PARADOX MARTIAL ARTS
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Up until the time I met, as an adult, SiFu Larry Hartsell, I had a desire to please the ‘elders’, the purists of Jeet Kune Do. As I trained with SiFu Hartsell I began to understand that Jun Fan Gung-Fu was merely the base system handed down by Sigung Bruce Lee. Larry told me that before Bruce died, he was ready to disband Jeet Kune Do, for the reason that it had already served its purpose. He had established the truth that one may possess a style, which has no style. That the release from traditional or classical forms of martial arts was the purpose of Jeet Kune Do. Larry also informed me that while Bruce never used the expression ‘concepts’ when speaking of Jeet Kune Do, he always talked of Jeet Kune Do as being conceptual by it’s very existence. Bruce had always advocated the introduction of other martial arts, or the concepts from other martial arts. Bruce also talked a great deal about adapting an art to fit your abilities, not the other way around; Larry would add that this is what ruffled the feathers of the Jun Fan Gung-Fu purists. This conversation with Larry reminded me of when I was in 6th grade, being caught Kenpo by Ed Parker. There was a core group of us, who would stay at the Kenpo Pasadena dojo all Saturday and ‘play’ with whatever techniques were taught to us by Guru Parker. He would sit in his office and watch us add modifications to the various techniques. Sometimes he would come out and join in with us, as we modified, added to or subtracted from what we had been taught. Larry’s conversations with me reminded me of Guru Parker’s philosophy that in order for a technique to be useful, it must also be functional and practical for the situation one is placed in. Then I started training with SiFu Paul Vunak, who introduced me to the concept of Progressive Fighting Systems (PFS). PFS was developed as a way of being able to subdue larger and multiple opponents. Vunak also taught a concept of ‘dirty boxing’ which I had originally learned from SiFu Hartsell. Larry referred to it not only as ‘dirty boxing’, but as having it genesis in Panatukan, or Filipino Boxing. It took this growth pattern for me to abandon any desire to seek approval from the Jeet Kune Do hierarchy or purists. There are many schools and instructors who teach Jeet Kune Do. Many of the ‘schools’ lack the lineage, or direct line, to Bruce Lee. SiFu Hartsell was an original student of Bruce Lee and Paul Vunak had his lineage to Bruce Lee through Guru Dan Inosanto. My lineage comes from SiFu Hartsell, SiFu Vunak and Guru Dan Inosanto. What I teach is a street fighting version or concept of Jeet Kune Do. I teach you how to combine your physical training with concepts adapted from the 26 original arts that fed the style of Jun Fan Gung Fu. You will learn a mixture of Filipino boxing, Wing Chun, Kali, Kenpo, weapons training, including the utilization of what you have at your disposal, that may be turned into a weapon. You will not see any flowery movements in my style. You will learn economy of motion and how to subdue or evade your attacker in the most efficient way. My rates are $70.00 per hour for private training. I prefer to teach groups of up to ten people. That rate is $100.00 per person, per month, for an hour-long session per week. We train outdoors because what I teach cannot be taught in a traditional setting. We wear primarily street clothes. Belts are not awarded. To quote Ed Parker: “it is not what you wear round your waist that matters, what matters is what you wear in your mind.” I invite you to contact me either through my website: paradoxmartialarts.com, e-mail: info@paradoxmartialarts.com or my phone is 310/975-5618.
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