I read in one of bruce lee's books that he used to train hitting paper. Does anyone practice this drill? If so how does it work. What does it train.

Hello Henry!

The hanging paper drills are designed to improve the speed of your strikes. It is as much a psychological thing as it is anything. Since you know that you CANNOT hurt your hand in any way just striking paper, there is NOTHING to hold you back from trying for maximum speed to strike the paper! This is especially effective for developing the speed of your finger jabs. The same effect can be gotten using a shower curtain, hanging towel, etc.

Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
JKD@windstream.net
http://www.HardcoreJKD.com
http://www.DragonBlastMA.com
Phone (205) 296-7070 (Incoming Only)

"Hit Hard, Hit Fast, Hit First - ALWAYS!"

"The REAL future of Jeet Kune Do belongs to US, the few, the proud, the HARDCORE! Now, what are we going to do with it?" _ Sifu Lamar M. Davis II

I have two suggestions for speed training. An alternate way to use the paper is to practice your lead or straight rear punch with the hanging paper but rather than hit the paper, practice the snap of the punch by ending the punch a quarter of an inch before contact. Notice the reaction of the paper. If the puch is withdrawn quickly enough the paper will pull back towards you. Now a word of caution. Be sure to spend plenty of time making contact with focus pads or the heavy bag. You do not want to develop a habit of pulling your punches.
Another tool I used for years to develop speed is a candle. You can use any of your punches and kicks to extinguish the flame. You can punch and withdraw quickly or you can try extinguishing the flame with no withdrawl. This has been one of my favorite training tools as it develops snap in the techinque as well as focus, accuracy and distance. I remember when I first started training like this as a teen, it took a full 45 miniutes for me to go through one book of twenty matches. The accuracy and snap was not there. I finally got to where I could extinguish the flame at least 9 out of 10 times. I went to using a lighter because I was going through so many matches in one session. A side advantage is that I am able to demonstrate full speed techniques on my students without hitting and injuring them because of the awareness of distance that it develops. But again, be sure you do not develp the bad habit of pulling your punches. Spend plenty of time hitting things.
Just some ideas that have worked for me.
Kimsut