Jason Daniel Lee

About

I began my martial arts journey in 1986 and was first introduced to Sifu Paul Vunak’s approach in 1993 through my longtime teacher, Master Lee Barden, when he brought Paul to our school in Jacksonville, Florida. From that point on, I was hooked on the functional, no-nonsense approach of Jeet Kune Do and the concepts Paul was teaching.

Over the past 40 years, my training has included Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu, Filipino Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, American Freestyle Karate, Boxing, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Silat, Savate, grappling, and extensive weapons training. I am a Full Instructor in Contemporary Jeet Kune Do under Sifu Paul Vunak and hold 5th-degree rank in the Lissajous Advanced Weapons System under Master Lee Barden. I also hold rank in both Jun Fan Gung Fu and Filipino Martial Arts through the Inosanto/Lacoste lineage under Guro Lee Peacock and Guro Mike Vincent. These different branches of my training have greatly influenced the way I approach empty-hand skills, weapons, movement, and flow.

I am also a martial arts weapons maker, continuing the craftsmanship and development of Prochux and other training weapons while working to preserve and pass forward the Lissajous flow system entrusted to me through my teacher.

One project especially close to me is the development of an adaptive martial arts program for autistic students. As the father of a nonspeaking autistic child, I have experienced firsthand that traditional teaching methods do not always fit the way every student learns, communicates, processes information, or moves. My goal is to develop ways martial arts can meet students where they are—using movement, repetition, flow, coordination, and functional skills without expecting the student to conform to a traditional teaching model.

What I hope to bring to the Team Vunak community is 40 years of martial arts experience, a deep background in Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu, Filipino Martial Arts, weapons and flow, hands-on craftsmanship, and a desire to continue learning, evolving, and sharing these arts with the next generation.