Cornerstone Jeet Kune Do

We live in a nation of laws. And the laws governing self-defense say that a favorite MMA tactic, ground and pound, isn’t self-defense. It’s assault. Be careful what you train because you have to have a legal and moral reason for everything you do if you’re ever in a fight. In this clip from an interview with Sifu Tony, my Wing Chun instructor, he tells you what, as a former police officer, he thinks of MMA. It’s worth a listen.

Sparring is a tool in our JKD training, not the goal of it. That means we should use it to get the qualities we need. Sparring should be monitored and goal directed. You can work in one session on the leading hand and foot against boxing, or against a striker and grappler. You can just go jab vs. jab. You can isolate evasion and head movement…or parry and counter. You get the idea. You don’t have to do everything in one session. That’s like trying to work out every body part all the time. What you don’t want is guys getting into firefights. Ego and temperament need to be checked and monitored.

People talk about sparring all the time. The problem is that sparring, like everything else, must be defined. It’s a drill. A tool. It’s not, nor should it be confused with all-out fighting. If you don’t understand that then you either eschew sparring altogether or see it as the goal of JKD, which it isn’t. Properly understood, we use sparring in JKD carefully. Like in this video, Rob and David are working on using and defending the jab. The emphasis is on control, range, and defense.

Sorry for such terrible footage but I wanted to share some training from 1997 at my very, very small school. Sifu Lamar Davis was teaching what he does best - trapping! He taught for four days, covering the JKD system. There’s probably no one in the world who has more knowledge of each step of Sijo Bruce’s martial journey than Sifu Lamar Davis! Seattle? He’s got it. Oakland? He’s got that too. Los Angelas Chinatown? Yep. He’s an encyclopedia of Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. When we weren’t training we headed over to nearby Haywood Mall and assaulted the “No Fear” store that was there at the time. That’s where I bought the tank top I’m wearing in the video. Sifu Lamar just loved their stuff. We stopped in a place called “Spencer Gifts” and laughed so hard about all the junk in there that my abs were sore later. One of the great blessings has been not just the learning and training but the friendships too!

Anyway, this is a much younger me training with big Bill and an equally young Rusty as Sifu Lamar looks on with his careful and educated eye. Great times! All these years have passed between now and then and I’m grateful for it all. Hope you are too. 🙏

Under pressure we don’t rise to the level of our challenge, we sink to the level of our discipline. That’s why we have to train and train and train.

There’s no way to develop an iron eye. That’s why JKD is all about the eye-jab. It’s the longest and fastest hand tool you have. Practice it. And practice. And practice some more.

The idea of the Jeet is deep. It’s not just the stop-hit, but the philosophy in action of “cutting off” the enemy. It’s about control and generalship. It’s all about making sure we avoid a “high risk exchange” and brawling. Study of counters, feints, draws, and traps are the goal so that we don’t simply copy what Bruce Lee did, but truly understand it and can perform it for ourselves.

Sport leakage is all over the place. Stay focused. JKD wants to end matters as safely and expeditiously as possible for you, the defender. And nothing is better for that than the leading eye jab.

Self-defense isn’t about ego or competition. The eye jab is primary thing because it levels the playing field in a hurry. It simplifies everything.