Hey Sifu Davis

Although I know the rear leg hook kick is a part of jkd arsenal, I also understand that it is not the "preferred" kick, as the lead leg hook kick would be. Is it still necessary to train this kick?

Also, I don't know if you've ever heard of Cung Le, but he is a san shou kickboxer turned mma fighter. (Hold on, I'm getting to the jkd part :-) )
He is a very fun fighter to watch as he uses (and lands) a lot of kicks - roundhouses, spinning back kicks, and a lot of sidekicks. In his last fight with Tony Frynklund he landed so many sidekicks that I lost count. A lot even pushed Frynklund back many feet, and they look pretty powerful. HOWEVER...in jkd isn't the sidekick supposed to be either a)an interception tool, or b)a fight ending kick in itself?

What I'm asking is, if Bruce emphasized the sidekick so much, shouldn't it be able to just put an opponent down? How come in mma they don't seem to do much damage? Is it based solely on the fact that mma fighters aren't wearing shoes? If so, would a properly trained JKD fighter still be able to put someone down without wearing shoes?

Wei Lin

Hello Wei Lin!

I really have no idea what others can do, but I can take a man clean off his feet with a sidekick! I kicked a guy clean over the hood of a small car in a fight one time. I kicked a guy over a pool table at one of the clubs where I was the lead bouncer! I broke two of a guy's ribs through and air shield and put him airborne! I kicked a guy holding an airshield so hard one time at a seminar in New Jersey that he was eighty-five feet from the point where I first kicked him by the time he quit moving! I have NO DOUBT that I could easily KILL someone with my sidekick, but I don't know what others can do with theirs. As for MMA. I have never been interested in it and still have no interest in it! Same goes for training barefooted!

Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
JKD@windstream.net
http://www.HardcoreJKD.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

Hey Sifu Davis

All I can say to that is...holy moly.
I can also say "wow."
And "no way."
And "incredible."

I gotta get serious about my sidekick!

Got a question first though - I know it might be hard to remember since "it" strikes all by itself, but what variation of sidekicks were you using? You once told me about the time you launched someone over the hood of a car - that was the burning step sidekick. How about for the others?

Wei Lin

Hello Wei Lin!

All of the kicks described above were burning step side kicks! By the way, the rear leg hook kick is not really that important, so training it is optional! One thing to remember about it, however, is that it is delivered in a very direct, very practical manner, following more of a straight line right up until you twist your waist and hips to fire it in. The primary target is the sciatic nerve. If done properly, the opponent will be left unable continue, due to not being able to stand on that leg after having the sciatic nerve struck!

Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
JKD@windstream.net
http://www.HardcoreJKD.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

Hey Sifu Davis

Thanks for the info.
For your burning step sidekick, do you have a small skip/step before you do it?

For example, in both the backyard footage of Bruce training, and then the part in Enter the Dragon when he sidekicks Bob Wall, first he does the small skip/step and then he goes into the "burst" and fires his sidekick.

In the Fighting Method books it is described as a small 3 inch step, but it looks a little like a hop sometimes on film. What do you make of it?

Wei Lin

Hey Sifu Davis

Got another sidekick question.

In Way of the Dragon, there's this one part where Bob Wall tries to fire a rear leg roundhouse, and Bruce intercepts with a sidekick to his chest.

Unfortunately, we can't see his feet, so I can't figure out the footwork.

I'm pretty sure it's a pendulum step, but what I'm wondering is if after the pendulum he simply plants his supporting foot, or if he actually slides forward on his supporting foot while launching the kick, or if he is pivoting on the ball of his foot while launching the sidekick.

Maybe with your trained eye you can better interpret what's going on?

Thanks a lot Sifu.

Wei Lin

Wei Lin, go to LA Chinatown and you can get that question answered. Moreover you can go see where Bruce's old school was (now it's a dentist office)

LS,

There is no need for anyone who asks me a question to go anywhere! I actually answer the questions, unlike some other forum owners! Why even have a forum if you are just going to give short, rude, uninformative answers or comments to someone's question? Not very nice and not very professional!

Wei Lin!

If I am remembering that scene correctly, the stop kick shown is executed with a pendulum shuffle. The rear foot turns away as it shuffles to facilitate further opening of the hip joints to increase the height of the kick and the thrust drive support from the ground. From there, just touch down forward back into the bai jong position, prepared to follow up with anything.

Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
JKD@windstream.net
http://www.HardcoreJKD.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

Hello Wei Lin!

Question: For your burning step sidekick, do you have a small skip/step before you do it?

Answer: The burning step is called "burning step" because of that little small, quick step that is executed before the kick. You imagine that you are stepping onto something hot, so the psychological effect is that if you do not move your foot quickly it will get burned! This initiates your movement quickly, covers a short distance and helps you generate your forward momentum as you lunge forward full force into the kick! You can do the burning step with displacement or lunge through, based on the distance you have to cover to reach the opponent.

Your Comment: For example, in both the backyard footage of Bruce training, and then the part in Enter the Dragon when he sidekicks Bob Wall, first he does the small skip/step and then he goes into the "burst" and fires his sidekick.

My Reply: YES! That IS the burning step being used to generate the forward momentum.

Question: In the Fighting Method books it is described as a small 3 inch step, but it looks a little like a hop sometimes on film. What do you make of it?

Answer: Burning step can cover as small as six inches, but is most often about a foot or so!

Hope that helps!


Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
JKD@windstream.net
http://www.HardcoreJKD.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

Hi Sifu Lamar II hope you are well, I thought it was about time I signed up to your forum, as you have shared a wealth of knowledge on Sifu Carruthers board, i'm extremely greatful for your insights and views of JKD.

What training methods do you use to develop your power and speed for your side kick. At the moment I have stopped doing squats as those seemed to just make me gain unwanted muscle mass, and doing 5sets of 10 explosive frog leaps. I've also purchased a weights vest, cant wait for that to arrive in the mail next week :D

Hello My Friend!

Welcome to the forum! I am pleased that you have decided to join us! I am doing very well thank you! I have to teach a seminar today from 1:00 to 5:00, so I am looking forward to that! It will be the first event held in my new training space that I just added to my kwoon.

For the side kick, I like exploding into the kicking shield using the burning step. I also do some explosive "tap" drills (sort of like a "false start") to develop my initial execution speed for the burning step. I occasionally do some weight work with my legs, but I keep it relatively simple. I do calf raises (both standing and seated), leg press machine, leg extensions and leg curls. I will occasionall do bench squats (squats done with a weight bench between the legs ... keeps you from going down too far). I avoid anything that will potentially damage my lower back, over tighten my legs or make my butt big!

Keep Blasting!
Sifu Lamar M. Davis II
Senior Instructor
Hardcore Jeet Kune Do
Sifu@HardcoreJKD.com
JKD@windstream.net
http://www.HardcoreJKD.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