Jeet Kune Do

The Jeet Kune Do

Wing Chun Connection

As a Jeet Kune Do practitioner I have always had an interest in Wing Chun Gung Fu.   I’ve been exposed to and trained with many Wing Chun practitioners and was never really impressed until I saw Wing Chun expert Emin Boztepe in action.

After witnessing him, I knew this was something I couldn’t ignore.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to train with him hands on.

I can now fully appreciate the Wing Chun-Jeet Kune Do connection.

Wing Chun as practiced by Boztepe is a devastating fighting system.  It’s a martial art that’s based on simplicity and directness, using very few movements.  Wing Chun is very valuable in all ranges of fighting; kicking, punching close-range.  What surprised me the most were the potent ground fighting skills of this art?  Because it doesn’t rely on brute strength, it is a very effective self-protection system, regardless of ones’ size.

In fact, Wing Chun was founded by a woman.

Rather than try to meet force with force, practitioners use the force or energy of the opponent by redirecting the force with simple movements, while at the same time striking the opponent.  Kicking in Wing Chun does not consist of a lot of fancy, flashy looking high kicks like you see in the movies.  To the contrary, they are very simple, yet devastating.

Targets for these kicks are usually below the waistline of the adversary.  If you’ve ever been kicked in the shins or bumped your leg against something you can begin to appreciate how effective this type of kicking can be.

Two concepts that make Wing Chun unique are chain punches (a.k.a. the JKD straight blast) and Chi Sao (sticking hands).  Chain punches are rapid-fire, alternating left and right straight punches intended to overwhelm the opponent, putting them in a defensive position. Executed at the right time, this barrage of strikes use short-range power and speed that is very difficult to deal with.

Chi Sao is an exercise or drill where you and your training partner attach your arms to one another and practice different attacks and movements.

The idea is that you feel the attack and are able to react much quicker than seeing an attack.  This type of training is very good for close-range fighting.

Some people may disagree but I consider Chi Sao a must-have in any training regimen.  I believe Bruce Lee would not have been the fighter he was were it not for his Wing Chun training

Anyone serious about Jeet Kune Do cannot ignore Wing Chun.

Written by George Ilyadis