The David Cheng Interview
Conducted by Paul Bax

When and how did you first start your training in martial arts?
David Cheng: I first started training in martial arts in 1982, I believe. I studied Choy Lay Fut, a classical Chinese gung-fu style, in a class taught at a local recreation center in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, California. The instructor was a student of the well-known Choy Lay Fut teacher, Sifu Howard Lee. After he closed down his class, I continued learning Choy Lay Fut with Howard Lee at his kwoon near the Los Feliz area.

How did you first hear about Bruce Lee and his art of Jeet Kune Do?
DC: I first became familiar with Bruce Lee by seeing him as the character Kato on the Green Hornet television series and the Batman television series. I recall reading an article in the newspaper about his untimely death in 1973. However, it was not until the early 1980’s that I learned more about Bruce Lee and his art of Jeet Kune Do. One of my friends—in fact, the same one who got me interested in martial arts training—was a big fan of Bruce Lee and talked about him all the time. Around this time, local television stations started showing some of the movies featuring Bruce Lee impersonators such as Bruce Li and Bruce Le. Although the actors were not Bruce Lee, the movies gave me more of an idea of what Bruce Lee and his fighting art was about.
After I started studying Choy Lay Fut, I began researching more about Bruce Lee and bought the book, Jeet Kune Do: The Art and Philosophy of Bruce Lee, written by Dan Inosanto. Reading that book ignited a desire within me to learn JKD.

How and when did you start training in JKD?
DC: Inosanto’s book discussed the Filipino Kali Academy in Torrance where JKD was taught. By the time I read the book, the Academy was no longer in existence. I came to learn, though, that Inosanto now had an academy in Marina Del Rey on Glencoe Avenue. I visited the Academy several times and was impressed with the training that I saw. I finally made the decision to join in 1984. As a new student, I started in an introductory class and then moved on to the Phase 1 class. I was introduced to some of the elements of JKD and Filipino kali/escrima in these classes.


What was it about JKD that led you away from traditional martial arts?
DC: From reading about JKD and watching the classes at the Inosanto Academy, I could see that JKD was a more practical art geared for self-defense. In my Choy Lay Fut classes there was a lot of emphasis on building a strong horse stance, doing forms, and practicing limited two-man drills. After a few years of training, I did not feel I was really learning how to defend myself. One turning point was a conversation I had with Bob Mendel, a senior student at the Choy Lay Fut school and a freelance writer. I had read an article he wrote in which he compared Choy Lay Fut training as taught by Howard Lee, to JKD/Escrima training, as taught by Dan Inosanto. I remember him saying that both approaches eventually got you to the same place, but Choy Lay Fut just took a little longer. So I asked myself, “Why would I want to continue on a path that would take me longer to become proficient?”

JKD has gone through a lot of phases over the years due to different theories on how the art should be taught. What is your take on the “Concepts” vs. “Original” controversy?