JKD in Athens GA and the Singer brothers’ martial arts journey
Looking for Jeet Kune Do in Athens, GA? If Bruce Lee inspired you to learn martial arts, there is a connection to his philosophy right here at SBG Athens.
Coaches Adam and Rory Singer spent years exploring JKD before building careers in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts. Their work with SBG founder Matt Thornton helped shape an approach they went on to apply in coaching fighters who competed on the world stage.
Today, you can explore that practical approach through our BJJ and MMA programs. The question at the heart of the training is simple: can you apply what you learn when another person is moving, reacting and resisting?
Find your starting class at SBG Athens
Bruce Lee’s vision of Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do translates as Way of the Intercepting Fist. Bruce Lee’s official website describes its principles as simplicity, directness and freedom, with an emphasis on honest individual expression.
Its motto captures that philosophy:
“Using no way as way; having no limitation as limitation.”
Lee resisted turning his approach into something fixed. For us, that creates an invitation to keep investigating: learn useful skills, test them through experience and develop an approach that suits you.
We see SBG’s live training as a way to carry that philosophy forward.
Read Bruce Lee’s official explanation of Jeet Kune Do.
Adam and Rory Singer’s JKD roots
The Singer brothers’ connection to JKD is part of their own history.
In an interview with Stephan Kesting, Adam explains that he and Rory became deeply involved in Jeet Kune Do, traveled to California and attended seminars.
The brothers also became early students of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, exploring how grappling could expand their understanding of fighting.
The brothers went on to train with Matt Thornton. Adam describes Thornton as an important influence on his development.
Their move toward BJJ and MMA grew out of that search for practical martial arts.
Read Adam Singer’s account of the brothers’ training history.
Continuing Bruce’s approach to learning
A central debate within JKD is how to carry Bruce Lee’s work forward.
Some practitioners focus on preserving the techniques and personal fighting style he developed. SBG’s emphasis is on helping each student develop effective skills through live practice.
Thornton’s writing challenges both copying Bruce’s individual style and collecting techniques without testing how they work. His alternative is to learn dependable fundamentals and develop your own application against resisting partners.
At SBG Athens, we connect that principle to the Singer brothers’ journey. They kept adding skills, refining their coaching and exploring what worked in practice.
Bruce’s example gives us a reason to keep learning. It does not require every student to move like Bruce.
Read Thornton’s explanation of SBG’s position.
The Singer brothers’ experience in MMA
The Athens story includes both coaching and competition.
Rory Singer competed in the UFC and appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 3. He experienced the demands of applying striking and grappling against trained opponents.
Adam and Rory coached Forrest Griffin, the former UFC light heavyweight champion. Their work with him forms an important part of the gym’s history.
Brian Bowles became a WEC bantamweight champion after developing at the brothers’ gym, then known as The HardCore Gym. UFC reporting also identifies Rory as Bowles’ trainer.
Those achievements give the Singer brothers practical experience behind their teaching. They have worked in an environment where opponents can expose weaknesses, forcing athletes and coaches to adapt.
That experience now supports a gym that welcomes people with many different reasons for training.
Explore SBG Athens’ coaching background, Rory’s UFC profile and the UFC’s reporting on Bowles and Rory.
Boxing and grappling across all ranges
The brothers also developed their boxing with Athens coach Donald “Doc” Keppner. SBG Athens records Rory’s Novice Golden Gloves and Georgia State titles, alongside the brothers’ years of boxing and coaching experience.
That background matters because effective training must address what happens when the distance changes.
At range, you need striking skills. At close quarters, you need ways to manage contact, balance and control. On the ground, you need grappling skills.
SBG Athens’ own explanation of boxing makes that connection explicit: boxing, wrestling and BJJ contribute to a broader understanding of fighting.
For someone interested in JKD, this offers a practical direction for continued learning across the stand-up, clinch and ground.
Read about the Singer brothers’ boxing background.
Aliveness in Adam Singer’s coaching
Aliveness means that your training partner can make choices. You must respond to what is happening, rather than follow a sequence whose outcome has already been agreed.
In his discussion with The Box Gathering, Adam describes practice built around responsive interaction. Simple partner games can help beginners explore distance, movement and timing without being overloaded with instructions.
The same principle explains why a rehearsed trapping sequence needs more than smooth cooperation to demonstrate its value. Hand control becomes meaningful when a partner can resist, escape or change their response.
Live training can be scaled to the learner. A simple task with limited options can still involve genuine decisions.
That combination of feedback, adaptation and individual discovery is how we connect Adam’s coaching to Bruce Lee’s philosophy.
Read Adam’s discussion of Aliveness and coaching beginners.
Bruce Lee’s influence on modern MMA
We see a clear philosophical connection between Bruce Lee’s willingness to cross boundaries and the continuing development of MMA.
A mixed martial artist must connect skills across different situations. A strong punch alone does not answer a takedown, and success on the ground does not remove the need to manage striking distance.
The Singer brothers’ journey illustrates that development locally: JKD opened doors to further learning, and years of training and competition gave them reasons to keep refining their approach.
Adam has also discussed Bruce Lee, the JKD community and the development of Aliveness in a dedicated Combat Learning interview.
Nobody can know exactly how Bruce would have trained today. Our position is that testing, adapting and continuing to learn respects the direction of his philosophy.
Listen to Adam Singer on Bruce Lee, Aliveness and JKD.
You can start without wanting to be a fighter
The gym’s competition history is only part of its purpose.
Adam has spoken about his love of coaching ordinary people and helping them make martial arts a lifelong pursuit. SBG Athens also states that most members do not compete and that nobody is pressured to do so.
You might want greater confidence, a physical challenge, practical skills or a new interest. Those are all reasons to begin.
Our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes welcome different experience levels and develop grappling through coaching, partner practice and controlled sparring.
Our MMA program connects striking and grappling, with opportunities for people interested in training as well as competition.
Tell us what you want from martial arts, and we will help you choose a starting point.
Start training at SBG Athens
If you searched for JKD classes near you because Bruce Lee made you curious about martial arts, come and explore that interest with us.
The Singer brothers’ history connects Jeet Kune Do to decades of practical training and coaching. Today, that experience is available to people beginning their own martial arts journey in Athens, Georgia.
Contact SBG Athens to choose your first class or call 706-850-8444.
Visit us at 240 Collins Industrial Blvd, Suite G, Athens, GA 30601.
Frequently asked questions
Does SBG Athens teach Jeet Kune Do
SBG Athens offers BJJ and MMA programs informed by live training and the Singer brothers’ martial arts experience. Their history includes years of JKD study and training with Matt Thornton. This page explains that connection; our current programs are advertised as BJJ and MMA.
Did both Singer brothers train in JKD
Yes. In his interview with Stephan Kesting, Adam describes the brothers’ involvement in JKD and their move into training with Thornton.
Do I have to compete
No. SBG Athens states that most members do not compete, and nobody is pressured to do so.
Can beginners train at SBG Athens
Yes. The BJJ and MMA programs welcome people with different levels of experience. Contact the academy so we can help you find the right starting class.
