In early 1967, Bruce Lee opened a martial arts school in Los Angeles' Chinatown. Daniel Lee and Jerry Poteet were the first two students admitted tot he College Street School and both trained with him as members of a select group that also included Steve Golden, Bob Bremer and Pete Jacobs.

This original "core" group was fortunate to train with Lee not only in public classes, but also in private sessions twice a week (Wednesday evenings at Bruce's house and closed-door sessions on Saturday mornings in Chinatown).

That was more than 20 years ago. Today, each has gone his separate ways. Lee works at the Jet Propulsion Lab as a research engineer for the space shuttle project. In his spare time he teaches tai chi at Pasadena City College.

After shunning the limelight for many years, Poteet has resurfaced to spread the gospel of jeet kune do . He currently teaches a small group of students at his home in Venice, Calif.
Recently, the two got together to discuss old times. Inside Kung-Fu was there to record the memorable conversations.


INSIDE KUNG-FU: Dan and Jerry, what was the training program like in Chinatown?
JERRY POTEET: Footwork. We devoted much time to movement, especially lateral mobility. Of course, structure was very important, and Bruce insisted on hitting with vertical fist from the right lead. For the first three months we cultivated only the front hand. Once, when we were working on front-hand drills, Bruce caught me using my rear hand and he said, "That was very good, Jerry. But not now; in time."

His reason for stopping me was that he didn't want me to feel the power of the rear hand, and therefore neglect developing the front hand.
Bruce felt the front hand, being closest to the target, was going to be doing 80 percent of the hitting, so it had to be developed to perfection. Instead of adding techniques or movements, he wanted us to refine the one that were efficient.

Although I had excelled in kenpo, Bruce made me feel very slow. Once, when he was teaching me pak sao (slapping or clearing the opponent's arm), he ridiculed my telegraphic motions by turning his back on me and walking away before I finished my movement. It ws quite a lesson in humility. I did, however, get to feel Bruce's pak sao, and even though I resisted, Bruce's energy exploded through my arm and knocked me off balance. Also, I'd never come across anyone who talked about awareness, but Bruce had developed a set of drills to enhance this attribute. In fact, when I asked him much later, "What will you do when you grow old and lose the endurance?" he said, "I expect that my awareness will increase as did my Instructor's, Yip Man." With that, I was able to cut another man's speed inhalf. We were all friends in the gropu, and we shared with each other. We knew the value of twhat we were receiving, since we had previous training to balance it against. I think Bruce enjoyed seeing our appreciation and each of us received supplementary training programs from him. His idea was to train the body to perform at it's maximum, since would push it past the "breaking point.". He had the ablity to bring out the intensity in me, so I was giving it my total effort at all times.

DANIEL LEE: Fitness was very important. Much time was spent "fine-tuning" punches and kicks. Bruce used to tell us that our punches and kicks were the "tools of the trade," just as a hammer and nails were a carpenter's tools. He told us that we should make every tool a masterpiece. We devoted a great deal of time to kicing the bags, and Bruce would watch us and provide a critique of our performance. His suggestions were tailored to each individual, so that each could overcome our shortcomings. He also emphasized timing and rhythm training. Occasionally, he would play music and have us study the rhythm of movement, and be able to fit into the space between the beats.

IKF: What characteristics or qualities did Bruce look for in his students?
DL: Moral character. Bruce spent a lifetime developing this art, so he did not want to pass it on to people of dubious character. As a result, he screened students quite carefully (although he did show his art to those who did not want to train extensively with him). He looked for a willingness to train, respect for him as a teacher and sincerity. Over the years, those who were truly influenced an touched by him still uphold his name and honor his requests not to commercialize his art.
JP: Bruce had two requirements: physical ability and moral character. Even if you had the ability, without the character you would not be accepted. According to Bruce, the ultimate fighting machine was someone who possessed maximum physical ability and who was insane, who had "no thought of self." He felt that in our training we might have to "walk thorugh the door of insanity," and without good character, we wouldn't be able to come back through.
IKF: What was your first impression of Bruce Lee?
DL: I saw Bruce for the first time at the Long Beach Internationals in 1964, where he was demonstrating his art. I was in awe of the speed of his puches and kicks and the power he generated, yet his movements were so graceful and fluid, and seemed effortless. I was also impressed at his confidence in conveying his art to the audience. Later on in his class, Bruce was albe to convert us to see what he saw, that we were so trained and conditioned in our rigid responses that our responses were predictable. He said that after years of training in a routine and feeling comfortable in it, that he could touch us at will because he knew our rhythm and could "fit in" with it. He could penetrate us at any time.
JP: Now that I look back, when Bruce was teaching he would stop the class and re-emphasize what he wanted, and you'd repeat it again and again and again until he was satisfied. In a way, he was like a choreographer who is dissatisfied with anyting less than precision. Most of the time he'd say, "The key is to relax, don't push so hard."
IKF: What was the most difficult aspect of training?
DL: During the first year, it was getting rid of all my preconditioned responses. For example, when someone threw a punch at me, I had developed a certain set of responses that were predictable. I was unaware of this, until Bruce exposed me ot the fact that being too comfortable in something was to my detriment. In this way, he explained, your strongest defense could be your downfall.
IKF: What is your fondes memory of Bruce Lee?
DL: On one occasion while we were working out in Chinatwon, james Lee, my senior in JKD who was visiting from Oakland, observed the class. After the session, Bruce came over to me with a smile on his face and put his hand on my shoulder. "Dan, "he said, "do you know what James said about you?" Bruce told me James said, "You know, Bruce, that guy's really got it." I figured he probably felt I had trained very diligently and had a good level of timing and rhythm. I felt very honored and proud when I heard that from Bruce.
JP: Since Bruce was multimfaceted, he showed different sides to different people. I saw the practical jokes side of the man. I'd been delving deeper and deeper into the Taoist philosophy and questioning Bruce constantly. Well, one Saturday morning after a workout, he really strung me along. As we were leaving the school, he waled up, put his arm around me and said very seriously, "Jerry, do you know what one of the hardest things to do is?" And I'm thinking he's going to lay a heavy truth on me, but after a dramatic pause, he said, "One of the hardest things to do is to get that extra step on some guy on the street you've just exchanged blows with, to chase him and kick him in the butt." On another occasion, I was looking at the titles on the bookshelves in his library. Both hands were behind my back so I wouldn't be tempted to touch them. (Bruce hated his books to be disturbed. In fact, there was a sign on the bookshelf that read, "Do not touch.") Suddenly, from the doorway Bruce called out my name and I turned to see a three-sectional staff flying throughthe air toward me. I reacted with a yell as it caught me full in the face, and then I realized it was made of foam rubber. Bruce roared at my reaction, and I said, "Okay, you've had your fun now let me have mine." Bruce knew I was dying to glance at the comments he made in the margins of his books so he said, "All right, but make sure youput every book back in its place."
The joke was still onme, however, because as soon as I opened the book I realized all his comments were written in Chinese.
IKF: What concepts or principles did Bruce Lee stress?
JP: Simplicity, economy of motion and efficiency. On Wednesday evenings after a workout at Bruce's house, we'd cover philosophy, especially the Taosist principles of yin an dyang, and the "fitting in" principles. We learned the application of these principles by performing energy, or sensitivity drills which were incorporated into the HIA (hand immobilization attack) phase of training, and ultimately, to all phases of combat and life.
DL: What makes Bruce Lee great is that he was not only a dedicated martial artist training his body, but he was also a thinker, and philosopherl. He told me once that he went tot he University of Washington to major in philosophy so he could experience his martial arts through the eyes of a philosopher. To make an art unique, it must have a philosophical foundation. Bruce Lee saw his JKD principles in the Chinese Taoist philosophy, the relationship of yin and yang. It was this principle of "softness" of pliability overcoming hardness, the water principle of never clinging to one aspect, that gave substance to his art. That is the philosophy of tai chi, which is the one art that had endured in China, although there have been many other syles throughout the years. Bruce stressed these principles of pliability, that one should never be always on the attack, that one should also wait to sense the opponent's energy and then counter it, like water flowing and fitting into any space. This approach is opposed to making your own strategy and attacking like a wild bull without any consideration for your opponent's rhythm, timing, speed and size. The more I studied, the more I began to realize where Bruce's thoughts came form. JKD really is philosophy in action.
IKF: It would seeem for you the Chines principles or concepts are fundamental in your approach to JKD and martial arts.
DL: I agree with Bruce that the pliable or springing energy is critical, and I have been developing it in my tai chi training and in my combat. These Chinese concepts that have been influential in JKD are: the wing chun principles of economy and efficiency, the tai chi sensitivity training, Taoism, and of course, the philosophy of Sunt-tzu.
IKF: Is this why you believe tai chi and JKD enhance each other?
DL: In my own likfe they complement each other beautifully. Bruce emphasized feeling and emotional involvement, or combat readiness. However, one cannot have that felling all the time; one must also find a time of repose. Through the harmonious movements of tai chi, I find the peace of mind and contentiment that other matial arts have failed to provide. Even in my JKD, in combat, I still remain totally calm, free of anger. In this state of mind, youcan remain calm and plan your strategy, even if you've been hit or hurt, rather than blindly retaliating. I found that this is where my interest lies: I do expose the combative elements of "yielding" to some of my advanced students who have had martial arts training.
IKF: What are your hopes for the future of JKD?
JP: That the art be a stairway to understanding. Let's use it to understand ourselves and each other.
DL: Every branch of martial arts has been influenced in some way by Bruce Lee, although Bruce would object to JKD beingused in the marketplace as a label. I wish we could move on, and continually develop and flourish in the art, yet not deviate from Bruce's guidelines. I would like to see the people who studied originally with Bruce get together at least once a year to exchange information and expound on his "Tao of Jeet Kune Do." We could share our knowledge and experience soem of these basic, underlying principles. We should have a time of remembrance for Bruce Lee so that his art and philosophy will continue for the next generation and the future.
Each student, based on his own inclinations, will develop according to JKD principles. I, for one, am very much influenced by the Chinese philosophy upon which Bruce built his art. I continued to study Bruce's "Tao of Jeet Kune Do," which was his analysis and insights into the martial way. Through Bruce, we have been liberated; even though we study other arts, we must avoid meaningless drills and routines where it becomes a stylized form. This is not what Bruce was after. He said there was a process of constantly shedding techniques, that we should not be bound by drills so that we can confront a combat situation that is constantly changing. As Bruce said, "I am nothing but echo to a sound, I don't prepare what I plan to do." That is why I don't believe in constant drilling in technique; it binds you and makes you more prdictable in your response. In combat training, you have to train with all kinds of partners, big and small, fast and slow. What may work for one type of opponent may not be appropriate for another. Sun-tzu said, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can become invincible." Therefore, JKD is not about working a fixed technique, but rather feeling the opponent's energy, his reactions, determining his weaknesses, then applying your particular skill to the individual.