Ted Wong was one of Bruce Lee's closest friends and his private, personal student. Wong's first encounter with Bruce Lee was in 1967, in Los Angeles, California, where Lee was giving a Kung Fu seminar. Wong had no martial arts training, and was interested in western boxing and some martial arts. He was so impressed by Lee, however, that he decided to study at Lee's kwoon, the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in Los Angeles. Shortly after beginning his studies, Lee accepted Wong as a private student. Wong became Lee's sparring partner and close friend. Wong was present as Lee developed Jun Fan Gung Fu into Jeet Kune Do. He was also present to see Lee train other martial artists, including Karate Champion Joe Lewis and basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Wong is one of only a few people to receive rank in the art of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee. What is also of note about Wong is that he never learned another martial art besides what Bruce taught him, thus has never taught anything other than what he learned from Bruce. Wong now gives seminars and continues to teach privately. Currently he is teaching Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee Keaser, and long-time martial-arts instructors such as: Rodney Hitchcock, Lewis Luk, Mark Stewart, Teri Tom, Tommy Gong, Richard Torres, Bill Mattucci, Bob Landers, and Albert Grajales. Wong is also a board member of the Bruce Lee Foundation. He has spent the last 35 years perfecting what Bruce Lee taught him.

The Ted Wong Interview

Besides James Lee (deceased) and Dan Inosanto, Ted Wong remains the only student certified by Bruce Lee in his art of Jeet Kune Do. Wong has kept a low profile for many years and has only recently emerged to teach JKD as it was taught to him by Bruce Lee. With the growing confusion as to what JKD consist of, Wong has finally become more available to the public through seminars and video tapes. The martial arts community has come to think JKD was compiled of Kali and Silat or created from twenty six different arts. Besides dispelling these rumors, Wong openly comments on the confusion in JKD and how Bruce Lee would feel about how JKD has been taught over the years. The late James Lee is also discussed, as is the unfortunate passing of Brandon Lee. Furthermore, he explains what JKD is and more importantly, what it is not.

WHEN AND HOW DID YOU MEET BRUCE LEE AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF HIM?
TED WONG: I first met him in 1966, but I didn’t get to know him until 1967 when he opened his Los Angeles Chinatown school. He impressed me quite a bit even before I met him, since I used to watch “The Green Hornet.” When I got to know him was when he first opened his school. He gave a demonstration and a lecture. I was impressed with his technique and his philosophy.

HOW LONG DID YOU TWO TRAIN TOGETHER?
TW: I trained with him for almost five years, from 1967 to 1972.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE INNOVATIONS BRUCE MADE IN JKD BEFORE HE DIED?
TW: The bottom line was to make the technique simple and direct. The changes were kind of gradual and subtle. He always tried to improve his art and make it better. I think the major changes in 1971 and ‘72 was probably the fact he incorporated more kicking into the art. He also incorporated more speed in closing the gap.

WHAT ASPECTS OF COMBAT DID HE EMPHASIZE MOST TO YOU?
TW: Probably judging distance and footwork. He always emphasized that the most important thing was footwork and judging distance. Last came the technique.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE SPARRING BRUCE LEE?
TW: He was so quick and he could judge distance so good. Even if he was standing real close to you, you still couldn’t touch him at all. I learned a lot from just sparring with him. You had to give one hundred percent and you had to learn to move quick every time you sparred him.

SINCE YOU WERE HIS CLOSE COMPANION DID YOU SEE BRUCE IN ANY STREET FIGHTS?
TW: I never did. I never saw him in any street confrontations.

DID BRUCE LEE FEEL THAT JEET KUNE DO WAS ONLY A CONCEPT OR AN ACTUAL MARTIAL ART?