Kickboxing

Monday, July 10, 2006

Walt Missingham Jeet Kune Do Seminar

The Monash University Kickboxing Club and Parent Association A.I.M. Academy hosted a Jeet Kune Do Seminar by Sifu Walt Missingham (assisted by Sifu John Stevens) on Saturday 20 May 2006.

The Seminar was a great success, with over 40 people attending from different martial arts backgrounds. Sifu Walt provided a fascinating insight into the man behind the persona, and covered some of Bruce Lee’s most fundamental philosophies that can be applied to any martial arts styles.

Most martial arts styles teach a specific counter against a particular technique or lock. While Sifu Walt could have spent a lot of time teaching in this manner during the Seminar, he instead taught a set of principles that would help students disengage or counter a lock, no matter what the lock was. He encouraged the Seminar attendees to go away and practice putting on different locks and experimenting with different ways of countering the lock according to the principles. This way, there is real learning and creativity being applied, not just rote learning where students memorise moves by mechanical repetition without real understanding of how and why the counters work.

Sifu Walt also taught a drill that was aimed at producing maximum punching power while keeping balanced and advancing on the opponent. His explosive power was impressive, and anyone doubting the power of his punch should hold pads for him! Sifu Walt also demonstrated the one-inch punch and explained the fine-tuned mechanics behind it.

When it came to the knife-defense, Sifu Walt spoke about the research he’s done on prison knife-fighting systems, and how to recognise various positions of weapon concealment. He shared his own experiences with knife attacks and emphasised the seriousness of the consequences of being in such a situation. Seminar participants were taught simple yet effective defenses against knife encounters, and became aware of how difficult it was to handle an aggressor armed with a bladed weapon.

All in all, this was one of the best Seminars ever held by the Kickboxing Club, and we’ve had people asking us to keep them posted about when the next Walt Missingham Seminar will be held!

To read more about people’s experiences at the Walt Missingham Jeet Kune Do Seminar, go to our
Testimonials page.


Kacey Chong