Students should not be allowed to practice the drill at higher speeds until they are familiar with it and can perform it proficiently.
Training partners should cooperate with each other to ensure that each one is learning and not getting hurt. If one partner is running through a drill too quickly, or employing too much power, the other partner should respectfully ask him or her to slow down to a more comfortable pace. If you believe that your partner is not paying sufficient attention to your safety, then you should stop to consult with the instructor or seek a different partner.
Students need to take responsibility for their own safety, as well as that of other students. Often, you just need to exercise some common sense. For instance, if you think that a particular drill, technique, or exercise would be too dangerous for you, you should refrain from doing it. While Jeet Kune Do training is intended to be challenging, you need to be mindful of your own limitations, given your age, level of fitness, flexibility, conditioning, and so forth. You should make sure that you properly warm up and stretch to ensure that your muscles are prepared for training. Cold muscles are more apt to be injured during a workout.
In sparring the risk of injury is higher. You should not engage in sparring until you have developed your tools and can exercise control. Injuries can occur in sparring when students spar too soon, before they have established good control over their bodies. Often students who are inexperienced will let their egos get in the way, and the sparring match becomes a brawl. In such instances students are no longer mindful of each other’s safety, but simply want to get the better of their partner.
In summary, safety is everyone’s responsibility. Instructors and students must work together to maintain an atmosphere of respect and learning, so that everyone leaves in better condition than when they arrived.
part 3
learning the basics
B EFORE A PERSON CAN RUN, he or she must first learn to stand and to walk. In Jeet Kune Do students cannot effectively execute the more advanced elements, such as the ways of attack, as well as defenses and counterattacks, until they initially learn the basics. Students have to work on the proper way to stand and to move. In addition, they must begin to develop the tools of the trade, namely, the elementary punches, kicks, and other strikes that they will use in fighting.
The fundamentals of Jeet Kune Do will be examined in the next few chapters. We will look at the essential structure of the bai-jong stance, as well as the footwork and mobility that one needs to move in a combat situation. Also, we will closely examine the various upper- and lower-body tools that must be trained so that a student can strike effectively. Finally, some of the basic grappling maneuvers that Bruce Lee researched and incorporated into his fighting method will be discussed.
E ACH COMPONENT in Jeet Kune Do is designed to successfully implement the principles of the art. Fundamentally, a proper stance is needed in order to move and to execute the various techniques with speed, power, and precision. Just as other martial arts systems have stances that support the performance of those systems, Jeet Kune Do has a distinctive stance that works with its own method. Bruce Lee carefully thought about the functional capabilities needed when he came up with what is commonly called the bai-jong, also known as the “on guard” or “ready” stance (see Figure 8-1).
When Lee first arrived in the United States from Hong Kong, he was still steeped in the Wing Chun system, which has a forward-facing stance that allows for use of both arms. Over the years, as Lee researched and incorporated other techniques and methods, he modified this stance in order to allow for farther-reaching kicks and punches, as well as greater mobility. These capabilities were not needed in the tight quarters of Hong Kong, but they were quite useful in the wider, open spaces of the United States.
So the bai-jong grew out of necessity, resulting from Lee’s response to changing needs and circumstances. Lee designed the stance to provide for stability and mobility. He wanted to be able to easily evade an opponent’s strikes, as well as to advance quickly when attacking. The arts of Western boxing and fencing influenced the baijong’s hand and foot positions. Lee placed the front and rear hands up as a boxer would, to protect the head and facilitate medium-range punching. He set the feet apart in a way that allows a person to move back and forth and laterally with quickness, like a fencer. Lee placed the stronger side forward, toward the opponent, to promote striking with the lead hand and kicking with the lead foot, much as a fencer places the foil in front. These positions also allow one to protect the centerline and minimize the amount of body exposed to an opponent’s attack.
The principle of placing one’s stronger side forward dictates that right-handed people will put their right side forward toward an opponent, while left-handed people will do the opposite. Here is an easy way to move into the bai-jong stance from a natural standing position: First, put both feet together, facing forward. Then, assuming that you are right-handed, turn your left foot outward about eighty degrees. Take a forward step with your right foot until your feet are about shoulders’ width apart. Those with shorter legs may want to place their feet slightly closer than this, while those with longer legs may want to position their feet a little farther apart than this. Your knees should be slightly bent so that you are in a slightly crouched position, known as the small phasic bent-knee position. This helps your stance to be more stable and grounded when you are momentarily poised between actions. The idea is to achieve a comfortable stance that gives you stability, but also allows you to move freely. The weight should be distributed almost evenly between your feet, so that you feel balanced. As you move, you should maintain a balanced feel so that you are not leaning heavily forward or back, or to the left or right. Although your weight shifts when you execute a particular technique, you will resume a state of equilibrium when you return to the bai-jong.
Your rear foot should not be directly in line behind your front foot. If you draw an imaginary line along the inner side of your front foot, the back of your rear foot should fall just outside that line. The front heel should be turned out slightly, which turns your front knee in so that it protects your groin. Because the front leg is nearer to your opponent, it will do the majority of the kicking and knee strikes. Having the front leg and rear leg positioned in this manner will also facilitate rapid footwork.
Your rear heel should be raised in a cocked position, about 1 to 11⁄2 inches off the ground. This serves several purposes. First, it provides some cushion, allowing you to sink down on your heel and sway your upper body back without moving your feet, if an opponent throws a punch or a high kick at you. Second, with the heel up, you can push off your rear foot for faster footwork and drive. Third, you can move your body weight more powerfully into your punches.
If you are right-handed, your right hand should be in the lead position, facing your opponent. This is because your front hand will do most of the striking and intercepting. Your front arm will be held with the elbow down vertically, about two inches from the ribs. This is known as the immovable elbow position, carried over from Lee’s Wing Chun training. When your elbow is down in this way, your forearm will be able to protect your solar plexus and your ribs. The front hand does not remain in a static position, but should move around in small, circular motions between your lead shoulder and your waist. Sometimes the front hand is up, and sometimes it is down. However, it should not be held so high that it obstructs your vision. Also, it should not be held too close to your body,