The Twelve Jeet Kune Do Principles

Non Telegraphic Movement ~ Do not prepare for a strike. This is a very zen
concept. Don’t move or even lean the body or the mind before an action.
Strong Side Forward ~ Put the strong side of your body forward. Right handed
people use right side, left handed people use left side. Use the lead hand for offense 80%
of the time, the rear hand 20% of the time. Use the rear hand for defense 80% of the
time, the rear hand 20% of the time.
Longest Weapon To The Closest Target ~ Use the lead hand and the lead leg to
open the attack or initiate the defense, the rear hand and leg are too far away and can be
seen too easily.
Non Classical Movement ~ Don’t use fixed stances or training forms, as in classical
karate or gung fu systems. Fixed stances and forms are rigid, inflexible to change, and
do not represent actual fighting situations. Use drills that are fluid and alive and always
changing.
Use Of Broken Rhythm ~ Speed up or slow down on the attack or defense. This will
break the timing of the opponent.
On the half ~ Striking the opponent before he completes his attack interrupts his
rhythm and is hitting on the ‘half beat.’ This can be done at any time in a sequence of
attacks.
Adaptability ~ The only constant is change. Fights are nothing but change. You must
adapt to the situation, change with the change. You must not rely on a fixed set of
techniques, or you will be out-changed. This is a matter of self-expression.
Use Of Feints and False Attacks ~ Use a feint, or a fake attack, to draw the
opponent into a reaction. Once he reacts you can read him and then predict what kind of
fighter he is, and what he will do. Feints also distract the opponent, put him out of
position so that you may simply defeat him without secondary action.
Interception ~ Jeet Kune Do means ‘Way of the Intercepting Fist.’ Blocking means
you haven’t perceived the attack, and you are now moving behind the action. You are
now responding to instead of creating. Better to simultaneously parry and hit, or just to
hit first (after perceiving that a fight is eminent and will occur…you must do everything
in your power to de-escalate a fight before it happens) To accomplish the action of this
principle you must control the distance so that the opponent has to extend himself to
reach you.
The mind ~ Don’t think defend and hit…just think ‘hit.’
Centerline ~ Stay to the centerline. Circular punches are easier to see, straight
punches are more difficult to see. Learn where to find major targets on the centerline.
Nose, eyes, throat, groin, solar plexus, etc. If you control the centerline you control the
positioning and leverage of an opponent, and thus control his ability to launch an attack.
Alive Footwork ~ Being mobile is crucial. Learn mobility and you can move into
position to strike, or move out of a position that would be struck. Control of distance,
rhythm and timing are controlled by footwork, so your footwork must be fluid and alive.
Focus on Low Line Kicking ~ It’s dangerous to kick high in a real situation. High
kicks are slower, put your balance at risk, offer your opponent or lever, and so on. Low
kicks, on the other hand, to the knees or groin, are quick and easy and hard to defend
against.
As soon as the attacker touches you or it’s clear that escape isn’t possible, shout loudly (“BACK
OFF!”) and push back at him or her (for simplicity’s sake we’re going to use “him” for the rest of
the article, although your opponent could be female). This does two things: it signals for help
and it lets the attacker know you’re not an easy target. The video at left from Rob Redenbach, a
former trainer of Nelson Mandela’s bodyguards, shows why this is the first thing you need to do.
It may not dissuade all attackers, but getting loud will warn off those that were looking for easy
prey.

The Most Effective Body Parts to Hit

When you’re in a confrontation, you only have a few seconds and a few moves to try before the fight
may be decided. Before an attacker has gained full control of you, you must do everything you can—
conserving as much energy as possible—to inflict injury so you can get away. (This is no time to be civil.
In a physical confrontation that calls for self-defense, it’s hurt or be hurt.) So aim for the parts of the
body where you can do the most damage easily: the eyes, nose, ears, neck, groin, knee, and legs.

Su Ericksen, who writes the very helpful Self-Defense for Women website, offers techniques for striking
these pressure points so you can defend yourself and get to safety. She writes:

Depending on the position of the attacker and how close he is will determine where you will strike and
with what part of your body you will employ. Do not step in closer, say, to strike his nose with your
hand, when you can reach his knee with a kick.

When striking a target on the upper half of the body you will use your hand. Effective strikes can be
made with the outer edge of your hand in a knife hand position, a palm strike or knuckle blow for softer
targets or a tightly curled fist.

Here are some photos Su offers on attacking these highly sensitive pressure points

Eyes: Gouging, poking, or scratching the attacker’s eyes with your fingers or knuckles would be
effective, as you can imagine. Besides causing a lot of pain, this should also make your escape
easier by at least temporarily interfering with his vision.
Nose: If the attacker is close in front of you, use the heel of your palm to strike up under his
nose; throw the whole weight of your body into the move to cause the most pain and force him
to loosen his grip on you. If he’s behind you, you can strike his nose (from the side or front) with
your elbow. Either way, aim for the nasal bones.
Neck: The side of the neck is a bigger target, where both the carotid artery and jugular vein are
located. You could possibly temporarily stun your attacker with a knife hand strike (all fingers
held straight and tightly together, with thumb tucked and slightly bent at the knuckle) at the
side of the neck. (For even more injury, you could thrust your elbow into your assailant’s throat
while pitching the weight of your body forward.
Knee: Su says the knee is an ideal self-defense target, vulnerable from every angle and easily
kicked without risk of your foot being grabbed. Kick the side of the knee to cause injury or
partially incapacitate your attacker. Kicking the front of the knee may cause more injury but is
less likely to result in imbalance.
Use your elbows, knees, and head. Those are the parts of the body that are most sensitive when hit.
Now here are the parts of the body used most effectively for inflicting damage: your elbows, knees, and
head (they’re your body’s bony built-in weapons). This video from Elite Defense Systems in IL explains
how to defend yourself against three most common attacks by using these key body parts.

Use everyday objects. Everyday objects you carry around with you or things in your environment can
also be used to your advantage as weapons. Hold a key or pen between your middle and ring finger
while you’re walking home in the dark for more assurance. Outdoors, you can toss some dirt or sand
into your attacker’s eyes. Women are often told to spray perfume or hairspray into an assailant’s eyes.
The point is, use what ever you can to make your defense stronger (for more inspiration, watch some
Jackie Chan movies).

Leverage your weight. No matter your size, weight, or strength in relation to your opponent, you can
defend yourself by strategically using your body and the simple law of physics. This is the principle
behind martial arts systems like Jujitsu and other self-defense programs where a smaller person is able
to defeat a larger one.