Customer Reviews

Its Concepts and Philosophies (Jeet Kune Do)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For anyone wanting to study JKD this book is a must. The book discloses every aspect of true street fighting and explains that a person can loose a fight due to being unfamiliar with the range they are in. Vunak addresses this problem that Lee came up with a solution for, familiariaze yourself with all of the four fighting ranges. There are many people studying JKD but do not add the elements of GRACIE JIU JITSU or KALI to it and thus are missing out on the evolutionary process that Lee had ment to be as a means of growth, Vunak does not forget these arts in his personal training. As a student of Vunaks and a certified instructor under him, I can tell you his lessons are even more insightful and dynamic than his book already is. I have trained in various GRACIE JIU JITSU and BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU academys and Vunak addresses ground fighting prehaps even more effectively than they do. The only downfall to his book is that he leaves out the ground fighting range that he stresses in private training. He is a true martial artists and some one who is honest with himself and his students about the realities of street fighting. This book is a for real.

I read Mr. Vunak's book some time ago while training with a good friend who is a student of JKD. He lent me a copy of this book and it was quite a surprise to see the depth of the JKD philosophy it extolled. Mr. Vunak's points re: the psychological aspects of both fighting and training are excellent material for any MA regardless of style. I have not felt a great need to refer back to it, and Mr. Vunak can come across a bit elitist at times, but it did make an impression on me because it was well written and would be a fine gift for any MAist. VERY GOOD READING!

I have purchased several of Mr. Vunaks video tapes which were very helpful to my training, this book is a fantastic companion to them. Although it does show some techniques at the end, I feel this books true value is as a guide as you progress to create your own version of JKD. The subjects and ideas he discusses are great brain food for thought. If you are a martial artist who is perfectly happy with your style and it's shortcomings,(which ALL "systems" have)then don't buy this book. If your looking to fix those shortcomings, buy this book A.S.A.P.

I would pick this book up before it goes out of print and is not available. I study JKD and this book provides a lot of interesting insights about JKD, ranges of fighting, intensity ("killer instinct") in the way only Paul Vunak can do it. I recommend this book.

Save your money and pass on this book. Actually I'm a fan of Paul Vunak and I love his videos but this book doesn't cut it!
If you are absolutely new to JKD then you may be interested, otherwise look at some other titles, even Vu's Anatomy of a Streetfight is OK (but padded with large pictures).

This book details Paul Vunak's discoveries in Jeet Kune Do in terms of philosophy and how to apply Bruce Lee's concept of JKD to one's martial arts training. I think Vunak's experience through his various instructors and real life experience makes him a great person to explain these in understandable language. One thing I wish he would have done more of was explain how one can train some of the attributes. He explains them well, but he could have given more examples of how to train them. That would have made this book even better than it already is.

Paul explains some of the most important aspects of street fighting: the killer instinct, range awareness, and the importance of realistic attributes drills. Paul has the insight on what real fighting is, and if you get the opportunity to train with him, it will make the difference in your training.

Many people see "Jeet Kune Do" on a cover, and think that they are buying a book which will show them how to punch or kick like Bruce Lee. This book isn't about that. Rather than "how to punch", author Vunak explains the qualities which made Lee's moves stand out from the rest. He then goes on to provide suggestions and exercises which, if practiced (yes,PRACTICED), will help to imbue your techniques with those selfsame qualities. The net result will not make your moves look like Lee's, they'll make your moves better than they were previously. Vunak writes with an approachable, conversational style. The comparisons he draws do much to expand on the points he's making. If you're looking to fine-tune the techniques you already know, this is an excellent place to start.

With perhaps the exception of Guro Dan Inosanto's books Paul Vunak's book is the best and most informative on the market. A book that covers the psycological and physical aspects of (particularly) the trapping range. Excellent series of photos of no-nonsense self defence approaches.

There are probably more books written on Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do than any other single combat art(the exception may be Jujitsu).The author has the distinction of having been trained by Dan Inosanto, Bruce Lee's top student and well-known Filipino martial arts expert. The informative book does a superb job of explaining, in a simple way, what the nature of Jeet Kune Do is, and more importantly, what it is not. This 123 page text covers the nature of fighting, the four ranges of combat, learning combat flow, the twenty six fighting elements of Jun-fan, the role of Kali, JKD's mental principles of combat and much, much more.

In conclusion, this is a good basic guide but one cannot learn any physical skill without actual practice under the watchful eye of an instructor.

Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Pro-Systems Combatives Official manual Vol. 1,2)