I N A REAL FIGHT , the participants do not simply stand in one place waiting to be hit. They also do not remain in a single position, believing that they will be able to strike their opponent with impunity. In real fighting the participants are moving about, either trying to inflict strikes on each other, or trying to avoid being hit. Moreover, when they do move around, it is usually not from the low, crouching stance that is often associated with traditional martial arts. They are usually standing up, like boxers, running around quickly, chasing each another, or evading each other.
As Bruce Lee matured in his understanding of the true nature of combat, he came to realize the importance of mobility in fighting. So, when he developed the Jeet Kune Do bai-jong, or onguard stance, he designed it so that the fighter could move quickly in response to the actions of the opponent. He liked the way that fencers were able to advance and retreat rapidly, so he incorporated some of their footwork into his empty-hand method of fighting. Similarly, he appreciated the way that boxers could move around, keeping up on their toes, and staying light on their feet. So Lee also absorbed some of their footwork into Jeet Kune Do.
To be an effective fighter, you must move close enough to the opponent to be able to strike him or her with an appropriate tool, for example, a kick or a punch. Moreover, you must be able to deliver the strike with power, speed, and accuracy, or it will fall short of its intended purpose. Without proper footwork and mobility, you cannot advance toward your opponent in order to accomplish this.
However, being able to advance so that you can attack your opponent is not enough. Your opponent is also going to be attacking you. You need to use footwork and mobility to move away from your opponent so that his or her strikes fall short of landing on you. Not only does this keep you safe, but the failure to connect with you frustrates your opponent psychologically. Emotionally upset opponents are, in some ways, much easier to defend against because they are apt to make more mistakes that you can exploit to your own advantage.
Lee’s private student, Ted Wong, has made it his mission to teach proper Jeet Kune Do footwork. Indeed, he spends more time than any of the other disciples of Lee training students in that aspect of Jeet Kune Do. He considers footwork very important in Jeet Kune Do.
Proper footwork and mobility can also put you into position to counterattack when your opponent tries to strike you. So, rather than going back and forth trading kicks and punches with your opponent, you can strike in the midst of your opponent’s attack. This is a more efficient and effective way to deal with an opponent.
In employing any kind of footwork, there are certain qualities that are essential to efficiency and speed. First, you must ensure that you maintain a good sense of balance. You begin with a properly balanced bai-jong stance. As you move into the next position, make sure that you end up in a balanced bai-jong stance. If you lose your balance during your transition, you will not be able to strike from a strong position. Also, from an awkward position, you will not be able to defend well against your opponent’s attack. Your opponent can more easily take you to the ground, where you will be more vulnerable.
Second, make sure that your footwork movements are as smooth as possible. That does not necessarily mean that you must move gracefully, because you may occasionally use quick, jerky movements, in what is known as broken rhythm. However, when you move, it should be without clumsiness and without stumbling. You should move without hesitation, unless the hesitation is deliberate. For the most part you should keep your head at an even level as you move, not bobbing up and down, which makes your transition time longer.
Third, when you take steps, make them short and quick. That way, you can move rapidly from one position to the next, ready to go. Avoid lengthy steps that take longer to complete. The longer you are in transition from one spot to the next, the more vulnerable you will be to your opponent’s strikes. You are the most stable when both of your feet are on the ground, and the least stable when one or both feet are in transition, not grounded.
Fourth, maintain the integrity of your bai-jong stance when you start and when you end, as well as during your movement, as much as possible. You should keep your hands and arms up as you move, except when you extend your upper body tools to strike. Likewise, you should maintain your small phasic bent-knee position, except when you are using your lower body tools during your movement.
Footwork Movements
From the bai-jong Lee compiled a number of different footwork methods designed to accomplish different purposes. The Jeet Kune Do student should learn the mechanics of each of these types of footwork and practice them often, so that they become as natural as walking or running. The student should also understand the specific circumstances in which each particular type of footwork movement is employed, in order to execute them at the right moment.
Step and Slide Advance
In order to successfully launch an attack upon your opponent, you must be in range to do so. Often, you do not start out in the proper range, so you need to first enter it so that you can attack from there. The step and slide advance is the type of footwork that you would use to close in on an opponent.
From the bai-jong position, you take a step forward with your front foot. Your front heel should land first, followed by the ball of your foot, as in walking. As your weight drops onto the front leg, your rear leg should slide forward, almost gliding along the ground. As it does so, the rear heel should remain in raised position. Your rear leg slides forward until it is the same distance behind your front foot as before. Make sure that, as you complete this series of movements, you do not drop and raise your body, but keep your head level. You should be back in the bai-jong, but closer to your opponent.
Because the purpose of this footwork is to enter into the range where you can launch your attack, check your position in relationship to your opponent. If he or she is in your range, then you can attack. If your opponent is still too far away, or has moved away in response to your movement, then repeat the step and slide advance to move into range. It is generally safer to use two or more smaller step and slide movements to close in than it is to use one larger movement, which makes you more vulnerable to counterattack.
In employing their footwork movements, students must take care to maintain their balance. This is an important part of initial training in order to develop good habits. Although footwork training and maintaining balance may seem tedious, it is necessary to build a strong foundation in Jeet Kune Do.
Step and Slide Retreat
This type of footwork is used to move away from an opponent. You can employ it, for instance, when you want to open the distance between you and your opponent to give yourself more safety. You can also use it when your opponent advances toward you to adjust your distance relative to him or her. If your opponent throws a punch at you, you can take a quick step and slide retreat to avoid the punch. However, you remain in range to easily launch a counterattack, by not moving back too far.
To execute this movement, you begin from bai-jong position and take a small step back with your rear foot. As you land on your rear foot and shift your weight to your rear leg, you slide your front foot back until it is the same distance from your rear leg as before. You should end up in the bai jong, as before, with your weight about evenly distributed between your legs.
Push Shuffle Advance
When you want to launch a medium-range tool, such as a lead finger jab or lead straight punch, you use the push shuffle advance. This type of footwork quickly propels your body weight forward as you execute the technique. The tool then becomes merely an extension of your body, so that you are actually striking with your body, and not merely with your limb.
To execute this footwork, you start from the bai-jong. It is important that your rear heel be raised, because you will launch your forward movement from there (see Figure 9-1). With the heel up, you push off the ball of your rear foot. Your front foot takes a quick forward step as your rear foot moves forward. As you are in transition, your lead tool should already be on the way toward the target. Your tool should hit the target as your front foot is landing, but before it has completely landed. This is known as the principle of “hand before foot.” When you hit with your hand before your front foot has stepped down, your body weight is still behind your strike, giving it more power. If your front foot has completely landed before your hand strikes the target, then most of your weight will dissipate down your front leg, making your front hand less powerful.
When you push off your rear foot, make sure that you move your entire body quickly toward your opponent (see Figure 9-2). In that way you improve the chances of your tool striking your opponent. If you move too slowly, your opponent will have more time to see you advancing and can take steps to evade you, or—worse yet—counterattack.
This footwork enables you to quickly move back to avoid your opponent’s punch. To execute it from the bai-jong, you raise your front heel slightly so that it is mainly the ball of the foot that is contacting the ground. You then push off the ball of the front foot and propel your body back. As you do so, your rear foot should take a quick step back. The rear foot should land and become settled as your front foot is starting to land.
Slide Step Advance
To launch a kick, such as a side kick, you can employ the slide step advance. This particular type of footwork covers a longer distance than the push shuffle. Therefore, it is better suited for supporting a kick, which is normally executed from a farther distance than a punch. This footwork also covers the distance very quickly, which is necessary in order to successfully land a kick.
To use the footwork to support a kick, you slide your rear foot up until it is behind the heel of your front foot—that is, behind the spot where your front heel was situated before you started to execute the kick. As you slide up your rear foot, your lift your front knee and execute the particular kick that you wish. You should aim to land the kick on the intended target just before your rear foot has settled into its new spot. In this way more of your body weight is behind the kick, which makes it more powerful. Then, immediately after you have kicked your target, drop your front leg so that your front foot is the same distance from your rear foot as before.
Slide Step Retreat
Just as the slide step advance is used to quickly cover much ground, often in conjunction with a lead kick, the slide step retreat is employed to cover a large distance quickly, away from a kicking attack. To defend yourself against a kick, it is better to use this footwork than a push shuffle retreat, because of the longer reach of the opponent’s leg. The slide step retreat allows you to move back farther than the push shuffle retreat. Therefore, it increases your chances of evading the kick completely.
To execute this footwork, you slide your front foot back until the heel is right in front of your rear foot. Your rear foot then steps back until the distance between it and the front foot is the same as before. A useful way to develop the timing that is necessary is to have a partner throw kicks at you as you use this footwork to avoid being struck.
Pendulum Step Advance and Retreat
This type of footwork is often confused with the slide step advance and slide step retreat because they are similar, in some ways. Both involve sliding movements of one foot and the displacement of the other. However, while the slide step footwork involves moving your entire body from one spot to the next, the pendulum step involves moving only the feet so that you begin and end in the same spot. There are times when you may wish to kick without shifting to a position closer to your opponent. For example, you may anticipate that, as soon as you execute your kick, your opponent will counter with a kick or a punch. Rather than set down in a closer spot where you can be hit, you may wish to immediately return to your original spot, out of harm’s way. In that case, you will want to employ the pendulum step advance and retreat, rather than the step and slide advance.
Starting from the bai-jong stance, you quickly glide your rear foot toward the spot where your front foot sits. As you do so, you quickly raise your front leg and execute the kick, while your rear foot takes the place of your front foot. Your kick should ideally land just before your rear foot settles down, so that more of your body weight is behind the kick. As soon as you strike the target, you quickly retract your front leg. As you do so, your rear foot should glide back to its original spot. Your front foot should then move back into its original spot, so that you end up in the bai-jong, exactly in the place from which you started.
As you execute this footwork, you will notice that your weight quickly shifts to the rear leg as your front leg kicks. Then, as you return, the weight quickly shifts back to the front leg until it is about evenly distributed between the two legs. While your legs are moving from one position to the next, your upper torso should remain in the same place, neither moving forward nor moving back. The end result is that your legs look like a pendulum going back and forth.
Side Step Left
Besides moving forward and backward, you need to develop the ability to move laterally, to the left and to the right. Your opponent may move side-ways, so you need to be able to track his or her movement easily. In addition, in certain circumstances, such as having your back against a wall, it helps to know how to move sideways. Stepping sideways also facilitates certain defensive actions, such as slipping a punch, as well as counteroffensive actions, such as throwing a rear cross.
To move sideways to the left from the bai-jong stance, assuming that you lead from the right, your rear foot takes a step to the left. Your lead foot then follows by sliding to the left just enough so that you end up again in the bai-jong (see Figures 9-3 and 9-4). If you want to move a greater distance, it is better to take two small steps in rapid succession than one giant step, which leaves you more vulnerable to your opponent’s attack. You should never initiate the movement by stepping with your lead foot, because you will end up momentarily in a cross-step position, which leaves you out of balance.
Side Step Right
To move to the right, your lead foot takes a step to the right. Your rear foot follows by sliding to the right just enough so that you end up again in the bai-jong. To move a greater distance, you should take two small steps in rapid succession rather than one giant step. Do not initiate the movement by stepping with your rear foot, because that will put you in an awkward, unbalanced cross-step position.
There may be times when you want to move diagonally to either side of your opponent. For example, you may want to maneuver to the side as you slip your opponent’s punch, then return a hook punch to the kidney area. If you were to use the side step movements, you would most likely be out of range to land your hook punch. So, in this instance a triangle step will move you diagonally to the proper spot. To move to the left, you rotate your right shoulder to the left as your left foot takes a forward step at an approximate forty-five–degree angle. As your left foot completes the step, your right foot can either stay in the same spot or slide slightly forward, depending upon the distance to your opponent. You should end up near your opponent’s right side.
Triangle Step Right
A triangle step right is used when you want to move diagonally to the right. To execute this move, you rotate your left shoulder to the right as your right foot steps forward at an approximate forty-five–degree angle. Your left foot will then slide forward slightly so that the distance between your feet remains about the same as before. You should end up near your opponent’s left side.
Curving Step Left
This type of footwork is similar to the side step except that you change the angle at which you face an opponent by pivoting. To move to the left, your left foot takes a step to the left. Your right foot follows by sliding to the left. You then pivot on your right foot so that you now face your opponent from an off-angle.
Curving Step Right
To move to the right, your right foot steps to the right. Your left foot then follows by sliding to the right. You then pivot on your right foot and swing your left leg around counterclockwise. You end up facing your opponent from an off-angle.
Step-through Advance
This type of footwork enables you to advance toward your opponent and to change your lead as you do so. Assuming that you begin in a right lead, your left foot steps forward past your right foot. Your left foot should land forward so that you end up in a proper bai-jong stance, but in left lead.
Similar footwork can be employed so that you can retreat from your opponent and end up in the opposite lead. From the bai-jong your lead foot steps back past your rear foot. Your lead foot should land so that you end up in a proper bai-jong stance, but in a different lead.
Steal a Step
This type of footwork is a simple, but deceptive, way to close the distance on your opponent. You subtly bring your rear foot up behind your lead foot, while disguising your action by throwing a fake finger jab or punch to divert your opponent’s attention. Because your opponent does not realize that your rear foot is now farther up, he or she does not adjust the distance between you. In effect, you have cut the distance to your opponent by the amount of ground that your rear foot has covered. You can then execute a push shuffle advance to launch a punch or a slide step to launch a kick.
There are other types of footwork that are employed in Jeet Kune Do for different purposes. The footwork discussed here should give the student a solid set of options for moving in relation to the opponent. The student should practice each type of footwork individually. As the student becomes proficient, he or she should then combine the different types of footwork in order to develop the ability to flow from one to the other. A student who can move easily is not only a difficult target to hit, but also a mobile attacker.