The official symbol of Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do is composed of three elements:
1) Bruce Lee’s Core Symbol: a yin yang with arrows and Chinese characters
2) Bruce’s “Lee Jun Fan” stone chop
3) Bruce’s “Loong” or “dragon” representation
[Core Yin Yang Symbol]
Bruce Lee used this symbol as the representation of his art of Jeet Kune Do, the emblem of his school, and his personal philosophy. Bruce Lee himself describes it best:
“In the yin yang symbol, there is a white spot on the black half, and a black spot on the white half. In JKD, Yang (firmness) should be concealed in Yin (gentleness) as Yin is concealed within Yang. Thus, a JKD man should be soft, yet not yielding; firm, yet not hard. The curved arrows surrounding the Yin Yang symbol represent not only the harmonious interplay of Yin Yang but also the interchangeability of opposites.”
The Chinese characters that Bruce Lee wrote around the Yin Yang symbol and arrows are a phrase he authored and used to represent his philosophy, which translated read:
“Using no way as way, Having no limitation as limitation”.
[Bottom Left of Design – Stone Chop]
The stone chop, or name stamp, with Bruce Lee’s given Chinese name (bottom left of the design) was placed by him on the certificates that he issued to his students as well as other documents and correspondence. The translation of the chop reads: “By the Name of Jun Fan Lee”
[Bottom Right of Design – Loong]
The “Loong” character at the bottom right of the design is Bruce Lee’s personal artistic rendition of the Chinese character “Dragon”. Bruce Lee was born in the year of the Dragon and the Hour of the Dragon and was nicknamed the “Little Dragon” from childhood.
Finally, the square look of the overall design for the symbol connotes the building blocks of the art. It is the structure upon which to build - the foundation from which the art lives on. The Chop and Loong positioned at the bottom symbolize that Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do holds as its roots the totality of Bruce Lee’s legacy from the traditional to the individual forms of self expression. The unity of the three elements shows us that if the foundation is maintained, inspiration will be sparked within the individual to work toward their own personal liberation.