The Active Interns - Summer 2023: Jeet Kune Do
“A baseline to martial arts, to help you grow and make it your own.” - Bruce Lee Foundation
Brief History of Jeet Kune Do (JKD)
This martial art is something you may have never heard of before but have probably seen. It was pioneered by martial artist icon Bruce Lee. He was famous for his action-packed movies and his brilliant martial art abilities. Bruce wanted to create a philosophy in martial art that does not limit the person to one style. Jeet Kune Do is translated as Way of the Intercepting Fist and a quote directly from Bruce Lee:
“Using no way as way; Having no limitation as limitation.”
In 1967, Bruce Lee implemented the term Jeet Kune Do in his philosophies but was back and forth with the term because he did not want the term to limit the style and philosophy. JKD follows the basic guiding principles of simplicity, directness and freedom. The main goal of JKD was to be able to evolve overtime and grow with the user. It is simply a mindset that one must hone to learn about oneself through their experience and apply what works best for them.
Bruce Lee tragically passed in 1973, but the spirit of him and Jeet Kune Do are celebrated and practiced to this day. People are still growing and evolving the martial art, just as Bruce has intended. His influence and impact to the martial art community will continue to be felt for generations to come.
Not familiar with Jeet Kune Do? Here is a beginner's guide to the martial art!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVXx3f3cayc
In preparation for All Sport One Day coming this June 17th I visited one of this year’s participants at the Esteem and Havoc Dojo!
Experience
On my way to the first class with Sport Calgary’s summer videographer Elijah, I was extremely nervous. Like starting anything new, the fear of uncertainty is like no other feeling. Walking inside and seeing a sparring class happening heightened the nerves a bit. This was because it was intimidating, especially for someone who has very little experience in martial arts. As soon as I had a quick introduction with Jay, the co-owner ofEsteem & Havoc Dojo, and began warming up with the class, my nerves eased away. Everyone was a different age and gender all ready to participate in the class. Our warmup consisted of dynamic stretches of lower and upper body and a core workout that contained 4 different exercises of 300 plus reps! This intense warmup was just what I needed to get ready for the rest of the class. Jay started off the class with a quick intro to Jeet Kune Do. The meaning behind it describes asway of interpreting the fist. The philosophy behind this martial art is to provide a free-flowing open ended approach to martial art. Allowing a specific baseline and building on each movement. The idea is to not limit one to a particular style and allow space to adapt and evolve. The thing that makes it so interesting is that it is entirely up to YOU how you approach each move, the baseline is only provided.
The class started with partnering up and beginning with a basic jab-block combo between each partner. One partner would throw a jab, the other partner would block it and the same sequence would happen the other way. Jay partnered me up with Instructor Ken, who guided me through all the actions. His expertise and lessons to not hesitate and really follow through the actions, especially when I would over think the moves. He reminded me that in real life, when protecting yourself you do not have time to overthink your moves. This taught me the value of being confident in how you move your body and preform each action. The beauty of jeet kune do is that it is more of a philosophy than a fighting style. How you respond and approach the situation is entirely up to you. Jay provided the baseline combo to practice but what Ken quickly showed me that there are a multitude of ways to follow through the baseline combo that was given. Throughout the class, as we slowly progressed through every move, and I got to add my own style that felt most appropiate to me. That was the coolest feeling ever because I felt that my style was different to Ken and vice versa. Despite the nature of martial arts, where we are throwing punches and blocks around with intent, there was still fun and lighthearted moments. Jay and Ken would crack a few jokes here and there to keep the atmosphere fun while we are learning. This helped me feel more relaxed feeling comfortable in my enviroment.
This experience taught me the value and appeal that doing martial arts like jeet kune do provide. The nature of martial arts is intimidating first but being able move your body with intent and learning tools to protect yourself is very valuable. And learning firsthand the philosophy of jeet kune do was interesting, because there is power in adaptability and finding the tools that work for you. In a way, there are some aspects in the philosophy that can be connected to daily life. Ultimately it is how one interprets it but the idea that JKD is for the user to decide makes it even more special.
Check out my interview with Jay and Sarah about Jeet Kune Do and their dojo!
Physical Literacy in Jeet Kune Do
I am a fourth year Physical Literacy student at Mount Royal University, and in this section, I am covering the key contribution the feature sport has to physical literacy. What is physical literacy you may ask?
"Physical literacy is the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life."
- The International Physical Literacy Association, May 2014
That is the general explanation of this idea, and my goal is connect my learnings of physical literacy to the featured sport and physical activity.
How this sport contributes to Physical Literacy
This is a multidisciplinary sport that involves so many subtle, intricate movement. The coordination, balance and cardio that it exhausts is very apparent. It embodies a strong connection to the body and mind philosophy because there is so many ways to move your body. This is especially true because one is adapting to what an opponent gives to them. To have the spatial awareness to act in the manner that makes most sense to the user. This plays to the idea of physical competency and knowledge because you must have a good understanding of your movements and enviroment to act in the most optimal way.
Transferable to other sports
There is a lot of spatial awareness, micro-coordination and reactivity that go into martial arts and be applied to many activities not combat related. The reaction time to things coming your way helps with mental processing. For example, when a punch was coming my way and I was dodging and blocking it, my mind is processing and acting to what is coming my way. I find that feeling is similar to sports that require a fair amount of reactive ability.
What skills transfer to what sports and why?
The reaction time mention above is like ball sports such as tennis or baseball. Comparing baseball to martial arts seems very farfetched at first but the idea of dodging or blocking a punch on time and moving your body to the right spot-on time to catch a balling flying straight at you share some similarities. The ability to process the situation and act upon it is a transferable skill in sports, especially when something is coming your way, whether it be a ball, or a punch.
Active for life
One thing that I loved when working with Ken is that he has been doing martial arts for a very long time. He moves fantastically and the idea that martial arts like Jeet Kune Do can be a main contributor to the active life model, it is a unique and fun way to stay active. JKD is good for the cardiovascular, coordination and is a great social activity to remain connected in the community. This sport offers a complete package to get people involved physical activity for a long time.
*For more information on the active for life model please check out the website
Adaptations
Jeet Kune Do can be applied to many because it is all about finding your best fit! As long as one can move either hands or feet there is always something that can be adapted to! Trained instructors will be able to ensure the best way to accommodate and provide outlets to exercise the movements. Adaptations are all about accommodate to everyone’s situation.
Benefits in the future
The best long-term benefit down the road is that it provides good cardiovascular training and a tight knit community to build connections with. The world of martial arts is a place where anyone can feel welcomed and while getting a good workout in. There are opportunities for a more competitive route if that is what people desire but the community, physical and mental benefits cannot be ignored as it greatly contributes to one’s self esteem.
Programs
Esteem & Havoc Dojo provide a multitude of programs that are not limited to jeet kune do. There are classes in ju-jitsu, karate, catch wrestling, fit boxing and serrada escrima. There are programs for younger age groups in the program ‘little dragons’ as well! Most classes are scheduled in the evenings from Monday-Friday.
Time commitment
Esteem & Havoc Dojo offers two classes of a martial art once or twice a week for about an hour each class. Thus, depending on your preference, you could be attending the dojo once or twice a week, maybe even more! So, the number of classes you invest in taking is completely up to your discretion.
Risks?
If you are simply there for the recreational aspect of the martial art, there is few injury risks that you face. Minor soreness or bruising may be a possibility, but accidental injury will always exist. Fatigue is another risk present so make sure you rest and hydrate! At a competitive level, participating in activities such as sparring, and competitions present more risk as this is a combat activity. Wearing the proper safety protection is essential to minimizing any major injuries.
I would like to thank Jay, Sarah and Ken provided me with a nice welcoming experience, and I am growing a fond appreciation for martial arts and self protection!
The Esteem and Havoc Dojo is located #4 2807 107 Ave, SE. And for more information, check out their website at www.esteemandhavoc.com.