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I've read these posts and am still not sure what all the fuss is about. I know that in the 70's Dan did not want to teach JKD to the general public for 2 basic reasons.
1. He promised Bruce Lee that he would only teach it to small groups like his backyard school.
2. In a seminar there was no control over who was learning it. At the California Martial Art Camps & The Smoky Mountain ones, He wanted Larry Hartsell and me to teach JKD. It was called JKD and not Jun Fan but he wanted no camp certificate that said JKD on it. He wanted Jun Fan on it. The name Jun Fan was first used by Dan after he opened the Kali Academy. The old backyard group became a closed door JKD class there. He then started 4 phases of Jun Fan.After completing these 4 phases a student could be voted into the JKD class. What I learned and always taught was always called JKD. I think the concept idea came about at seminars to show how many of the principles of JKD can be applied to other arts. I remember in the 1970's in the backyard class that Dan had discovered that escrima had the 5 ways of attack. It was called escrima then.
The large group seminars changed how Dan taught certain things. For example, when we learned sumbrada there was no box pattern. Dan came up with that to teach it to large groups. The same is true on how trapping was taught.
Tim. What was the difference between what was taught in the 4 phases of Jun Fan back then and what was taught in the closed door JKD class? Good info, good history!
The large group seminars changed how Dan taught certain things. For example, when we learned sumbrada there was no box pattern. Dan came up with that to teach it to large groups. The same is true on how trapping was taught.
Tim can you expand on what you mean about the trapping?
The trapping that I was taught in Jun Fan were series off of parries past the centerline, doesn't parry past the centerline, catches your punch, throws a punch in return etc. (I believe some other names are the Biu Gee series, Loy Pak series etc.) The way I've always viewed these though are as teaching tools and options. While I like the series, I'm always careful not to be bound or stuck in them, because the main thing that I need to do is react to whatever energy a person gives me without a pre-determined path. The series were just teaching me what I could possibly do and why certain things would and wouldn't work, not necessarily what I have to do.
The backyard training, because of the few students, went into more detail and was more alive. For example, There were no series in trapping. Trapping was done by reacting to what your partner did. Like the box pattern, the trapping series was put together to teach trapping in a more organized way to large groups. There were also no focus glove series or bob and weave series, etc. I know that Del Pollard on another forum says he was there with Kent and Magda when Dan came up with the whole concepts approach. I wasn't there, but I have no reason to doubt Del's account.
Tim Tackett.....Thanks for sharing with us all your knowledge of "WHAT REALLY HAPPEN BACK IN THE DAY"...... I'm now being able to fill in the wholes of my understanding what really happen.....I'm totally looking forward to training more with you in the future....Most people at your level hold back this kind of infor. , but you truly are a "Teacher's -Teacher"....thanks again! :-)
John,
Thanks! I', trying to share what I learned from Dan Inosanto and Bremer while I still can. Right now Bremer is 78 and I'm 64 next month. I'm about 1/3 thru writing a manuscript called "Chinatown JKD" by me and Bremer which will focus on those small details that make JKD really work. For example, how do you really do the snappy straight lead punch? Where does the snap come from? And how much do you penetrate on the target? It will be published by "Black Belt".
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