Official First __ing __un (WT/VT/WC/TWC/JKD even)

You want a video of me doing the Siu Lum Tao, so we can make it 2?

OK, it’s a very simple form. I might have to brush up, I’ve never trained in Wing Chun but I know/knew the whole thing.

Wu sao is a pretty simple concept, basic block/grip work, it means “protecting hand/arm”.

I tried Wing Chun for a (very) brief period, before doing Bujinkan Ninjutsu for about 18 months, and then eventually stumbling into Muay Thai, JKD and BJJ.

My instructor is an associate instructor under Dan Inosanto, but after a few years, I came to the conclusion that too many practitioners were treating JKD as a snapshot of techniques, never to be changed. The breaking point for me was being at a Dan Inosanto seminar, and seeing several instructors kicking, punching, tying up etc in a near identical manner despite a wide variation in attributes, temperaments, etc. I mean it was as if it was the same person doing the technique but wearing someone else’s skin. That struck me, and I stopped going to the seminars - it was almost as bad as the folk who think anything after 1972 isn’t “real” JKD.

Having rolled, sparred and chatted with WC practitioners, I personally think Wing Chun is riddled with nonsense and charlatans, and I’m not convinced as to how useful it is live. I’m also under the impression that some of them are fucking lunatics.

As for JKD, it is dead as a doornail, and I invite anyone to convince me otherwise. I’m well and truly disillusioned though, so you’ll face a bit of an uphill battle.

For me, BJJ has its fair share of absolute shite, but it is easier to pressure test, and weed out techniques that definitely don’t work against competent folk. It’s also a bit easier to expose folk who buy their belts.

One of Bullshido’s all time greats runs a JKD school in Maryland, and produces elite fighters. I can give you his Facebook school link if you want.

I’ve also trained with an Inosanto JKD and Jun Fan fighter, he was a total professional and it was basically Wing Chun+Boxing+JKD.

I don’t care about the forms.

Stop name dropping, dude, I know exactly who your are talking about.

This is your typical tactic. I’m talking about YOU, not a successful, and skilled martial artist.

YOU

I have no doubt that there are instructors and practitioners out there, developing their own understanding of the JKD philosophy.

My own instructor sought out a Muay Thai coach, reached out to a BJJ coach (which effectively started me on my path to learn BJJ), and sought out a Balintawak instructor - he did this in order to help himself grow as an instructor, and to help his students develop in line with their own preferences. Fuck, he even sought out a Tai Chi Quan / Bagua instructor, to try and learn more about trapping, sensitivity drills, etc.

My assertion is that what I observed at Inosanto’s seminars led me to believe that entirely too many people were comfortable with treading the same ground, learning from a limited range of sources, and not making an effort to learn from sources outside the JKD community.

Again, I am happy for people to convince me that I’m wrong, but what I saw roughly 6-7 years ago was enough to leave me feeling utterly deflated, and stick me on a different path. Unless I’m mistaken, Bruce Lee was a fan of exploring different martial arts, combat sports, etc for techniques/concepts/philosophies that would be useful, and folding them into his own way of fighting - he seemed to be the sort of person who would look to constantly update/evolve what he was doing.

Which one, the professional Thai Boxer I trained kickboxing with, or the Seon Master who completed my Chan training, just by knowing him?

They are not the same person.

Nope, talking about you, not who you trained with.

Anyway, same thing over and over again…

What do you want to know? I’m all ears, 7 days a week.