Here’s a little tidbit that came up recently and that I feel has deep significance:  “What is Kung Fu, or ‘Gung Fu’”, as Bruce Lee called it?

Most of us recognize it as Wushu or Shaolin Kung Fu, when in fact there are many many different styles.

Much to my surprise, quite a few Jeet Kune Do practitioners don’t seem to realize that Jeet Kune Do is a form of Kung Fu.  After all, the modern Western understanding of Kung Fu is any Chinese martial art, and Bruce Lee called his system “my Gung Fu”.

In any case, I think most JKDers (or any martial artist for that matter) might benefit from the classical meaning of Kung Fu.  Given how symbolic and metaphorical the Chinese language is, the Western understanding will generally be fairly vague . . . . . but here goes.

Kung Fu (according to Wikipedia) alludes to any individual accomplishment or cultivated skill obtained by long and hard work.

Essentially, the Chinese emphasis is not just the end result but rather the journey as well.  The process and discipline of learning, discovery, achievement, and mastery are essential to Kung Fu.  This, of course, applies to all things in life that are truly worth while.

Having said that, I am always interested in learning shortcuts and nifty little tricks to accomplish this and that, but real skill is cultivated through iron will, self discovery, and dedication.

Everyone is capable of this, but it seems few are willing to follow through.

Sometimes the road is easy and enjoyable, and sometimes it is painful and grueling.   I believe that both paths are actually choices made at a conscious or subconscious level and for whatever reason, many choose the latter path which often times leads away from success.

Speaking of which, I’ll take this opportunity to mention how proud I am of all my students who actually give Jeet Kune Do a fighting chance.  The work we do goes well beyond exercise and self defense and it takes a certain strength of character to stick it through.

I’ll stop here, but I just wanted to throw this out there as food for thought.

If you haven’t already, come by and check out some real Kung Fu in Pasadena at San Gabriel Valley Jeet Kune Do

In Health,

-
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
Jeet Kune Do Los Angeles

In the process of cleaning up some old stuff I had in storage, I ran across a few things that really took me on a trip down memory lane.

Myself and Sifu Dr. Zee Lo right outside the clinic.  Yes, I had short hair once.

I began my Jeet Kune Do training in 2001 with Sifu Zee Lo during my last year as an undergraduate at UCLA.  Training was roughly three times weekly in the parking lot (we had a single fluorescent light that turned everything a dreary greenish yellow for visibility) behind Sifu Zee Lo’s small private Acupuncture clinic.  I started out as a dummy for Sifu Lo’s private students.  Although I came armed with a hefty 15+ years of previous martial arts experience, I noticed an obvious deficiency in the practicality of my approach.  Soon after graduating college, I enrolled in Sifu Zee Lo’s medical/martial arts apprenticeship program.  Thus beginning my “hardcore” Jeet Kune Do training.

My day would generally look something like:

7am -9:30am : study and personal life
10am - 1pm : TCM (tradition Chinese Medicine) lecture and clinic hours
1pm - 2pm : private JKD training
3pm - 7pm: lecture and clinic hours
7pm - 8:30pm: JKD semi-private training
8:30pm - 9pm: cleanup and closeup
9pm - 11pm: study and personal life

I would squeeze in meals and short breaks whenever possible.  On days that we did not have class, I would either have some extra time for study or meeting with training partners.

This is the back of the training room and the few students who                                 stayed with us during the last year of operation.

About two years into my training we moved out of the parking lot and into a small storage room.  Although the space was considerably smaller, we were at least out of the elements.  This room was about 9 feet wide, 14 feet long, and had bare concrete floors, brick walls, and long flickering fluorescent ceiling lights.  Training was old school and hardcore.  Although injuries were common, we were able to treat them in-house to speed up recovery.  Suffice it to say, we didn’t have many students

This is the front of the training room.  The mirror in the background is the only one in the room which I broke with the back of my head the first night we put it in.  Notice the clear packing tape holding it together.

Sparring with minimal gear.  BTW those  are 12oz gloves                                          . . . and they hurt.

We laid out some folding martial arts mats about a year after moving in and also installed a wooden rail for stretching.

I was living in the clinic for about one year before moving next door to the training space for another year.  I was literally living and breathing medicine and Jeet Kune Do for roughly two years.

During the last 18 months of my training Sifu Lo was in the process of relocating to San Francisco in pursuit of his movie making dreams.  I kept up the West Los Angeles JKD classes in his absence while traveling up to San Francisco once monthly to supplement my training.

This is me sparring with Zee Lo’s students in San Francisco.

After Zee Lo completed his relocation, I attempted to keep the Jeet Kune Do school open, however a lack of marketing and business skills combined with our archaic training methods and environment discouraged most would-be students early on.

In the three years following the closure of the West Los Angeles Jeet Kune Do school, I began building a personal training business and establishing my own acupuncture practice while maintaining some form of combative arts training usually consisting of backyard style boxing, kickboxing, submission wrestling, self defense, etc.

About one year after marrying the woman of my dreams, San Gabriel Valley Jeet Kune Do was born.

Victoria (the love of my life) and I

My previous “hardcore” Jeet Kune Do training has proven invaluable, however I
have found that focusing on people and individuals yields more powerful results than focusing on the hardcore experience.

Now I am in the process of melding fitness, medicine, health, martial arts and business into the ultimate people/results oriented consumer empowerment resource, all while nurturing an amazing family life.

As for my current Jeet Kune Do training, I still continue my own development with Tim Tackett, Jeremy Lynch, and the Wednesday Night Group twice weekly.

See you in class!

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

Check out my wife’s latest video, I’m so proud of her!

Please rate and comment here Martial Arts Goddess

Enjoy!

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

The long awaited San Gabriel Valley JKD demo / trailer is now up on YouTube!

Please check it out, rate it, and post some feedback.

I’ll be producing more videos in the coming months so stay tuned.

Enjoy!

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

Ted Wong was Bruce Lee’s Last private student and one of only two living people to receive ranks in Jeet Kune Do directly from the founder.

Sifu Wong has been relatively low key over the years, maintaining a small number of private students in the traditional “Backyard” style of training that Bruce Lee preferred, generally only being publicly available at his occasional seminars around the world.

There are a few other important original students avidly promoting the preservation of Bruce Lee’s philosophy and martial way such as Tachy Kimura and Jerry Poteet, but it is important to note that Ted Wong had access to the latest stage of Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. Considering how quickly Bruce Lee was evolving, the training that Ted Wong received is critical to understanding JKD

Here is a rare glimpse at Sifu Ted Wong and Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do. For anyone interested learning JKD, refer to this previous article Recognizing Authentic Jeet Kune Do

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

When Bruce Lee injured his back in 1970, he was bedridden for months and told by his doctors that he would never be able to kick again.

This could have been the end of the Little Dragon and of Jeet Kune Do, but it was during this time of trial that Bruce Lee created what is now arguably his biggest martial arts legacy — the Tao of Jeet Kune Do and the additional volumes of notes he hand wrote on the martial way. It is also during this time that he ceased physical training and immersed himself if inner work or rather spiritual training and personal growth. Bruce Lee studied and quoted the works of the Buddha, Alan Watts, Carl Rogers, Lao Tzu, Fritz Perls, Daicet Suziki, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Helen Keller, and many more.

It is important to remember the power of the mind, our perceptions, beliefs, and spirit. The world really is what we make of it.

We, as individuals, have a greater potential for greatness if we live as though everything that happens in our lives is a direct result of our thoughts and actions.

On this thought, here is a tremendous blog post from Ross Enamait at RossTraining.com on the power of positive thinking.

http://rosstraining.com/blog/2008/05/15/life-is-tough-deal-with-it

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

Here’s a great article that lists some compelling reasons to start getting physically active.

I would like to add that incorporating fitness via a self defense training program does wonders for self confidence and can be a very powerful tool for stress relief.

In any case, one of the best ways to get on an exercise program and stay on it, is to choose an activity that you enjoy . . . and better yet, take a friend.

Happy training!

The greatest challenge in developing a permanent exercise habit is finding motivation that lasts. It’s easy to get to the gym when you’re preparing for that big beach vacation or want to look great for your high school reunion. But what about the rest of the time?

For much of my life I followed a pretty consistent pattern:

• Get a bit fat.
• Start to hate the way I look.
• Hit the gym with a vengeance for a few weeks.
• Start to look noticeably better.
• Smugly enjoy my new found vanity.
• Lose motivation and stop working out for a few weeks.
• Repeat from beginning.

Vanity, it turns out, isn’t a great longterm motivator for most people. It wasn’t until I associated exercise with rewards beyond physical appearance that I was able to get myself to the gym 5-6 times a week without any lapses.

To help you bring consistency and enthusiasm to your exercise schedule, here are some powerful reasons to work out that have nothing to do with looking good.

Read the full article here: 10 Reasons to Work Out That Have Nothing to Do With a Sexy Bod

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com

For you Bruce Lee fans out there, this is the best video tribute I have seen to date on YouTube.

Great compilation. Enjoy!

–
Nhan-Esteban Khuong, L.Ac.
www.SGVJeetKuneDo.com