Bare Knuckle Boxing is Alive in Orange County
Bare knuckle boxing has a large influence in the development of my approach to martial arts. As I began learning Bruce Lee's martial arts about 14 years ago in Jacksonville Florida, I had no idea that I was learning bare knuckle boxing. I thought it was traditional wing chun and that most other wing chun schools did the same thing. It wasn't until years later that I found out have wrong I was. It was then that I realized that I had found something that was really unique. Since then, I've had the opportunity to come in contact with many different lines of wing chun including Yip Man lineage as well as non-Yip Man lineages. What I had been learning, I found later after personal discovery, was totally different from other types of Wing Chun. It not only had more of a Jeet Kune Do approach, my training was very much influenced by bare-knuckle boxing and fencing concepts.
Sifu Adam Williss has been given the opportunity to bring this unique martial arts approach to Orange County as taught to him by Sigung Bill Graves. Here are some shots of Sifu Jonathan Petree (another of Bill Graves senior students), showing a student our bare knuckle boxing (aka Long Bridge Boxing) approach influenced methods. All photos were taken in real time by a non-martial artist photographer. None of the sequences or pictures were staged.
1- This a student's very first introduction to sparring in Wing Chun Gung Fu. It is called Kiu Sao, and as you can see it has a single-sided orientation. Much later, after the student learns chi sao, he will be taught how to spar from chi sao, which is a closer range and involves both arms being in contact with both arms of the opponent. Notice- The lead foot of the student and sifu are touching, as well as their lead arms.
2 - The student was able to achieve a pak sao (slap block), which intercepted and deflected sifu's straight punch. However, as you can see, the pak sao is not a mature version. It blocked, but followed the punch off to the side, instead of moving forward toward the puncher's center and core.
3 - Sifu Petree has the student practice one of the initial attacks. Notice- the student's pull is a proper, quick jerk, in front of himself, not a long pull to the side. Secondly, he is not using his thumb in the pull. He is properly using the bottom 3 fingers that provide the most control. At the same time, sifu's arm when being pulled is relaxed and forward, not struggling.
4 - The student and sifu Jonathan are practicing initial reactions to stimulus. Notice- both participants simultaneously are attacking and defending. This is a constant in our training. Simultaneous defense and attack takes many shapes, and gets continuously refined with maturity in the art. Sifu Petree has him practicing a very basic form of Sil Lin Di Dar.
5 - The student is practicing a proper counter attack to sifu's initial stimulus. Notice- The student's punch is verticle and the bottom knuckles are landing on the opponent's chin. What's more, the punch still has potential since the elbow is bent and sunk at contact. This time Travis' pak sao is positioned well on the opponents elbow and is lined up with sifu's core. Just as important in this range, Travis' head is back and out of the way of the oncoming punch. Proper bare knuckle boxing!
6 - Sifu Petree (right) uses a quick jerk to disrupt the student's balance. The jerk is coupled with a punch to the head. The student's pak sao is too late to be effective. Notice- Sifu Petree's quick jerk made the student shift his weight onto his front foot. This puts the student's front knee in jeopardy of being damaged by a kick, and makes his foot vulnerable to a sweep.
7 - Sifu Petree providing some realism to the student. After a straight punch to the chin, sifu bridges the gap between him and his opponent, and lets his punching hand perform a neck grab, similar to the initial movements of subset #10 of the Mook Jong form. All of this while staying on the 4'x4' square.
8 - Sifu Petree is performing sil lin di dar. In other words, sifu is trapping his opponent's arm with a pak sao, while at the same time delivering a straight punch to the head. This photo captured the sequence after the hit had already been made.
Sifu Jonathan Petree is the founder of Altlantic Warriors Wing Chun Gung Fu in Jacksonville, Florida. Both Sifu Jonathan Petree and Sifu Adam Williss are 2 of the top 6 students of Sigung Bill Graves. For more information on Sifu Petree, visit www.atlanticwarriors.com.
