Have you ever wanted to visit Sifu Tackett's garage gym?
In this video you'll get a quick tour by Sifu Tackett of his garage gym in Redlands, California.
Sifu's martial arts journey truly began in Taiwan in 1962 while stationed there with the US Air Force. There he was exposed to arts such as Xing Yi, Tai Ji, Shaolin Gung Fu (both Northern and Southern variants), Monkey style Kung Fu and other styles of martial arts.
When he returned to the US in 1966, he opened a Gung Fu school as one of the first non-Chinese teachers to have trained in Taiwan. In 1967, he saw Bruce Lee's demonstration at the Long Beach Internationals which planted a seed on wanting to explore what Sijo Bruce had to offer. On the recommendation from the late Sifu Dan Lee was introduced to Dan Inosanto's backyard JKD group in 1970 (only months after Bruce Lee shut down his Chinatown school).
In 1973, Sifu Tackett received his "Senior 1st" ranking and was givne permission to start a small group class in Redlands, California... and has continued to teach in his garage since that time.
Since then he has become a prominent figure in JKD, and has taught seminars around the world. In his book, Jeet Kune Do: The Art and Philosophy of Bruce Lee, Sifu Inosanto writes that, "Tim Tackett is of the most knowledgeable Jeet Kune Do practitioners in the world today".
He was also instrumental in getting Sifu Bob Bremer and Sifu Jim Sewell's knowledge of Chinatown JKD out into the public eye.
Mrs. Linda Lee Cadwell has this to say about Sifu Tackett (and Sifu Bob):
Tim Tackett was among the first of the second-generation students, and I have known him nearly as long as Bob Bremer. Throughout the years he has studied Jeet Kune Do, Tim has also had a well-respected career as a high-school teacher, drama coach and published writer. Together with Bob, they have been passing on Bruce’s art of JKD in Tim’s garage to small groups of privileged students. This practice harkens back to Bruce’s beginnings in the early ’60s, when he taught his art to only a few friends for no compensation. In the ’70s, this was continued during Tim’s first years of Jeet Kune Do training in the original “backyard” group, and the tradition still exists in Tim’s Group.
It is of utmost importance that the thoughts and recollections of Bruce’s original students are recorded for the benefit of martial artists who are interested in Jeet Kune Do teachings because they come directly from Bruce Lee.
I appreciate the time, effort and primarily the love that Bob and Tim have put into transcribing their experiences.
(this quote was taken from the foreword of Sifu Tackett's Chinatown JKD book)
Sifu Tackett has retired from doing international seminars, but still oversees the training of a select number of students in his garage.