I was looking at your video series descriptions and the term "body traps" came up. I'm not quite clear on what you mean. A breif description would be appreciated. Another thing that caught my attention was your usage of four fighting ranges instead of three (long, medium and close). I am not trying to throw stones, but am merely curious as to what made you change your mind.

Also, as someone who has been doing JKD for a large number of years, and presumably training predominantly in a right stance and favoring right sided techniques, have you experienced any problems related to muscular imbalance and if so, how do you remedy them?

Hello!

Here are the answers to your questions.

Q: I was looking at your video series descriptions and the term "body traps" came up. I'm not quite clear on what you mean. A breif description would be appreciated. Another thing that caught my attention was your usage of four fighting ranges instead of three (long, medium and close). I am not trying to throw stones, but am merely curious as to what made you change your mind.

A: A body trap is where you circle your arm around the opponent's body at the lower torso, coming to the inside of the arm, around to the back and end with a "palm slap" type action to the kidney area. This is used to temporarily trap the body to land an elbow smash or a knee smash to the sternum area. For the knee smash, it is often used in conjunction with a shoulder trap. Much easier to demonstrate than explain!

The "four fighting ranges" thing was due to simply going along with what everyone else was saying (which was a mistake and I openly admit it). All the while I was questioning certain things about that, such as the abilty to kick, punch, trap or grapple from a certain distance without you or your opponent moving! What range are you in when that happens?

I decided to do some extensive research into all of my sources of Bruce Lee's original writings. The research proved that Bruce Lee NEVER referred to four ranges of fighting, but only three. They are long, medium and close. Kicking, punching, trapping and grappling are only categories of techniques, not true ranges! This prompted an article by me on the subject, which was published in Karate/Kung Fu Illustrated (Rainbow Publications magazine that no longer exists).

Q: Also, as someone who has been doing JKD for a large number of years, and presumably training predominantly in a right stance and favoring right sided techniques, have you experienced any problems related to muscular imbalance and if so, how do you remedy them?

A: I have had no problems whatsoever with muscular imbalance! This is probably due to spending many hours a week in the gym (minimum around ten hours a week just working out)! I make sure that each side gets the same amount of reps with the same weight. I am equally strong and equally developed on both sides. I would assume this would explain why I have no muscular imbalance.



Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
http://www.HardcoreJKD.com
http://www.RealCombatOnline.com
Phone (205) 956-1901

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

The body trap make good sense as to traps an opponents tools, not just hands. The same goes for elbows and knee smash more of a whole way of dealing with controlling the opponents tools.

Thanks for the info. Am I correct in thinking that this body trap is used for the purpose of keeping your opponent in close range for HKE's (almost like a form of clinching)? I think I saw Randy Williams perform this technique on his chi sao tape. It looked like it kept the other guy from backing away so he could hold and hit, but would it also be used for throwing?

About the muscular imbalance; I've been told that fencers are prone to having certain muscular imbalances due to the one sided nature of their footwork. Since JKD draws so much from fencing footwork, it seems like something to watch out for (or correct with weight training as you describe).

Sifu Lamar, I have a question, thought since this was a thread asking you questions, it'd be better to ask here than start a new one.

I noticed you train in Wing Chun. Do you recommend training seperately in Wing Chun for someone doing JKD?

Someone like me trains a few hours every second day, and can't really afford to train any more than I already do. So would it be worth while taking some of that time and dedicating it to Wing Chun (I already spend some time doing Kenjutsu, but that may end as it seems I wont be able to get a sword ).

So for your 'average' JKD student, would you recommend spending some time doing Wing Chun... considering it would take time out of JKD time (rather than adding to it)?

Hello Daniel!

Wing Chun structure is EXTREMELY important to Jeet Kune Do, and besides, Wing Chun is the nucleus of the Jeet Kune Do system (yes, it is a "system", contrary to what others would have you believe). There is a definite structure, definite guiding principles and definite JKD techniques. Therefore, any training that you can possibly do in Wing Chun, provided that you have a legitimate instructor, is only going to improve your Jeet Kune Do.

Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
http://www.HardcoreJKD.com
http://www.RealCombatOnline.com
Phone (205) 956-1901

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