Jeet Kune Do var navnet Bruce Lee ga sin egen kampfilosofi. Han mente han ikke hadde skapt en ny kampstil, men han håpet på å få folk til å forstå at man ikke skal klamre seg til bestemte mønster (kata).

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I have not invented a "new style," composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from "this" method or "that" method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds. Remember that Jeet Kune Do is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see "ourselves". . . Jeet Kune Do is not an organized institution that one can be a member of. Either you understand or you don't, and that is that. There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Jeet Kune-Do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way. Jeet Kune-Do is simply the direct expression of one's feelings with the minimum of movements and energy. The closer to the true way of Kung Fu, the less wastage of expression there is. Finally, a Jeet Kune Do man who says Jeet Kune Do is exclusively Jeet Kune Do is simply not with it. He is still hung up on his self-closing resistance, in this case anchored down to reactionary pattern, and naturally is still bound by another modified pattern and can move within its limits. He has not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all molds; pattern and awareness is never exclusive. Again let me remind you Jeet Kune Do is just a name used, a boat to get one across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one's back.

Som det går frem av sitatet over, ville Lee ikke skape en ny stil som hadde de samme begrensninger som andre stiler har, men ville skape en ny måte å tenke på innen kampkunsten, som passer bedre til vår egen «brutt rytme». Lee mente at konseptet ikke var å «legge til» flere ting som kompliserte stilen, men at man skulle «sile» ut det som var unyttig og raffinere det som var nyttig.

Lee var opptatt av vestlig boksing og fekting. Selv om det grunnleggende konseptet (som senterlinjeteorien, straight lead og «stokking») kom fra Wing Chun, forkastet han stillingene fra denne stilen til fordel for det han mente var en mye mer flytende/fleksibel stilling, delvis lånt fra vestlig boksing og fekting. Lee mente at denne stillingen tillot han å flyte mye mer, i stedet for å sitte fast i en spesiell stilling.

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