Close Range Kicking
- Organic Combinations
- Defensive Shell
THE AUSTIN IMPACT JKD ROADMAP
Eight Levels.A Foundation for a Lifetime.
Build connected skills, explore them through practice, and discover where you want to take your martial arts.
Explore the Eight Levels ↓Meet the Three Core Drills ↓
A clear path. Room to make it your own.
START BROAD. KEEP EXPLORING.
Build Your Foundation for What Comes Next
The first eight levels introduce several aspects of martial arts, helping you become more comfortable with each and discover what you want to explore more deeply.
Along the way, you develop the principles and movement patterns shared by effective martial arts—the common threads that connect different techniques.
The early levels emphasize skills that connect directly with Muay Thai, so your semi-private lessons and group training can support one another.
How Fighting Fit Expands Your Practice →
YOUR TRAINING HAS DIRECTION
The Eight-Level Overview
Each level introduces a focus that you explore through solo, partner, and sparring drills. These are the areas covered in the curriculum overview.
Long Range Punching
- Footwork
Close Range Punching
- Head Movement
Elbow & Knee Strikes
- Active / Elusive Lead
- Fakes & Setups
Advanced Striking Combos
- Clinch Striking
Bareknuckle Fencing
- Switching Leads
Long Range Kicking
- Advanced Kicking Combos
- Striking From the Ground
Trapping Hands
- Ground & Pound
- Weapons Defense
- Multiple Attacker Defense
SKILLS GIVE YOU TOOLS. DRILLS GIVE YOU A PLACE TO EXPLORE.
Learn It. Try It.
Make It Your Own.
Think of drills as mini-games. The skills in each level give you tools to play those games. Within a drill’s rules, you can experiment, notice what works, and develop your own responses.
Learn
the Skills
Get an explanation, practice the movement, and understand what you’re working on.
Explore
Through Drills
Put those tools to work on the bags, with a partner, and in focused sparring games.
Notice.
Adjust. Repeat.
Use feedback from your coach, your training partners, and your own experience to keep refining.
Explore the skills in the first three levels
Level 1
- 3-Counts / 4-Count
- 4 Kick Combos
- Intercepting Teep
- Thigh Block
- Teep Scoops
- Shin Blocks
- Pike
Level 2
- L-Step / Pivot Step
- Double Jab Series
- Thai 4-Counts
- Punch Combos 1 & 2
- Push Shuffle / Pull
- Forward Parry
- Slip
Level 3
- Punch Combos 3–6
- Shovel Hooks
- Uppercuts
- Body Cross
- Helmet Defense
- Weave
- Roll
THREE CORE DRILLS IN EVERY LEVEL
Three Ways to Develop Your Skills
Solo practice, partner work, and sparring each contribute something different. You return to all three as your skills develop.
01
Solo Practice
Focus your repetitions, work at your own pace, and explore movement.
Explore Solo Drills ↓02Partner Pad Work
Learn to strike, defend, and become a more capable training partner.
Explore Partner Drills ↓03Sparring Games
Develop timing, distance, and decision-making through focused games.
Explore Sparring ↓See the original core-drills graphic
CORE DRILL 01 · SOLO
Give Your Skills Focused Attention
Solo practice gives you time to slow down, repeat a movement, and work on the parts you find challenging. It also gives you room to explore combinations and movement without coordinating every choice with a partner.
The heavy bag and double-end bag form the foundation of solo drills in the curriculum. Other tools and shadowboxing offer additional ways to explore your skills.
- Level 1 · Defensive shellKeep your guard organized while you strike.
- Level 2 · FootworkConnect your strikes with movement and angles.
- Level 3 · Head movementExplore setting up punches and exiting exchanges with head movement.
CORE DRILL 02 · PARTNER
Learn Both Sides of the Pads
In interactive pad work, the holder calls combinations on the fly and fires back strikes for the other person to defend and counter. You practice the back-and-forth of an exchange while focusing on specific skills.
Holding pads is part of the curriculum too. A thoughtful pad holder gives a partner useful targets, clear cues, and feedback they can learn from.
- PlacementPresent the pads where the intended targets belong.
- TriggersUse verbal, visual, and physical cues to keep the exchange flowing.
- ContainersOrganize combinations and reactions into patterns you can explore, mix, and adapt.
CORE DRILL 03 · SPARRING
Play the Game.
Learn From the Exchange.
Sparring is a laboratory for putting your skills to the test. Focused games give you a specific problem to explore while developing timing, distance, and the ability to read and respond to a partner.
The curriculum introduces sparring incrementally, with games that focus your attention and gradually expand the skills in play.
Kick Sparring
No face contact. Kicks focus on the legs and body, with shoulder tag included in the game.
Jab Only
A focused game introducing face contact through the jab.
Flow Sparring
Light-contact practice bringing kicks and punches into the same exchange.
A learning focus for each game
Limiting the tools in play encourages you to develop less familiar skills, adapt to different conditions, and solve problems. The goal is to make sparring an engaging part of learning.
Ask Coach Forrest how contact, intensity, and progression are handled in training.
Explore more sparring-game examples
- Kick sparring with shoulder tag
- Jab-only sparring
- Defensive “survival” drills
- Ping pong sparring
- Flow sparring
- Clinch sparring
- Multiple attacker sparring
- Boxing rules
- Kickboxing rules
- Muay Thai rules
A FOUNDATION FOR YOUR OWN PATH
Keep Learning Beyond the Eight Levels
The purpose of this introduction is to give you a broad base and help you discover what you want to explore more deeply. Your interests and personal expression keep developing as you continue training.
Explore the Three Aspects of JKD →YOUR FIRST STEP
Ready to Experience
Austin Impact JKD?
Come meet the team, see how the program works, and discover whether Austin Impact JKD is the right fit for you.
Explore Your Free Intro Lesson →Free · 30 minutes · tailored to your experience.