Left or right lead

[swan104]

Is there any reason why in some JKD schools adopt a left lead and others take a right?

This question was posted on the JKD forum but it wasn't really answered!

Cheers!

[Ms. J]

leads

Regardless of what lead a school adopts you should work both sides.

When i teach a new student, i start them out with their dominant side of the body, so if your right handed you will start with right hand and right leg lead. If your left handed you will start with the left. Once you have learned the techniques with one side, i then make you work the other side. The intent is to be equally as stable and comfortable in both leads.

As far as why others do what they do, JKD is each teacher’s expression of the concepts they learned and evolved into based on what suited them.

I was taught on both sides, so i teach on both sides. Remember something, if your in a fight the chances are your going to get an injury to the dominant side your using in the fight, once your hurt on that side what will you do? Walk away and say oooooooooo i am sorry i cannot fight anymore because my other side is not trained?



Ms. J.. Bows deeply

www-FATE-Organization.com

[Burton]

Under extreme stress, most right handers will put their left foot forward to instinctively maximize the striking power of their dominant hand. That is why we start with a left lead for righties, right lead for lefties. We do have them practice both, though.

Aloha to Ms. J!

[Ms. J]

Ms. J bows deeply

Ms J bows deeply to Sifu Burton.

[swan104]

Thanks for your replies Burton and Ms J. I do train both sides as well, even though the emphasis at my JKD school is "strong side forward" ie. the right lead.

Luckily, I'm left handed, so if I am put under extreme stress, my lead is a right!

[swan104]

Coming to think of it, all the students at my club follow Bruce Lees idea of strong side forward (a right, or southpaw lead). However, from what I've seen, the majorty of people from other disciplines adopt a orthodox or lead-lead when it comes to fighting.

Is there anything in particular to look out for when fighting in an unmatched lead?

[Burton]

When fighting someone in a mismatched lead, be very aware of their lead hand hook. It can come in very quick, and with less time to react than a rear hook.

Also be ready for the single leg takedown, both offense and defense. It is easier to get to in an unmatched lead.

[eXcessiveForce]

I too was taught to train both leads, but it never took. Being right handed I would always fall back to a left lead like Mr. Richardson suggested.


That was until I tore my left hamstring. My loss of mobility and kicking ability, coupled with pain from certain movements caused me to start sparring with my right lead.

Finally that hamstring healed after about 5 years, but then I tore the Right hamstring. Same process began again in reverse but although this tear is still in the process of healing it was not as bad a tear.

Now there is no reason that I can tell for what lead I adopt. I switch without even thinking about it. I also think that the opponent causes me to shift leads depending on their movements.


Funny how an injury could get me closer to my goal of equalizing my right and left better than all the years of training.

I have noticed if I am being more defensive my right lead ends up forward.

When offensive my left lead goes forward. This may also be due to the fact the my right leg kicks were by far the fastest strikes I had and I could beat my punches with them. But once I injured my legs that caused me to thow certain kicks with the left only and others with the right only. So that sometimes does dictate which hand is in front.

In the end it's all the same to me now a days.

[Burton]

Excellent points. Great motto!

[swan104]

I picked up "JKD: The Textbook" by Chris Kent and Tim Tackett, and did a bit of bedtrime reading. Their comments on fighting in mismatched leads is as follows:

1. Keep your lead hand slightly higher than your opponents (probably to allow for bridging and covering off of the lead hand)

2. Try to keep your lead foot on the outside of your opponents lead foot.

Just something for you all to think about!

[Burton]

In boxing, you try to keep your lead foot outside the mismatched opponent's lead foot to take care of that hook. But you don't want to do that if he can kick you in the groin. Different rules call for different tactics. Aloha!

[doubleouch]

It may sound like a stupid question and maybie it is, but why train both leads? The answer I most often hear is that you may injure your lead hand etc. I don't think that is really a good answer. Another answer I hear is that it makes you more versitile. You can have an infinite number of possibilities, more than you will ever need from only 1 lead. So, why do it?

[ryanhall]

So, why do it?

Because you don't get to pick which side you get attacked on. If you have an emotional attachment to a weak lead or a strong lead, you will probably hesitate or try to switch to the sance you want--you won't have time. If you depend on a stance or a side to be functional, you're not.

[Guest]

You may be fighting more than one person, and they'll come at you from different angles.

[Ghost]

This is non sence switching sides etc.
You can fight on one side just fine and do a bit of training on the other. I would switch sides only briefly to take advantage of the different angle but switch back again quickly.

E.G.
your attaker comes in step back with your Lead leg and hook.

Now youve switched stance, knee with your back leg(the one that was your lead before) and step through, now you are back to your normal stance and go for a punch and elbow combination.

Thats how i would use stance change. Your not going to fool anyone other than a complete brick with a stance change during a fight to say "look at me now im a south paw, how you going to deal with this"