Richard Bustillo
Conducted By Paul Bax
What was your experience in martial arts before JKD?
I practiced Judo at 8 years old, boxing at 12, Kajukenbo at 14, Boxing again at 19, and JKD at 24. I studied Eskrima & Kali, Muay Thai, Catchascatchcan wrestling, and Jujitsu during and after Bruce Lee's JKD.
Did Bruce Lee take any offense to the fact that you were interested in other martial arts while studying JKD?
Bruce Lee would never take offense to any of his students who were interested in other martial arts. He practiced and preached being opened-mindedness to all martial arts. "Using no way as way and having no limitations and limitation" is Bruce Lee’s philosophy.
Bruce Lee had called Thai Boxers "John L. Sullivans" because of their footwork and lack of finesse. Your thoughts?
I don’t know of Bruce calling the Thai Boxers the John L. Sullivan because of their footwork and lack of finesse. I do know that he studied books on Thai Boxing and John L. Sullivan. I also know that Bruce would research different aspects of martial arts and draw up constructive criticism which would best fit his JKD.
How did your first meeting with Bruce Lee come about? What was your initial impression of him?
I first met Bruce at the 1964 International Karate Tournament in Long Beach, California. My initial impression of Bruce Lee was that he was average in appearance. But when he took off his shirt and performed his art, it was WOW! This was the real deal in martial arts. He was absolutely Awesome.
Did he come off as over confident or cocky to you?
I saw Bruce as being very confident and self-assured in his ability to perform his martial arts. His over confidence was confused with him being cocky to those who didn't know him.
What was it most that impressed you about his performance?
I was mostly impressed with Bruce Lee’s physical power and explosive speed when he executed his JKD techniques, coupled with his presentation on his concepts, philosophy and martial arts training.
After the Internationals, do you recall your conversations with Dan Inosanto about Lee’s demonstration?
I didn’t know Dan Inosanto during the Internationals. I first met Dan in 1967 at the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute orientation.
Your training began in 1967 with Lee. Did you attempt to train with him after the Internationals?
I wanted to train with Bruce after the Internationals but I didn’t know how to contact him except by writing a letter of my intentions.
Did you ever meet James Lee and if so, please describe your experiences with him.
I met James Lee only once when he came for a visit to the Los Angeles Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. All the students were introduced to James Lee and my only experience with him was saying, "I’m honored to meet you".
What was it about Bruce Lee that made you want to learn from him and kept you going back to him for training?
Bruce Lee's martial arts attitude, philosophy, concepts and training methods were a well-rounded art that I had never studied before. It was a well-rounded art that encompassed all the martial art ranges. His personality and views on everyday life made me want to hang out with him. I wanted to learn as much as I could from Bruce Lee.
Describe the Chinatown classes.
The average class size was about 12 students. It was always intense and combative. We warmed up and stretched before working on strength training and JKD techniques. The second half of the class was spent on sparring. Emphasis was put on being practical and functional in training application. Accuracy, speed, and power, in that order, were also a main focus when working on techniques.
How often did Bruce Lee teach?
Bruce Lee taught whenever his schedule permitted. He taught some of the time, but not much of the time. It was Dan Inosanto who was there all the time.
Some have said the LA school was opened primarily to supplement Dan Inosanto’s income. To your knowledge, is this true?