In Jeet Kune Do, we don't tend to practice 'forms'. Forms for the uninitiated, are patterns-sequences of movements that train kicks, punches, stances etc and in some cases also are symbolic for a particular aspect of history of an art, or it's country of origin, amongst others.
Nobody fights like that however. Traditional martial arts such as Karate and/or Taekwon-do, to name a few, often have a 'traditional' aspect in which forms (Kata in karate, Tul or Poomse in Taekwon-do) are being practiced and they count very heavily towards your next belt. They also have a sports/competition aspect, where practitioners spar eachother, and that looks very different. (they also compete in patterns but that's beyond the scope of this blog).
Other martial arts do not practice forms (examples are Muai Thai, Boxing, fencing, BJJ etc.), but are concerned with the honing of skills such as punching/kicking etc etc and practice these on stationary targets, moving targets, and spar much more frequently to test their skills and develop timing/strategy.
Bruce Lee was very aware of that and once his Jeet Kune Do journey had begun proper, he took the same approach, he mostly didn't practice forms (anymore) but instead all his training became focussed on sharpening the tools and develop rhythm, timing, strategy and become the best fighter he could be.
However, Jeet Kune Do developed out of Bruce Lee's earlier ideas on the martial arts he termed Jun Fan Gung Fu, in other words 'Bruce Lee's Gung Fu' (Jun Fan Lee was Bruce Lee's cantonese birth name), and a significant element of that was still rooted in his formal training in Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) Gung Fu. During his Jun Fan Gung Fu 'years', he also developed a pattern for his students to practice, with the same aim as traditional arts would, to develop techniques etc but in a formalised method. It was called Ung Moon, which many translate as 'the 5 gates'.
It comes as no surprise that if you observe someone demonstrating this 'form', you would be forgiven to think you're watching someone practicing Ving Tsun, particularly if you see how they open (start) the form. Various aspects, that would later return in Jeet Kune Do (in modified form) can be found in this form, for example the first section is about simultaneous attack and defence, executed by a series of blocks and strikes at the same time, both left and right, but it is performed from a more 'squared on' stance. As you may know, the idea of simultaneous attack and defence is a principle very much present in Jeet Kune Do.
There are JKD practitioners and schools that insist on training in this form, particularly in more recent years. It is almost as if there is a desire to 'formalise' JKD training in order to 'identify' it, perhaps make it more 'interesting' , and it's also depending on lineage.
Those in a lineage more alligned with earlier 'Jun Fan Gung Fu' , and even Dan Inosanto's concept approach, are more inclined to study/practice this form than later lineages such as that of Ted Wong, where I belong too. That latter approach is more alligned with Bruce Lee's later thinking to leave the form practice and concentrate on the more 'practical' / hands on approach of drilling and testing over and over...
So what do I think? I'm not a person to insist that someone should practice JKD in this way or that way, but rather look at themselves and ask what do I want to acchieve? If you want to learn JKD as per the latest ideas of Bruce Lee, then perhaps you should spend your valuable time on just drilling, working the bag, focus gloves and practice sparring. If you are interested in where things originated, perhaps out of a general interest in the martial arts, then by all means learn the Ung Moon too.
If you have the interest, the time and it alligns with your current goals in Martial Arts, then by all means go ahead, and enjoy! There are some examples out there that show the Ung Moon from a more practical approach, be it in a very Ving Tsun like (squared on) approach, and have turned it into a partner drill by doing so. That may be more useful as to be fair, a more squared on 'positioning' happens in JKD almost naturally in close range (not striking or grappling/trapping range!! get rid of the idea to define distances by 'tools or techniques, but describe them by distance, for that's what it is, nothing more) but there are nuances here that go beyond the scope of this blog. Come to training to find out what that is.
My personal view is that from a practical (and time constraint) perspective, just practice the techniques that form this pattern(form), as individual / isolated partner drills and from a more alive basis (you're moving) like a semi free 'sparring' drill.
I would short sell you not to leave you a link to someone who is performing the Ung Moon, and someone who explains some practical applications of it. Finally here's also a video of Jeet Kune Do veteran Chris Kent, a highly regarded and very knowledgeable instructor, with his views on the Ung Moon.
You will note that they will use a lot of chinese terminology, where in later years Bruce would just call techniques by their english names, as we tend to do in our classes. (and I'm the first to admit I'm not familiar with some of this 'traditional' terminology, it's not required to learn Jeet Kune do as we practice it). Again, terminology and chinese name knowledge is often used in a more 'formal' setting, and will help if you want to study the older variants of Bruce Lee's martial arts journey. We call a punch a punch... your mileage may vary.
Walk On!
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