Guy_Who_Fights

Remember, all those past masters are considered great because they changed the then current traditions, evolving the martial art. To stick to their way of doing things is to be exactly who they were considered great for not being. Their true teachings were not in their techniques, but in what they saught - the evolution of martial art.

Bruce was actually in WC for quite a while. But you don't have to eat an entire pizza to discover it tastes bad. The reason Bruce left WC was because it was a style. By definition a style has a certain set of rules. These "rules" are synonymous to "restrictions". Argue all you want guys, you can't say that WC, despite its usefullness, does not have restrictions. Jeet Kune Do, on the other hand, is a lack of style. Unfortunately most people misinterpret his teachings. He stressed that JKD was just a name and meant nothing. True martial art comes from total and true self-expression. Self-expression is hindered by any restrictions (don't confuse getting used to a style with that style being a 100% true expression of yourself. I won't get into my debate on that...). Therefore, in order to study true martial art (your personal art) and not a martial style, you must allow for complete expression without restrictions. Bruce realized the restrictions of any style (WC just happened to be what he was studying at the time) would not allow him to fully express himself. That is why the Chinese characters around the JKD symbol translate into "No Way as Way. No limitations as limitations." Bruce never taught a way of fighting, he explained many times that he only taught someone how to express themselves through martial art. Whatever their expression turned out to be was up to them.

It is always the strike that isn't seen/expected that knocks someone out. And if that's not the case, it was the one not seen that hurt them, setting up the knockout. A tough guy can take a punch if he sees it coming, but just as in the example on the first page about the little guy taking down the 6'6" guy with one punch - he didn't see it coming and the tough guy paid for it.

Long time fan of Irish Micky Ward. Not the greatest fighter of all time, but he always showed up to a fight in amazing condition (some of the most defined lats in boxing), had solid basics, and fought with more heart in one match than most boxers express in their careers. Also, he never held out because he wanted more money, like Hopkins and Jones. One of the nicest boxers and only made good money on the last 3 fights of his career. I can only hope to someday fight with half the heart he did.

Whether people like to admit it or not, using a rolling pin (or anyother piece of wood - I use a tonfa) to strike the shins will cause your body to adapt. Simply laws of adaptation have proven that if you give the body a stimulus, it will adapt to that stimulus. Hence you build muscle by using it more than you would in everyday life. Striking the shins with a piece of wood will cause the bone to become harder as well as deaden the nerves. Only rolling the wood along the shin will mainly just deaden nerves. Whether anyone does this or not is their choice, but it is science fact that it works. Good luck.

Don't give up, Rich! It is easier to learn from books and taped if you have experience, so attending classes anywhere will increase the quality of your Muay Thai training. Regardless of whether or not you do that, the most important thing for you to do is get some pads and a friend and spar! In my experience teaching people, the beginner who spars will learn more and faster than the beginner who doesn't spar. This is true in any case. And make sure to use light or medium contact. Full contact is too much when trying to learn as much as you are, and no contact will slow your learning because there are certain things like slipping punches that don't work without contact. Keep up your motivation and get a friend, no matter what anyone says, it's better than nothing, right? Good luck!

A jab can be very difficult to get by if your opponent knows how to use it. Keeping your hands up is not the trick at all because a good boxer will actually stop you in your tracks with their jab. I am 5'9" myself and regularly spar with a guy who is 6'5". Here are my tips (minus what has aleardy been mentioned) on how to best get in. These are geared towards times when you have a great height difference such as in my case. 1. When fighting someone of similar height to yourself, you are able to stay just out of punching range and enter the range to strike. A taller opponent has a much greater range than you. If you stay out of their range and enter to strike, you will still be out of your range by the end of your lunge. Taking mutliple steps to get in takes too long and should not work against a decent opponent. Therefore, when at a great height disadvantage, stay within your opponent's punching range, but still just outside of yours. Staying outside of your own punching range means that you are only within range for your opponent to throw jabs and crosses without advancing. Rely on a solid defense to perry all of the jabs, and when the cross comes, perry/slip it and lunge in. Entering off of a jab may result in you getting caught with a good cross and taking a fall. If your opponent advances before you do, to throw a hook or uppercut, advance yourself simultaneously. 2. When you go in, forget striking the head! The distance from you to your taller opponent's head is greater than the distance from you to your taller opponent's body. Since you are trying to overcome the distance caused by the taller opponent, don't add to the problem by going for the more distant target right away. Go for the body. Anyone with boxing experience knows that body shots hurt! After at least two shots to the body, let the combinations flow naturally. If your opponent steps back and you chase him, be careful it is not a trap! 3. Fake! Feigning strikes should be every bit as common as real punching. It should be nothing special, especially against a taller opponent. Feigns will distract your opponent while you get in, and also create many openings. Before you even think about fighting a taller opponent, work relentlessly at developing a rock solid defense! Good luck!