I’ve been blessed in that I’ve had the chance to learn from some of the best martial arts instructors in the world. And Sifu Bob and Sifu Tim of the Jeet Kune Do Wednesday Night Group are no exception. Because I never had the opportunity to really train with Sifu Bob, Sifu Tim and Sifu Jeremy Lynch has been my conduit for Bob’s knowledge of Bruce Lee’s art (from his training at the Los Angeles Chinatown school as well as in Bruce Lee’s backyard sessions).
While I constantly thumb through some of the JKD books on my bookshelf, it was just earlier today that Sifu Tackett reminded me of the foreword Mrs. Linda Lee Cadwell wrote in regards to Sifu Bob and Sifu Tim’s involvement in Jeet Kune Do. One of the more interesting things about it is here acknowledgement of their approach to teaching JKD.
In case you don’t have the book, here’s a picture of the foreword from the book “Chinatown Jeet Kune Do, Volume 1”:
If you’re having trouble reading it, here’s what it says:
Today, only a handful of people in the world have studied jeet kune do under my husband, Bruce Lee. Bob Bremer is one such student, and we are fortunate to have his recollections of Bruce’s teachings recorded in this volume. In the 40-plus years that I have known Bob, his legendary status among JKD practitioners is well-deserved. To my knowledge, Bob has always strived to pass on only the techniques and aspects of Bruce lee that he himself experienced without branching out, elaborating, embroidering on or interpreting anything beyond Bruce’s teaching. I respect Bob’s approach to teaching Jeet Kune Do, for Bruce had much to offer that didnot require updating, revising or adapting. With Bob Bremer, you get the real deal.
Tim Tackett was among the first of the second-generation students, and I have known him nearly as long as Bob. Throughout the years he has studied Jeet Kune Do, Tim has also had a well-respected career as a high-school teacher, drama coach and published writer. Together with Bob, they have been passing on Bruce’s art of JKD in Tim’s garage to small groups of privileged students. This practice harkens back to Bruce’s beginnings in the early ’60s, when he taught his art to only a few friends for no compensation. In the ’70s, this was continued during Tim’s first years of Jeet Kune Do training in the original “backyard” group, and the tradition still exists in Tim and Bob’s Wednesday Night Group.
It is of utmost importance that the thoughts and recollections of Bruce’s original students are recorded for the benefit of martial artists who are interested in Jeet Kune Do teachings because they come driectly from Bruce Lee. I appreciate the time, effort and primarily the love that Bob and Tim have put into transcribing their experiences. With the publication of this book, the art and philosophy of Bruce Lee will be preserved for the benefit of generations to come.
Today, Bob Bremer and Tim Tackett serve on the advisory committee of the Bruce Lee Foundation. For more information abou the Bruce Lee Foundation, please visit www.bruceleefoundation.com.
~ Linda Lee Cadwell
I totally agree myself and its provable, that the Golden Box of Jeet Kune Do true knowledge is kept intact by the very few Bruce Lee’s students. It really deserves to remain pure and intact for those who seek to find out the true roots of Jeet Kune Do art. So let all of the others who are larking around it and implement themselves with different ideas and notions to be ignored. -Sifu Panayiotis Argyridis. Jeet Kune Do Full Instructor.