How JKD Concepts and the JKD Phase Method where Born

Here is how JKD Concepts was born. I had a very important conversation with Paul Vunak yesterday about Dan Inosanto when he started traveling doing seminars atthe beginning when Paul was traveling with him. It relates to an ongoing conversation on ILJKD about the JKD Seminar Circuit and what I would call the birth of the JKD Phase Method something also related to what was termed JKD Concepts.

So from what Paul said in the 70's late 70's I believe he started with day 76 or 75ish. By the time he was helping Dan when he began doing seminars circa lates 70's towards the early 80's back then people were style centric and didn't allow other styles in to teach no even quest instructors. Dan wanted to share JKD but couldn't at first.

On another note according to Paul they didn't want the stand up fighting stuff at that time. It was Paul that introduced the Gracie's to Dan Inosanto and convinced them to Dan to have Rorion come to the academy. And his story how they the JKD's guys felt about that is hilarious. Kinda relevant a bit. This was somewhere between 1983-85.

Back to the seminar thing though. So the one thing he could get people to let him guest teach at seminars and other schools was eskrima as the Filipino guy who was in Game of Death with Bruce Lee.

So according to Paul that was his was into teaching others what he really wanted to teach the JKD.

So according to Paul and this is kinda funny. He said that Dan would stay with Kali but about 10 minutes in would then use a disarm to move into JKD and he would do an impressive demonstration and then stop and go on wait sorry you guys only want stick and the class would start clamoring no, no we want that. So then he would teach JKD.

So according to Paul here is how the various style / subsystems of the Inosanto material was born.

So according to Paul the next year he would do JKD on the seminar circuit but while training he would notice they were weak at the stand up Clinch elbows and knees and so then he would do a seminar circuit focusing on the Muay Thai, then Savate, etcetera...

It seems that from this the JKD Phase blend was born. Not as a martial art but a way to teach the close minded stylist of the time.

And thus JKD Concepts was born essential is what I've gathered.

Paul Vunak has told me this same story and to others a few times.

Paul says and I agree with him that when you teach separate classes people don't learn combat flow to flow from weapons, to empty hand, to grappling, to mass attack, etcetera... And when you have people who take the different classes like Muay Thai or BJJ and not the Kali and JKD offered at some of the JKD "Blend" schools that some students will not have a complete JKD when you only teach subsystems.

This is why in all the seminars and IPTP's that I'm there assisting Paul with he flows from stick, to knife, to empty hand, to ground, to mass attack because it prepares you for the reality of combat and you learn the combat flow.

This is what I've done since 2017 when I really started to understand what he's teaching and how to put all the various classes taught at IAMA together.

I don't offer the JKD, Kali, Silat, Savate, Muay Thai, BJJ or Krav Mage elements that I teach as individual classes. But I do focus on those arts at times in the class when we are dealing with the phase for example for me when I'm in weapon phase we do stick, knife and gun and flow between Kali / Silat / BJJ / Krav Maga and JKD in the weapon phase pulling from those arts as a study of motion in combat.

Then when we move to empty hand then we go through JKD / Panantukan / Muay Thai / Savate. Not all at once mind you put we spend 15/30 minutes on each Art.

Then when it comes to Trapping / Clinch and Grappling we learn elements of Judo / JuJitsu / Silat / Dumog / Catch Wrestling / BJJ / Shooto / Sambo.

I deal with it in phases of combat and then introduce Combat flow between the ranges. The phases of combat for us are Weapons, Empty Hand, Grappling and Mass Attack. We deal with those separately and then combat flow between them.

However when I teach an Art I take time to explain that art and focus on that art. It's not just a blending art or mishmash.

The "JKD Blend" isn't a blending marital art. It's the "JKD Filter" in which we simplify and adapt these arts through JKD. The art of Muay Thai is still Muay Thai but modified JKD influenced Muay Thai but it's not JKD.

This ability to study and improve an art is the JKD Filter, however that art is still that art just modified.

To improve the totality if fighting and stay current we include arts that supplement our JKD based in combat sports Savate, Muay Thai, Boxing and BJJ are combat sports.

As Erik Paulson said "MMA is JKD" but not all MMA is JKD. And inversely JKD is not MMA. I'm not sure people catch the nuance.

Does that make sense?