Simple yet effective, JKD packs Bruce Lee power

Handy when harm is near

If walking in the streets after dark makes you jittery or if you feel unprepared to tackle an eve-teaser, Jeet Kune Do is the answer to your fears. Developed by the man in the yellow jumpsuit, the legendary Bruce Lee, JKD prepares an individual to fight the dangers in this modern world.

As Bruce Lee said, JKD is the “art of fighting without fighting,” which means you defeat your opponent with the least possible effort. “Nothing is foul in JKD. If biting is the move which will help you bring down your opponent, use it. Also, in JKD, men, women, burly and lean people, all engage in combat with each other. After all, you don’t get to pick your attacker,” said Dr Ritesh Reddy, one of the 500 genuine JKD instructors in the world.

A third-generation instructor, Ritesh is a personal student of the pioneers of JKD in India, Hon Major Deepak Rao, amongst the world’s highest qualified master instructors and Dr Seema Rao, India’s first and only woman commando trainer, private students of Richard Bustillo, one of the few original students of Bruce Lee.
 To prepare you for the real- world, fights are simulated on the streets with multiple opponents and you could be dressed in formal clothes and high-heeled shoes.

JKD is so potent that at his institute, Ritesh does a background screening of all his students to ensure that the skills don’t go into the wrong hands. The martial art finds many takers among women who want to protect themselves from harassment.

Pushpanjali, an architect and entrepreneur, often travels solo around the world and late in the night within the city. “JKD has helped me feel safe. The confidence shows and people on the streets would know not to mess with this lady.” Having suffered from severe muscle pain before she started training, she added, “At the age of 57, I went on a trip to Central America, hiked a volcano and did zip-lining. It’s all thanks to JKD.”

The practicality of Western forms of fighting like boxing and the concepts of the East are brought together in this martial art. Constantly evolving, JKD absorbs techniques from other styles like Karate, Taekwondo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu which are simple, direct and effective - the principles of this style.

Illustrating this point, Dr Reddy said, “There are flashy kicks where the fighter leaps up, spins 540 degrees in the air and then delivers a kick. In real life, this fancy move would be highly impractical as you could be wearing tight pants or your attacker may simply move away. Such a technique would never be incorporated into JKD.”

Tailor-made to the individual’s physique, strengths and weaknesses, a class never has more than a handful of students, unlike traditional arts which are mass-taught.

JKD is more than just fighting. It is about imbibing the spirit of the warrior and using the tactical knowledge of combat to deal with ups and downs in real life.

Chethan N is testimony to that, having trained in JKD for two years. “I used to find it difficult to walk up to a stranger and start a conversation. Jeet Kune Do has now given me that confidence and I have become a holistic individual.”

Chethan, a 35-year-old CEO of a corporate leasing firm, also used his JKD skills to tackle a pickpocket and hand him over to the police.