The George Hajnasr Interview
Conducted by Paul Bax

Your life is quite amazing. Please recall the circumstances of how you came from Lebanon to America.
George Hajnasr: Growing up, Lebanon was not a country of freedom; it was a country of war and turmoil. Being the youngest of 8 siblings, my parents wanted better for all of us, a life filled with choice and opportunity. If we remained in Lebanon, there would be no choices to make regarding what role our future would have, me and my brothers would have been enlisted to fight in the war whether we wanted to or not. In 1982, my parents took a chance to better our future by uprooting our family and relocating to the United States.

When and how did you first start your training in martial arts?
GH: Ever since seeing the film, “The Big Boss” aka “Fist of Fury,” I have been a die-hard fan of Bruce Lee. Watching him on film had a big impact on my life. I loved watching him move on screen. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was around eight years old. I am fourty now. Growing up with the passion to be “Bruce,” I decided to purchase my first book on martial arts. Not having enough money to take an actual martial arts class, I gathered all the books and information that I could get my hands on. I applied the knowledge I learned from these books and began to practice on my own. I even went as far as to make my own nunchaku,and I cut my hair like Bruce,or a while I though I was Bruce Lee, because I was so absestes with him still am (Laugh)
At the age of 16, I was finally able to sign up for Kung Fu. I had no idea what form of martial arts Bruce Lee had practiced, although I thought he had done Kung Fu. I did not acquire the knowledge that I was yearning for in that class, so I started going from one school to another. Every teacher had a different view on what form of martial arts Bruce Lee developed, never teaching the true aspect of it. I once again decided to read everything and anything on Bruce Lee, and again began practicing on my own. One day, by chance, I met a a local instructor by the name of Shihan Paul Curtin. He had created his own style of martial arts. I was very impressed by his moves and decided to study under him, taking private lessons for about twelve years. Even though I enjoyed taking the classes, in the back of my mind I still wanted to be like Bruce.
Around 1993, I finally started getting a grasp on the form of martial arts that Bruce Lee had developed, called Jeet Kune Do. He also studied a system called Wing Chun Gung Fu. I started attending seminars with many of Bruce Lee’s original students. I would partake in any class or seminar that had something to do with Bruce.
I started training in Wing Chun Gung Fu through private lessons and remained studying Eclectic Karate with Shihan Curtin. I began to incorporate everything I had learned from Master Curtin: books, videos, seminars and private lessons, along with the 20 years of martial arts research. This resulted in my own expression of “Jeet Kune Do.” Just as Bruce Lee intended, I absorbed what was useful, rejected what was useless, and added what was essentially my own.

How did you first hear about Bruce Lee and his art of Jeet Kune Do?
GH: I heard of Bruce Lee back in my hometown in Zahle, Lebanon. His movies were a box office hit through out the country. When his movies were released the theaters were so jammed we had to sit on the floor. I remember I use to usher the theatres so I was able to see it for free. There is no working age limit in third world countries, especially Lebanon. I never knew he did JKD. All I know was that he was my hero and I wanted to look like him and after I watched his movies, I ran home and imitated everything that he did exactly. I was the community punk; I use to beat up on the neighbors kids to test what I learned…I created my own Bruce Lee gang.

What was it about JKD that led you away from traditional martial arts?
GH: I did Eclectic Karate for about 12 years. I earned a black belt in the system but it was the closest thing to JKD but they professed the left lead. I never wore my uniform or belt, even when I earned my black belt I made sure it says JKD and Eclectic on it. Other wise I was never going to wear it. After a while I came to realize that my heart and soul is JKD even though I loved Eclectic, I just felt something was missing. My puzzle was not complete. Even though I always incorporated JKD in my eclectic workout, I felt that I was betraying Bruce and his non classical approach in JKD.

JKD has gone through a lot of phases over the years due to different theories on how the art should be taught. Were you ever a student of “JKD Concepts”?
GH: Well many people argue about concept and originality, I think they are both the same just approached differently. You can say I have attended a seminar with guru Inosanto, unfortunately I did not learn anything from him because he was showing Kali not JKD but I thought he was a JKD instructor and it was suppose to be a JKD seminar. I flew to Texas to see him, but as they say I came back with an empty basket and very disappointed, and very little JKD concept or what ever you want to call it.

Did Dan Inosanto state that this was a JKD seminar or was the seminar simply advertised that way?