Bruce Lee: The Evolution of a Martial Artist

This is a fantastic book! Tommy Gong traces Bruce Lee's evolution as a Martial Artist from his Wing Chun roots (at age 13) in China, through his different "phases" upon moving to America (Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles), clearly highlighting the techniques and training methods Bruce Lee incorporated, developed - and often discarded - along the way. After guiding the reader through the various phases of JKD, the author then outlines the core techniques, which, I feel, is as good a place to start as any, if you want to know what JKD fighting is really like. But Tommy Gong also discusses the philosophical side of Bruce and how he tried to incorporate his personal beliefs into his system of Martial Arts. Martial Arts is as much a way of looking at life, dealing with the world and facing our own fears and limitations, as it is about fighting and Bruce Lee was constantly aware of this, as Tommy Gong shows us. There are six Appendices, One of which is an interesting discussion of Biomechanics, applied to JKD, written by 3 experts in the field. Another appendix is an overview of Bruce's personal library. One of Bruce's most ardent beliefs is that we never stop learning, growing and changing and that adhering rigidly to any style or system inhibits our growth as Martial Artists and as Human Beings. I hope this volume will go a long way toward clearing up many of the misconceptions surrounding Jeet Kune Do, since the author provides many quotes and excerpts from Bruce himself as well as his widow, Linda and JKD instructors like Ted Wong, who apparently logged more training hours with Bruce than anyone else. There are lots of great photos and illustrations (many I'd never seen before), taken from various sources, including private collections, and they complement the text wonderfully, sometimes demonstrating techniques, sometimes illustrating concepts. I also like the brief "biographies" of Bruce's friend and students, such as Ted Wong and Allan Joe. They help to capture the feel of the time and places Bruce was teaching and developing his art. For me, Tommy Gong's book clarified so many points and answered so many questions about the techniques (both evolution and execution)of JKD. I've always known that Bruce's art developed through the years, but this book pins it down and shows which of the main techniques developed during which period and how they differed from previous "versions". If you are a long-time fan of Bruce Lee and JKD, this is well worth adding to your library. If you are looking for a place to begin learning about Bruce Lee or his art, I recommend starting with this book, to get an overview of the history and development of JKD. This is one book I will be reading and re-reading.

I just finished reading Bruce Lee, the Evolution of a Martial Artist, by Tommy Gong. This is such a good book for any martial artist interested in Lee and his systems of fighting. He was Chinese and American from the get-go, born in San Francisco. In fact, his Chinese name, Jun Fan (pronounced fawn) means protector of San Francisco. However his youth was spent in Hong Kong, where he became a child movie star, and studied Wing Chun, a southern style of Kung Fu, with Yip Man. The book shows how Lee incorporated elements of Kung Fu and Western forms of fighting, i.e., fencing, boxing, and so on, on his path toward mastery of the martial arts, at a time when everyone else viewed different Asian and Western systems as walled-off from each other. It also shows that there was much more to Bruce Lee than just acting or fighting. He studied Asian and Western philosophy, reading constantly, and analyzing films of great fighters like Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and so on. His influence was widespread, partly because of the different people he trained at times, for example, Joe Lewis, the great Karate champion. I knew Bruce in Oakland, and this book really captures his great drive for excellence and self-improvement.

When I first saw this book on Amazon I was skeptical. There are so many books on Jeet Kune Do and Bruce Lee, some good , and some bad. Then I saw that it was by Tommy Gong. I have had the opportunity to meet and talk with Tommy Gong a couple of times at JKD seminars and events, and I know that he is very knowledgeable. I just got my copy of the book today, and I must say that this is an outstanding book. It has to be the most in depth analysis of the evolution of Bruce Lee and his martial art ever written. I especially like Chapter 6, Comparison of Core Techniques. Thank You, Tommy Gong, for writing this book. It fills a void that most JKD books never even touch.

There were only three individuals who were ever certified and authorized by Bruce Lee to teach the art of Jeet Kune Do. The highest-ranked Instructor is Taky Kimura. The only other instructors certified by Bruce Lee were the late James Lee and Dan Inosanto. Ted Wong was a senior student at the time. It is therefore disappointing that Guro Inosanto is given only the briefest mentions in the book, he is not interviewed nor profiled in anyway. This unfortunate and is due to politics and personal issues that are not honorable to discuss here in a review. However, the book is well laid out and researched, with examples of personal notes by Sijo Lee and worthy of reading if you understand that a notable perspective and side of Bruce Lee’s JKD history is missing by excluding Guro Inosanto who is alive and continues to teach to this day.

This book is excellent. Tommy Gong is an enthusiastic author who gives important details and includes plenty of photographs to show information about the short life of Bruce Lee.

Finally, the whole story in chronological order with the changes in fighting philosophy that led to Jeet Kune Do. Very impressed and a must for any Bruce Lee fan.

This book is the best ever written on Bruce Lee's Martial Art. Purely factual and put together In an orderly fashion. This volume has many unpublished photos and documents from the Bruce Lee archives . There is so much garbage out there on Bruce Lee ... This book sets the standard of what could be and should be regarding Lee's incredible Legacy.

A well written book about the true martial arts master, Bruce Lee. There are also great pictures to add to the quality of this book.

I urge people who are interested in Bruce Lee as a teacher, fighter and philosopher to buy and read this fine book. - Thomas Keplar

Ein sehr informatives Buch für jeden der Bruce Lees Weg nachverfolgen möchte vom Wing Chun zum Jeet Kune Do und seine Beweggründe sich von Stilen weg zu bewegen, mit sehr viel Hintergrundwissen.

Bruce is a Legend and needed this book to complete my Collection.

excellent book by Tommy Gong, a 2nd generation JKD practitioner. He has laid out Bruce's development in a beautifully illustrated book, containing a lot of previously unseen photos, annecdotes and information.

L' evoluzione di un praticante di arti marziali, dalla sua giovinezza fino ai suoi ultimi tempi, libro fondamentale per capire il jkd