Interesting question. I suppose it depends on how much you fixate on them and how you define progress. JKD is hardly the only style that struggles with this, but I do think it's true that you can get lost in the weeds, accumulating drills to develop attributes, address various strategies, etc. If the five ways of attack are trained in a way that genuinely help you hit your target, then game on I guess. But when people are developing those skill sets just because they get it in their head that skill is measured by proficiency in those various drills (versus proficiency at actually hitting the opponent), then I think there's a problem.
JKD mires itself in its own simplicity sometimes! The 5 A are conceptually useful and practically irrelevant - from a teaching perspective they offer far more progression options though They exist as they have worth...if the have no worth the an individual then write your own and use those instead
I only got half-way; the music was too depressing Interesting how many of those clips were decided by the lead hand though... subconscious bias by the person who made the video?
Sometimes? lol. It mires itself on simplicity all the time!! Interesting note though, many believe the 5 way's of attack are Bruce Lee's original creations. They're not, there a combination of boxing drills found in various books. Some of them are also found in footwork of fencing. I'd agree, there merely drills...
Personally I think of the 5 ways of attack as just options: hence being considered ways. They are just methods Bruce Lee realized in his study. Each one can handle a different purpose. For example, Attack by Drawing is great for fighting those who are cautious or who attack in a predictable way. I feel this doesn't interfere with the curriculum: rather it helps it's users learn new ways to solve issues. You can also drill these, but I feel that the best use comes from using them in sparring. Learning which ways are effective also work wonders. You can read this stuff in John Littles, Bruce Lee: Jeet Kune Do. Hope this helps
I think that everybody fights with the attack by combination which is to overwhelm the opponent with a barage of blows too fast to do anything about it. Lee did this with the straight blast. Then with training one can catch the opponent with a stophit before the "windmill" starts. A single angled attack, but with cagey fighters waiting to catch you with a stophit, one needs to draw this stophit out of them and counterattack. rock paper sizzors, etc.
ABC is part of your arsenal, but it's not really a barrage too fast to cope with. It's generally set up, maybe by SIA, ABD, PIA, HIA or a mixture of two or ore. With a straight blast each shot is meant to land and although the 5 ways of attack do blur into each other and each can be labelled differently I personally wouldn't label the blast as an ABC strike. PIA maybe, or you could even argue the flinch response you get from a good blast is ABD.
Hi,Simon: I meant to say that an untrained person fights with ABC. I have observed plenty of brawals in the bars and streets and it is a flurie of punches until one is hit. It then turns into a wrestling match to the ground.
That's not JKD and it's not ABC. I've said this before about ABC. An attack by combination may be defined as a series of two or more attacking motions that flow from one to another naturally. Utilizing the hands and feet either separately or in combination, they are compound attacks, with each opening creating another. Although used in conjunction with feints and all other forms of attack such as a single direct attack, in attack by combination each blow in the series in intended to score. This requires economical motion, tight defence, speed, surprise and determination in execution. You'll not see tight economical movements in a bar brawl.
The untrained - and I include book learning in that - don't so much do ABC as ABTMAHSS Attack by throwing mud and hoping some sticks Also called ABTG - attack by throwing garbage
The five ways of attack are not just confined to JKD! theY are a part of all fighting, styles, brawaling,etc.