Another Seminar done

 As mentioned in my previous post, another JKD seminar was held in the Netherlands on October 18th.

Teaching was sifu Richard Torres, from the JKD Martial Arts institute, Fishkill , New York.  He is one of the few certified instructors under Ted Wong, and spent a lot of time working and travelling with Ted Wong doing various seminars/workshops etc in the past. His extensive research and huge library of books and articles would probably rival and surpass that of Bruce Lee himself, who was known to have 2500 books etc in his own private library. I can say with some confidence that Richard Torres is one of the most knowledgeable teachers in the art of Jeet Kune Do.  

Myself and one of my senior students attended the seminar, and also had a private theory session the evening before at the house of my own instructor, James ter Beek. The seminar was great and it was traditionally followed by a large meal.   We travelled home the following day, looking back on a succesful weekend and with knowledge to workon and teach.

Walk On! 

Jeet Kune Do Seminars & Workshops

 

The world of Jeet Kune Do, is known sometimes for heated arguments about what JKD is, the division between 'original' and 'concepts' JKD is only a part of the discussion. Many times it also involves groups and individuals who believe that JKD is not an art at all, but just a philosphy, and you can do whatever you fancy.

Thankfully, there are still many opportunities to be taught by knowledgable instructors that are capable to set the record straight, and to come together and set up a unified experience for all to learn and enjoy.

One such event was held last weekend in New York, USA.  Three instructors, One Art.  Instructors were sifu Richard Torres, sifu Joaquin Marcelo, and sifu Octavio Quintero, and set up a workshop with over 100 participants. 

Sadly I was unable to attend but my instructors and many of my JKD friends were there, but it demonstrates that the world of JKD is more unified than some people might think. The more these events are held, the more I hope it will silence the critics, and more understanding of the art will be perpetuated. 

Your next opportunity is this month, in Leiden the Netherlands, where sifu Richard Torres will hold a workshop on Saturday October 18th.   Be there!

Walk On!

 

Stages of learning

 

The illustration shows in Bruce Lee's own handwriting, the 'three stages of a technique'.  He breaks this down into : Synchronisation of Self, Synchronisation with an opponent, and finally 'application under fighting condition'.    

The first stage is primarily aimed at learning the correct form, developing precision, and to synchronise all this as a 'whole' , building up speed progressively, but never to lose form (get sloppy). 

The second stage is about timing and distance.  Here you may find yourself working with a partner who provides targets to strike at various angles, intervals and distances (focus mitts drills).  Also here the difficulty is gradually increased. 

Lastly you will test these with a (sparring) partner, who will also be willing to hit back, doesn't want to get hit himself etc.   and is the closest you will get to real fighting conditions.  

As you can see, this progression is very similar to anything we learn. You start with the basics, and gradually increase the difficulty and application of those very same basics.  

Many martial artists confuse this with making things more complicated.  

If anything, a fight should be simple, direct and straight to the point, which will give you the best chance of 'scoring', walking away from the encounter relatively unharmed.  The 3 stages of learning are a great way of getting you there.  

Walk On! 

7 deadly sins in martial arts!

As published by Mike Gittleson by JKD Colorado.



The seven deadly sins as they relate to the martial arts...
Pride - making your training about showing off, finding every chance you can to try to dazzle everyone with your "omnipotent" skill
Greed - Focusing on making money and building an imperium of students and followers.
Lust - Lusting after fame, glory and thy neighbor's wife (aka other people's students)
Envy - Spending time watching others in envy of their fame, abilities and accolades. Turning this to ridicule, nitpicking and trying to justify your envy by pointing out everything they do wrong.
Gluttony - Trying to collect an inordinate amount techniques in order to feel all knowing. Training for accumulation rather than simplicity and understanding.
Wrath - Lashing out angerly at others, coveting hatred for those who have differing opinions or practice different styles.
Sloth - Pure laziness in your training. Maintaining the facade that you have earned your skill, all the while, not continuing to practice and hone it.
Don't succomb to the sins. Keep your training honest and focused.


Walk On!

Workshop success

 Wow, that went quick.  One day you're busy organising a workshop with all the hotel/paperwork/venue etc to arrange, and then it's gone.  We had fun!  There were people with prior JKD experience, but also hosted people with a Kali, Taekwon-do, Kung Fu , Kickboxing backgrounds.  They all had a great time, learned new things or got a fresh perspective on things they apply but now have a deeper understanding of.  Walk On!

Jeet Kune Do - Competition or not?

 Jeet Kune Do is amongst the martial arts for which generally there are no competitions held.(* I'll get to some exceptions later). 

The overwhelming majority of people training in JKD (and that includes those training in the JKD Concepts approach) tend to train for personal development, and there is a wide spread view that as JKD is designed for the street, no rules, 'any thing goes', you couldn't possibly hold competitions because there are multiple techniques / actions you'd not be able to do as it would injure your opponents.  

Yet we do train them on a variety of targets, and also with some restraint, on your sparring partner whilst wearing the appropriate protection equipment. 

The main issue is not so much that you couldn't conceive a competition, but by stripping it back to make it safer and introduce rules (amongst which how to award points/ scoring system) you inherently alter the essence of the art, and it is in danger of looking like a kickboxing contest, or any other martial arts tournament.  

*This is exactly what has happened to some (dubious) Jeet Kune Do 'associations/world councils/fill in colourfull name' that have attempted it before and still hold tournaments. (they are predominantly located in Asia, most organisers/participants have no link to actual Jeet Kune Do instructors that have a direct lineage to any original students.) . The motive of these 'tournaments' seems unclear / vague to me, other than a vehicle to 'stroke' the ego of the founder of these organisations, and very little to do with competing in JKD..  There are some good martial artists amongst the competitors, but from I've seen I have not witnessed any JKD, but rather their structure etc looks more that of a Taekwondo fighter or kickboxer..  I posted some examples at the bottom of this article.

If a competition is held at all at any point, some real clear rules need to be established that ensure JKD remains recognisable as it's own art, not just 'anything goes'... The fighters should be encouraged to fight strongside forward, use minimum 80% lead weapons, and scoring should reward elements like trapping (for example a pak sao - backfist combi should score highly) so that people will actually use it and show off an element of JKD that isn't present in other (traditional) systems. 

What about fingerjabs? These could be given their own category, where participants have to score on a moving target within a certain time (maybe wearing gloves dipped in an ink or similar so that a clear visible mark is left where fingerjab landed) and speed and accuracy can be awarded in this way. 

Add the points from the fights to the points awarded to the 'finger jab' element, and the highest scorer is the overall winner. 

It is going to be difficult to organise and get sufficient participants however. There are not many genuine JKD schools compared to other martial arts.  That said, JKD students could still participate in other (open) tournaments, restricted to the rules of that tournament, if only to experience what it feels like to be under pressure in a fight (a higher level of pressure than you would experience normally at the school, where sparring is done to help eachother learn, not to win a match).  

Thoughts?  Here are a few links to a 'JKD' tournament: (copy and paste the text in your browser).

 https://youtu.be/MlAOXT2JkIE?si=VsJTnC-RqF2LCrHk

https://youtu.be/TqJSuNJ_2J4?si=xiTD0HWtkUolTfDa

https://youtu.be/HPUEw8MiZ7A?si=ubD49lCRriGCK2Mh

https://youtu.be/9_HufeuhsdI?si=TMtKKy7CaG_1z2KV

Walk On!

Getting Down with it

 Often the discussion comes up that people should practice grappling because thats what will happen in a fight.  Often they mention that 70% of fights end up on the ground. Whilst personally I don't subscribe to that high percentage, it is almost guaranteed that 100% start with both feet firmly planted on the ground.

What contributes to this view is the popularity of BJJ and MMA, with the latter responsible for the popularity of BJJ as it is seen that in the environment of MMA fights, grapplers were often dominant. So it's no surprise that this is the opinion held by many.  Is it therefore important to train lots in grappling? 

I say NO.  Let me clarify: Firstly, I'm going to state that it is good to get a bit of grappling experience, so you know what it 'feels' like.  But I'm saying NO to training it a LOT.   Why? First off, it is very unlikely that in a street fight, you will be facing an (experienced) grappler.  I can say this because of statistics. In the UK (where I live) there are approximately 67million people, of this, according to sport England data of 2022, about 237 thousand practice martial arts. That's one in 280 persons.  Of that amount a large proportion will be children. In practice it is probably about 2/3rd children and teens, vs adults.  That changes the ratio to about one in 5-600...  All other potential opponents have no martial arts background whatsoever so their fighting skills are not going to be of a high quality. That doesn't mean they won't try it (they see it on the TV all the time), but as a trained martial artist, you should be reasonably succesful in fending off their attacks from a stand up position, which is far more favourable. You retain mobility, so you can run away as soon as there is a chance, but one other big factor is important: Once on the ground, you are very much in a one on one environment with very little to no situational awareness. YOu're not going to see his budy (or a stranger) suddenly getting in on the action and kicking you in the head or worse.. Also you're not going to see any concealed bladed weapon he might be carrying so you could get stabbed in this situation, another reason to stay on your feet and keep him at a distance. 

So instead of spending time learning intricate grappling techniques and submissions etc, learn take down defenses, and how to get back up QUICK, when you're on the ground. Focus on those elements of ground fighting, and you will be best prepared for the majority of street encounters you are likely to find yourself in, at least in the UK.  Your mileage may vary, but thats the situation where I live. 

Walk On!