(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tq-SRMUFUc)
Tactile boxing drill, touch and go! This drill comes from our Jeet Kune Do and Kali classes but it's a great stand alone boxing drill for getting down the basics. It rapidly teaches a few principles, first it covers the four basic strikes of jab, cross, hook and uppercut. Then we sprinkled in some defensive covers, which could provide endless options. This provides a structure of answering back at a 3 to 1 ratio, for every punch the opponent throws, we will attempt to return three in rapid succession.
This concept is great for sport, as boxing matches are decided by percentages and volume of punches thrown. Usually the more active fighter will have the advantage if it comes to a decision, and as you've probably heard the best defense is a good offense.
Finally the next progression of this drill not pictured here is for the JKD program in Tigard. While Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto are fans of boxing and studied the sport and trained it for decades, they believe that trading strikes is not good for the street. Self defense should not be looked at as a fair situation, but one of survival. Imagine your aggressor has a knife, would you want to trade shots with them?
In JKD we train to damage the incoming limb rather than passively block. As an oncoming strike arrives we will hit it with an elbow, a slap, a knee, or a punch of it's own. This greatly enhances timing, and it also prevents a common mistake in all striking arts: waiting for your “turn.”
That goes back to the trading mentality present in a lot of drills, a sort of my-turn-your-turn process. (Like Jab for Jab) We want to strive for it to be always our turn, no waiting! At the very least we want it to be our turn MUCH more often than an our opponent. Making the case for self defense imagine if you could develop a way to completely incapacitate an aggressor and overwhelm them with offense, that's JKD.
It would be like playing the board game Monopoly with an friend. In the beginning you decide you'll take four trips around the board and then let them have one cycle. Very rapidly at the start of the game you'd probably acquire all the resources to easily win. Self defense is like that, and this drill is a great place to start but is only the foundation. Spend some time cultivating your touch and go response and we will build it from there.
Hope you enjoyed the clip and we’ll see you in class!
