Jeet Kune Do is a martial arts form developed by Bruce Lee. It literally means the way of the intercepting fist. It was popularized by Lee with the depiction of the techniques in his immortal and vastly popular movies.

Bruce Lee grew up in Hong Kong. He practiced a form of Kung Fu called Wing Chun which is ideal for close combat. Initially, he became interested in martial arts to the fight the bullies in school and in his neighborhood. But gradually, he became totally hooked to martial arts. He was the person responsible for popularizing the oriental martial arts in the west. Martial arts had always its share of followers before. But Bruce Lee with his spectacular moves brought martial arts to the masses. His movies created sensation all around the USA.

Bruce Lee’s intention was not to develop a new style or form. What he intended was a very potent set of techniques to counter any kind of attack under any given situation. Jeet Kune Do was never meant to be a sport. Bruce wanted it to be a way of life. He had studied all the available books of oriental philosophies and religions. He was very much influenced by an Indian Philosopher called Mr. Krishnamurty.  

Jeet Kune Do has mainly borrowed techniques from Kung Fu. But Bruce Lee incorporated these techniques only after refining them so that maximum effects can be felt without much effort. Bruce Lee also used techniques from the other martial arts forms such as Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Aikido, Chinese Boxing etc. He was also influenced by western boxing because of its fast and deadly punches. His idea was to devise a martial art form which will have the best techniques from all the best martial arts in the world. In a way, he devoted his entire life for the development of Jeet Kune Do. He was a great fighter who went on to become one of the most sought after Hollywood actors ever. Bruce believed in economy of action which means that a fighter should inflict maximum damage using minimum of energy. His history as a Wing Chun expert influenced Jeet Kune Do too. He wanted his system to be effective in close range fighting. Therefore, he perfected all the techniques involved in hand to hand combat. He used to advise that a martial artist should be like water and should be able shape his or her technique according to the situation. Jeet Kune Do has a range of techniques like Punching, Kicking, Grappling, and Trapping. Jeet Kune Do practitioners need to possess a few essential properties such as Efficiency, Simplicity, and Directness.

The spirit of Bruce Lee has lived on even after his death. We can say that Jeet Kune Do has immortalized Bruce Lee or vice versa. Jeet Kune do has lost after the untimely death of Bruce Lee. But it still remains one of the best forms of martial arts forms.