Background:
I first visited Sifu Nik Farooqi in 2013 while
travelling through Chicago. It was an awesome experience and got me excited to
try more Jeet Kune Do. This translated into a trip to Focus JKD in Nashville
where I got a much better idea of what Jeet Kune Do is. The aggressiveness and
drive that I saw in both Focus and Ballistic really hooked me into exploring
this art more.
When I moved to Chicago I looked up Sifu Nik in
order to continue to explore Jeet Kune Do. I really wanted to get a better
understanding of how Jeet Kune Do fit within the modern world. Bruce Lee was
one of the greatest Martial Arts promoters of the 20th century.
Whole generations of Martial Artists have been inspired by what Bruce Lee did.
Jeet Kune Do bursting carries fighters in and out of combat.
“Actually, the father of mixed
martial arts, if you will, was Bruce
Lee. If you look at the way Bruce Lee trained, the way he fought,
and many of the things he wrote, he said the perfect style was no style. You
take a little something from everything. You take the good things from every
different discipline, use what works, and you throw the rest away.” – Dana
White, President of the UFC.
Bruce Lee might be a controversial figure within the world of
Martial Arts and there are certainly some that will debate his legacy. However,
regardless of what you think about Bruce Lee there is one thing that all
Martial Artists can agree on, Bruce Lee has been dead a long time. In the thirty-one years since his death the style he created could have either have
grown and flourished or diminished into nothing.
Tossing my partner over me. He recovered instantly with Ballistics ground game.
It was great to see that Ballistic Martial Arts is certainly the
former case. They have taken the philosophies laid down by Bruce Lee and the
following generations to grow even further. Ground fighting and submission
wrestling are now part of the Ballistic arsenal. Sifu Nik is also certified
firearms instructor and teaches a variety of weapons self-defence classes and
programs. Although this may seem counter to Bruce Lee’s lightning fast hands it
should be noted that Bruce himself was known to carry a .38 revolver and a 1911
automatic. The weapons are simply an extension of the JKD program.
What did I learn: Ballistic
Fighting Methods actually conducts their class “backwards” against many
contemporary programs. Most classes will do some kind of warm up, basic drills
and then move into sparring. Ballistic flips this paradigm on its head by having
you jump straight into sparring and grappling. I really enjoyed fighting this
way because you enter the fight fresh. Well sometimes…
I drive my opponent back with a kick.
Ballistic Fighting Methods also runs a wicked cardio program.
Combining kettlebells with some cardio and strength exercises pushes you to
your max. Sweet drenched with muscles burning you get dumped into sparring.
Personally I found this to be an excellent way to attack your training. This
has you entering your fighting anywhere from perfect fighting shape to bone
tired depending on the night. This diversity in the range of how you engage a fighter is excellent for
developing a tactical mindset.
Defaulting to my experience of competing in a variety of
tournaments I truly see the value in a drill like this. It would be a wonderful
world if I always got to engage opponents that I was fresher, stronger and
faster than them. Reality is painfully different. I have been in fights where I
was fresher than my opponents and others where I was wondering how I was going
to make it through the round. By fighting in this manner it forces you to
consider a multitude of game plans and options to run through. You learn to be
conservative while tired yet still engaging and how to bring the thunder when
you are fresher.
Sifu Nik whips a kick into my mid-section.
What was similar: Sifu
Nik drilled us hard on the concept of switching levels and switching angles. We
worked on “selling techniques.” I love
to “sell” techniques to people and use my background in Praying Mantis to do it
a lot and I am constantly changing levels. In my last visit to my friend Sifu Tom
Lugo’s Integrated Kung Fu Academy we worked heavily on fakes and how to bait
your adversary in. These techniques mirror across many arts.
Bruce Lee's backfist was infamous and Sifu Nik has adapted it to work in the modern world.
The reason that changing levels and selling fakes is such a big
part of my game is simple. I am a big guy and as a big guy I telegraph many of
my techniques. It’s a factor of size that I can’t control. If a small fighter
twitches the movement can easily become lost in his motion. When I twitch that
same motion covers a larger area and is more visible to my adversaries. Nothing
I can do about it and shrinking anything other than my waistline isn't in the
cards at the moment.
By “selling”
someone a fake I can throw them off their game and bring them into mine. Although
I focus on controlling my telegraphing I don’t make it a core focus to
eliminate. Instead I use those very same tells against the other fighter. Because
they can “see” my techniques I let them read the fake and think that they are
going to intercept or block it. Once they commit to the fake I am able to slid
into the opening and exploit it. Since this is an article on Jeet Kune Do it is
fitting to cap this section with a quote from Bruce Lee. “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
Sifu Nik showing me how to sell the technique.
Conclusion: Ballistic
Martial Arts was a great program. Covering stand up fighting to ground
techniques, knives and sticks to firearms, Ballistic is constantly growing and
evolving. Sifu Nik holds the “Warriors Weekends” where Martial Artists of all
stripes get together to exchange techniques and grow. They aren't a static art
lost in the past rather a dynamic art that remembers where it came from.
A great class with great guys to learn from.
Best regards and keep training,
Martin "Travelling Ronin" Fransham
If you are interested in training together I would love to get together with you. Drop me a line on facebook and we can connect. I would love to learn from you.
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Travelling-Ronin/583588935029877?ref=hlOn Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwXDjTjOSVMm3-
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