I thought Bruce Lee never taught in Seattle?

Discussion in 'Jeet Kune Do' started by Saved_in_Blood, Dec 21, 2013.

  1. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    There's a guy sort of local that teaches JKD, but some of you guys said he never taught out of Seattle, but the searches I looked up said he was there and though he was young, he did some teaching:



    He quickly developed a reputation for his gung fu skills and soon had many people wanting to study under the gifted nineteen year-old. One of those people, Taky Kimura, a thirty-eight year-old Japanese-American, had been in the United States internment camp during World War II, and suffered difficulty in getting a decent job afterward, under the shadow of post-war anti-Japanese sentiment. Demoralized, Kimura was seeking something to give him back his self-confidence. He found that in the young Bruce Lee, who became his mentor, spiritual guide, and best friend.

    Lee went on to the University of Washington at Seattle where he majored in philosophy. His grasp of Eastern concepts was so profound that he became in great demand as a lecturer on Eastern philosophy.

    Lee had avoided setting up a school of gung fu in Seattle because he wanted to focus on his education. But, not liking the jobs he had to do to support himself, he finally opened one near the university in late 1963. As he had never achieved instructor rank in Wing Chun gung fu, he christened his school the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, after his Chinese name.

    http://www.becoming.8m.net/bruce01.htm

    I realize he had not started JKD at this point, but he did still teach there yes? I've been trying to find out if this teacher is legit.
     
  2. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    Who said he didn't teach in Seattle? That's where Taky Kimura is based out of

    Now it isn't necessarily JKD - it will technically be non-classical Gung Fu - but it is absolutely likely this instructor may be linked to Bruce
     
  3. El Medico

    El Medico Valued Member

    It's never been a secret he taught a bunch of folks in Seattle.

    As Hannibal said it's pre-JKD.

    Possibly the simplest way to find out if someone teaching now is legit descent from the Seattle years contact the students of the late Jesse Glover,Lee's first student.
     
  4. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    I had posted what the guys site had said before when I was looking into it, but I thought it was said that he never taught out of Seattle... my mistake perhaps. Either way the guy claims the following:

    Authentic Lineage, Straight From Bruce Lee
    When training at the Jeet Kune Do School of Delaware you can rest assured that what you are learning is authentic Jeet Kune Do as it was laid out by Bruce Lee in his schools in Seattle, Oakland and Los Angeles! Sifu Dan is a 3rd generation student of Bruce Lee’s: his own teacher having learned directly from Bruce Lee’s students.

    but if it wasn't really JKD, that's a bit of false advertising no?
     
  5. John R. Gambit

    John R. Gambit The 'Rona Wrangler

    Jesse Glover still teaches outta Seattle, or at least he did a few years ago.
     
  6. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    He died in 2012

    Taky is the only 1st gen in Seattle I am aware of
     
  7. John R. Gambit

    John R. Gambit The 'Rona Wrangler

    Dammit, that sucks. I wanted to meet him one day.
     
  8. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    problem is, I can't just go there and try it out since I have no experience with this particular art, so I wouldn't know if I was being taught correctly or not.
     
  9. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    Then again, even if he had a good trainer wouldn't mean he himself was a good student or is a good trainer.
     
  10. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    really having a hard time deciding on trying this trainer out. There aren't many JKD instructors locally and this isn't even local.. probably an hour or hour and 15 minutes. I can do private muay thai or kickboxing lessons about 10-15 minutes away from a pretty decorated trainer... but I'd like to see if I at least liked the JKD as well.

    The website says the following about JKD:

    The phrase Jeet Kune Do was coined by Bruce Lee around 1967 in an attempt to describe his own approach to martial arts. Jeet Kune Do means ‘The Way of the Intercepting Fist’. The whole idea of intercepting is key to Jeet Kune Do (or sometimes just referred to as JKD); whether it is your opponent’s attack or the intent that is intercepted.

    The symbol associated with Jeet Kune Do, called Bruce Lee’s Core Symbol, is ringed with Chinese characters that translate to “Using no way as way… having no limitation as limitation”. Jeet Kune Do came about in a time when traditional martial arts reigned and there was very little deviation from traditional form and style. Grandmasters shuddered in horror as Bruce threw tradition out the window. Every bit a philosophy as a fighting art, the principals in Jeet Kune Do can be used in daily life as well as combat.

    The techniques taught apply to real life situations and real life combat. Jeet Kune Do is not a sport combative (though it has techniques that a competitor will find highly useful): it is meant for the street and it is meant for self defense.

    The basic principles behind Jeet Kune Do are:
    1. Directness
    2. Simplicity
    3. Non-classical form

    Bruce highly encouraged his students to learn all they can about other systems and incorporate that which they found useful. In the end, advanced student’s eventually leave the foundation laid by Bruce and ultimately create their own Jeet Kune Do. This is what Bruce meant when he referred to JKD as “the formless form”.

    Of course I wouldn't know if this was true or not and if the guy was a good instructor unless I had more info on him.
     
  11. Combat Sports

    Combat Sports Formerly What Works Banned

    It's been years since I have talked to anyone there, but if you call the Sifu Inosanto's academy they can generally tell you if someone is legit.
     
  12. ap Oweyn

    ap Oweyn Ret. Supporter

    Surely, they're mostly going to be useful in telling you whether someone is legit through Guro Dan's lineage. Now, that would be what I'm looking for personally. But choosing the "original" direction is a legitimate choice, and Guro Dan's website may not be a primary resource for such teachers.

    I do agree with you, though, that the OP should visit with anyone who DOES appear on that list.
     
  13. EmptyHandGuy

    EmptyHandGuy Valued Member

    Do you have a link to his site?
     
  14. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

  15. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    It's the same guy mentioned in this thread

    http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1074743890

    His lineage is

    Bruce -James Lee- Gary Dill - Rain Burgess - Dan Sorber

    Clearly he has cleaned his site up a bit, but there is no lineage mentioned and he is "fresh" to the JKD game. He may be perfectly capable but you will never know until you go and find out :)
     
  16. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    No, I agree... but my problem again is how do I know if I've never taken it?
     
  17. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    I went ahead and emailed him to ask him about his classes, and some other details. I will likely make the trip there and try it out soon... but with our son being 6 months and very difficult right now, it won't be easy to make the time. We'll see.
     
  18. Fujian Animal

    Fujian Animal Banned Banned

    I had the pleasure of training in non-classical gung fu with some of the seattle era jun fan originals, and in my opinion it is much like wing chun with judo and a few other things thrown into the mix, overall very effective for simplistic street defense
     
  19. mdgee

    mdgee Valued Member

    Taky is alive and well. He celebrated his 89th birthday this year and is scheduled to teach a seminar in France. I think it was this week. PLease make sure you have your facts straight.
     
  20. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    No one said he wasn't - the death reference was with regards Jesse Glover

    Please make sure you have your facts straight
     

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