Introduction

Jesse Glover was Bruce Lee's first student and is considered by some as being Bruce Lee's greatest student. Although many years have passed since his days of training with Bruce Lee, Jesse is still regarded by many as being an extremely powerful authority in the field of modern martial arts. Skip Ellsworth (a well known original Bruce Lee student), has not only described Jesse Glover as "Bruce Lee's best student" but he has gone even further by saying:

"When it comes to Jesse Glover, I'm in awe of the guy. For one thing, I've seen the best fighters in the world, and I've never seen anybody better than Jesse -- except for Bruce Lee, of course."

"But even more important than Jesse's skills as a fighter, he embodies all of the excellent character traits that should be part of everyone's martial arts philosophy. He is totally honest, ethical, courageous, loyal, patient, forgiving, forthright, modest, and direct. He is also extremely intelligent, well-educated, and well-read. You can trust this guy with your life."

"At this time, if I have a 'hero' in the martial arts field, it is Jesse Glover." ( www.premier1.net/~loghouse/testimony.html)






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David: When you turned up for your very first ever martial arts lesson with Bruce Lee, what was the very first thing that he taught you?

Jesse: During the first lesson that I had with Bruce he showed some Tai Chi, some Hung Gar, and some Wing Chun. The first part of the first form, one handed sticking and straight punching.

David: In a previous interview you were quoted as saying "I am not a JKD guy". Although this was merely a fleeting comment you made, it comes as a surprise to many of us who recognise you as being one of the few people who undoubtedly trained with Bruce Lee for a prolonged period of time. What are you reasons for declaring that you are not a JKD guy?

Jesse: I am not a JKD man because I don't do what JKD people do. When I was training with Bruce he was still using a lot of Wing Chun mixed with other things. What he was calling his stuff at the time was "Jun Fan". When I told Bruce that I wanted to teach he said it was okay as long as I didn't call what I was teaching either Jun Fan or Wing Chun. In terms of JKD, Bruce was doing a form called the Jeet Kune. Later he took the name of this form and the word "do" for way and named his method after this. I have seen many JKD people and what they do isn't what I do, so I don't consider myself either doing JKD or being a JKD practitioner.

David: Did Bruce Lee have any favourite moves or favourite techniques that he used to focus on when you trained with him?

Jesse: Bruce's favourite techniques were closing, punching and the backfist.

David: techniques such as "Chi Sao" and "Lap Sao" clearly take a considerable length of time to master. This is in stark contrast to more simplistic moves like knee kicks and finger jabs- both of which are simple and can be learned more quickly. Does this mean that the "stickinghands" techniques are not in line with the fundamental Jeet Kune Do principles of being direct and simple?


Jesse: I would question if anything in martial arts can be learned simply. Before one can be effective with a kick to the knee one has to first develop an effective kick. An effective kick requires a certain level of speed, power and follow through. These are the basics that must be developed just to have a kick let alone the range and the timing that is required to ensure that it arrives at the target with adequate force at the right time to stop an attacker. If you look at the kicks that Bruce was doing later in his life they were kicks that could break a leg, not just something that might bounce off and merely anger a tough opponent.

In the case of fingerjabs it takes quite a bit of practice to develop a good fingerjab against both a static and a moving target. Next we have the reluctance of many people to attack an opponent's eyes in a fight. When you talk about direct and simple you had better be talking about good speed, accuracy, timing, power and the ability to follow up with a continuing attack.

Stickinghands is not a JKD technique but it works a heck of a lot better than preprogrammed techniques that can be offset by unpredictable moves. It is easy to see that boxers who train with punching much more than most martial arts sometimes throw patterns of punches that don't fit the situation. They have been conditioned to throw these punches in sequence even when the target is no longer where it would
have to be in order for these punches to be effective.

David: So, how long would it take the average guy on the street to become proficient at "stickinghands"?

Jesse: I can't really comment on classical stickinghands because I don't do it. The basics of Non-Classical stickinghands can be learned and applied in a real situation after a few months of practice.

David: Staying on the subject of training in specific fighting techniques…so far I have failed to find an abundance of evidence that verifies that Bruce Lee focussed intensively on groundwork and grappling. Did he?

Jesse: Bruce did practice chokes,pins and armlocks and wristlocks when I knew him.

David: Many Jeet Kune Do clubs spend a great deal of time and energy learning Filipino martial arts styles such as Kali, Arnis and Eskrima. Based on what you have observed, how much time did Bruce Lee spend focussing on the development of Filipino martial arts styles such as the ones I have mentioned?

Jesse: From what I can tell Bruce didn't do Filipino martial arts. Let me also say that in a fight with a top Eskrima, Bruce wouldn't have necessarily been the one to win. There are some of these men who can move as quickly as Bruce with a knife in their hand.

David: A few critics have said that what Bruce Lee taught in the early years was simply "modified Wing Chun". How would you respond to this?

Jesse: I think that what Bruce did teach was modified Wing Chun. I also think that if you know what to look for, the case can be made that many of the principles of JKD have a Wing Chun frame work.


Early Seattle School Class Photo
Top Row (from left to right): Jesse Glover, Bruce Lee, Skip Ellsworth & Tak Miyabe
Bottom Row (from left to right): Jim DeMile, LeRoy Garcia, & Taky Kimura

David: Bruce Lee is reported to have been able to do a wide range of almost superhuman feats. Some of these amazing feats are well documented and verified (such as the one inch punch and two finger push ups), but other feats are less well documented as seem less believable (such as Bruce Lee being able to allegedly finger jab through an unopened can of Coke, for example). What is the most impressive "superhuman" feat that you've ever witnessed Bruce Lee pull-off?

Jesse: I never saw Bruce do any super human things of any kind. He was amazing in his sticking and his speed of movement but he wasn't super human.

David: Are the Bruce Lee martial arts films in any way a good representation of how Bruce Lee would have fought in real life?

Jesse: In a real fight Bruce would have gone straight to the target, particularly in his later life. When he had the fight in Seattle where I was the referee he waited for his attacker to make the first move. As he matured he came to think more and more of carrying the fight to the attacker instead of waiting. I have heard that when Bruce sparred with a few people he got hit. This is not something that he would have later risked in a fight.