SOUTH BAY JEET KUNE DO ACADEMY

    "Tuttle Publishing has come out with a new series of books on the basics of such arts as Jeet Kune Do, Karate, and Kung Fu.

    As stated by Tuttle,

"The Tuttle Martial Arts Basics series provides a complete introduction to the martial arts. Each book coaches beginning students through their first six months of practice-- and beyond. They allow students to gain a thorough understanding of the martial art quickly-- helping them to progress faster."

    Author David Cheng is a certified instructor under second generation Jeet Kune Do instructor Chris Kent. Mr. Cheng has also written several published articles on the art of Jeet Kune Do that have appeared in various martial arts magazines.

    Enough of the background. Let's get to the meat of the matter!

    When I first gleaned through this book, I was very excited. Most martial arts "basics" books tend to have tons of pictures with little description. This book has much more description than pictures, so I was very eager to get into the detailed description of the techniques of JKD.

    After I started reading, though, it quickly became apparent that much of the description was simply cursory explanations of techniques. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I expected at first glance.

    The book starts out with an introduction to Jeet Kune Do and the reasons behind Bruce Lee's creation. We are given some history, an explanation of the philosophy behind the art, and even an examination of the various branches that exist today.

    Next we're informed as to what to expect when first joining a JKD school. How to choose a teacher/school, what to expect in the first few months, and how to train safely in the art.

    After that, we jump right into the art itself. The stance, footwork, and basic tools are explained with examples given as to their uses.

    Next are the "5 Ways of Attack" as written by Bruce Lee. Each way is explained with possible scenarios given. This is one place where it gets a little monotonous. Offered are many possible uses, but to a beginner, I believe most of these explanations will go beyond their ability to imagine the outcomes. There are very few pictures to illustrate what the author is describing, so I think much will be lost on the novice and very possibly, on the advanced as well.

    Tactical considerations are discussed next. Things such as defenses, counterattacks, distance, timing, and rhythm. Sparring is also discussed in this section. Some good ideas on different sparring situations are given here. Breakdowns such as "Lead Hand vs. Lead Hand", "Lead Hand vs. Both Hands", etc. Nothing unique, but some good ideas for beginners to use in their training.

    And to finish up, Mr. Cheng discusses how to advance in Jeet Kune Do. Elements such as setting goals, establishing a training program, and the phase development used by Dan Inosanto.

    In my final analyses, this book can serve as a very good reference to supplement your training if you're training with a Jeet Kune Do instructor or belong to a school. It can help you to see the bigger picture of the art with the various aspects of training. It can give you ideas of what to look for in your future training, what things to consider while working on your basics, and give you ideas of things that will help if you train outside of your school with classmates.

    But if you have no background in Jeet Kune Do and do not have access to an instructor or school, I don't think this book will help you that much. It will definitely give you ideas on things to train, but without the knowledge and details given by a qualified instructor, the material is too general to really help you.

    In all fairness to Mr. Cheng, I believe the book was written for the purpose of a supplement to the guidance of qualified instruction and not as a "Learn JKD in 30 Days" type of book. I just want to point out this fact, as I know many will think that from the title, "Jeet Kune Do Basics", that it is a "how-to" book.

    That being said, there are many sources out there that do give you the details needed if you don't have access to an instructor. In that case, this book could be a very good supplement to those resources as well.

    I'm giving this book a 4 Star rating, because as a supplement to help the beginning student who has qualified instruction, and to help them gain a perspective of the bigger picture of JKD, I think this book serves its purpose well."

October 2004

Review by Kip Brockett at www.martialdirect.com

Jeet Kune DO Basics "  (translated from Italian)
by David Cheng
In addition, author David Cheng is primarily pupil of Chris Kent, with other 1st and 2nd generation teachers co-operated.

Its book Jeet Kune DO Basics is part of a set of combat art books, in which the basis is thus presented and described, the foundation of the respective combat art. The moreover David Cheng author and Kolumnist of numerous Jeet Kune DO article is in various combat art magazines, e.g. the American Black Belt of magazines.

The book contains cleanly gathered material, which describes all basic techniques generally comprehensibly. The topic Five Ways OF Attack takes a large part ; in addition, the Grappling is marked out briefly.

From the structure it reminds a little of two-restrains work Jeet Kune DO: From A ton of Z of its teacher Chris Kent, opening and contents are however less "academic". Thus David Cheng loosens his "work up" again and again with small anecdotes over Bruce Lee, fitting the topic, and admitted Jeet Kune DO teachers uncommonly.

Result: The progressing learns nothing really new in addition and can now and then a "blemish" discover.
For the a riser it is however a really recommendable, balanced book, with the help of whose one can provide a good general overview of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune DO.

Review from JKD Cologne (Italian JKD website)

"Essential reading for those just getting started or unfamiliar with all types of JKD, a very well thought out book"

Louis Kiss, JKD instructor under Jerry Poteet

I read through your book and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I passed a good few hours absorbed on the long flight home.  You must be justifiably proud of the result and I feel you certainly deserve the recognition.  I hope that you get the opportunity to expand the book further with more insights into your training approach.