While many say Sijo Bruce Lee discarded all forms by the time he developed his system of Jeet Kune Do, the truth is there were forms. or more specifically sets, taught by him during the Los Angeles Chinatown-era.
My teacher, Sifu Tim Tackett, recalls that they worked these kicking sets constantly during his session in Sifu Dan Inosanto’s backyard (in the early 70s) in preparation of Sijo Bruce’s visit to the backyard school.
During this time period he taught a total 5 kicking sets. The one shown in the video below called “Die Yut Low” was the first one of these sets:
These sets are typically performed with “strict form” at first. Once you’ve learned the footwork and the sections properly, you can perform these in a much more fluid manner (as in “shadow boxing”). In other words, it was done “classical” and “freestyle”.
In addition to the named kicking sets, called:
- Die Yut Low (as seen above)
- Die Yee Low
- Die Sum Low
- Die Say Low, and
- the JKD Kicking Set (also called “The Little Dragon Set”)
…there are also “Freelance sets”, sometimes called “Shadow Boxing sets”, focused on:
- Footwork
- Various Kicks, and
- Hands
I should mention that some schools also teach a second JKD Kicking Set. However, this set was a later development and created by Sifu Dan Inosanto.
Note: apologize for the poor production value of this. It was filmed “impromptu” in my backyard in the late afternoon as several of my students were inquiring about it.