I am back from Fishkill, NY. Needing to catch up on some rest but quickly put together a quick slide show of some moments at the event. Richard put together a great gathering with a large turn out. I got to work with Richard's student the first day. He was well trained and a true gentleman. The following day, I worked with Mark Duncan. I have to say that he is a talented martial arts practitioner with great form, speed and power. I didn't get to work with Vincent but saw him breifly with his training partner, looking fluid and hitting hard. I plan to give some more details later on.

Very nice slideshow Norman, thanks for sharing! Wish I could have been there!

Fishkill, NY 2008
The following is a summary of my personal experience and thoughts from this particular gathering. Please note that I am not going through every single thing or explaining detail drills covered. It is just a highlight based on my observations and personal experience at the gathering.

I will begin by saying that Jeet Kune Do is the most difficult of martial art to understand and even more difficult to perform. Ted Wong stated that the simpler things get, the harder it becomes to grasp, understand and perform. People tell him that he’s too simple and he takes that as a compliment. As the goal for the JKD practitioner is to continually refine and simplify (finding easier ways to do the same thing) True refinement seeks simplicity. This was a major point made by Sifu Wong. People who devote themselves to JKD knows it is a lifetime dedication in refinement and continually seeking an easier way to accomplish something. As Ted Wong said, it is easy enough to see the hands of a clock move but the inside of a clock is a different story. The gears and inners designs of the clock that make the hands move is what JKD is like. It is more about the deep understanding of how things work. Simple on the outside yet truly so much more behind what is visible to the eye.

The Stance was then covered in detail. Pointing out the proper alignment of the feet and body; and the perfect triangle that empowers the stance. Within that structure, we focus on the Line of force and not the Centerline. He continues to explain in detail why the Centerline is appropriate and structured for Wing Chun but not for Jeet Kune Do. He proves it by having a participant take the appropriate stances and experience what he was explaining.

Moving on to footwork, he points out the basics such as the step and slide, push shuffle movements are not functional for the fight. He points out that it is the ability to move in and out, angles, breaking rhythm which puts us in the position to score the hit and not get hit. Ted Wong continues to teach footwork and the proper way to slip a jab which sets us up for an easy counter attack. He takes the opportunity when discussing the slip, and points out the importance of not swaying the body back. It is a matter of simply moving the head back (first) then gravity assists your body and feet to follow. As he put it “Never move the feet first or your done for”. There was so much more covered but I’ll go straight to what I believe was one of the important ideas and understanding he wanted the attendees to grasp. He states “Form is the Foundation of Efficiency”. We must be able to functionalize footwork, coordinate our body with our feet and train our ability to bring ourselves back to the proper fighting stance (recover, balance and structure).


On the second day, Ted Wong begins to show how to use the footwork in collaboration with hitting. It was about hitting and moving, setting up your opponent, breaking your opponents rhythm, evade and counter attacking. We went over the Straight Lead which was explained as a powerful method of attacking. Points made included the critical elements that make the straight lead work. The three point landing (hand, front foot and rear foot) Hand goes first, straight down the Line of Force, hand impacts the target –penetrate as the front foot lands and followed by the landing of the rear foot.

Ted Wong then cover ways to evade and counter appropriately with the rear hand. The cross is not suited for the fighting stance and therefore we temporarily break the structure of the stance (by stepping slightly outward) to throw the rear straight or cross. This quick break in structure must be followed by immediate recovery into the stance. Since opening up the stance means limiting our protection against hits and limits our mobility. Recovery requires ability to move (Footwork) In the example of opening the structure with your lead leg, one can close the structure in recovery by following up with a lead hand hook while bringing your rear foot in to regain the proper stance.

Ted Wong followed up throughout the remainder of day 2 with many other combinations which all were designed with a purpose to demonstrate the importance of tactical footwork, understanding of the spatial relationship between you and your opponent, when to hit with what depending on the circumstances and how to properly hit correctly with the use of our hips and our legs (not our arms).

Sifu Wong still admits that he is learning something new everyday through Bruce Lee’s writings. A road map left behind that leads to discoveries in ourselves as human beings and practitioners of a not so simple martial art, Jeet Kune Do.

Norman,

great review. wow, you almost covered everything the man taught those two days. good job!

"Never move the feet first or your done for"
that should be on a ted wong shirt or something!!

Thanks for the review Norman, I can almost see it in my mind. Glad you made it home safe.

Victor