how complex is the straight lead?

S

sonsage

White Belt
How long does it take to learn? I was looking through a copy of The Straight Lead by Teri Tom and it says how complex this punch is and how one will get frustrated. This book also quotes Bruce Lee as saying, "Only one in 10,000 people can handle it."

The strike is based on a punch in a book by old time boxer Jack Dempsey. A lot of these old time boxing techniques are abandoned by modern boxers today. You think this contradicts Bruce Lee's principle of simplicity and directness by using a punch so complex? Once you learn it, do you think it is some secret weapon more effective than the jab or jumping punches like the superman punch?
 
sonsage said:
How long does it take to learn? I was looking through a copy of The Straight Lead by Teri Tom and it says how complex this punch is and how one will get frustrated. This book also quotes Bruce Lee as saying, "Only one in 10,000 people can handle it."
Click to expand...

He means one in 10,000 learning it (through training and repetition).

The strike is based on a punch in a book by old time boxer Jack Dempsey. A lot of these old time boxing techniques are abandoned by modern boxers today. You think this contradicts Bruce Lee's principle of simplicity and directness by using a punch so complex? Once you learn it, do you think it is some secret weapon more effective than the jab or jumping punches like the superman punch?
Click to expand...

Simple does not mean "easy to learn". Get a copy of Bruce Lee's Fighting Method: Basic Training, if you already have Teri Tom's book, use that as well. A copy of Jerry Poteet's first (or second?) video would be a good resource as well. Follow the instructions in any one or all of those and use a mirror to see if you are matching the technique and with time you should be able to get it down. The straight punch is easier to get down than the "straight blast" which includes a step-slide and small leap. Is it a super weapon? It depends on how well you get it down.
 
Bob Bremer and I show the straight lead punch in our book to be published in a few months by Black Belt Mag. I also will be showing it in a DVD now be edited by Inside Kune Fu Mag. There will be an article on it in IKF in a month or 2.
Tackett
 
thtackett said:
Bob Bremer and I show the straight lead punch in our book to be published in a few months by Black Belt Mag. I also will be showing it in a DVD now be edited by Inside Kune Fu Mag. There will be an article on it in IKF in a month or 2.
Tackett
Click to expand...


Thank you, sir. And my advice???
 
It's not complicated, but is hard to do with enough precision to get the proper power. It must also be done without preparation. That's why so few really "get it"
 
thtackett said:
It's not complicated, but is hard to do with enough precision to get the proper power. It must also be done without preparation. That's why so few really "get it"
Click to expand...

I study JKD at a PFS (Paul Vunak) school and I don't think we do this technique!?!
 
arnisador said:
I study JKD at a PFS (Paul Vunak) school and I don't think we do this technique!?!
Click to expand...

Paul Vunak, who like Dan Inosanto,is a "JKD Concepts instructor" who has blended in more systems since Bruce Lee stopped publicly teaching JKD and closed his schools. I believe Sifu Tacket, Sifu Bremer, Sifu Ted Wong and Sifu Poteet teach "Original Jeet Kune Do" or Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do which teaches what Sijo Lee taught them up until his death, which still used a variation of the Wing Chun straight punch, with the fist in the yat jee position instead of the more standard of the Karate/TKD (etc) two knuckle punch. The Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do straight lead is like the Wing Chun punch using elbow power, but instead of using the "Choh Ma" body/feet turning power, the JFJKD punch uses more of a waist turning power. Correct me if I'm wrong. I am not saying one side is wrong and the other correct, each of Sijo Lee's students "saw a different part of the elephant" as Sifu Bremer said (I think it was Sifu Bremer).
 
By putting the hip into the strike along with the falling step You gain power. You Must not sat it up just let the hand lead the body as you strike. Its best to be showed rather then read it and try to understand it. Dempsy saw the falling step as a way of adding power and reducing telagraphic motion.
 
thtackett said:
It's not complicated, but is hard to do with enough precision to get the proper power. It must also be done without preparation. That's why so few really "get it"
Click to expand...


the non-telegraphic part where the fist moves first then the body follows isn't hard to grasp. However, the power generation part is.

From my interpretation of the straight lead, power comes from pushing off with the rear foot while maintaining the body in a vertical structure. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
It isn't complex at all, rather, challenging to do well if you've learned other ways of punching first. It's an entirely different way of generating power. Rather than a standard shoulder fired jackhammer, the body becomes a whip, with the punch beginning at the rear foot and finishing in the knuckle. The challenges lie in appropriate timing of whip motion, body alignment, and not telegraphing the movement.

Functionally, this strike isn't particularly useful on it's own unless being utilized for an attack on preparation, or pre-emptive strike. Thus, learning to incorporate the power generating principles into a more dynamic circumstance will require a great deal of work, though is necessary in order for the strike to have any real value.
 
With the power side forward theory sifu lee could let out a devastating lead jab and i have felt my own sifu do the same while holding the pads, but that does take awhile of training to get that power, the move is effectively a distractive move: shoot out fast and hit the person so you can follow up with the cross etc. This is much the same as destructions in the FMA where each hit gains a momentum making it easier to manipulate and destroy the opponent.
 
Right hand, right leg forward. Fist vertical Like a simultaneous whip. "Squeeze" all your adrenaline out. For me, I feel it most in the right obliques/hip, right tricep muscles left calf and both sets of quads. I can't explain it but practice it on the heavy bag and you'll know when you get it right. One-arm push ups help a lot as well as not wrapping the wrists, forcing you to be more concious of not bending them. "Dust" them up a little first (numb from repeated impact after five minutes or so). I tense my wrist and fist up first before contact is made, pretending I'm holding a slippery rope. Even if I'm not doing it right, it's still good enough for me. I think of cobras, lizard's tongue, gunshot, hyperspace and anything that makes me heart beat faster. Developing concious control of your adrenaline is half the battle, IMO.
 
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