JKD Secrets by Jerry Poteet

I first met Bruce Lee in 1964. At the time, I was one of Ed Parkers top kenpo !ack e!ts, and I had accompanied him to "an #rancisco to arran$e the first Internationa! %arate &hampionship. 'hi!e we were there, we decided to (isit )ames Lee in near * +ak!and, &a!ifornia. ,is rother, Bruce, was sta*in$ with him. )ames had a wooden dumm*, and whi!e we a!! stood around socia!i-in$, Bruce wa!ked o(er and sudden!* started hittin$ it. ,e e.p!oded !ike a machine $un, and the power of his !ows shook the house to its foundation. After e(er*one e!se acked awa*, I approached the dumm*. E(en when I put a!! m* wei$ht into mo(in$ it, it didnt ud$e. I wondered, 'ho is this !itt!e $u* who can $enerate so much power/ I cou!dnt wait to train with him. Less than two *ears !ater, I ecame Lees second student at his schoo! in Los An$e!es. ,e remained m* teacher unti! he went to ,on$ %on$ to make mo(ies at the end of the 1960s. 1he fi$htin$ techni2ues and strate$ies I !earned durin$ that time were in(a!ua !e. Throw the First Punch +ne da*, after fi(e of us had finished a session with Lee, he !urted out, 3)eet kune do is an offensi(e art rather than a defensi(e one.3 I was start!ed and confused * his dec!aration. 34o *ou mean,3 I asked, 3that we shou!d throw the first punch/3 Lee shook his head. ,e e.p!ained that the )%4 practitioner must strike whi!e the opponent is preparin$ to attack or when he indicates his intention to attack. 5oticin$ the perp!e.ed !ook on m* face, Lee motioned for me to come forward so he cou!d demonstrate the princip!e. ,e had me cham er m* fist to de!i(er a rear punch, and as I drew ack, he hit me. ,e then instructed me not to te!e$raph m* techni2ues. 3)ust assume the posture *ou wou!d e in prior to throwin$ the punch,3 he said. I decided to tr* a$ain. I shifted m* wei$ht from one foot to the other and c!enched m* fists. +nce a$ain, he hit me. 31his time, I intercepted *our attitude,3 he said. Lee e.p!ained that *ou shou!d a!wa*s stri(e to intercept *our opponents attack efore he !aunches it6or at the (er* !atest, whi!e hes doin$ it. Interceptin$ is the 7eet in 7eet kune do, he said. "ad!*, this princip!e and the trainin$ methods needed to master it are rare toda*. I sometimes see )%4 practitioners wait for their opponent to attack efore counterin$ the techni2ue. And at that point, its often too !ate. 1o fu!!* appreciate this concept, which I ca!! A1A, or attack8the8attack, ima$ine a!!owin$ an assai!ant to shoot at *ou efore startin$ to defend *ourse!f. 9ou ma* $et !uck* and a(oid the u!!et, then e a !e to incapacitate him. 1hen a$ain, *ou ma* end up dead. 5ot on!* does this passi(e fi$htin$ strate$* (io!ate the cornerstone princip!e of 7eet kune do, which is to a!wa*s intercept the attack, it a!so puts *ou at !east a fu!! eat ehind *our opponent. :n!ess *oure !essed with superhuman speed and are facin$ an unski!!ed opponent, this is an unwise course of action ecause *oure forced to p!a* catch8up.

;5ote, howe(er, that its accepta !e to use a passi(e mo(e to attack * drawin$ as *ou 7ocke* around *our opponent to find a position to score.< 1he $oa! of 7eet kune do is to c!ose the distance etween *ourse!f and *our opponent and smother his attack with *our own. It isnt comp!icated, ut it re2uires a hi$h !e(e! of (isua! and tacti!e awareness to master. Open Your Eyes =isua! awareness faci!itates medium8 and !on$8ran$e fi$htin$. It re2uires *ou to e aware of e(er* $esture or motion *our opponent makes, such as shiftin$ his wei$ht from one foot to the other, endin$ his knees or drawin$ his hand ack. Accordin$ to Lee, an* of those mo(ements can e precursors to an assau!t. If *ou can see what he intends to do, *ou can head him off at the pass. #urthermore, *ou wont e distracted * an a$$ressor who feints or tries to nai! *ou with a sucker punch. :nfortunate!*, man* martia! artists fai! to train to impro(e their (isua! awareness. E(en practitioners with e.treme!* fast kicks and punches often $et ested * a s!ower opponent ecause the* !ack (isua! speed, and the*re too s!ow to react to him, !et a!one intercept his strikes. 1o he!p us de(e!op (isua! awareness, Lee wou!d stand in front of the c!ass and make a (ariet* of $estures. E(er* time he mo(ed, we had to sa*, 3+oh.3 At first, his mo(ements were o (ious6such as a punch or kick6 ut o(er time, the* ecame more su t!e6!ike a shift in a!ance or a twitch of a fin$er. 'e !earned to ecome aware of e(en the s!i$htest motion our opponent made, and that ser(ed as our cue to intercept the incomin$ techni2ue. "ince e(er* od* te!e$raphs his attack, Lee to!d us, the a i!it* to spot these motions can keep a martia! artist at !east a ha!f eat ahead of his opponent. See With Your Hands Another important component of the A1A princip!e is tacti!e awareness, or touch. :ti!i-ed at c!ose8contact ran$e, it refers to the pressure that de(e!ops as the other person attacks *ou and to *our a i!it* to use it to find an openin$ in his defenses. 1he uncann* a i!it* of Lee and other ski!!ed )%4 practitioners to emp!o* this method to detect and stop an assau!t in its tracks can make them seem ps*chic. Lee ad(ocated chi sao ;stick* hands< dri!!s to make tacti!e awareness more ref!e.i(e. "uch trainin$ is done primari!* * crossin$ hands with *our opponent so *ou !earn what happens if *ou e.ert too much or too !itt!e pressure. 3In the softness, *ou want to $i(e without *ie!din$,3 Lee wou!d sa*. 3,ardness is !ike stee! that is hidden in si!k.3 If *oure too stron$, the other person wi!! disso!(e his mo(ement and attack. If *oure too soft, he!! run ri$ht o(er *ou. >an* other fi$htin$ st*!es, inc!udin$ ?reco8@oman wrest!in$, emp!o* simi!ar sensiti(it* dri!!s. 'hi!e this trainin$ method has $reat imp!ications for neutra!i-in$ $rapp!in$ attacks, *ou shou!d ne(er !et ski!! in it con(ince *ou to p!a* the $rapp!ers $ame and (o!untari!* $o to the $round. As he tries to c!ose the distance and $ra *our !e$s to take *ou down or $et *ou in a !ock, *ou shou!d stop his ons!au$ht with a strai$ht !ast.

"ensiti(it* dri!!s are a!so a stap!e of o!d8time o.in$, and the* form the core of )%4s modified o.in$ techni2ues. 9ou shou!d practice !ockin$ and parr*in$ 7a s and com inations to $et used to them. As *ou ecome more ad(anced, howe(er, *ou shou!d tr* to intercept *our partners 7a and cut throu$h his !ock with *our own6in true 7eet kune do fashion. Enjoy the Ad anta!es As *ou can see, the A1A princip!e can e used a$ainst an* t*pe of offense. #or e.amp!e, if an assai!ant attempts a punch or kick, *ou can intercept his techni2ue with *our own attack. If he tries to take *ou down, *ou can hit him or kick him efore he succeeds. 4ont waste precious time !ockin$, parr*in$ and s!ippin$ when *ou can eat him to the punch. 'hen Bruce Lee named his art the 3wa* of the interceptin$ fist,3 he meant it. And who are we to ar$ue with the master/