Simplicity is the Key!

In Jeet Kune Do, we are taught that everything we do needs to be simple. In this post I'd like to explain why that is, in case you didn't know.

As you may know, JKD was primeraly developed for use 'on the street', in a self defence situation, where there are no rules, any thing goes! This is what we train for.

To understand Self Defence training, we need to understand what generally happens. I am not describing a particular scenario here, but rather what happens to almost anyone that has ever been attacked.

What happens?

Everyone is familiar with the phrase: ‘I froze up, I didn’t know what to do’.   It is often heard that victims of an attack froze, ‘panicked’ and didn’t know how to act.

This is quite normal, due to elevating fear / panic the brain very quickly loses its ability to think rationally.  The longer it goes on, the bigger this influence becomes. When reaching absolute terror levels, it is not uncommon that people lose control of their bowels, faint, etc…

If you are interested in the science behind this, I’ve put an illustration in this article, showing how this all works. 

What is important?

It makes no sense to learn complicated, difficult to remember and execute series of moves.

Your response needs to be able to be executed fast and efficient, without much thought, as if in a reflex, therefore it needs to be simple to learn & lead direct to the desired result. Remember above where I mention you will lose the ability to think rationally in a stressful situation?

About Jeet Kune Do:

Bruce Lee developed his art, Jeet Kune Do, with exactly this in mind and that is why it is so effective for self-defence.  

Whilst he is most famous for spectacularly choreographed action scenes in his movies, remember that this is done for cinematic effect. On the street, this will rarely work. (you may not have the space, not wearing the right clothing, and these moves are very noticeable to the opponent).

Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do (literally translated, the way of the intercepting fist) is designed to be able for you to recognise an imminent attack and learn to intercept your attacker (this doesn’t mean you have to wait for him to physically start moving, you will learn to recognise a threatening situation and may be able to land a ‘pre-emptive’ strike.) The ultimate goal is to prevent a fight, but if one threatens to develop, it should be stopped before it can develop in a full-on brawl… The concept is sometimes referred to as ‘defensive offence, or offensive defence’.

In the beginning the emphasis of training is on tool development and mobility.  In a self defence situation, the best way is still to ‘run’, get out. There are however plenty of instances that this is not possible (you’re with someone else you are trying to protect, there are obstacles, etc ) Staying on your feet and to be able to regulate the distance between your attacker and yourself is very important.  This distance keeps you safer, but it also buys you time, your attacker will have to move towards you in order to reach you. This gives you time to respond and the opportunity to ‘intercept’ him.

What we won’t do (much) off:

In part to the rise of sports such as MMA, there is also a huge interest in grappling arts, such as Judo, or Jiu Jitsu (often Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ)).  Whilst some grappling knowledge is good to have, we approach this differently. Regarding grappling, we approach it from the perspective of ‘prevention’ and how to get up when you find yourself down.  Going to the floor on the street is a very bad idea.  Whilst you are potentially busy trying to subdue someone (or trying to fend of someone that is doing it to you), it is not unlikely that a bystander jumps out of the woodwork , unrelated to you and proceeds to kick you whilst down, all in the name of a few minutes of ‘fame’ on a social media platform.   Therefore, when possible, avoid ‘groundwork’ and leave that to law enforcement officers, your job is to get out, fast!

From a practical perspective, in general men tend to be bigger and stronger, so any attempt to wrestle a male attacker often leads in women getting hurt (or worse).  There are obviously exceptions, but in this class we deal with the ‘normal’. Chances are you won’t be attacked by a professional fighter, but rather an opportunist, in 99% of the cases.

This is why we train the way we do:

Tool development, and mobility (as mentioned earlier) is learning how to punch, kick, parry and evade and control the distance. We do not have a huge arsenal of different kicks and punches. Bruce kept this simple. Only those that according to him are most efficient, were kept. The following quote aptly explains another reason: ‘I fear not the man who practices 10.000 kicks once, I fear the man who practices one kick 10.000 times’. 

 In other words, we spend time to learn the few kicks and punches really well, in order for them to become so natural for you to execute that you don’t have to ‘think’ too much, which leads us back to the beginning of this writing.  When attacked, we just need to be able to instantly respond, without thought, as if it were a reflex.  

Finally:

Some of you may have heard the following quote which is often wrongly attributed to Bruce Lee (it actually originates from chairman Mao, but Bruce did write it down in a book dedication to a friend of his, which is where the confusion stems from).

‘Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful; Reject what is not, add what is specifically your own’.

Simply said, be critical of your learning experience, try to find what works well for you (we all have different attributes, strengths and weaknesses), focus on those rather than those that don’t work so well for you.

The ‘adding’ does not mean look elsewhere and start adding other techniques etc. (you'd be going away from the aim of keeping things simple)  Rather look within, put in your own heart and soul, your own spirit and tenacity, and as Bruce Lee would say, ‘express yourselves honestly, as a human being, not lying to oneself’.  

Martial arts will lead to self-discovery, self-expression, self-confidence and all these elements will help tremendously in all other facets of life. 

Walk On!