Friday Knight News
"When Tommy is on he reminds me of Bruce when I knew him. The first time that I saw him I told him that he punches like Bruce. Tommy is also a very powerful kicker. He has Bruce like speed and power and is more flexible than Bruce was." Jesse Glover
I have never met Tommy Carruthers and he was not directly recommended to me by another martial artist. That was why he never made my list of five martial artist that I've never meet. Still we had a strange introduction online. I was already aware of who Tommy Carruthers was from my YouTube searches of JKD in the last millennium. I was fascinated with Bruce Lee and JKD, as were most martial artists of my age. That is after Enter the Dragon came out. I had liked Kato before, but I hadn't really paid attention to all things Bruce Lee until after his movies came out. Not having any JKD schools in my area, I satisfied myself with trying to apply the principle of JKD into the martial arts I studied.
I had already been studying the martial arts before I had learned anything about Bruce Lee. Then after I connected into the eclectic American karate scene (Kempo jutsu, Jujutsu, and Korean Karate (Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do) I began to take seminars from people with JKD backgrounds. Yet, I found that I was disillusioned with JKD. This was due to the constant internal strife and bickering between the various factions. So, I gave up the idea of trying to get certified as an instructor in that art. Beside the fact I found that I was more interested in the way of the sword and stand up jujutsu, but I never lost my appreciation for the art and philosophy of Bruce Lee.
Over the years, Tommy Carruthers has acquired a reputation as being tough and pragmatic. This no doubt comes from his grueling training and being brought up in the rough and tumble streets of Glasgow. Tommy Carruthers has mentioned that his earliest martial arts training consisted of military self-defense techniques that his father taught him. However, he is known for his Bruce Lee like rendition of original Jeet Kune Do. Tommy spent some years boxing and working in Ving Tsun kung fu but his heart was set on JKD. As he couldn't find any effective Jeet Kune Do instruction where he lived, he started to adsorb what was useful from everything he could gather on the subject. He garnered knowledge from his personal training and seminars on JKD even if it meant not using what was being passed off as JKD.
After contacting Gary Dill, a student of the late James Lee, and one of Bruce's own students he was invited to come and train to be a JKD instructor. After that, he (Tommy) met his mentor Jesse R. Glover. As many of you already know, Jesse was Bruce Lee's first student and assistant-instructor. Glover recommended Tommy to Howard Williams, and Ted Wong two other original Bruce Lee students. Tommy was awarded his instructor ranking by Ted Wong. In time Tommy's skills and abilities were eventually acknowledged by the JKD Nucleus (Bruce Lee Educational Foundation). Tommy has continued to train and whittle away at his art following a path of daily decrease. He has also gained praise from Tim Tackett and Bob Bremer two additional original students of Bruce Lee's.
http://www.tommycarruthers.com/
Which brings me to my online meeting with Tommy Carruthers. There was a group of people spouting off about their view points on the subject of Bruce Lee's art and one fellow agreed with my view point. I forget the name he had been using at first but he later posted under his real name or full name, that being Tommy Carruthers. Not long after that he asked me if I knew who he was and I realized it was (the), Tommy Carruthers. He started to send me messages over Facebook and we got along. We talked about martial arts, family, God, and the martial art business. He encouraged me to pursue teaching on line; as had Adam Chan. I was reluctant to do so due to the trauma from many of my near death and almost crippling injuries. These injuries were one reason my wife insisted I find another venue (writing), for my interest and livelihood. I still train around my injuries but not the extent I once had.
Never the less, and unbeknownst to me, Tommy had contacted my son and talked about me and my training. My son had no idea who Tommy was (at the time), and thought that Tommy was just another dude checking up on his dad. It was something he was used to; in our little fish pond lives. After Tommy had got my son to watch a clip of him on You Tube, my son brazenly told him that he was almost as fast/good as his father. Ah, what a complement to have your child think so highly of you. It was after this that we became close online friends, Tommy sent me art work, and gear he had made that I used to help raise funds and encourage hearts for various good causes. I on the other hand tried to negotiate a few marketing deals for him, I failed but his goodwill toward me did not falter. He has shown himself to be a kind and caring individual, despite his rough and straight forward manner of speaking. He is honest about his view and that has made him hard for some to accept. It might have hurt him some financially too, but Tommy is true to his nature. This is easy to see in his politics, his art, his love of history (especially WWII), and his martial arts. If you are looking to find the quintessential Jeet Kune Do, and believe in keeping things simple, direct and realistic, take my recommendation and look up Tommy Carruthers! He has online lessons, seminar and training camps and groups all over the world. Tommy is not Bruce but he is authentic!
"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it." Bruce Lee
I had already been studying the martial arts before I had learned anything about Bruce Lee. Then after I connected into the eclectic American karate scene (Kempo jutsu, Jujutsu, and Korean Karate (Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do) I began to take seminars from people with JKD backgrounds. Yet, I found that I was disillusioned with JKD. This was due to the constant internal strife and bickering between the various factions. So, I gave up the idea of trying to get certified as an instructor in that art. Beside the fact I found that I was more interested in the way of the sword and stand up jujutsu, but I never lost my appreciation for the art and philosophy of Bruce Lee.
Over the years, Tommy Carruthers has acquired a reputation as being tough and pragmatic. This no doubt comes from his grueling training and being brought up in the rough and tumble streets of Glasgow. Tommy Carruthers has mentioned that his earliest martial arts training consisted of military self-defense techniques that his father taught him. However, he is known for his Bruce Lee like rendition of original Jeet Kune Do. Tommy spent some years boxing and working in Ving Tsun kung fu but his heart was set on JKD. As he couldn't find any effective Jeet Kune Do instruction where he lived, he started to adsorb what was useful from everything he could gather on the subject. He garnered knowledge from his personal training and seminars on JKD even if it meant not using what was being passed off as JKD.
After contacting Gary Dill, a student of the late James Lee, and one of Bruce's own students he was invited to come and train to be a JKD instructor. After that, he (Tommy) met his mentor Jesse R. Glover. As many of you already know, Jesse was Bruce Lee's first student and assistant-instructor. Glover recommended Tommy to Howard Williams, and Ted Wong two other original Bruce Lee students. Tommy was awarded his instructor ranking by Ted Wong. In time Tommy's skills and abilities were eventually acknowledged by the JKD Nucleus (Bruce Lee Educational Foundation). Tommy has continued to train and whittle away at his art following a path of daily decrease. He has also gained praise from Tim Tackett and Bob Bremer two additional original students of Bruce Lee's.
http://www.tommycarruthers.com/
Which brings me to my online meeting with Tommy Carruthers. There was a group of people spouting off about their view points on the subject of Bruce Lee's art and one fellow agreed with my view point. I forget the name he had been using at first but he later posted under his real name or full name, that being Tommy Carruthers. Not long after that he asked me if I knew who he was and I realized it was (the), Tommy Carruthers. He started to send me messages over Facebook and we got along. We talked about martial arts, family, God, and the martial art business. He encouraged me to pursue teaching on line; as had Adam Chan. I was reluctant to do so due to the trauma from many of my near death and almost crippling injuries. These injuries were one reason my wife insisted I find another venue (writing), for my interest and livelihood. I still train around my injuries but not the extent I once had.
Never the less, and unbeknownst to me, Tommy had contacted my son and talked about me and my training. My son had no idea who Tommy was (at the time), and thought that Tommy was just another dude checking up on his dad. It was something he was used to; in our little fish pond lives. After Tommy had got my son to watch a clip of him on You Tube, my son brazenly told him that he was almost as fast/good as his father. Ah, what a complement to have your child think so highly of you. It was after this that we became close online friends, Tommy sent me art work, and gear he had made that I used to help raise funds and encourage hearts for various good causes. I on the other hand tried to negotiate a few marketing deals for him, I failed but his goodwill toward me did not falter. He has shown himself to be a kind and caring individual, despite his rough and straight forward manner of speaking. He is honest about his view and that has made him hard for some to accept. It might have hurt him some financially too, but Tommy is true to his nature. This is easy to see in his politics, his art, his love of history (especially WWII), and his martial arts. If you are looking to find the quintessential Jeet Kune Do, and believe in keeping things simple, direct and realistic, take my recommendation and look up Tommy Carruthers! He has online lessons, seminar and training camps and groups all over the world. Tommy is not Bruce but he is authentic!
"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it." Bruce Lee
My stories are about martial arts adventures that are intertwined with some science fiction, conspiracies, laughter, love and mystic experiences. The following links are to the Kindle version books from the "Dream Walker” series. Our adventurers find themselves on a quest where they are confronted with both conspiracy and mystery. Their challenge is to unite their mind and body skills together utilizing what they have learned in the martial arts with the transcendental power of dream meditation. They attempt to do this while they are trying to make a life for themselves and elude those that seek to use and control them.
Conversations with a Sage: This explores Xander Davidson's early encounters with the mysterious fog like Dream Walking martial art sages. He ponders if they are real or if they are only remnants of his dreams. He mainly keeps this secret world to himself as he tries to cope with abuse, growing up without support or guidance and the mystery of his family's past.
The Assassins Gift: Xander Davidson struggles with the conspiracy of his family and the group that is actively trying to manipulate him to join them or die. The young Dream Walkers learns an early lesson to be careful about whom they let into their circle.
Warriors of Perception: Xander Davidson and his band of friends embark on a mission to free themselves from their oppressors. They bravely face the challenge all the while vying for the right moment to turn the tables.
Jace Lee The Shift: We find a new apprentice, Adam, which is fighting for his life. He is struggling to understand the amazing skills of his mentor, Jace Lee; a younger man that has trained under Xander Davidson. All the while his mentor attempts to reconcile the fact that his skills do not match up with the other Dream Walkers.
Jace Lee No Agenda: Jace Lee attempts to find himself on a self-imposed vision quest of sorts. Instead he finds himself being stalked by the same group that had previously sought after his teacher, (Xander Davidson). Instead of mastering his odd Dream Walking skills he finds love and the potential loss of his powers.
Jace Lee The Tutelage of Ming Wu: Jace Lee rejoins his teacher Xander Davidson as they cope with a possible combined threat (the mysterious), Ming Wu and the Council that has continuously monitored the Dream Walkers.
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