Home http://www.chriskentjkd.com//index.php William Shakespeare and Bruce Lee -- Two of a Kind 11/2/2012 10:20:22 PM William Shakespeare and Bruce Lee are both revered as geniuses; Shakespeare in literary world, Bruce Lee in the martial art world. But what do these two men have in common? According Jonas Lehrer in his book “Imagine,” “… at the time Shakespeare was in London and developing himself as a writer, he was surrounded by other literary geniuses such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson, John Milton, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Francis Bacon, and numerous others. Shakespeare had a huge library which was very diverse and included respectable fiction, a wide range of popular romance stories. He drew from Ovid and Plutarch, borrowed from history books, read popular pamphlets which were the literature of the street, read Edmund Spencer and Chaucer as well as younger poets like John Dunne, and  studied Thomas Wilson’s sonnets. Sometimes this literary approach got him into trouble. His peers repeatedly accused him of plagiarism, and he was often guilty, at least by contemporary standards. What these allegations failed to take into account, however, was that Shakespeare was pioneering a new creative method in which every conceivable source informed his art. He would analyze, deconstruct, and reconstruct. For Shakespeare, the act of creation was inseparable from the act of connection. Although Shakespeare was surrounded by literary geniuses, his genius remains unsurpassed.”


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=83 MAINTAIN A DYNAMIC ‘READY POSITION’ 8/15/2012 7:58:25 PM The following is an excerpt from my latest book -- “LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom”

To be in a position and state of readiness at all times is of paramount importance for any martial artist when they are engaging an opponent. If, for whatever reason, they are caught out of position, it will take them longer to act or react, giving an opponent the opportunity to more easily score against them more. By maintaining a proper fighting stance, or “ready position” a martial artist will be able to act or react quickly and appropriately. This can mean the split-second difference between seizing a target of opportunity and missing it completely. The ready position is the platform from which all of a martial artist’s actions are launched.

]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=82 OVER-TRAINING 8/5/2012 6:46:28 PM My JKD big brother, Bob Bremer, likes to tell the story about how he was watching Bruce Lee train like a lunatic one day and asked him, “Geez, Bruce, aren’t you afraid you’re gonna be over-trained?” Lee’s response was, “I’d rather be over-trained than under-trained.” An excellent point provided you keep it in the proper context. Bruce was working on technical skill training at the time. (When it comes to technical skill, especially in combat, I think it would always be better to be over-trained than under-trained). In addition, Lee had already spent years developing his physical fitness to an extremely high level which allowed him to put forth the energy and effort he did.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=81 Drawing the “Essence” 7/30/2012 11:49:53 PM In his interview for the book, “Jeet Kune Do Conversations” by Jose Fraguas (Unique Publications, 2001) Dan Inosanto was asked about Bruce Lee’s quote “Absorb what is useful, Reject what is useless, Add what is specifically your own.” In his response, Dan stated that, “He [Bruce Lee] said that you had to capture the essence of each art. The essence is not the three thousand techniques you learn from white belt to black belt. Whatever he absorbed from a system, it had to fit in to his personal base system…”


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=80 Same Stuff -- Different Day 7/25/2012 10:30:03 PM There’s an old saying which states that “The more things change the more they remain the same.” As I look about the JKD world today I see various JKD factions or groups arguing and disagreeing about the very same things I saw groups arguing over thirty years ago. Things such as who is right and who is wrong about JKD, who is doing JKD correctly and who isn’t, who gets JKD and who doesn’t. It’s the same stuff, just a different year and a whole new crop of people.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=79 Transcending Technique 7/15/2012 9:22:29 PM “A good JKD man has no technique; he makes his opponent’s techniques his techniques.”

                                                                                                                               - Bruce Lee

 

There’s an old saying relating to technique that states, “Everything works and nothing works.” This is not a pessimistic statement but rather a simple statement of fact. Techniques work sometimes, and sometimes they don’t work. Nothing works one hundred percent of the time. There is no such thing as an infallible technique. I think every martial artist can remember one time or another when they tried to use a particular technique and for whatever reason, it failed.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=78 Individual Curriculum vs. Class Curriculum 7/12/2012 10:24:09 PM Take one of Bruce Lee’s personal day-timer diaries and lay it next to any JKD school class curriculum. It doesn’t matter whether it is the curriculum from the Seattle school, the Oakland school, the Los Angeles school, or any JKD school for that matter, you will see quite a difference. The class curriculum lays out a basic structure of the training program for the particular school. Lee’s notes on the other hand, record a continual personal refinement of the various combative tools and skills (such as throwing 18,000 punches in a single month) and the development of his body to support and enhance the use of those tools and skills. One is an example of “class” curriculum and the other an example of “individual” curriculum.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=77 PREPARE YOURSELF 5/15/2012 10:19:45 PM The following is excerpted from my latest book, “LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom” which is now available in both paperback and e-book formats.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=76 The Role of “Processing Time” in Learning 5/11/2012 12:15:49 AM In his book, “Teaching with the Brain in Mind”, Eric Jensen, one of the leaders in brain-based learning, discusses the importance that the role of “processing” plays in learning. He relates the following three points:


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=75 Actualizing the “Real” You 5/7/2012 9:34:56 PM The following is excerpted from “P.L.A.N. - Personal Liberation Action Notebook” - a resource workbook and personal journal which I wrote to accompany my book “LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom.”  In the workbook each worksheet is laid out as a separate page for the owner to write in.



]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=74 “Stop Shooting Yourself in the Foot” 4/25/2012 8:35:36 PM It starts inside our head. Sometimes it whispers, sometimes it shouts. Call it what you want; the “inner opponent,” “the internal critic,”  “the saboteur,” the voice speaks and unless we are careful, we listen. The voice scolds us with such things as, “Who do you think you are?” -- “You’re not smart enough to accomplish that” -- or “You’re too old.” And if we pay attention to what it says, we often end up stopping what we are doing or deciding not to even start something.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=73 “Ease the Burden of Your Mind” 4/15/2012 11:27:06 AM In JKD, technical development can be broken down into three main phases, or stages. These are:

 

Stage 1 - Synchronization of self

Stage 2 - Synchronization with opponent

Stage 3 - Application under fighting conditions


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=72 Jeet Kune Do -- Simply Another Martial Art “Style”? 4/10/2012 8:03:17 PM Is JKD in danger of turning into simply another martial art “style”? I’ve been pondering this question for quite some time now, and my personal feeling is that there is a distinct possibility that such a thing might happen in the future. There are several factors involved in this.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=71 Review of 'Liberate Yourself!' 4/4/2012 8:35:17 PM Liberate Yourself! A Personal Guide to Freedom by Pete Sisco of PrecisionTraining.com:
www.precisiontraining.com/liberate-yourself-with-bruce-lees-help/


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=70 CHILDREN and SELF-DEFENSE 3/21/2012 10:15:27 PM I was at an outdoor social gathering the other day and when one individual learned that I taught martial arts, and that some of my students were kids, they asked me, “Aren’t you teaching children violence?” My response to them was, “No, I am teaching them how to deal with someone who is attempting to use violence against them.”  Despite the bad press it’s been getting in recent years, I still believe that the world is a nice place filled with mostly good people. But there are some not-so-good people out there, and there are some downright bad people who delight in hurting others, especially children.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=69 BE YOUR OWN STORY 3/18/2012 3:32:44 PM The following is an excerpt from Chris Kent’s new book, LIBERATE YOURSELF - A Guide to Personal Freedom, which is currently available through Amzon.com or www.chriskentjkd.com.

 

When the first public Jeet Kune Do training facility opened in 1974, it quickly became the “Mecca” for anyone interested in learning about or studying Bruce Lee’s art and philosophy. Known as the Filipino Kali Academy (the words “Jeet Kune Do” didn’t appear anywhere on the outside), people came from all over the globe to train at the school. In my years of training and assisting at the Academy, I saw countless people whom I refer to as “Bruce Lee shadow chasers” come and go. I called them “shadow chasers” because they spent their time running after the image or “shadow” of Bruce Lee. These people believed that if they performed the exact workout that Lee did, ate the same food he ate, read the same books and listened to the same music Lee listened to, dressed the way he did, even cut their hair in the same style that they could literally become just like Bruce Lee. Some of these individuals would imitate every little nuance and action Lee did in his movies, from the way he held his hands, to shaking his head, to pulling up his trousers before kicking. They would mimic his facial expressions and even his cinematic vocal noises.  These people adopted the persona of Bruce Lee instead of being themselves. What they failed to understand is that it wasn’t being “like Bruce Lee” that was integral to Lee’s success, but in his being Bruce Lee, in expressing fully the honest feelings, emotions, and nature of his innermost being.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=68 On Teaching (Part I) 3/16/2012 4:19:37 PM The following is the first part of a multi-part blog series dealing with the art of teaching.

 

If you are a teacher, you possess the ability to change people’s lives through your teaching. As a teacher you can influence your student’s lives in many ways. Part of your job is to nurture the physical, mental and emotional progress of a student into one complete person.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=67 New E-book Series: “Jeet Kune Do Essentials” 3/11/2012 3:18:42 PM I am pleased to announce that I have just released a new series of small e-books, entitled "Jeet Kune Do Essentials."

“Jeet Kune Do Essentials” are a series of handy, easy-to-use reference guides for training with various types of “mobile” and “fixed” equipment such as focus gloves, kicking shields, heavy bags, etc. Wherever you may be, whether it’s working out at home, training at a martial art school, or simply reading while sitting in a park or traveling on a plane, the “Jeet Kune Do Essentials” series offers you invaluable information on how to use training equipment correctly and effectively to develop or enhance your martial art performance. Each book in the series details different ways in which you can use the equipment and provides you with countless training drills to help you infuse variety in your workouts and stave off motivational boredom, and can serve as a catalyst for thought and ideas to help you develop your own training drills.

 

Each “Jeet Kune Do Essentials” e-book is available for Kindle now through Amazon.com for only $3.99


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=66 The Role of Tactile Awareness in Hand Immobilization 2/25/2012 11:56:01 AM Tactile awareness and energy sensitivity can play an important role in the use of any hand immobilization action, be it an attack, counterattack, or as a defense, and as such, should be an integral part of a JKD practitioner’s overall training program. Tactile awareness relates to the sense of touch and energy sensitivity deals with understanding and relating to the force given against your arms by an opponent.


]]> http://www.chriskentjkd.com/index.php?post=65 “If You Want to Learn How to Kick, Kick!” 2/22/2012 7:51:49 PM A beginning student is throwing side kicks against a kicking shield being held by his training partner. He is well-muscled and looks in good shape, but after throwing twenty kicks he is tired out, breathing hard, and his kick have diminished to lightweight taps against the shield. Forgetting that he currently runs two miles three times each week and spends thirty minutes on a stationary bike another two times per week, he glances over at a skinny student who, now on his fiftieth kick, is kicking easily and powerfully and thinks, “Man, I thought I was in good shape, but my endurance is crap. I’ve gotta improve my cardio.” Such is not the case. In reality it is a matter of skill conditioning rather than physical conditioning. While a person’s level of physical condition may be an integral component in their overall martial art training, martial art training is primarily neural -- how to do the techniques or actions correctly, how to move, etc. “Laying down a neural groove” so to speak.


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