Jeet Kune Do
 

Hey, I know there are similar posts to this but I wanted to get in depth.

Now I know JDK is a kind of mixed martial art. I trained in it a little.

I have seen that some fighters say its not good to use it because its a kind of jack of all trades style and its better to stick with the experts of each individual style.

But I have taken a few good things from it, one of which I want to talk about here.

The power hand forward stance.

I recently tried switching to that and noticed it felt very comfortable. Bruce lee always said that it was a better way as your power hand has less distance to travel.

But one thing I dont understand is not turning the hand over as you punch. Im not sure of the reasons but I was always told to turn it over.

So whats your stance (no pun intended) on this style of having the power hand as lead?
Have you tried it and do you think there are major benefits for it?


:)

I've always played around with switching my stance up during sparring. I like to do it to throw my partner off and throw different looks at them. And it feels good to throw a few jabs with my power hand but my trainers always shoot me down after they notice I go south paw lol

Bruce Lee also said that you shouldnt close your fist until the moment before impact to reduce drag, but honestly, i cant close my hand fast enough and have a hard enough fist to prevent braking all of my fingers. lol.. The whole turning of the hand thing goes along with the reduce drag concept.

JKD is a great impressive style however we need to remember that The guy doing it was Bruce Lee. The things that he advocate can be very effective however also you also need to realize that they require a bunch of training and practice to get good at them and be productive at it. For instance the stop kick to the knee is a devastating move but you have to have pinpoint accuracy to use it efficiently. Also one of his primary weapons was a side kick also something you need to be very fast and very precise with. So read his stuff practice and there are great things that you can learn in strategy theory and technique however don't go trying it out until you are very good with the technique. Until then its ok to throw in some of the basic principals but its best sticking to what you know well for the time being.

Yeah I dont plan on doing it properly just trying new things out really.
Catterman, I cant close my hands quick enough either. I tried on the heavy bag and my hand folded lol

Is there a power and speed difference from turning the hands over to not turning them over? I hanvnt personaly noticed a difference.

Not turning the hand over as you punch (leaving the first verticle). Is a remnant of Lee's initial training in Wing Chun Kung Fu as a child. In Kung Fu in general (at least to my knowledge of it), there is no "jab" or "cross" its instead replaced with various versions of the "vertical fist."

Search chain punches (a training technique) on youtube for a demonstration of the concept in motion.

My opinion on the power side forward or southpaw(in my case) stance, is that its something that a lot of fighters underestimate.

The draw back is obvious. The power punches (cross, rear hook, overhand, rear uppercut) are less powerful because they're not being performed with the dominant side of the body. However, the additional power that is translated into the lead punches (jab, lead hook, lead uppercut, etc), for me, make it worth the loss.

Another thing to think about is that power is only marginally decreased by the use of a power-lead style, because true punching power comes from the balls of the feet, all the way up, assuming there is proper coordination, not much power should be lost.

The gains to the lead side however are significant. Everyone (excluding our ambidextrous friends) have more developed bones/muscles/nerve fibers on one side of their body vs the other. This is on the power side. By makes the more developed side the lead side, one is able to use these more developed nerve fibers and muscles to throw punches more accurately and more surgically.

For me personally, in regards to JKD as a whole, I'm unimpressed. I've read the Tao, and researched the man, and while he was a very skileld fighter, and intellectual, IMO today he palls in comparison to fighters like Jose Aldo, or Frankie Edgar (similar weighted fighters of today).

The only aspect of JKD the Concept that is still as groundbreaking as it was when it was first concieved (IMO), is the idea that Martial Arts is always changing and that assigning it a name and constraining its limtations are foolish and counter productive.

Il try the power side forward more often in sparring just to experiment.
What about turning the fist. Would any of you actually use that method in the cage, ring or street?

I've tried it. Using a 1,2,1 wherein I didn't turn my first with the second jab. Against a person it felt very strange and unnatural (I should have spent more time working ont it) but against the bag it felt like a pushing technique, not a snapping technique.

Thats exactly what I felt. Like I was pushing more than anything else.
Believe it or not there is a guy that coaches boxing and kickboxing at my gym who uses JDK a lot and was very effective. He was one of the old school underground cagefighters around europe.
He can actualy pull off the three inch punch.
But I feel like im just pushing not punching.
I looked at some chain punching. Didnt look effective imo. Im sure most of us could endure some of the stuff I just watched to get in and take them out.

Yeah, chain punching is more of a training aid to develop fast-twitch nerve conduction, endurance, and coordination (similar to the concept a speed bag) rather than an actual hand-to-hand tactic.