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Why Bruce Lee Knew One Style Doesn't Fit All

Author: Scott Buendia
Date Posted: October 28, 2008

I had another conversation with my JKD (Jeet Kune Do) classical co-worker and we talked about his experience sparring in his old school. He talked about how they used to do a "round robin" sparring session where one person would stay in and other people would come in fresh every minute (this is very popular in MMA or Mixed Martial Arts training right now by the way).

Here's what he said, "Yeah, one style can't fit all because you'll fight left handers, right handers, short people, tall people, and even if two people are the same as far as height and weight, they approach fighting totally different!" (Somewhat paraphrased by the way.) This is very true statement, no art, or style is going to fit every fighter you face, you can adapt your style but still you're going to have to make variations. That's why Bruce Lee was such a big fan of being like water. You must adapt to every different situation, because you never know what its' going to be like. Are you going to have to be a ground fighter to win, a stand up fighter, a stick fighter, a knife fighter, a gun expert? What's it gonna be? The skill to transfer between all the styles is what's needed. That's why mixed martial arts are so interesting to most people. Because it's not boxing where, if you clinch, then you have to separate. The fight keeps going. Or kickboxing where it's the same thing, you can kick and punch, but you have to separate if you clinch again. Or even jiu-jitsu or grappling tournaments, you can't punch. If you meet someone in the street it could be any number of those things, plus that person's friends.

Last night I was watching Paul Vunak's Sierra Summit tape and he said this, "there's only a handful of people who can switch from range to range to range (kickboxing, punching, clinch, ground, for example). If you can do that, you'll probably have a very good chance of surviving a real fight." (Paraphrased again). Are you ready to roll through all potential ranges of a fight? If you aren't then you should be getting ready to do that. You must seek training in all ranges of a fight, including the ground, stand up, clinch, and weapons (if you are in a street fight). In this way, you give yourself the best chance of surviving.

About The Author

Scott Buendia teaches Jeet Kune Do under Paul Vunak in Hillsboro Oregon. You can find his website at http://www.realistictrainingworks.com

Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of Jeet Kune Do articles.

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