| Jerry Poteet | |
|---|---|
| Style | Jeet Kune Do |
| Teacher(s) | Bruce Lee |
| Notable students | Michael Worth, Jason Scott Lee[1] |
Jerry Poteet is an American martial arts instructor, recognized for his teachings in the art of Jeet Kune Do as an original Bruce Lee student. Branded by the Inside Kung Fu magazine editor, “the greatest Jeet Kune Do instructor in the world,” original Bruce Lee student ""Jerry Poteet"" is known by many as “the conscience of Jeet Kune Do.” Since his teacher’s premature passing, Jerry has stood firm, refusing to water down the art that had such an enormous impact in his life. In fact, Jerry credits his teacher, Bruce Lee, with giving him the tools to survive, “the fight of my life”, when he was compelled to undergo a liver transplant in 1995. Today, Jerry teaches Jeet Kune Do to the next generation of students and Instructors, who will keep the flame alive. Sifu Poteet has been teaching martial arts for over 40 years. Like many young men in the ’60s, Jerry began his martial arts career in Kenpo, and became a black belt under renowned Kenpo Instructor Ed Parker. Contrary to popular misconception, Jerry did not meet his famous Jeet Kune Do teacher in Los Angeles, but in Oakland, at James Lee’s house. Later that year, he was fortunate enough to be chosen as the second student admitted to Bruce Lee’s Chinatown School back in LA. He was also selected to be in a “closed door” group of five students, who trained with Bruce Lee twice a week. In the years since, Jerry has used his martial arts expertise to train the Dallas Cowboys football team, executive bodyguard Hollywood celebrities, and choreograph the fight scenes of several motion pictures. But his proudest achievement is the fact that he was chosen as the person best able to train the actor who would portray his teacher, Bruce Lee. Over the years, Jerry has refined a teaching method that, like the art of Jeet Kune Do itself, strips away the inessentials. It was this method he used to train actor Jason Scott Lee for the role in "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story". For Sifu Poteet, it was the ultimate way “to give something back to my teacher.”
Since the passing of Bruce Lee, Jerry Poteet is proclaimed as “The Source” for the truth in the art of Jeet Kune Do. Some of his notable students are Jason Scott Lee (Dragon The Bruce Lee Story) and Michael Worth (U.S. SEALS 2). Jerry Poteet worked on choreography for the key fight scenes in "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" with Jason Scott Lee.[2][3]