Jeet Kune Dō (henceforth, JKD) is Bruce Lee’s “styleless style” of martial arts. Its literal meaning is “the way of the intercepting fist.” However, Lee cautions one against attaching too much significance to that name (or any name) in the book’s final chapter. Long before “Mixed Martial Arts” became a household word, Lee was constructing this fighting system that borrowed heavily from the Western traditions of boxing, fencing (conceptually speaking), and wrestling as well as from Kungfu, Savate, and Judō/Jujutsu. While JKD employs techniques and concepts from these systems, Lee remained adamant that no good came of organized styles built on fixed forms. In fact, that might be said to be the central theme of the book. That is, each fighter should begin with sound fundamentals and build an approach that is ultimately his or her own.
“The Tao of Jeet Kune Do” is an outline of the martial art. In many ways, it looks like and reads like Lee’s personal notebook. It’s illustrated with crude (but effective) hand drawings of the type one would see in a personal journal, and they are annotated with hand-written notes. (My biggest criticism is that on the Kindle version the graphics are largely unreadable. I’d recommend you get the print edition if you can, which is large-format paperback as I recall.) The book combines a philosophy of martial arts with nitty-gritty discussion of the technical aspects of combat. The philosophical chapters bookend the technical ones.
As others have pointed out, there’s not much that is new in either the philosophical discussions or the technical ones. Lee’s value-added is in how he states these concepts, how he selects the concepts of value (informed largely by a love of simplicity and a hatred of dogma), and the weight lent to the lessons by Lee’s great success story—albeit in a life far too short. Lee was a man of charisma, and one who approached endeavors with gravitas.
Now, I can imagine some readers saying, “Why are you recommending a book on real fighting by a movie martial artist? Would you recommend a book on how to conduct gall bladder surgery from someone because they were on the first two seasons of <i>ER</i>? Would you take martial arts lessons from Keanu Reeves because his moves looked pretty nifty in <i>The Matrix</i>?”
I’ll admit that there is nothing about making kungfu movies that makes one particularly competent to give advice on close-quarters combat. However, as I said, Lee seemed to devote himself entirely to everything he did. Consider the Bruce Lee physique, which seems so common place among actors today (no doubt in part chemical and in part owing to live-in Pilates coaches) was virtually unseen in the 70’s. Yeah, he probably had good genes, but he must have trained like a maniac as well. Lee’s constant mantra of “simplicity” lends him a great deal of credibility. (It should be noted that pragmatism is not a virtue in the movie-making industry.) Lee demonstrates that he’s given a lot of thought to the subject and done the training when he discusses technical concepts. For example, while he gives high praise to Western boxing and emulates boxing moves in some regards, he also notes that boxers are insufficiently cautious owing to the rules/equipment of their sport (a comment—it should be noted--that can be leveled against any sport martial art.)
The technical material is organized in four chapters. The chapter on “tools” deals with the techniques of striking, kicking, and grappling. A chapter on preparations explains Lee’s thoughts on faints, parries and manipulations. There is a chapter on mobility that discusses footwork and various types of evasions. The last technical chapter discusses the approaches to attack, focusing heavily on JKD’s five types of attack.
“The Tao of Jeet Kune Do” is undeniably repetitive, but that repetition has value in hammering home key concepts. It’s also consistent with the JKD philosophy of not getting into a great deal of complexity, but rather drilling home the basics. There’s an old martial arts adage that says, “One should not fear the man who knows 10,000 techniques as much as the one that has done one technique 10,000 times.” This seems apropos here. Besides, the concepts that are repeated are often worth memorizing. e.g. Simplify. Eliminate ego. Avoid fixed forms. Be natural. Don’t think about building up as much paring away.
I’d recommend this book for martial artists of any style. Non-martial artists may find the philosophical chapters interesting, but may not get much out of the list-intensive technical chapters.
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Tao of Jeet Kune Do Paperback – Illustrated, 1 November 2011
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Product details
- Language : English
- Paperback : 245 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0897502027
- ISBN-13 : 978-0897502023
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- 731 in Sports
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About the Author
Bruce Lee was an iconic figure in martial arts who pioneered the concept of jeet kune do from his physical training, personal research, and formal education in philosophy at the University of Washington-Seattle. He acted in several motion pictures, including The Big Boss, Enter the Dragon, Fists of Fury, and Way of the Dragon. He is the author of Bruce Lee: Wisdom for the Way, Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense, and the Fighting Method series.
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Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
640 reviews

Bernie Gourley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bruce Lee's take on taking what is useful while discarding the useless.
25 March 2016 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
99 people found this helpful

Evan
5.0 out of 5 stars
The REALNESS
11 June 2016 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
In my opinion Bruce Lee was an absolute genius and understood life in a way not many others if any will be able to conceptualize even. Before he died, he passed out and was hospitalized for cereberal edema which from what I gather is his brain was filing with fluid and was swelling. 2 months later he complained of a headache and collapsed again and died. Whatever they say the medical reason was, I think he was just so smart, his brain couldn't take it. That, or he was killed. Those are just my opinions. There are several theories of how/why he died but, back to the book. The story behind this is, Bruce Lee broke his back and had to stay in bed for a long time. That's when he wrote it. The style of martial arts he created is a physical expression/reflection of his philosophies/beliefs. That's basically what this book is. If you have studied up on Bruce Lee and are into truth, this book is for you. I wish it wasn't based around his creation of Jeet Kune Do, but I just wanted in the mind of Bruce Lee and that's what I got. I'm not a martial artist but this book is full of wisdom that can be applied to all aspects of life. I super recommend this to anyone interested in philosophy, truth, bettering themselves, understanding life more, etc. Bruce Lee was the man. RIP.
38 people found this helpful

Clif
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you are serious about truly understanding
18 September 2019 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do! It is a must read, the bible itself of martial arts. It has to be studied. Tao means the "Way". It is something that you will read over and over and receive something new. Understanding about you must read this. There is a difference than a fighter than a martial artist that lives on point is different than a point fighter is of a combat fighter is. The best fight is the one . I suggest you read everything about fighting you can get your hands on. Bruce Lee's Commentaries. This is where he has you study different forms of the arts from Boxing to judo and ask you its pros and cons. A truly must read is Jack Dempsey!

5.0 out of 5 stars
If you are serious about truly understanding
Reviewed in the United States on 18 September 2019
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do! It is a must read, the bible itself of martial arts. It has to be studied. Tao means the "Way". It is something that you will read over and over and receive something new. Understanding about you must read this. There is a difference than a fighter than a martial artist that lives on point is different than a point fighter is of a combat fighter is. The best fight is the one . I suggest you read everything about fighting you can get your hands on. Bruce Lee's Commentaries. This is where he has you study different forms of the arts from Boxing to judo and ask you its pros and cons. A truly must read is Jack Dempsey!
Reviewed in the United States on 18 September 2019
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12 people found this helpful

The Polymath
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Martial Arts Book Ever Written!
19 August 2018 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
No matter what style of martial arts you practice, you can learn something by reading this book. Bruce Lee was a genius and way ahead of this time. He studied boxing, fencing, and various martial arts and combined what he considered to be the best attributes from each into his own style of Jeet Kune Do. This is an explanation of the martial art from the founder himself. A masterpiece!
17 people found this helpful

mimeauja
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wisdom from a Master
16 November 2018 -
Published on Amazon.comVerified Purchase
If you want to get into the mind of Bruce Lee, this is the book for you. Unlike Bruce Lee, this book does not follow “be water, my friend”. It does not always “flow” well. It’s a compilation of thoughts, knowledge and ideas.
Tao (path), as you may not be aware, once you define the “path”, you have strayed from it. So don’t consider the entire book as it “must be”, but as a guide to “could be”.
Lots of repetition, but that is good for hammering things into your brain.
Advice...read, perform, practice...and most of all, adapt what you learn (make it yours)
Tao (path), as you may not be aware, once you define the “path”, you have strayed from it. So don’t consider the entire book as it “must be”, but as a guide to “could be”.
Lots of repetition, but that is good for hammering things into your brain.
Advice...read, perform, practice...and most of all, adapt what you learn (make it yours)
11 people found this helpful