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Human Pressure Points: 3 Jujitsu Techniques by
Small-Circle Jujitsu Founder Wally Jay
What interest did Bruce Lee have in grappling? Before his death, he had added 33 grappling moves to the jeet kune do concept. He got those from Gene LeBell and Wally Jay? Wally Jay, Gene LeBell and Hayward Nishioka. And he had some chin-na and silat. He would mix the arts. He would enter to trapping and take down into a submission. If you read Tao of Jeet Kune Do, you’ll see those grappling [techniques]. How well do jeet kune do principles apply to grappling? I think the attack-by-drawing principle, where you deliberately set an opening for the guy to come in so you can counter, [applies well]. You can leave an opening for a side kick, then capture the leg and go for a takedown. Also, you can use progressive indirect attack — faking the attack to go into a single-leg takedown and an Achilles-lock submission or some other technique.
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Dan Inosanto on Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do Techniques for Grappling and
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So, for the most part, jeet kune do principles work well to move in and go to the ground, after which pure grappling takes over? Yes, that’s one way. Any range can be closed quickly. In kicking range, you can capture the kick. In boxing range, you can arm-wrap and take him down. Any range can be closed, and you can be on the ground very quickly. I’ve had people at seminars say, “I would just stay outside and kick.” But suppose you’re on a slippery surface; how are you going to kick? Suppose you kick and slip, and the guy’s on top of you. You have to learn to deal with grappling range. Sometimes you cannot dictate your own environment; you’re into grappling range whether you want to be or not. Is the best way to deal with the environmental factor to study a variety of arts? I think so. You should be experienced in all ranges. How are you going to effectively counter a boxer who’s a good inside fighter unless you experience that range? I believe a blend is the best. For beginners, what styles do you recommend for blending? For weapons range, I recommend the Filipino martial arts because [they come from] a knife culture. For grappling range, shootwrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu. For punching range, I would find a good boxing or kickboxing gym. As far as overall conditioning, Thai boxing is king. It also has good standing grappling — hookups, which use knees and elbows. For more information about Bruce Lee, visit the Bruce Lee Foundation website and the official Bruce Lee website. (To be continued.)
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