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Martial arts are important when training a group for coherence and stability. Here We will show you Ju-Jitsu as well as Jeet-Kune Do . Well here goes nothin' The Secrets of Jujitsu A Complete Course in Self Defense Columbus, Georgia, 1920. By Captain Allan Corstorphin Smith, U.S.A. Winner of the Black Belt, Japan, 1916. Instructor of Hand-to-Hand Fighting, THE INFANTRY SCHOOL, Camp Benning, Columbus, Georgia and at United States Training Camps and Cantonments, 1917 and 1918. STAHARA PUBLISHING COMPANY FOREWORD Captain Smith, who has been employed as an instructor in Hand-to-Hand Fighting at The Infantry School, has performed an important service in preparing his series of books, "The Secrets of Jujitsu." It is, in my opinion, highly desirable that American Infantry be trained in all forms of personal combat that might be used against them. PAUL B. MALONE Colonel, Infantry Assistant Commandant HEADQUARTERS THE INFANTRY SCHOOL CAMP BENNING, GEORGIA JULY 30, 1920. JUJITSU IS BOTH SELF-DEFENSE AND MENTAL TRAINING Jujitsu as a means of self-defense will teach you to take care of yourself in dangerous situations whether armed or unarmed. It is a valuable study as it trains you to evade the impact of an opponent's strength and attack him at a point where he can bring only 20 per cent of his strength to bear. It teaches you to unbalance your opponent. Conversely it trains you to retain your own balance and to bring 100 percent of your strength to bear in every effort you make. A man trained in jujitsu will instinctively act on this principle in everything he does whether engaged in a physical contest or a mental one. A course of jujitsu therefore will leave its permanent mark on your mentality. It teaches you to retain your poise in the arena where the contests are physical, brawn against brawn, or in the public forum, where mind is pitted against mind, intellect against intellect. It has another and more immediate result in the resources of self-defense that will be at your immediate disposal whenever you are attacked, or whenever you go to the rescue of someone else. A strong man by its aid will be enabled to use his strength in a more workmanlike manner, and a weak man will be able to discount the superior strength of his adversary. A woman equipped with this science will no longer be at the mercy of a ruffian. She will furthermore retain her presence of mind and keep cool, in an emergency. THE COURSE CONSISTS OF: -- BOOK 1. An introductory course showing: That the secret of jujitsu is in the Stahara. How to use the Stahara. How to train the Stahara. (22 photos.) 2. Defense when a man attacks you by seizing you around waist. There are five tricks in this series, and they provide a splendid means of exercise. (18 photos.) Defense when a man attacks your throat. After mastering this lesson, the weakest woman will be safe from such an attack. (17 photos.) 3. Defense when opponent seizes your wrists. Teaching how to lever them out by the strength of your body. This lesson trains you to use your body as a whole. (26 photos.) 4. Defense when attacked from behind. By having your practice partner attack from behind, you master a series of tricks that will be useful in any situation of attack or defense. (34 photos.) 5. Defense when attacked by knife, club, pistol, kicks, etc. This lesson teaches you quick thinking and gives you presence of mind in an emergency. (44 photos.) 6. Taking prisoners, hammerlocks, and a number of tricks whereby the weaker man can get the stronger. These are intensely interesting tricks, most of them published for the first time. (49 photos.) 7. Three of the secret grips of Japan never yet published in any book, Japanese or otherwise. These tricks give you the power of life or death. The method of instruction allows them to be practised as an interesting pastime, and with absolute safety. (38 photos.) (TOTAL 248 photos.) LESSON 1. This lesson illustrates the principle of putting the strength of your whole body into everything you do instead of merely using the strength of the particular hand or arm which is immediately concerned in the operation. UPWARD WRIST ESCAPE Assailant seizes both your wrists with his thumbs above and his fingers below. (In practising this, at first, Assailant must "stay put." He knows what you are going to do but must not take advantage of his knowledge to lower his body also and thus prevent your escape. Afterwards you will be able to escape more quickly than he can prevent you.) Bring palms of your hands together. Step forward with one foot, lowering your body until the elbows are well bent and below his hands. Have your elbows in front of, and touching, your abdomen. With an upward and forward movement of your abdomen force your wrists up and out of his grasp, keeping your hands rigid. All this done in one motion and with great rapidity. Practise slowly at first to get the movement right. Compare each position you take with corresponding photograph. NOTE: In Fig. 1, the strength of your arms alone would not suffice to pull your wrists out of the grasp of a stronger man. Instead of trying to free your wrists by the strength of your arms, you force them out by the strength of the abdomen and the weight of the body. We will train you to use this principle in everything you do. It is called the principle of the Stahara. WHAT THE STAHARA IS The Stahara is the Abdominal Region. It includes the Diaphragm, the Abdominal Muscles, the Solar Plexus and the Center of Gravity. This course will train you not only to understand the Stahara principle but to act on it instinctively. You can then use your own strength better; you can handle other men better. This principle properly applied will instantly give you increased physical power. It will endow you with greater mental control and will give you a stronger personality. THE WEAKEST MAN'S STAHARA IS STRONGER THAN THE STRONGEST MAN'S ARM Always play the strength of your Stahara against the strength of your opponent's arm. This is simply the strategy of Napoleon who attacked the enemy's weakest point with all the force he could concentrate. Instead of memorizing this as an abstract principle, visualize it in the concrete instance of the simple trick exemplified on the preceding page. This is a typical example of how the Stahara principle enters into the execution of every trick in this course. The leverage the Stahara gives you in the previous trick is obvious, and easily applied. In other tricks it is not so obvious and the student may not see the connection at first between the Stahara and the trick. The connection is there, however, and it only requires to be discovered and applied. The system of teaching you to use your Stahara in the most obvious instances, at first, enables you to apply it in the less obvious cases. An increased ability to use your body in this way will come with the progressive practice of this course. The Stahara fully developed.. THE SECRET OF JUJITSU IS THE STAHARA The throws of jujitsu are achieved by the mechanical force of your center of gravity playing against opponent's center of gravity. The center of gravity is contained in the lower abdomen, therefore the proper disposition of your lower abdomen is the most important factor in any given trick. Conversely the object of your exertions against an opponent is to out-think his center of gravity, by maneuvering him into a position where his lower abdomen is off balance. An old Japanese master, mentioned in the chapter on "A demonstration in Pain-bearing" (which will follow in due course), told me once when I was very much discouraged at the progress was making, that Hyaku ii-yasushi Ichi ii-gatashi. Which, being interpreted, means: The hundred tricks are easy to learn But the one principle is difficult to learn. On asking him to be kind enough to impart this one principle to me, he informed me that that could only be acquired after years of practice. This elusive principle, which the Japanese professors make you search out for yourself, this course imparts from the start by means of Stahara training. HOW THE WORD "STAHARA" ORIGINATED When I commenced to teach jujitsu in Yokohama, Japan, in every trick I showed how to use the lower abdomen, and how to maneuver opponent's balance. My first pupils were Japanese friends, and lower abdomen to them was shita hara. Shita (pronounced sh'ta) and hara are two Japanese words meaning under or lower abdomen. The words shita hara mean to a Japanese what the words lower abdomen mean to us -- and nothing more. This word hara is the same word we meet in hara kiri -- abdomen cutting -- the Japanese method of suicide. Gradually as I evolved the idea of balance-control and abdominal power, I adopted the word shita-hara as a technical term for a new principle for which there was no name. When teaching the Doughboys, they called it "Stahara" and that is how it was finally written. It is an American word for an American idea. STA-HA-RA Sta -- pronounced as in star. ha -- pronounced as in harp. ra -- a has the same sound as in the first two syllables. Japanese teachers of jujitsu do not mention the Stahara when explaining a throw or trick to their disciples. They teach the use of the arms and legs, of the hips and shoulders, but do not show the principle of balance, which is the basis of the whole system. It is therefore an average of ten years before a student of jujitsu in Japan masters these throws. It takes that length of time to acquire the scientific way, in common parlance, to "get the knack" of doing the trick. Jujitsu is not done with strength of arm or leg and this inability to grasp the underlying principle is why it takes so long to master it. You must realize the importance of the Stahara. It is here the center of gravity lies. It is here the seat of the emotions lies. It is the most important part of the human body, and the most neglected. LESSON 2. This lesson teaches you how to make an opponent quit without injuring him. After mastering the principle of this lesson, two inexperienced men may proceed to practise all the tricks in this course any number of times, without injury or pain. The seven lessons taught in Book 1 are not meant to teach Fighting or Self-defence tricks. They merely aim to train you: How to use your body as a whole; How to keep your balance; How to practise effective holds with safety. Book 1 tries to convey those fine points of personal instruction which are usually lacking in a text book. If you "catch on" to these points you will be able to study the following six books just as effectively as if you had a teacher at your elbow all the time. The practical application of the Wrist Twist is given in Books 5 and 6. THE WRIST TWIST ORDINARY GRIP For the preliminary practice your opponent stands facing you holding up both hands with the backs toward you. Seize his right hand placing your thumbs on the back and your fingers on his palm. The first photo shows the hold made with the strength of the fingers and thumb only which is a weak method. STRONG GRIP Hold his hand not with finger and thumb only but with the palm and the third joint of the thumb. It is a sort of clinging grip, its power comes from the palm of the hand as well as the ends of thumbs and fingers. Experiment until you get it. TWISTING RIGHT WRIST Slowly pull his hand to your left twisting his wrist until you have him in this position. This will cause him considerable pain. Continue to twist his wrist, however, until the pain causes him to quit. When he is unable to bear it he will give the signal of defeat by tapping his left hand twice on his chest and you will instantly release him. TWISTING LEFT WRIST Take the same grip on his left hand and twist in the same way to your right, slowly, until he gives the signal of defeat. As you release each hand he returns to position fig. 4 for you to continue the practice. Repeat until you can seize either hand without hesitation and make him quit. Allow opponent to practise it the same number of times on you. MAKING AN OPPONENT QUIT Jujitsu matches are won by making the other man quit. The holds employed for this purpose are powerful enough to break a man's arm or leg, to choke him into unconsciousness, or even to break his neck. Strange as it may appear, however, jujitsu matches are absolutely free from injury to the contestants. This is because of the very scientific and skillful method of the opponents. An ordinary person who had not been shown the proper method of practising would apply the hold roughly with injurious results. Consequently he would never become expert because he could not get opponents to practise with; once would probably be enough for them. If on the other hand you simply apply them lightly and without using pressure you cannot be sure that you have mastered the trick. In this course the "Breaking Point" is always clearly demonstrated. You are shown the exact position into which the opponent must be maneuvered. You are taught to take opponent up to the "Breaking Point" without making him feel any pain. This is the Major Operation. Then apply pressure until he quits but so slowly that there is no danger of your going too far and injuring him in the slightest. This is the Minor Operation. You will start on the wrists and elbows and later on will graduate to his neck on which you will be able to apply the most effective holds with perfect safety. He must practise every grip on you that you may appreciate its effectiveness. It will also teach you temperance in giving pain as you wish your opponent to practise temperance towards you. THE SIGNAL OF DEFEAT The Signal of Defeat is given thus: If both hands are free, clap them together twice. If only one hand is free, clap some part of you opponent's body lightly twice so that he may feel it, or clap your own body twice, loudly enough for him to hear it. If both hands are imprisoned, stamp twice on the floor so that he may hear it. The Japanese sometimes give the signal of defeat by saying "maita" (pronounced like the English words my tar, said quickly), which means, "I quit." You may use the same words, or say, "Enough." When a chokehold is applied you will not have the power of speech and will find it necessary to give the hand signal. Thru their ability to make opponents quit without hurting them Japanese are able to indulge indefinitely in their otherwise dangerous practice. No man gives in while there is a chance of escape and there are ways of wriggling out of apparently fatal holds. But these grips can be held so that they give no pain and yet the slightest pressure will cause you enough pain to make you relinquish your struggles. In other words, you would know when opponent could break your arm, etc., without any great effort, and without your being able to prevent him. Having such holds repeatedly applied to the limit train you to an equanimity of temper. You feel no chagrin or disappointment, just as you expect your opponent to feel none when you turn the tables on him. In fact, in a five minutes bout in jujitsu each will have made the other quit several times and they will always keep smiling. THE LITTLE FINGER "COME-ALONG" The order given was: "On the command 'Forward MARCH' the captured men will try to escape. LESSON 3. This lesson gives further instruction in how to take bone-breaking grips on the opponent and control him without any danger of breaking his bones. � The Little Finger "Come-along." � Unbalance opponent the moment you grasp him, and keep him off balance until you have secured the grip. � The fascinating game of -- "Tickle my nose, if you can." � Growth of self-confidence. � The Major Operation. � The Minor Operation. � The more haste the less speed. � The escape from the Little Finger "Come-along." LITTLE FINGER "COME-ALONG" Standing on opponent's left side, seize him with your right hand just above his left elbow with your thumb round the other side of his arm. Step quickly behind him, unbalancing him towards you, thus preventing him striking you with his other hand. Slip your left hand, palm up, below his left hand, which is hanging palm down. Grasp his fourth and fifth fingers. Hold his wrist and his elbow pressed tightly against your Stahara. Keep your legs well apart and be well balanced. Bend his wrist at right-angles to his forearm, and his fingers at right angles to his wrist. Bring him onto his toes, off balance, by upward pressure on his fingers and march him around the room. Practise this hold with both hands. UNBALANCE OPPONENT THE MOMENT YOU GRASP HIM AND KEEP HIM OFF BALANCE UNTIL YOU HAVE SECURED THE GRIP Grasp opponent with right hand only as in fig. 8. Tell him to tickle your nose, and as he attempts to swing his right hand to your face, pull his left elbow towards you, thus unbalancing him to his left back corner. Notice in fig. 8 how, by unbalancing the opponent in this manner the threatening movement of his right hand has been checked. Try this experiment a number of times. Neither of you should move your feet at first. THE FASCINATING GAME OF -- "TICKLE MY NOSE, IF YOU CAN" You should play the game of "Tickle my nose" with each trick to make sure that you have mastered it. If opponent cannot tickle your nose, he would be unable to strike you. You can thus demonstrate to your own satisfaction that you have mastered each trick. The moment he withdraws his hand, relax the pressure. When he again attempts to raise it, apply fresh pressure. Do this with the minimum movement and the minimum pain and you will be able to make him quit whenever you wish without hurting him. GROWTH OF SELF-CONFIDENCE After holding a man helpless with the Little Finger grip you will experience a sudden rise in your morale. This is the psychological result of the discovery of physical powers you did not know you possessed. This is merely a foretaste of greater powers yet to come, and a still greater growth of confidence in yourself, which is a valuable factor in fighting the battle of life. THE MAJOR OPERATION Take the position of fig. 9, relax the pressure of your grip until he feels no pain. This can be done with a hardly perceptible movement. Anyone watching your hand and your opponent's hand would see no change of position. After a little practice you will be able to grasp opponent and instantly secure the grip up to the point where you have "got" him but without his feeling any pain, as yet. THE MINOR OPERATION Tell opponent to raise his right hand slowly and attempt to tickle your nose. As he raises it, slowly apply the pressure and you will check his attempted move. Do not apply more pressure than is necessary to check him. MASTERING THE COURSE WITHOUT AN INSTRUCTOR Two absolutely inexperienced men or women can easily master the entire course without a teacher if they will observe the following rule: Alternately take the role of victim and unresistingly allow each trick to be practised on you, and in turn practise it on your partner until you have mastered both the Major and Minor Operations. This will safeguard you against injuries and will reduce the time necessary for each trick. In more advanced practice you may execute the Major operation with full speed and strength but the Minor operation is always performed gently and with the minimum of movement. It may be suggested that you go thru the entire course once before you try any practise for speed. THE MORE HASTE THE LESS SPEED In jujitsu demonstrations I have frequently allowed a man to attack my throat with his thumbs on my windpipe and to do his utmost to choke me and have instantly secured a lock on his arm and held him powerless, but without hurting him. Frequently some enthusiastic member of the audience will try a similar grip on the arm of a friend but will nearly break his arm, with the result that his friend will absolutely refuse to practise any more. Now, if these young men had waited until they were shown what part of the trick to take swiftly and what part to do slowly, they would have been able to practise with a great deal of profit and pleasure. They would have been able to continue that practice until they were really efficient without any danger to their limbs. So you must analyze every trick into its two operations -- Major and Minor, and while you take the first one quickly, take the second one slowly. Altho you divide them mentally there will be no pause between them; they will both appear to be one swift movement. You must try each trick very gently to find out where the Major operation ends and the Minor operation begins. THE ESCAPE FROM LITTLE FINGER "COME-ALONG" If assailant omits to imprison your forearm tightly between his hands and his Stahara and merely holds you with the strength of his hands -- Swing right shoulder and elbow upwards, making the effort from the Stahara, dropping our left shoulder and if necessary striking him in pit of stomach with left fist. This method of escape evades the pain of the grip. If he holds you tightly against his Stahara and keeps the pressure on your fingers there is no escape. In actual combat it might be necessary to break an enemy's finger, but this ability to "treat 'em rough" is best acquired by careful practice in which you avoid injuring one another. LESSON 4. This lesson gives you an example of maneuvering opponent's hand to such a position that it becomes relatively weak. You are then taught the principle it embodies. You will apply this principle to every hold you practise. KNOWLEDGE CONQUERS STRENGTH The underlying principle in this lesson is: In each trick get your opponent so that he can resist you with only 20 percent of his strength And conversely Use your body so that you are exerting 100 percent of your strength at the point where he is opposing only 20 percent of his. A little practice of this experiment will teach you to act automatically on this principle in all tricks. In order not to hurt one another's wrists do this practice slowly but firmly. The value of this exercise lies not in the intrinsic merit of the wrist-twist as a fighting trick but in enabling you to apply this principle in your future practice, automatically, without having to try to remember it. |
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THE SCIENCE OF FOOTWORK The JKD key to defeating any attack By: Ted Wong "The essence of fighting is the art of moving."- Bruce Lee Bruce Lee E-Paper - II Published by - The Wrong Brothers Click Here to Visit our Home page Email - [email protected] Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Terminology Chinese Name English Translation 1) Lee Jun Fan Bruce Lee's Chinese Name 2) Jeet Kune Do Way of the Intercepting Fist 3) Yu-Bay! Ready! 4) Gin Lai Salute 5) Bai Jong Ready Position 6) Kwoon School or Academy 7) Si-jo Founder of System (Bruce Lee) 8) Si-gung Your Instructor's Instructor 9) Si-fu Your Instructor 10) Si-hing Your senior, older brother 11) Si-dai Your junior or younger brother 12) Si-bak Instructor's senior 13) Si-sook Instructor's junior 14) To-dai Student 15) Toe-suen Student's Student 16) Phon-Sao Trapping Hands 17) Pak sao Slapping Hand 18) Lop sao Pulling Hand 19) Jut sao Jerking Hand 20) Jao sao Running Hand 21) Huen sao Circling Hand 22) Boang sao Deflecting Hand (elbow up) 23) Fook sao Horizontal Deflecting Arm 24) Maun sao Inquisitive Hand (Gum Sao) 25) Gum sao Covering, Pressing Hand, Forearm 26) Tan sao Palm Up Deflecting Hand 27) Ha pak Low Slap 28) Ouy ha pak Outside Low Slap Cover 29) Loy ha pak Inside Low Slap Cover 30) Ha o'ou sao Low Outside Hooking Hand 31) Woang pak High Cross Slap 32) Goang sao Low Outer Wrist Block 33) Ha da Low Hit 34) Jung da Middle Hit 35) Go da High Hit 36) Bil-Jee Thrusting fingers (finger jab) 37) Jik chung choi Straight Blast (Battle Punch) 38) Chung choi Vertical Fist 39) Gua choi Back Fist 40) Ping choi Horizontal Fist 41) Chop choi Knuckle Fist 42) Saat Knee 43) Jang Elbow 44) Kow Tao Head Butt 45) No'ou tek Hook Kick (Roundhouse Kick) 46) Juk tek Side Kick 47) Hou tek Back Kick 48) Hou juk tek Back-Side Kick 49) Juen tek Spin Kick 50) Dum tek Foot Stomp 51) Gua tek Inverted Hook Kick 52) Jeet Tek Stop Kick 53) Jik tek Straight Kick 54) So tek Sweeping Kick 55) Chi sao Sticky Hands Exercise 56) Tan sao Palm Up Deflecting Hand Of the many things my late Sifu Bruce Lee impressed upon me, the most important was the need to be fluidly mobile. Probably the most important component in JFJKD is footwork. Ironically, most of the martial artists I see practicing today, and this is by no means addressed only to amateurs or beginners are neglecting their footwork which is unfortunate, owing to the fact that footwork is, quite simply, the science of motion. To me, the more I learn about JFJKD, the more I see the scope of just how important footwork truly is. Please don't think I'm overstating things when I say that footwork is, in a word, "everything" in JFJKD. Take another look at the quote of Bruce Lee's that I opened this E-Paper with, I mean really think about it. "The essence of fighting is the art of moving," and moving is footwork. The principles of movement form the very heart of combat. Footwork means mobility, and being mobile is strongly emphasized in Bruce Lee's art. The two chief things that proper footwork provides for the martial artist is a means of finding a target and a means to avoid being a target. It will beat any punch or kick and get you to where you want to go; whether in for a strike or the hell out of harm's way. Bruce Lee once said that the four components of footwork consisted of: 1. The sensitivity of your opponent's aura, 2. Aliveness and naturalness, 3. Instinctive pacing (distance), 4. A balanced position at the start and finish. It should be obvious that you cannot use your hands or legs effectively until your feet have put you into position in which you can do so, if you are slow on your feet, you will be slow with your punches and kicks. Good footwork allows you to hit from any angle and also to follow up your initial attack with more powerful finishing blows. Footwork, in short, "gets you there and gets you out." Another important tool in JFJKD is learning how to correctly judge distance, which Bruce Lee referred to as "the fighting measure," which is simply another way of saying, "distance." It's very important to know to judge distance because distance is the relationship between you and your opponent. It all depends on the length on the distance you need to bridge or close between you and your opponent and also your opponent's reaction speed. Bruce's main emphasis was always footwork. He told me that "Good footwork can beat any attack." And he used to have me drill constantly on footwork, in an effort to get me to improve my balance. He wanted me to be able to glide in and out, throwing techniques from all angles after coming into various ranges through footwork. And, of course, he emphasized the avoiding of attacks through footwork. Without footwork, you cannot complete the task of fighting with any degree of efficiency. Footwork is purposeful movement Many people think of footwork as some sort of bouncing movement, but the one thing Bruce Lee stressed to all of his students was never to move for the sake of moving, and not to bounce simply for the sake of bouncing. Bruce didn't bounce around much when he was sparring; he was very controlled and motionless, until he saw an opening. And by then you were flat on your back. Every move you make should be purposeful; it should be done to either deliver a hit, to move into position to deliver a hit, or to move out of the range of being on the receiving end of your opponent's hit. The key to success in footwork is to keep it simple. If you aim toward simplification, rather than complex or intricate foot patterns, which more resemble dance patterns than efficiency, your footwork will be smooth, direct and efficient. If you use economy of motion, you will always be relaxed, which is crucial to your reaction time and to the speed of your attacks, defenses and counter-attacks. Another great benefit to proper JFJKD footwork is the fact that it provides you with a means by which you can employ the force of inertia, which, properly applied, can tremendously boost your punching / kicking power. These are some of the reasons that footwork seems to me so important. Footwork also serves to enhance your body alignment, which makes your leverage more favorable and your strikes more devastating. Another aspect of combat that is enhanced by proper footwork is speed. I mean footwork is what gets you there to deliver your technique, and out of there, before your opponent can deliver his. Footwork is not only used to deliver techniques or avoid techniques, but also to set up techniques. It's part of strategy, a form of P.I.A. (Progressive Indirect Attack). It can lure your opponent in to a trap, allow you to gain the proper fighting measure and also bridge the gap to your opponent. Good footwork accomplishes all of these things. I liken good footwork to operating a four-wheel drive. Most people only utilize a two-wheel drive; that is, they're limited as to what techniques they can throw because they're really only comfortable in their two-wheel drive mode. However, once you learn on the options that avail themselves to you with increased mobility, you realize that footwork is an option provider. While some people mistakenly consider to be merely bouncing around like Muhammad Ali or Sugar Ray Leonard, others equally as mistaken, think of footwork as simply something that moves you in to hit your opponent, without realizing that it's just as important in preventing your opponent from hitting you. In Thai Boxing, for example, you see a lot of "give and take", wherein one fighter will whack his opponent and then stay there and get hit back by his opponent. Such back-and-forth exchanges are common place, and quite often the winner is the one with the highest pain threshold. In JFJKD, however, the bottom line is to hit your opponent, and not get hit back. JFJKD teaches one how to be a thinking fighter. A smart fighter. Nobody should opt to get hit particularly when you can substantially reduce the chances of that happening by employing proper footwork. The four basic types of footwork Basically there are only four types of footwork, the rests being simply variations on these four. The four basic types of footwork are advancing, retreating, circle left and circle right. Incidentally, "circling," as I use the term here, means," sidestepping." First things first - Stance (On-Guard Position) All footwork is initiated form the On-Guard Position which is also known as the "Ready Position." The On-Guard is the most versatile of stances because it allows you to be ready for all things, attack or defense instantly. It's a geared position that is geared for mobility. You have to feel very comfortable in the On-Guard. If you're not comfortable in the On-Guard Position then there is something wrong. You have to feel comfortable at all times so that you are able to react instantly. If you are tense, that is not comfortable , you're not able to react quickly. You need to be so relaxed that whatever happens, you respond to it instantaneously, whether it be the need to immediately advance, retreat or side step an attack. That's why the On- Guard Position has been called the "Anchor of JFJKD", for all techniques flow from it. The On-Guard is the best way to move straight back, forward or to the side. You're not over committed one way or the other. The On-Guard places your strongest side forward, which, in JFJKD is typically your right side, with your strongest hand lifted up so that your fist is in line with your shoulder. Your chin and shoulder should meet about halfway, with the right shoulder raised an inch or two and the chin dropped about the same distance. The right side of your chin should be tucked into your lead shoulder. Your left hand is also in close, to protect your midsection. Your right hand is your attack weapon so it should cocked and ready to fire. The right shoulder is slightly raised and your chin slightly lowered in order to protect your chin and jaw from strikes. The right knee is turned slightly to defend your groin area and your right foot should be rotated in roughly 25 degrees so that, if necessary, you can employ it as a kicking weapon. Your left foot should be angled at approximately 45 degrees. The heel is raised because it is your sparkplug, ready to ignite you forward, backward or sideways, and depending whatever besets you. Your stance should be like a car with its engine idling; you're ready to go, with as much power as you need, as soon as you engage the transmission, which in this case, is your legs and hips. Now that you're ready to move, let's look at some of your options. Correct On-Guard Position Too Wide Too Narrow ADVANCING: Step & Slide The Step & Slide is used primarily as a Gap-Bridger. It is not utilized typically to execute an offensive technique. However, it is very effective in gauging and obtaining correct distance from which to launch a strike. You take a step forward and your rear foot (left) slides up to where the right foot was. Typically your step forward does not exceed six inches, which means that your rear foot travels a maximum of six inches as well. The weight distribution in the start and finish position is 50-50, with 50% being on your right or lead foot and 50% on your left or rear foot. However, during the movement, all your bodyweight is moving forward |
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