Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do, abbreviated JKD, is an eclectic and hybrid style fighting art heavily influenced by the philosophy of martial artist Bruce Lee, who founded the system in 1967, referred it as "non-classical", suggesting that JKD is a form of Chinese Kung Fu, yet without form. Unlike more traditional martial arts, Jeet Kune Do is not fixed or patterned, and is a philosophy with guiding thoughts. It was named for the Wing Chun concept of interception or attacking while one's opponent is about to attack. Jeet Kune Do practitioners believe in minimal movements with maximum effects and extreme speed. The system works by using different "tools" for different situations, where the situations are divided into ranges, which are kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling, where martial artists use techniques to flow smoothly between them.

In the screenplay of the 1973 Warner Brothers film, Enter the Dragon, when Lee is asked, "What's your style?" Lee replied, "My style?...You can call it the art of fighting without fighting." Thus one may also ideologically define JKD simply as the Bruce Lee Kung Fu or the Bruce Lee style of Kung Fu.

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍; born Lee Jun-fan, Chinese: 李振藩; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong American martial artist, action film actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do. Lee was the son of Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-Chuen. He is widely considered by commentators, critics, media and other martial artists to be one of the most influential martial artists of all time, and a pop culture icon of the 20th century. He is often credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films.

Lee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco on November 27, 1940 to parents from Hong Kong and was raised in Kowloon with his family until his late teens. He was introduced to the film industry by his father and appeared in several films as a child actor. Lee moved to the United States at the age of 18 to receive his higher education, at the University of Washington, at Seattle and it was during this time that he began teaching martial arts. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in the United States, Hong Kong and the rest of the world.

Martial arts

Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons: as self-defense, military and law enforcement applications; as competition, physical fitness, mental and spiritual development; as well as entertainment and the preservation of a nation's Intangible cultural heritage.

Although the term martial art has become associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia, it originally referred to the combat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s. The term is derived from Latin, and means "arts of Mars", the Roman god of war. Some authors have argued that fighting arts or fighting systems would be more appropriate on the basis that many martial arts were never "martial" in the sense of being used or created by professional warriors.

Variation and scope

Martial arts may be categorized along a variety of criteria, including:

Lorenzo Ruiz

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz (Filipino: San Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila, Spanish: San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Latin: Laurentius Ruiz Manilensis ; ca. 1600 – 29 September 1637) is a Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. A Chinese-Filipino, he became the country's protomartyr after his execution in Japan by the Tokugawa Shogunate during its persecution of Japanese Christians in the 17th century.

Saint Lorenzo is patron saint of, among others, the Philippines and the Filipino people.

Early life

Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Binondo, Manila, to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother who were both Catholic. His father taught him Chinese while his mother taught him Tagalog.

Ruiz served as an altar boy at the Binondo Church. After being educated by the Dominican friars for a few years, Ruiz earned the title of escribano (calligrapher) because of his skillful penmanship. He became a member of the Cofradia del Santísimo Rosario (Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary). He married Rosario, a native, and they had two sons and a daughter. The Ruiz family lead a generally peaceful, religious and content life.

Juan Ignacio Sánchez

Juan Ignacio Sánchez Brown, also known as Pepe Sánchez (born May 8, 1977), is Argentine-Spanish professional basketball player. He is a point guard. He was part of Argentina's 2004 Olympic gold medal team. Pepe Sánchez (1.93 metres, 6 feet 4 inches tall) was the first Argentine to play in the NBA. He played two seasons in the NBA, playing in a total of 38 games with the Philadelphia 76ers (24 games), Atlanta Hawks (5 games), and the Detroit Pistons (9 games), averaging only 5 minutes per game. He also played with the Golden State Warriors, during the NBA preseason.

Professional career

Early years

At age 12, he began playing for the youth team of Club Bahiense del Norte, together with future NBA star Emanuel Ginóbili. At age 17 he moved to Deportivo Roca for the 1994-95 season of the Argentine League, where he played point guard. The following year, he accepted a scholarship offer from Temple University in Philadelphia, but stayed in Argentina during the 1995-96 season, playing for Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca.