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The Tackett family of JKD'ers Because of the books and articles I’ve written about Jeet Kune Do, I receive a lot of e-mails, most of which are questions. The most common is: How long will it take me to become a JKD expert and be certified to teach?

One of the most famous Bruce Lee quotes referring to our beloved art of Jeet Kune Do is “Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation”. Unfortunately, this one quote has been the cause of a great deal of confusion. Another quote of Bruce Lee’s that is used frequently is “I don’t believe in styles” and another, “My followers in Jeet Kune Do, do listen to this … all fixed, set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.” The confusion is between two major and opposite interpretations of these quotes. On one hand, you have the belief that anything you do is Jeet Kune Do because Jeet Kune Do cannot be categorized and there is “No limitation” on what you do. On the other hand is the idea that there is a basic and highly scientific structure in Jeet Kune Do which all individuals learning JKD should be taught. I subscribe to the second belief.

When Jeet Kune Do trapping is mentioned today, it is met with a number of positive as well as negative responses. On one hand, there are those who think anything Bruce Lee wrote, talked about, illustrated or performed is definitely Jeet Kune Do. No doubt about it. On the other hand, you have people who view training methods like trapping, try the techniques a few times, and then decide whether Bruce Lee would have made major modifications or tossed out the entire thing altogether. In the end, neither of the above responses shows an understanding of how Jeet Kune Do really works, or more importantly, what it takes to make it work for you.

JL: What is your background in the martial arts? Give us the full history.