If JKD Were a Person

What if Jeet Kune Do (JKD) were a person?

What personality traits would this JKD person possess? If JKD were a person, he or she would embody an intriguing combination of its philosophy and methodology.

Artist of Life!

I’d like to think of a person that embodies Jeet Kune Do as an “artist of life”! Someone that is free thinking, innovative, well versed, skillful, and creative! Someone that invents themselves without any pressure from outside influences or irrational traditions. We all know that most if not all artists have learned some foundational structure before creating and airing their own personal art as an individual and unique expression. For inside every distinctive art form, there is an underlying universal framework within. This universal framework deep within our adaptable and individual expression is what we call in JKD, the formless form! I suppose perhaps a person can just mix up a bunch of different paints and splash them randomly on a blank piece of paper! But is that really art??

Imagine this JKD “artist of life” as a person that blends the creative and free spirited traits noted above with the attributes of practicality, adaptability, flexibility, power, and confidence! This is Jeet Kune Do!

Below is a list of nine traits that embody a Jeet Kune Do person. Can you relate?

1. Adaptable: The ability to quickly and appropriately change to the situation at hand, operating with flexibility in mental and physical reasoning and action.

2. Direct: Honest, Direct and transparent communication, acting with simplicity and straightforwardness.

3. Disciplined: Devoted to self-development with consistency in effort.

4. Non-classical/Non-traditional: Open to new and different ideas, methods, and theories.

5. Inquisitive: Always questioning and researching for new efficient and effective discoveries and how to improve existing methods.

6. Self-assured:  Confidence in their skill and talent while still being humble.

7. Respectful: Values others' perspectives and practices humility, recognizing the importance of respect in martial arts and life.

8. Natural:  Instinctive, acting without hesitation based on their personal experience and training.

9. Aliveness and Dynamic: Vibrant with energy, active and always ready.

All in all, a Jeet Kune Do person has the balance of yin and yang with displays of balancing power with fluidity. He or she carries the spirit of Jeet Kune Do as a martial art that underlines practicality, self-expression, and adaptability. Do any of those traits resonate with you? Would you add anything to this list?

With Vitality and Peace,

Sifu Jesse