Chris Kent

Continuing the Legacy…

When I first began training in Jeet Kune Do, like most of the other students, I was primarily interested in the physical aspects of the art, and wanted to learn how to do things Bruce Lee was able to do, such as stop a swinging three-hundred pound heavy dead in its tracks with a single kick, and reach an opponent standing ten feet away with a lightning fast finger jab before a person could even react -- However, as my training progressed and my knowledge and understanding grew, I realized that there was much more to Jeet Kune Do than simply the physical component -- I realized that what made Jeet Kune Do truly different and separated it from any other martial art out there at the time was the underlying philosophical principles upon which the art was built -- The central theme of this philosophy was self-actualization and the liberation of the spirit through greater self knowledge -- Non-restrictive and non-limiting in nature, it was a fluid, all-encompassing philosophy that allowed an individual to deal effectively and efficiently not only with combat, but also with life --

As a result, the mental and spiritual aspects of the art became equally as important to me as the physical component, and one of my primary objectives became to develop my knowledge and understanding of the philosophical principles and thought processes Lee synthesized and used. In the years that followed, in addition to training in the physical aspects of Jeet Kune Do, I spent countless hours investigating and researching the sources Lee drew from in his process of intellectual growth. Due to my friendship and affiliation with Bruce’s widow, Linda, as well as his personal assistants, students and friends, I was privileged to have access to a tremendous amount of Lee’s material, including his personal library, writings, etc., and had the opportunity to see things that many others didn’t. I discovered that Lee lit his torch from many different lamps --

Seeing the nature and depth of his research and conclusions firsthand was truly enlightening -- I began to see a much broader application of the principles and concepts I was learning – I discovered that the lessons I learned in the martial art environment could be used in facing challenges I ran into outside the school -- The effective strategies and techniques I had learned for dealing with the fluctuating situations or states of combat could translate to tools which would equip me to handle parallel situations in life and business – I decided to make it part of my mission in life to continue building upon the philosophical ‘framework’ originally established by Bruce, and help people to liberate themselves and achieve their full potential.