The front hand lead is one of the most versatile hand techniques in the Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do arsenal. It can be utilized in all ranges of fighting and thrown as a finger jab, hook, backfist, or just about any variation of a front hand strike. This article will deal with the straight lead, the most basic and premier example of the front hand lead. Bruce Lee states:

"The leading straight punch is the backbone of all punching in Jeet Kune Do. It is used both as an offensive and defensive weapon to 'stop' and 'intercept' an opponent's complex attack at a moment's notice... The straight right is the fastest of all punches because the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. With the minimum movement involved in delivery, balance is not disturbed and because it goes straight toward the target, it has a better chance of landing (the opponent has less reaction time to block). Also, the straight right punch is, without saying, the most accurate of the other punches." (Commentaries on the Martial Way, Volume 3, Bruce Lee Papers)

With this in mind, we begin our examination of this devastating technique. Execution of the Straight Lead: The basic execution of the straight lead begins with the front hand moving towards the target fol-lowed by an explosive push step, then rotating the hips and shoulders while extending the arm and fist into the target. Sounds simple enough, right? But let's break this down

Hand Before Foot: The principle of the hand moving before the foot is crucial to the straight lead. By moving the hand before any other part of the body when initiating a straight lead, the practitioner greatly adds to his non-telegraphic motion, since he is giving little or no indication that he is attacking. The fist is also halfway to its target before the opponent even perceives the attack. For example, the fencer who moves his foil first has a much greater chance of scoring a hit than one who always moves his body or feet first, because the foil is much harder to perceive than a larger body part. Bob Bremer, describes this as the hammer principle in that, like hitting a nail with a hammer, the hand and arm are slightly extended before anything else.

Moving your hand before any other part of your body sounds easy, but it is actually difficult to perform. You have to mentally program yourself to move the hand first, then follow-up with your whole body; you have to develop a "feel" for the order of the movements. Ted Wong teaches to strike with your knuckles or fingertips moving out first, then to "push off" with the second half or completion of the strike. Steve Golden has an excellent drill where you first punch or extend your fist outward without any footwork, then step forward while pulling your hand back as if pulling on a rope. This is to emphasize the separation of hand and feet. Start out slow, then gradually increase the speed and begin to combine the two motions.

Straight Line to Target: In addition, the straight lead punch follows what kind of path to its target? Straight, of course! By this I mean that no matter where your hand happens to be, you will shoot the hand in a straight line to the target, whether it is straight across, slightly upward, etc. This will also contribute to one's speed, as the fist travels in a direct line, thereby contributing to the economy of motion of the tech-nique. Of course, we begin teaching students the straight lead from the on guard position where the front hand is slightly extended and in front of the chin. But as the student's motion becomes more fluid and alive, we want to preserve the principle of going straight to the target with the punch, regardless of where the hand happens to be. Lee comments on the advantages of straight hitting:

"Straight hitting (and straight kicking) is the foundation of scientific skill. They developed late in history and therefore are the product of careful thought. Requiring speed and intelligence to use, they travel less distance than the round arm blows (or hook or spin kicks), and will reach the mark first. Straight blows (and kicks) are more accurate than hooks and swings and allow full use of the arm (and leg) reach." (cmw, Vol. 3)

Since it travels in a straight line to the target, there is great accuracy and precision with the straight lead, which adds to its power. With the body alignment behind the punch, the strike is projected into the opponent with great force, like a bullet. Moreover, when punching in a straight line, you are in a strong defensive position since you are covering your centerline throughout the delivery of the straight lead (that is, when you are executing the technique from the on guard position and the strike ends in front of your nose).

On Guard Position: Before we even get to the push step, we need to briefly examine the stance from which the strike is executed. The On Guard Position in RUM is important in executing the straight lead. It is not simply whatever position that feels comfortable to the practitioner, granted that comfort is important. Bruce Lee states:

"The primary purpose in JICD is kicking, kitting, and to apply bodily force. Therefore, the use of the on-guard position is to obtain the most favorable position for the above mentioned." (atm, Vol. 1)

The strong side forward is important since we will perform the straight lead with our strongest hand; thereby giving the punch the ability to probe as well as knockout (just ask Oscar De La Hoya, who is a leftie but boxes orthodox). Moreover, by putting the hand that will strike in the front, the fist is already in an advanced position on the target before even initiating the punch. The stance is in a balanced position, with the weight distribution slightly forward due to the raised rear heel, cocked and ever ready to explode forward. The rear heel is what facilitates the push step. Lee comments:

"The left heel is the spark plug, or better still, the piston, of the whole fighting machine. Springiness and alertness of footwork is the central theme. The left heel is raised and cocked, ever-ready to pull the trigger and explode into action — you are never set or tensed, but ready and flexible." (Cmw, vol3)

Push Step: The push step is what initially gets the whole body into the straight lead, thereby greatly con-tributing to its power. The push step can be likened to a combination of the lunge step from fencing and the drop step in boxing to cover distance and generate power. The ball of the rear foot forcefully pushes off the ground while the front foot slightly rises and steps or extends forward to gain distance. With this explosive push-off from the rear foot, the whole body is propelled forward, thereby beginning the generation of power in the punch.

For the push step, Ted Wong uses the example of standing versus jumping on a scale. When you stand on a scale, your weight is motionless, yet constant and stable. But when you jump on it, you can increase your body weight momentarily when you jump down on the scale. This tells us that a body in motion potentially has the energy, dynamics, and momentum to deliver strikes that far exceed the body's actual weight. In terms of science, using the equation of force equaling mass times acceleration (f=mxa), by pushing off the ground with great vigor, you can actually increase your mass, resulting in more force. No wonder many of Bruce Lee's students state that he could deliver blows "like a heavyweight." However, Lee cautions us to maintain our balance and eco-nomical motion during the push step:

"Remember that though this is a fast, sudden movement forward, balance must be kept. The body flattens (toward the floor) rather than leaping into the air. It is not a hop. In all respects it is the same as a wide step forward and bringing the rear foot immediately into position." (CMW, Vol. 1)

The push step is not developed overnight. You must work on it over and over to get the type of speed and explosiveness you want for delivering the straight lead with much power. But once you attain some proficiency, you will notice that your speed and power increases just from the footwork. It is then that we begin to realize just how important footwork is to the punch.

Fist Lands Before the Foot: Regarding the moment of impact, the fist lands on its target before the front foot is grounded. In this way, all the force generated from the initial push step and hip/shoulder snap is preserved for the moment of impact instead of dissipating into the ground if the foot lands prior to impact. If you land your foot before landing the punch, you will lose part of the momentum you generated with your footwork, hips, and shoulders. At the moment of contact, one should still be moving forward. Taking the f=ma equation, when the front foot lands before impact, acceleration is lost because landing the foot is like "putting on the brakes" before impact, and our mass drops as well since the additional weight achieved from the push step is put into the ground. Bruce Lee writes:

"In advancing, the foot must not land first, or the body weight will rest upon the floor instead of being behind the punch — the heel should be slightly raised pointing outward. Always have the legs slightly bent so that the strong thigh muscle comes into play — especially before coming in (like a spring)." (Cmw, Vol1)

Punching Through the Target: At the moment of contact, one must also be sure to penetrate with the punch. One must hit through the target to get more power from the straight lead. A way of achieving this penetration is to visualize that you are hitting two to three inches behind the actual point of impact. I like Dan Lee's training for the straight lead: as one develops some proficiency with the punch, he begins refining it by throwing the punch with varying degrees of intensity and penetration as if "turning the volume dial" on a radio. Bruce Lee wrote numerous notes on making sure to hit through your target for penetration and subsequent power:

"All punches should end with a snap several inches behind the target. Thus you punch through the opponent yet end the punch with a snap." (The Tao of Jeet Kune, The Way of the Stopping Fist, Chinese Boxing from the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute by Bruce Lee, Bruce Lee Papers)

“A blow is never hit at a mark. It is driven THROUGH A MARK Follow through is just as important in fighting as it is in any other sport and follow- through can only be obtained by punching through and beyond the point of attack.” (CAM Vol. 3)

Complete Body Involvement: The straight lead differs from a boxing jab in that there is complete body involvement in the straight lead, whereas the jab often utilizes less of the body. After executing the push step, the practitioner snaps (rather than simply rotates) his hips and shoulders into the punch, attaining proper body alignment and leverage at the moment of impact. The body is then aligned to fully support the punch with maximum leverage and torque, complete body weight transfer, and subsequent power. In this way, the straight lead is different from the boxing jab in that it can probe as well as punish.

I have my students initially practice the straight lead without the push step to make sure that they are utilizing the proper body mechanics for the punch. The body alignment and subsequent leverage gives one the proper biomechanics in delivering the punch with great impact and power. Lee instructs us to hit with the whole body:

"In Jeet Kune Do you never strike your opponent with your fist only, you strike him with your whole body. In other words, you should not hit with just arm power; your arms are there as a means to transmit great force from the correct timing of feet, waist, shoulder and wrist motion at great speed." (Cmw, Vol. 3)

Vertical Fist Structure: Another aspect of the punch that is biomechanically sound is the vertical fist. By punching with the vertical fist, you focus your strike with the last three knuckles of your hand, which gives you the "optimum muscular, bone and leverage configurations." With the combination of the vertical fist, shoulders and hips rotated into the strike, the body is in structural alignment and leverage to deliver a solid strike. The Power Line is the line of force that the straight lead travels within the body, from the striking knuckles to the arm, shoulders, hips, and legs. "It's the strongest structure or alignment of the joints in order to both absorb and transmit force." ("Right Hand Lead Punch," Ted Wong, MA Legends)

In addition, the vertical fist structure avoids the possibility of the elbow to "fly out" and expose the ribs when rotating the fist for a horizontal fist punch. Lee gives some pointers on how to strike in order to preserve the power line:

"The top of your shoulder is at the level of the point you are striking at (sometimes it is all right to stand on the balls of your feet when landing on a tall person in order to make your 'Follow through' generally refers to the continuation of a high rate of movement or even an acceleration from the instant of contact until the ceasing of contact. In boxing, for example, the athlete is taught to 'strike through' the opponent to maintain or increase the rate of movement during the contact so that the 'explosive push' carries through farther and changes the opponent's position more sharply." (CMW, Vol. 2)

"The punch should increase in speed throughout its run and with the punch gaining momentum on its journey, and which, when it lands, still has enough momentum and power to drive clear through the object you strike. Do not aim merely to strike at your man, aim to drive through him — but do not have "lean-on" effect!" (Cmw, Vol. 2)

'Wrist snaps at the last instant in striking acts are last-moment accelerations that literally do go into the object hit (e.g. compressed tennis ball). Instead of a relaxing follow-through, the fighter must bring his hand back as fast as he thrust them out" (cmw, Vol. 2)

Qualities Required for the Straight Lead: By putting all of these elements together, one will perform the straight lead with structural sound-ness, which is half way to our goal. But how we perform this punch is the other half of the equation...

Balance: You must be in a balanced position throughout the performance of the straight lead. First, you must be in balance to even execute a strong attack with the straight lead. Second, you must be in balance during the motion so that you will have leverage and power in your strike. Last, you must be in balance at the completion of your strike so that you can handle any counteroffensive movement from your opponent or that you can execute a follow up movement, such as another punch or kick. Bruce Lee emphasized that we maintain our balance before, during and after a movement:

“Always in balance to throw another kick or punch." "Balance is so vital to good form, whether it be a kick or a punch that you are throwing, you will not have sustained power unless balance and perfect timing give you enough leverage." (Cmw, Vol. 1) "Moving properly means carrying out the necessary movement without the loss of balance. Until balance is regained, the boxer is ineffective in both attack and defense. Therefore, in all movement, balance must be retained."

We also find that the balanced position of the alignment of the body for the straight lead allows for tremendous power in that the power line is achieved. If you were not in a balance position upon impact, then your body would not be aligned biomechanically for the strike. Bruce Lee instructs us on how to achieve and maintain balance throughout our motion:

"Balance is achieved only through correct body alignment. The feet, the legs, the trunk, the head are all important in creating and maintaining a balanced position. The arms and kicking leg are important only because they are the vehicles of body force (watch out for too much commitment — see finger jab, the 'feeler' jab and the 'feeler' kick) They, the tools, only give expression to body force when the body is in proper alignment."

"A position of the hands and arms, of the leg and feet which facilitate easy body expression is important. The foot position is the most important phase of balance. Keeping the feet in proper relation to each other as well as to the body helps to maintain correct body alignment."

"The secret of proper balance in the proper stance is to keep the feet always directly under the body which means that the feet should be a medium distance apart. Either the weight is balanced over both legs (as in western boxing) or the weight is carried slightly forward over a straight right leg (although the knee is loose and easy, not locked) with the right side of the body forming a straight line from the right heel to the tip."

Granted that you will always be in a continuous play of being in and out of balance, but you want to deviate as little as possible from a strong, balanced position so that your body is prepared to attack or defend. What makes the straight lead so effective is that it deviates very little from a balanced position. And because of this, one is given that much time to set off another punch or kick, which is very strategic. A fast and powerful straight lead helps set up all the five ways of attack. Without a threatening straight lead that gets the attention of your opponent (SDA), you would not be able to set up the other ways of attack (ABC, HIA, PIA, HIA).

Relaxation: What can be said about relaxation except that we all need to work on it. It is not only a physical manifestation, but also a mental one in that we need to re-train ourselves into the feeling of being relaxed during motion and no-motion. It is also mental in that if we can remain calm and collected throughout a confrontation, the better chance we have of handling the situation. How many times do we see beginners not score a hit due to rushing the motion because they are excited and tense? When we are not relaxed before, during, or after the straight lead we lose our initiation and performance speed which is crucial to the success of the strike.

"Using the f=mxa equation, we are losing acceleration when tense since we might be firing off antagonistic muscles which act as a brake. We also loose the very important right shoulder. This position permits relaxation, speed, balance, and easy movement as well as a mechanical advantage, making possible tremendous power." (Cmw, Vol. 1)

Timing of our strike which Lee informed us earlier is one of the secrets of a terrific punch

"In all hitting, “Relaxation is essential for faster and more powerful right punch shootout loosely and easily, do not tighten up or clench fist until the moment of impact. “Including the right jab, all force is outward from the body, the arms merely relaxing and sinking back to the body rather than being pulled back." (Cmw, Vol. 3)

"If you tighten up, you lose flexibility and timing which are so important to successful punches. “Keep relaxed at all times and remembers that timing is your chief aid in making a blow effective." (Cmw, Vol.)

Explosiveness: In my opinion, explosiveness is the key ingredient in performing the straight lead with any degree of proficiency. Even if the student does not quite have his timing or balance down, he can still throw a half decent punch if it is thrown with explosiveness. Although many consider explosiveness no more than a combination of strength and speed, it is much more than this.

Where explosiveness plays a large role is in the initiation speed of the straight lead by exploding off the line and the follow through of the punch by exploding through the target. In addition, perfor-mance speed is enhanced with the mentality that explosiveness is instantaneous, so that techniques are performed in an instant of time. Explosiveness is actually more of a mental/spiritual aspect of JFJIW. It is a factor that does not directly play in the f=ma equation, but can greatly add to its mass and/or acceleration. You can maximize your physical performance to a certain degree based on your physical potential and limitations, but with emotional intensity your performance could be dramatically increased. Relaying sudden destructiveness along with the determination "that no matter what, you are going to hit your opponent as hard as you can" adds to the spiritual attitude of the warrior.

"A powerful athlete is not a strong athlete only, but one who can exert his strength quickly. Thus, a smaller man who can swing faster may hit as hard, or as far, as the heavier man who swings slowly. Power involves the rate of speed at which the force is expressing itself."

"Make up your mind that you'll hit as hard as you possibly can, with every ounce of your bodily strength, and above all, with every fiber of your mental determination, and also that you'll keep on hitting harder and harder as you progress." (MIK Vol. 2)

Limitations of the Straight Lead: One must understand that the straight lead punch only has so much potential, and that you can only aspire to maximize this potential, but no further. If you try to go beyond the strike's potential, then you will probably distort its purity.

Often this is the case when practitioners want to get more and more power from the straight lead and they go beyond the structure of the strike at the expense of losing their balance. For instance, some practitioners torque their hips and shoulder so much that their upper body is not in alignment with their lower bodies. Not only are they losing their balance but they are also losing power since the power line is distorted. In addition, it will take them that much longer to recover from this extreme torque which leaves them even more vulnerable.

Another example of trying for too much power is when one exe-cutes the push step with lifting the front foot much too high. This is frequently due to shifting the weight to the rear before pushing off forward because one wants to gather more momentum for punching power. The only problem is that precious time is being spent shifting the weight initially to the rear and that non-telegraphic motion is thrown out the window. One must visualize going forward to the target, rather than upward to cover distance. There is also the possibility that one is not in proper balance with the on guard position, as Lee instructs:

"At any time the right lead foot should be hampered as little as possible. If too much weight is on it, it will be necessary to transfer weight to the left leg before starting the attack. This movement involves a delay, and also warns your opponent."

Students also try to gain too much distance when delivering the straight lead, which leaves them with slow footwork, an unbalanced position, an over reaching arm, or a combination of all three. Strategically, one must be in the proper position (in terms of a balanced position and the relationship between you and your opponent) to successfully deliver one's straight lead. Otherwise you will probably miss your opponent and even more, leave yourself in a vulnerable position. One must not attempt to go beyond what their capabilities are. Bruce Lee again reminds us that we must control our balance when executing any type of footwork:

"Footwork must never be permitted to develop into a large and ungainly stride because footwork should always be under control, smooth but rapid, allowing the fighter to maintain his balance evenly and easily."

"The feet must be directly under the body. Any movement of the feet which tends to unbalance the body must be eliminated. The on-guard position is one of perfect body-balance, and should always be maintained especially as regards the feet. Wide steps and leg movements which require a constant shifting of weight from one leg to the other cannot be used. During this shift of weight there is a moment when balance is precarious and so renders attack or defense ineffective. Also, the opponent can time your shifting for his attack." (CAM Vol. I)

Some want to get faster by not straightening their arms on impact as well as not torqueing their hips and shoulders into the punch so that the motion is abbreviated, resulting in a loss of power since the power line is not achieved and there is no follow through. We all need to realize that each of us have different potentials with the straight lead, and that some of us may be able to deliver it with more power, more speed, or from longer distances than others. The goal is simply to maximize what potential each of us has, no matter how great or small.

Conclusion: After mastering the straight lead, one can vary the punch with other techniques such as a hook or back-fist. It may take some slight adjustments, but the basic structure is the same. You can also apply much of what you learn from the straight lead to other techniques in your arsenal. Let me end with stating that everyone performs the straight Lead a little differently from each other, and that they all have some unique insights on this devastating technique.