Jeet Kune Do Fundamentals & Concepts

In JKD, we learn that a proper athletic stance typically consists of a "coiled" body position almost as if you have bad posture with the back slouched over and the shoulders slightly raised. It is a semi-crouched posture. When developing his on-guard stance, Bruce maintained a "natural step" between his feet. This helps determine if your feet are too close or too far from each other. Generally, one should not cross his/her feet as this makes it much easier to be pushed over or knocked off balance, but there are certain footwork movements that make this more economical.

The JKD by-jong stance is designed to be the optimal stance from which to mount the most efficient and effective offense and defense. You should be completely at ease in this position and yet be ready to react quickly. The goal is to be soft without yielding, firm, but not stiff. In addition, the by-jong allows you to maintain a position that does not give away your intention. 

The function of footwork is to control distance to find the target while avoiding becoming one yourself. We do this by using the "fighting measure." The fighting measure is a JKD concept by which we measure ourselves from our opponent. Ideally, you want to be just outside of the reach of his longest weapon (a rear leg low hook kick). This distance allows you to have more time to see his advance and to intercept.

Bruce called the straight lead punch "the backbone" of all punching in Jeet Kune Do and indeed it is. It is a longer punch compared to the jab and delivers more power. It is really the signature punch of JKD and our primary hand tool used to intercept.

The JKD straight lead is initiated from the rear foot. The ball of the rear foot pushes into the ground and pivots so that the toes turn away from your opponent. This pushing of the rear foot accelerates your mass forward onto your lead leg which serves as an anchor for the punch. The pivot also functions to rotate the hips into the punch. As the hips rotate, the punch drives straight forward from its resting position. After completion of this lesson, you should be able to understand the mechanics of the punch and perform it. Over time, as you practice, you should develop speed, accuracy, and power.

The vertical hook kick is essentially our groin kick. Here, we're executing it from the lead leg as the lead leg tends to be closer to the target. With footwork, this kick can be used while advancing.

We typically use the vertical hook kick with the pendulum step or slide step/shuffle. From our by-jong, the rear foot slides up so that our body weight can be supported by the rear leg without moving back to meet the leg and telegraph the attack. As the rear leg slides up, the lead leg begins to kick by sliding up with a partial bend in the knee. The kicking knee should not pre-bend or bend back more prior to kicking. It should be already bent in your by-jong and maintains that bend until full extension in the kick. Don't lock your knee or put too much pressure on your knee as you kick and recover the kick back to your stance. After completing this lesson, you should be able to understand and execute the JKD vertical hook kick. Take your time learning this kick to develop the proper mechanics and form.