Hey Sifu Davis,

I have 2 questions today.

Other than the sidekick, in the Bruce Lee Fighting Method it mentions that the burst or forward lunge is for defense against a kick attack as well. How so? Is it to jam the person's leg? Also, in the instructions, it tells you to swing the hips forward which causes the rear leg to drag. Is there any push-off with the rear leg?

What is the difference between a Jeet Kune Do hook kick and Tae Kwon Do roundhouse kick? All I can muster is that in the TKD round kick they lift the knee as high as they can to "chamber" the leg. What makes the JKD hook kick superior? When viewing Bruce Lee's backyard workouts, in one section I see that Ted Wong(?) has an arm protection and Bruce chases him with some hook kicks. Anyway, when Bruce does these hook kicks I notice that his rear leg actually goes ahead of his front leg before the kick. Is this correct? I feel I can cover more distance this way, but I thought it makes for a loss of balance? However upon viewing Bruce's movies he does not make the cross.

-Wei Lin

Helo Wei Lin!

The forward burst can be executed with what is referred to as a lead leg jam, which is where you lift the knee to about solar plexus height, fully bent with the toe of the lead foot pointed straight down. You use this like a moving wall to jam into the opponent's lead side to stop their advance or their attempt to kick. Yes, you do push off the rear leg when excuting the burst! The forward burst is also know as a burning step.

Th Jeet Kune Do hook kick is completely different from the tae kwon do round kick. As in all Jeet Kune Do kicks, there is no chamber of the leg and the foot rises to the height of the target and then you "hook" it into the target sharply, getting your power from the waist and the hips. The knee will bend only as much as is necessary for the foot to follow a straight line from the starting point to the target. This kick is MUCH MORE DIRECT than the tae kwon do round kick, and will definitely be more of a surpise to your opponent. The tae kwon do kick is telegraphic and easy to jam or stop kick!

In the backyard footage, Bruce Lee is doing a series of "pursuit" hook kicks, which is why the rear foot passes in front of the lead moving into the kick. It is a method of increased distance coverage at a higher rate of speed, which also adds more explosiveness to the kick!

Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
http://www.HardcoreJKD.com
Office (205) 956-1901
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"Hit Hard, Hit Fast, Hit First - ALWAYS!"

"What is Jeet Kune Do (JKD)? Chinese martial art, definitely! It is a kind of Chinese martial art that does away with the distinction of branches, an art that rejects formality, an art that is liberated from tradition." __Bruce Lee