Customer Reviews

Jeet Kune Do Basics (Tuttle Martial Arts Basics)

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

 

 

Exellent book. Mr.Cheng has researched the original/JunFan version of jeet kune do as taught by Bruce Lee and has masterfully organized the information into an easy to understand format. The Tuttle "Basics" series is well designed. This book is already in second printing. I beleive it will be a standard in the field of Bruce Lee/JKD texts.
Unfortunately there exists much political bias in the JKD field. Lines are typically drawn between those who practice the original JKD (when Bruce Lee taught and encouraged others to practice JKD as a martial art from late 1967 through 1970) and those who practice the JKD concept which Bruce Lee promoted after 1971 ( see for example the famous 1971 Black Belt article in which Bruce Lee states "I have not created a new martial art).Mr Cheng, who is schooled in both versions sticks to presenting the original 'Jeet kune Do as a martial art' version in this book.

This was a very nice, informative book. The author credits a number of first- and second-generation JKD students in his acknowledgement page, and it's clear that he's tried to present a balanced view of JKD by taking advantage of these multiple inputs.

Part 1, the "Introduction" section, is a scant fifteen pages or so. However, this space is used well, and the history, underlying philosophy, and different branches of JKD are explained briefly, but very well.

The second part, on "Getting Started", includes chapters on safety, choosing the right school, what a typical "Original" JKD class is like, and what the student may expect in the first three months.

Though the first two parts are informative and lay the foundation for the book, Part 3, "Learning the Basics", is really where the fun begins. Cheng covers stance and footwork, basic strikes, and some very basic grappling. While I was impressed with how thorough the footwork section was, I have to say that illustrations from this point onward would have been very helpful. As an experienced martial artists, there was very little I was unfamiliar with, but since this book was designed for beginners, I feel that simple text descriptions of the techniques wasn't quite enough.

Part 4, on the "Five Ways of Attack", was done pretty well. Most importantly the philosophy behind the attacks was presented. Again, though, illustrations would have helped. Other than that, I thought this part was organized pretty well. The chapter on "Simple Direct/Angular Attack" was presented first, with more complex chapters following. Several examples of each method of attack were described.

The fifth part, "Tactical Considerations", had some nice info in it. Organizationally, it first included a chapter on defense, then one on counterattack. These were followed by a chapter on "Distance, Timing, and Rhythm", which few martial arts books address. The final chapter in Part 5 was about how to apply the principles and techniques of JKD in sparring, and listed a number of drills.

Part 6, "Advancing in Jeet Kune Do", wrapped things up pretty nicely. It talked about setting training goals, and also addressed competitions and demonstrations.

I found this book to be a nice bridge between your basic how-to book and a more advanced fighting strategy/philosophy book. Cheng's overall presentation seemed very balanced, and the basics were given very thorough attention. However, due to the lack of illustrations at critical points in the text, I have to settle for giving this book only four stars. Please don't let that deter readers too much, though. The principles and strategies addressed in this book are things that aren't normally taught for years in most martial arts programs. For that, and for the concise and well-done general JKD overview, I highly recomend this to all JKD students, if for nothing else than a good, quick reference book.

Excellent book !
In depth coverage of everything a beginner should know, learn and practice in the first 6 to 12 months JKD training.
From the very very basics techniques, to tactics and combination, this book will amaze the reader with its semplicity yet detail.
Step by step instructions, drills, exercises which will accompany for many months.
i really feel that, when I will have practiced all the book, I will really be a "pretty good" beginner.
Amazing !

I just had a few brief comments on this book.

This is an excellent book on JKD. One thing that you'll notice right off is it's mostly text, rather than photos. Although basic and advanced techniques get illustrated and discussed, most of the book is devoted to actually explaining how to use them in a practical sense, which takes some doing. This practical, no-nonsense approach is one thing that distinguishes JKD from more traditional martial arts. For example, you won't just find a photo of a straight lead or rear lead or lead leg kick, but you'll find discussions of when and how to use them, what situations work best for a given technique, how to combine it with footwork, use it as a counter punch or technique, and so on. The chapter on Distance, Timing, and Rhythm is one section where all of these things come together from a strategy standpoint, and this chapter is full of useful and practical information on that. The author also discusses sparring, safety considerations, how to find and evaluate a school and instructor, and so on. Many of the important points are illustrated or emphasized by pithy quotes from Lee himself. All in all, a fine book chock full of useful and wise advice from a seasoned practitioner, but much of the advice applies to just about any other type of martial art as well.

A really great book. Excellent layout. David Cheng has done himself proud. I eagerly await a follow up. In a confused world of what is Jeet Kune Do... David Cheng shows you what your school should be teaching you.

agree with other reviews. this is a good basic JKD fundamental book. alittle light on pictures for me, wish there were more.

MARTIAL ARTS AND WHAT IVE LEARNED AFTER 20 PLUS YEARS.i saw this book in borders and skimmed thru it.its ok.some of the jkd that is being taught today i think bruce wouldve discarded. a technique that is taught in jkd and wing chun is the same hand tan sao to lop sau.im not a speed demon but i know and challenge anyone to tan my punch and grab it with a lop sau at the wrist! even your bong lop sau is a joke! you bong sau my punch and i guarantee you that you wont be able to grab it with a lop sau.im even willing to bet that most people cant do a tan sau to same hand lop sau or execute a bong lop sau even to your average person on the street! students concentrating more on their next sash or belt than ON learning effective techniques are being ripped off and deceived to say the least! im sure that bruce wouldve worked more developing his students speed,power and deceptiveness than teaching so many techniques that are impractical to say the least THAT ARE BEING TAUGHT TODAY EVEN BY HIS FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS!THEY ARE MORE INTERESTED IN PROMOTING JKD -STILL AN ART THAN IN TEACHING WHAT WORKS!no wonder he decided not to teach jkd anymore and he closed down his schools!too bad.THEY TOOK WHAT WAS BEING TAUGHT AND CONSIDERED IT THE GOSPEL TRUTH! JKD NEEDS TO EVOLVE -UNFORTUNATELY MOST OF HIS FIRST AND FURTHER GENERATION STUDENTS DONT CONSIDER THEMSELVES WORTHY ENOUGH TO EVOLVE JKD AND JUST TEACH WHAT WORKS.IM SURE BRUCE KNEW THIS.thats one of the reasons he closed down his schools.most if not all his original,2nd and 3rd generation etc generation students are teaching the art just to promote the art and not teaching students JUST what really works.try the bong lop in sparring or the tan sau to same hand lop sau and decide for yourself! YOU are the ultimate teacher to you not your teacher!youll find this out through YOUR sparring and after being tested on a technique and you can perform it at a decent level then you test it in sparring and it doesnt work -ITS GARBAGE!REMEMBER THAT JKD IS STILL AN ART AND THAT YOU ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY ART AND THAT INCLUDES THE JKD OR ANY ART FOR THAT MATTER! WALK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!