phases in JKD?

[Cj Lee]

Hi people

Just wanted to know if anybody here knows the phases in Dan Inosanto's JKD classses either at the old Kali Academy and/or at the Inosanto Academy. I understand that Guru Dan had what he called "phase classes". So what did he teach in Phase I, Phase II and so on? What was the progression like?

Hope you guys who know this will share it. Thanks!

[MikeJKD]

shhhhhhh. It's a secret.
No, I teach using a phase structure also, and when I was at the Inosanto Academy, I attended Guro'd Phase III classes. Basically, it's like you'd expect. 1 is for beginners, and they tend to focus on the tecnical development of the foundation tools of Jun Fan, as well as on improving their physical conditioning. Phase 2 is the intermediate students, and they begin to make those basics a little more combative while delving into the JKD Concepts more and more, and then the phase 3 class is for senior students and instructors. While I was there (1996-97) these mostly consisted of sparring, partnered drills with "open" endings, meaning that we'd start with a pre-set drill and allow the feeder or receiver to react more fluidly. We also did a lot of conditioning work, heavy bag training, mook jong, and focus mitt training, splashed in with a lot of energy drilling and trapping work. It was a pretty wide blend of skills and training. In essence, Phase One students are expected to learn the fundamental core of JKD (which is Jun Fan Gung Fu)and to get their bodies in reasonable shape for the harder, more intensive training to come. In phase two, they start their own combative exploration of those tools, and continue their physical development. By Phase Three, students are expected to be more free thinking, applying whatever works best for them rather than trying to fit the specific tools of a given art (like jun fan) into the structure of the fight. It's not uncommon to see people react to punches and kicks much differently in the phase three classes than in the 1 and 2 classes. For instance, from my time training with Vunak, I fell in love with destructions and learned to apply them with reasonable efficiency. Guro Dan encouraged me to do so when sparring in JKD, even though a lot of people stuck to the Jun Fan counters. At any rate, I hope that explanation helps.
Mike

[Cj Lee]

MikeJKD

Just wanted to say thanks for the info.