Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way (Bruce Lee Library) [Paperback]

Bruce Lee (Author), John Little (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bruce Lee Library | Publication Date: November 15, 1997

Based on never before published material by Bruce Lee, this volume is edited by John Little. This landmark book serves as a complete presentation of Bruce Lee's art of jeet kune do. The development of his unique martial art form, its principles, core techniques and lesson plans are presented here in Lee's own words. Jeet Kune Do also features illustrative sketches and his remarkable treatise on the nature of combat, success through martial arts, and the importance of positive mental attitude in training. It includes a series of ôQuestions Every Martial Artist Must Ask Himself.ö

Editorial Reviews

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About the Author

John Little is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on Bruce Lee, his training methods, and philosophies. Little is the only person who has ever been authorized to review the entirety of Lee's personal notes, sketches, and reading annotations. Little's articles have appeared in every martial arts and health and fitness magazine in North America including Muscle and Fitness. He is the author of The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee, and co-author of Power Factor Training, The Golfer's Two-Minute Workout, and Static Contraction Training for Bodybuilders. A native of Canada, John is an expert in the fields of martial arts, bodybuilding, and physical conditioning.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; 1st edition (November 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804831327
• ISBN-13: 978-0804831321
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JEET KUNE DO -- THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE PRESENTED, October 22, 1999

By 

Grant Reynolds (Warrensburg, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way (Bruce Lee Library) (Paperback)

"JEET KUNE DO: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way" is THE definitive book on Bruce Lee's martial art. John Little has done a superlative job of locating, formatting, editing and presenting Bruce Lee's writings in a manner that is comprehensible, informative and inspiring. In many ways this book far surpasses "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" which, in comparison, looks to be so many of Bruce's notes simply tossed into a stew. This book presents Bruce Lee's writings and sketches on his art of Jeet Kune Do in an organized and comprehensive manner -- much like Bruce Lee presented it himself when he created his art in 1967. This book is, quite simply, the best book on Jeet Kune Do ever written. But then, that shouldn't be suprising -- it was written by Bruce Lee.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed and thorough, June 15, 2003

By 

magellan (Santa Clara, CA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way (Bruce Lee Library) (Paperback)

Speaking as a student and teacher of martial arts myself for almost 40 years, this is a very detailed and thorough discussion of Lee's ideas. There's so much detail here that one problem is organizing it successfully so it can be presented in a coherent and structured way, but Little does an excellent job of that too. This book will be of interest too all those interested in Lee and his ideas on martial arts.

I won't try to go into too many of Lee's ideas about fighting, which wouldn't be practical in such a short review, anyway, but I would like to make one comment. One thing you'll notice in this book is that Lee spends a lot of time discussing strategy and principles rather than techniques. He comes back again and again to such notions as timing, distance, interval, gauging your opponent, knowing when and how to attack, creating your own openings, etc., rather than discussing the technical details of technique per se. This is because the book pretty much assumes you've already achieved the necessary physical and mechanical skills and attributes--speed, power, coordination, and so--and are looking for how to progress from there, having already built a solid foundation. This book will help you do that by focusing on the more advanced principles and tactics.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Outstanding!, February 19, 2000

By 

A. Pedersen (Lincoln, NE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way (Bruce Lee Library) (Paperback)

I picked up this book with extremely high expectations. I was not disappointed in any way whatsoever. To say the least, I was impressed. John Little has shown great respect for Bruce Lee in presenting his material in just the way that Lee would of wanted it.

Lee didn't want any of his teachings to be the only way to do it. He wanted to teach the student the concepts behind it and then allow him to create something that follows those concepts. Little did this perfectly in the way that he left the material vague so that the reader must study and truly understand the intracicies in it.

I have had this book for about 2 years now. The cover has raggedy edges, and the center is splitting open. I still don't think I have gotten out of it all that I can.