Inosanto Interview Part 3

BLACKBELT: No one in the jeet kune do community has been subjected to more questions and scrutiny than you have when it comes to matters of Bruce Lee and his teachings. Have the many years of jeet kune do turmoil and controversy taken a toll on you?

DAN INOSANTO: I am 60 years old. Over half of my life has been devoted to Bruce Lee's arts and teachings. I am secure in knowing that I have done what Bruce Lee asked me to do. I am secure in knowing that I am the only individual Bruce entrusted to teach, promote and carry on for him. I'm not perfect and, in hindsight, I should have put a stop to a lot of it. Dan Inosanto (flipping through one of Bruce Lee's journals, left) claims he is "too nice" and that he should have long ago taken a hard-line approach to individuals who improperly represent themselves as authorities in Bruce Lee's fighting arts. I have always given people the benefit of the doubt and perhaps more credit than they deserve in representing the truth about themselves and their training background and credentials. People often say "Dan's too nice." Bruce said I was too nice sometimes, but he also told me humility is another form of pride. I choose not to use it as a forum to expose the inconsistencies and faults of those individuals. Life is far too short to waste time and energy on such negativity. Martial arts has become so political and commercialized in recent years. People spend more time putting down other martial arts than they do training, teaching and using their art to bring something to the community. I wish martial arts publications would devote more time to promoting how martial arts can be used for good in the world, and to unite cultures, races and communities.

BB: Is it true that, besides yourself, Taky Kimura is the only other living instructor who is authorized to teach Bruce Lee's arts?

INOSANTO: Taky, the late James Lee and myself are the only three individuals ever to be given the authority directly from Bruce to teach and carry on his arts. Taky was Bruce Lee's most senior student in Seattle. Bruce trusted and respected him. Bruce would often remind me that, no matter how much I learned, Taky was still my senior and should always be paid the respect that goes with that seniority. Bruce could be quite traditional at times, especially when it came to titles of respect.

BB: How many arts did Bruce Lee teach you?

INOSANTO: Bruce actually taught three arts which he developed himself: his tao (way) of Chinese kung fu, his method of Jun Fan kung fu, and his jeet kune do.

BB: Was all of your training with Bruce Lee conducted on a one-on-one basis?

INOSANTO: Yes.

BB: When Bruce Lee later opened his Jun Fan (Bruce Lee) Institute in Los Angeles' Chinatown, you did most of the teaching, did you not?

INOSANTO: Bruce would step in [occasionally] to correct and explain certain things, but I taught between 90 and 95 percent of all the classes at the Jun Fan Institute. But I asked Bruce to please stop in and work with the students periodically. I knew the experience of being able to work with Bruce was so extraordinary that I wanted the others to have the opportunity to encounter his presence.

BB: What did the teaching curriculum encompass?

INOSANTO: There was a constant evolution going on. Bruce was constantly researching every martial art he could find information on. His library was quite extensive for that time period-or any time period. I'm not saying that Bruce studied all [martial arts], but he definitely researched the existing knowledge that was available at the time. For example, he might not have embraced completely what he knew in wing chun, but there was definitely an element of wing chun in his system. He didn't embrace everything in the southern mantis [system], but there are elements of southern mantis in jeet kune do. He also researched muay Thai; he liked the way the Thais used their elbows and knees, and he liked the contact. Bruce also took elements from French savate. He liked the coup de pied (oblique) kick, as well as the lateral chasse kick.

BB: How did Lee feel about kali and silat, the arts you tend to focus on in your teachings today?

INOSANTO: In regard to kali, he, again, researched it, and he would ask me to show him what I had learned. He would place techniques into four categories: not good, good, good for stage shows, and good for movies. He was constantly exploring the cinematic effects of various movements. He also researched silat. In Bruce's handwritten notes, he states that "a pencak [silat] person is a well-conditioned athlete." Silat was also known for its ground fighting, and he made a note to "investigate into [silat] ground fighting." Bruce researched all the arts of that time, [but] he kept a tight rein on the amount of knowledge he wanted to give out at the Chinatown school. He severely limited the amount of material he allowed me to teach. Bruce dictated that I teach only about one-tenth of the actual material he had developed at that time. I always hoped that he would allow me to open up and teach a little more material, but that is the way Bruce wanted it.

BB: Did you join Lee in his research of various martial arts?

INOSANTO: Yes, I feel fortunate that I was able to join him in his research and development during this time. Bruce was always a researcher and a philosopher. His notes and papers reflect years of searching for knowledge and all that could be used toward his "personal liberation." He wrote a series of papers, including "Jun Fan Kung Fu, Toward Personal Liberation," and "Jeet Kune Do, Toward Personal Liberation." I still refer to them. They have been invaluable to me in continuing on for Bruce in the way he wanted his arts, philosophies, principles and concepts to be taught and remembered.

BB: How does one go about "authenticating" a Jun Fan or jeet kune do instructor's lineage?

INOSANTO: The lineage's of Jun Fan kung fu and jeet kune do are the easiest of all martial art lines to trace. Bruce made only three instructors during his lifetime: James Lee, who had made no instructors at the time of his death; Taky Kimura, who was certified to teach Jun Fan kung fu by Bruce, but to date has made no instructors; and myself. We are the only instructors to have been given complete and absolute authority to teach, promote, grade and carry on Bruce's three arts.

BB: Have you promoted any students to instructor level?

INOSANTO: I have made instructors in Jun Fan kung fu. The only legitimate lineage back to Bruce Lee, in terms of instructors, is through my line. I must explain a little about my line of instructors. After Bruce's death, I gave the title [of instructor to several students], but did not certify these individuals. I felt it was important at the time-especially with the feeling of loss that was felt by all during the passing of Bruce Lee-to form a support system and to hopefully continue in the perpetuating of Bruce's methods. Many of these individuals all but disappeared for the next 20 years in regard to Bruce's arts, and continued on with their lives, pursuing other areas. Several years later, I started my existing instructor's program. During the last 10 years, I have raised the standards and made the requirements much more stringent on those entering and progressing through my program.

BB: What is "original" jeet kune do, and how does it differ from jeet kune do "concepts"? Many of our readers seem confused by these two terms.

INOSANTO: Actually, there is no difference between original jeet kune do and jeet kune do concepts because, to practice the concepts of jeet kune do, one has to know the original jeet kune do material, which is called Jun Fan kung fu. I use the term jeet kune do concepts to emphasize that jeet kune do is a concept. Jeet kune do was Bruce's personal research and development in what worked for him in combat. Can you teach jeet kune do? I have always said "Yes." Can you standardize jeet kune do? I say "No." Because in Bruce's own words, "Jeet kune do is finding the cause of your own ignorance. Jeet kune do favors the formless. Jeet kune do utilizes all ways and is bound by none." Since each individual is different, he must find the cause of his own ignorance and must utilize all the ways that personally fit him. So original jeet kune do is really Jun Fan kung fu, the material that was handed down by Bruce when he was alive. Jun Fan kung fu can be taught and is standardized so that students can learn it easily. Jun Fan kung fu provides the basic training methods, techniques, strategies, principles and concepts for combat and self-defense. Jun Fan kung fu basics prepare you for your own personal way of combat.

BB: Is it true that you taught martial arts to Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee?

INOSANTO: As a young boy, Brandon came in for training just once. But as an adult, he came in earnest to study and train. He really became serious, and he was truly talented.

BB: What systems did you teach him?

INOSANTO: I trained him with the idea that perhaps someday he could take over [his father's systems]. When he began to train, I told him "Brandon, you can train strictly in Jun Fan kung fu; you don't have to take the kali, silat, muay Thai, savate or shootwrestling [I teach many of my other students]. You can train in whatever you want here." I thought he would train strictly in his father's arts, but he said he wanted to train in everything. Brandon was very open to anything he could use, and one day I said to him "it is so hard following your father. Some people say I'm doing this right, and others say I'm doing it wrong, and this is all so hard for me." Brandon's response was "Tell me about it! I know what you are going through."

BB: Brandon Lee asked you to be in several of his movies, yet you declined.

INOSANTO: I didn't want to do it because people would say I was riding on the shoulders of Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee. Brandon thought this was ridiculous, but I know how people in the martial arts community talk.

BB: Were you like a father figure to Brandon?

INOSANTO: Brandon would always come by my house and talk to me about problems he was having. But he really developed a close relationship with my wife, Paula, and talked with her about more personal issues.

BB: How would you rate Brandon's ability as a martial artist?

INOSANTO: He excelled at everything he trained in. He became certified in Thai boxing, as well as his father's arts.

BB: Does it bother you to see how heavily Bruce Lee has been marketed since his death more than 20 years ago?

INOSANTO: Bruce Lee has become a commodity, a product. People are selling, marketing and capitalizing on every phase of his life. This really saddens me. Bruce was not only my teacher, but my close friend. Even today when I am asked about him, I can still get emotional. Bruce was far more than a piece of martial arts merchandise. He was a human being, complete with faults like all of us. Yet Bruce left the martial arts world with a strong and powerful gift.