Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way

by Bruce Lee

Book Overview

Compiled from Bruce Lee's notes and writings, Bruce Lee Jeet Kune Do is the seminal book presenting the martial art created by Bruce Lee himself.

Jeet Kune Do was a revolutionary new approach to the martial arts in its time and is the principal reason why Bruce Lee is revered as a pioneer by martial artists today, many decades after his death. The development of his unique martial art form--its principles, core techniques, and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804831327
• ISBN13: 9780804831321
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very detailed and thorough

Speaking as a student and teacher of martial arts myself for almost 40 years, this is a very detailed and thorough discussion of Lee's ideas. There's so much detail here that one problem is organizing it successfully so it can be presented in a coherent and structured way, but Little does an excellent job of that too. This book will be of interest too all those interested in Lee and his ideas on martial arts.I won't try to go into too many of Lee's ideas about fighting, which wouldn't be practical in such a short review, anyway, but I would like to make one comment. One thing you'll notice in this book is that Lee spends a lot of time discussing strategy and principles rather than techniques. He comes back again and again to such notions as timing, distance, interval, gauging your opponent, knowing when and how to attack, creating your own openings, etc., rather than discussing the technical details of technique per se. This is because the book pretty much assumes you've already achieved the necessary physical and mechanical skills and attributes--speed, power, coordination, and so--and are looking for how to progress from there, having already built a solid foundation. This book will help you do that by focusing on the more advanced principles and tactics.

Absolutely Outstanding!

I picked up this book with extremely high expectations. I was not disappointed in any way whatsoever. To say the least, I was impressed. John Little has shown great respect for Bruce Lee in presenting his material in just the way that Lee would of wanted it.Lee didn't want any of his teachings to be the only way to do it. He wanted to teach the student the concepts behind it and then allow him to create something that follows those concepts. Little did this perfectly in the way that he left the material vague so that the reader must study and truly understand the intracicies in it. I have had this book for about 2 years now. The cover has raggedy edges, and the center is splitting open. I still don't think I have gotten out of it all that I can.

JEET KUNE DO -- THE WAY IT WAS MEANT TO BE PRESENTED

"JEET KUNE DO: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way" is THE definitive book on Bruce Lee's martial art. John Little has done a superlative job of locating, formatting, editing and presenting Bruce Lee's writings in a manner that is comprehensible, informative and inspiring. In many ways this book far surpasses "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" which, in comparison, looks to be so many of Bruce's notes simply tossed into a stew. This book presents Bruce Lee's writings and sketches on his art of Jeet Kune Do in an organized and comprehensive manner -- much like Bruce Lee presented it himself when he created his art in 1967. This book is, quite simply, the best book on Jeet Kune Do ever written. But then, that shouldn't be suprising -- it was written by Bruce Lee.

Great book, I've read it 4 times!!!!

I've read this book 4 times and each time I get something new out of it. I really think that this will help the serious martial artist out there or anyone that is thinking about joining a martial art.

Return of the Dragon

Commentaries of Bruce Lee is one of the most comprehensive collections of quotes, diagrams, and theories on the market today. Integration of Jeet Kune Do in Movies adds an element of excitement, to the book. I found the book very well organized. The five elements of Jeet Kune Do were describe in comprehesive detail. Narrative was easy to read supported by a series of thoughts, techniques, and insights that kept my attention for hours. One of the best Martial Art Books, I've read this year.