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JEET KUNE DO HANDS
Author: John Thomas Bingham
Ever since it opened its doors in Carson, California, the IMB Academy has existed on the cutting edge of the martial arts. Because it was founded by two of Bruce Lee’s most prominent disciples, it was able to offer the public the most effective and authentic jeet kune do training in the world. It eventually became one of those hallowed establishments—like the Kodokan in Tokyo, Kukkiwon in Korea and Shaolin Temple in China— at which the average martial artist can only dream about training.
Most of the fame associated with the IMB Academy, whose name stands for International Martial Arts and Boxing, grew from the tireless efforts of Richard Bustillo, a man who has devoted much of his life to preserving and propagating the timeless teachings of Bruce Lee.
Bustillo was one of the “Little Dragon’s” first followers in Los Angeles, and he was partly responsible for training Lee’s children in the martial arts.
Although Bustillo, who was Black Belt’s 1989 Co-Instructor of the Year, can trace his martial beginnings back to a nondescript Hawaii judo club he joined when he was 10, he has also trained in boxing, kajukenbo, kali, Thai boxing, wrestling, jujutsu, silat and most recently tai chi chuan. Yet he never lost sight of Lee’s message, which is embodied in his jeet kune do.
“When I was 24, I met Bruce Lee, and I studied with him at the original Chinatown school,” Bustillo says. “I was one of the original students there. Bruce emphasized the importance of being well-rounded in all ranges, and now at the IMB Academy, we focus on that concept.
We like to use weapons in long range, boxing strikes and kicking in middle range, and grappling and trapping up close. You have to know all those ranges to be successful in self-defense.”
To help Black Belt readers become as successful as possible in their selfdefense training, Bustillo decided to share the following four defensive sequences, all of which depend on JKD concepts and strategies. “Jeet kune do didn’t include kali or muay Thai, but it does allow the individual to [create] his own curriculum,” he says. “Although Bruce Lee never did the sticks or the leg blocks, the IMB Academy program does because the techniques work well for self-defense.”
HAMMERING AWAY
You face your opponent in a righthand- lead stance, which positions your strong side forward, Bustillo says. “You feed him a right hammerfist, which draws his right hand into blocking. You then trap his right hand with your left hand and attempt to strike with a second hammerfist, but he blocks it with his left hand.”
To bypass his defenses, you execute a lap sao, in which you pull his left hand across his body, thus tying up both arms. “Then you can successfully land your hammerfist on the third try,” Bustillo says. “And with his hands still trapped, you immediately execute an upward elbow to the chin, then drive the heel of your palm into the bridge of his nose.”
Such a punishing combination is appropriate only in dire circumstances, Bustillo says. “Because a hit to the bridge of the nose or temple can do severe damage, you should do things like that only to stop aggression toward you—but you must stop the attacker as quickly as you can.
“When you’re trying to execute this sequence against a dangerous opponent, you must have confidence so you can be fluid and quick. Try not to let him upset your flow or destroy any of the techniques, but if something should happen, you just have to adapt to the new situation.”
KICK INTERCEPTION
The next JKD response begins with you and your opponent standing in a left-leg-lead stance. He attacks with a lead-leg front kick, which you intercept by thrusting your left hand into his closest shoulder, thus disrupting his momentum. At the same time, you avoid what’s left of his kick and trap his foot to keep him off-balance, Bustillo says.
“Once you get the kick, you step to your left so your left leg is positioned behind his right leg,” he says. “Then you slide your foot and sweep him to the floor. Once he’s down, you hook his left ankle with your right arm. Your left hand checks his knee as your right hand locks onto your left wrist.”
You can finish the encounter at this point by executing an Achilles lock on his left leg. Alternatively, you can turn him onto his stomach, using your right foot to push against his butt for added rotational power. “Then you step across his back with your right leg,” Bustillo says. “Once he’s on his stomach, you exert pressure against his ankle and knee.”
One possible drawback to using this JKD-inspired response is that you have to expose your body to your opponent in order to accept and trap his kick, Bustillo says. “You have to be skilled and confident enough to jam his left shoulder to prevent the kick from coming in at full strength.”
FROM THE CLINCH
The next JKD response to aggression is designed to be used from the clinch, a frequently encountered standing-grappling position. Your right hand is cupped around the back of his neck, and your left is resting on his right arm.
“Your left hand shoves his right elbow across the front of his throat,” Bustillo says. “You then step to his right and bend your right arm to lock his right arm between his neck and your shoulder.”
Next, you place your left hand on top of his head and lock your right hand onto your left biceps. That completes the figure-4 lock that constricts the flow of blood to his brain. “You can submit him from this position using the carotid choke, or you can add a knee thrust to the solar plexus,” Bustillo says. “The knee strike takes away his balance and shocks his system. It lets you choke him more easily. If you try to go right to the choke, a lot of times he can defend himself or counter it, so you may have to take those options away by shocking his system.
“Normally you don’t want to get into a grappling situation on the street, but if you’re in this position, you can execute a technique such as this one,” he says. “It’s still risky because the energy can change at any time. You have to be able to adapt and possibly switch to some other technique. You should always have options.”
SET THE TRAP
Bustillo’s final defensive sequence works by laying a trap for your opponent.
You slowly approach him until he is about to launch a kicking attack. “As soon as he moves, you stop him with a foot obstruction directed at the knee of his lead leg,” he says. “When you put your kicking foot down and step forward, you have to be careful because he can hit you with a punch or a hammerfist. If he strikes, you should block it with your right arm. If he doesn’t immediately attack, you should strike to get him to block with his right arm. Once the two of you get to that position, you collapse it by using your right hand to pull his right arm as you execute a straight punch with your left.”
Next, you reposition your left arm so your hand forces his trapped (right) arm downward. You should simultaneously close the distance between your body and his and encircle his neck with your left arm. The rear naked choke is completed when you lock your right hand on your left biceps and your left hand on his head. Then, if you need to take him to the ground, you can drive your left foot into the back of his left leg, destroying his support system. His leg will buckle, and you will still have him immobile in the choke. He will have two options: submit or be rendered unconscious. ...