FROM THE JKD ARCHIVE

12 Jeet Kune Do Principles: Pressure Part 1

Originally published 2015-05-01

Students working on partner drills

Bridging energy is forward energy.

We call it Bridging because you’re bridging over your opponent’s attacks, however you could also think of it as bridging forward, in the case of moving forward when he’s NOT attacking.

In trapping, this means pushing the attacker’s arms into him.

You can also use this same pressure to get into clinches or takedowns, or even just offsetting your opponent with kicks and punches if they prefer to hang back and strike from a distance.

Dissolving Energy
Dissolving energy means letting your opponent’s energy come toward you, and simply redirecting it away from you but still keeping their momentum coming forward.

Dissolving mostly involves turning your hips to let the opponent’s energy pass.

The less you can obstruct their energy, the better.

That way, when you counter, it’s like two trains colliding. There’s a lot more impact.

A lot of the defense in JKD uses a dissolving energy so that you can intercept more viciously.

In close range, it’s great for offsetting an attacker’s balance for takedowns, as well as handling a stronger opponent who’s using muscle strength to fight you.