The Straight Lead Punch - From the Jack Dempsey to Bruce Lee

Western boxing maybe the most influential martial art in modern history.  Western boxing is hundreds of years old and while its rules and style of fighting have evolved over the centuries it is still a most effective form of self defense.  The effectiveness of boxing as a martial art may be best exemplified by the modern sport of MMA or Mixed Martial Arts.  Boxing is one of the foundational arts that are in the mix of mixed martial arts.  Coupled with kicking, elbows, knees and grappling, MMA style boxing comes the closest to the original fist fighting arts of europe in its brutal effectiveness.

Bruce Lee was a big fan of western boxing and saw it as a missing ingredient in his fledgling art of Jeet Kune Do.  Bruce Lee combined Wing Chun Kung Fu with western boxing, fencing and wrestling to create Jun Fan which would eventually become Jeet Kune Do.  One of the most effective boxing techniques Lee incorporated into JKD was the straight lead punch. The early influence of fencing and british stickfighting on boxing is evident in its focus on using the strong side to deliver a punishing straight thrusting punch. Exemplified by boxing great Jack Dempsey, the straight lead punch differs from the jab in both its use as a weapon and in how it is delivered. The left jab is more of a defensive strike. Delivered in a quick flicking action. It is thrown with speed and frequency to keep an opponent at bay. By contrast the strait lead is a power punch, thrown by lunging forward in a manner emulating the fencer's thrust.  The boxer puts all his weight behind the punch making it both fast and powerful.  This technique became known as the straight lead in JKD and is used by some very effective professional MMA fighters today.

The advantages of the straight lead punch lies in its speed and power.  Another advantage from a self defense point of view is that when using a weapon you don't have to change your stance or you style of attach.  Weapons based arts like stick fighting, knife and sword fighting usually emphasize leading with your strong hand.  This makes sense when you thing about it.  Have you ever tried to use a knife with your left hand? Or right hand if your a lefty?  Its a recipe for getting a nasty cut.  Now, it is important to train with either hand as the lead in order to maintain adaptability in your fighting, but as a rule you want to lead with your strong hand.

The straight lead punch is a powerful, effective and easily learned technique to add to your defensive arsenal. I will be posting some video showing how to effectively deliver the straight lead as well as how to integrate it into your overall striking arsenal.