Jeet Kune Do would work in MMA like any other martial arts. Contrary to popular belief Jeet Kune Do is not MMA and there is a method to the madness.

There are techniques that JKD has a primary focus on. A lot of Wing Chun guys argue that Bruce Lee abandoned wing chun because he wasn't patient enough, or that he didn't learn enough(Ip Man refused to teach him because he taught westerners). Bruce Lee found Boxing and Karate more effective, adopted a more western ideal of martial arts over eastern.

His one inch punch(which he would never use in a fight) was to showcase his diligence in perfecting his technique. This technique was the straight lead, something used in boxing still. His footwork was not wing chun inspired but boxing.

Again, Jeet Kune Do would work just like any other martial arts in MMA. You can use elements of it but you would still need to study the sport as a whole to understand how it would fit.
 
Did you ever saw Bruce Lee fight a wrestler? I don't think he would know how to get up.
 
So basically what I've gotten is JKD is not even half of what helped Bruce Lee obtain is physical talents. And that JKD shouldn't be associated with Bruce Lee as much as it is and that JKD is more aof a mental thing or a type of belief rather than a full on martial art.
 
JKD means, "Way of the Intercepting Fist", a fighting philosophy based originally on direct counter attacks instead of Karate style block/ counter punch. Seems simplistic now, but a fairly novel notion at the time. Bruce's primary weapons for real fighting were a low, lead side kick to the knee and a finger jab to the eye. He advocated using your strong side lead (southpaw stance for right handed fighters). Bruce was an avid fan and believer in boxing, but only dabbled in Muay Thai and grappling. He used principles of fencing and wing chun kung fu but believed in transcending styles. He boxed competitively for a short time, and had some challenge matches but didn't favor combat sports, he believed in training for street fights. It's hard to imagine he won't love MMA, but his leading students have never really trained MMA fighters, although the IMB academy has had a boxing team for many years. Dan Inosanto, an original student and considered the leading living authority on JKD is still an active martial artist and continues to learn new MA systems, having received a Machado BJJ blackbelt in recent years. I have trained with Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo and other JKD experts and found them to be super cool, thoughtful, intelligent, sincere people.
 
bambammccoy said:
So basically what I've gotten is JKD is not even half of what helped Bruce Lee obtain is physical talents. And that JKD shouldn't be associated with Bruce Lee as much as it is and that JKD is more aof a mental thing or a type of belief rather than a full on martial art.
Click to expand...

Bruce Lee is the reason JKD exists, I don't think anybody here is saying that he shouldn't be associated with it. Just that JKD isn't one particular art form like BJJ or boxing. Its a philosophy that was developed by Lee to tear down a lot of walls in the traditional martial arts world. Its the mind set of self analyzing and systematically trying to perfect yourself as a martial artist with a fighting style that evolves as you learn and experience things. This philosophy challenged all of the traditional gyms in Lee's time and is the mindset by which modern mma exists. One can say that all of mixed martial arts has some inherent Jkd

Now that's not to say that he's the only reason we have mma it anything.
 
There's a reason why people call Bruce Lee the spiritual godfather of MMA. Tons of fighters including greats like Anderson Silva and Jon Jones have paid tribute to Lee, and demonstrate a similar approach to martial arts as Lee did.

However, if we're talking about fighters coming out of the Jeet Kune Do lineage coming from those taught by and certified by Lee directly, that's a different story. I have never been to one of their schools to see what they teach these days, and I don't know if any certified JKD instructors even embrace MMA. Since JKD hasn't really done a good job of staying popular in practice, seeing somebody rise out of it into MMA stardom is unlikely. However, there are guys like Erik Paulson who trained under JKD certified instructors among all sorts of other training, so technically Sean Sherk, Ken Shamrock, Josh Barnett, Brock Lesnar, etc all have a sort of JKD lineage. There are probably more examples.

But if we're talking about a more official lineage, it would probably take some random Lyoto Machida-type situation for someone to come out of the JKD lineage and become UFC champion. Phenoms like Lyoto Machida are exceptionally rare, and most fighters with that kind of talent are going to be drawn into more widely accepted MMA academies or boxing/wrestling programs. So it's unlikely that we're going to see someone from a Jeet Kune Do lineage become UFC champ any time soon.
 
Long story short: Brock Lesnar is the most popular JKD practitioner in MMA.
 
After seeing capoeira doing pretty well with some fighters like Connor MC Gregor, that brazilian dude from Bellator and even Anthony Pettis, I truly believe any martial art can do well in MMA as long as the fighter is able to adapt it.
 
Once he saw wrestling WWF back then he thought damn these guys can throw people around. Bruce Lee true art style became "Like Water" after all the different variations he found techniques in many styles. JKD was a part and Wing Chun but Like Water or h20 is his official unofficial style. :icon_lol:
 
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Bruce Lee

Come on now people.
 
Hi guys. I'm a 3rd generation, 12th rank JKD Sihing (Associate Instructor) working on my black sash. I have practiced JKD for roughly 3 years. We do not have any type of aesthetic competition or sparring tournaments. The reason for that is because everything we learn is debilitating or termination moves. If someone who entered into UFC knew JKD they would reflexively do things like break bones and kill people. One of the first things we do is to do a biulge to the eyes. We have learned how to attack and block at the same time. And we use Qi when we attack which is directed energy and very damaging.

To let you know our mindstate. I fear absolutely nothing. I look people who are 3x my size dead in their face and laugh when they try to be intimidating. It's like having the feeling of holding a gun, all the time. We know all types of things because it's a combination of Western Boxing, Wing Chun Gung Fu, and Fencing. There are a lot of traps, and we can break hold almost any situation.

In short, Bruce Lee would not have been allowed to fight in MMA. If rules were changed and he fought in MMA he would have to untrain his reflexes. We do not have any sport fighting for a reason. The original definition I learned "Jeet Kune Doe. The way of the intercepting fist, is a martial art using movements that are simple, direct, and non classical. formed from Wing Chun Gung Fu, Western Boxing, and Fencing. Following the principal of honestly expressing ourselves through realistic training for scientific street fighting and developed by Bruce Lee. Having No Way as a Way and No Limitation as a limitation."

Now contrary to popular belief , this doesn't just mean "Bruce Lee didn't train in any specific way or certain moves". It actually refers to the ability to learn a move so well that it becomes reflex. Bruce Lee said I would rather be struck by one man who practiced 1000 kicks one time, then a man who practiced one kick 1000 times. That's what we do, we repeat moves thousands of times until they become reflex. Some of these moves are things like Aikido with joint locks, and some of them are things like breaking jaws, necks, arms, legs, metatarsals, etc. We punch very very fast, which is why it's extremely difficult to block. We do that because we punch with our lead hand and it's already forward and it's such a short line to the target from there, we also snap our hip when we punch which creates a major impact.

I just wanted to give my input. Bruce Lee is a very important person in my life, and I feel like he was absolutely unbeatable. If he would have dedicated his time to MMA and learning that craft, he would have perfected it and it would be a different sport.

Thanks guys! Much love.

NoxBond!

Lineage : Bruce Lee trained Professor Gary Dill (first generation) who trained Sifu Joe Hutchings (second generation) who trained me (third generation)
 
It might work. Karate worked. But you still need a ground game to go with it.
 
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