Friday, April 22, 2011

The JKD World, And My Time In It.

Since 1997, I've been exposed to the Bruce Lee/Jeet Kune Do world.  I may not have had face to face contact with some of his students, but I did correspond with them through email; or instant messaging.  I did, however, meet some face to face.  I also gathered a good amount of phone time with students of those students. 

Reflecting on my time within, it's been met with great joy, pain; and a great deal of education.   Since that time, I've been in search of Jeet Kune Do, as taught by Bruce Lee; my being from San Diego, CA didn't help my cause either.  When the Bruce Lee Foundation was the "Nucleus," it did what it could to preserve, perpetuate, and promote Lee, and his art.  By this process, many of these students of Bruce's came out of the woodwork.  While this was going on, I stumbled across an Internet community featuring Bruce Lee students, their students, and JKD seekers from all over the world. 

Since I started involving myself with this site in 2002, I've met many people, crossed many paths with other groups.  More importantly, I've been through a fact-checking journey of who's who in this vast world of Bruce Lee fans, students, and friends - who was really there; what they had to offer; or what have you. 

Throughout an additional six to seven years since, I've had my highs, and really lows.  I was able to train in what I've wanted,  I even traveled to Tulsa, OK - of all places (I like the people, and town), but I saw the ugliness (as evident in other arts) in this world in which I was a part.  It seemed as the years went by, it turned out to be a jockeying contest over who was closest to so, and so's jock strap; or who kissed the best arse.  Worse, was the lobbying required to get in good standing: particularly, the lobbying through a single individual who more or less controlled your fate in obtaining "due recognition," while those who were seemingly poor ambassadors to the art, and their teachers, getting a lot of "love, and support."

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