1. Footwork is simply the way you get around.  The footwork practiced in the martial arts is designed to let you move quickly without losing balance.  In a self-defense situation, you need to be able to avoid attack and maybe to counterattack too.

Footwork practice is not glamorous, but it is necessary if you are going to remain stable in a dynamic situation.

In the video, Dan Inosanto demonstrates some of the fundamental footwork Bruce Lee practiced and taught as he developed Jeet Kune Do.

Emotions can run amok in a stressful situation.  Those can be useful if you have practiced using them.

Many people think only of anger as a useful emotion in a violent encounter.  The truth is that anger, fear, hope, and love are all useful and should be there.

Being threatened with violence is bad.  Being threatened by two or more people at the same time is exponentially worse. 

It's not an impossible scenario, you just have to keep the right goal in mind.  In a multiple attacker situation, forget about movie heroes beating down 6 guys and walking calmly away.  You probably don't have a script and a stunt double like they do.

It's time for "answer a question with a question"!  The answer to "Do Martial Arts REALLY work" is "Does football REALLY work?".
To paraphrase Bruce Lee, if you learn how to "do" football and you lose a game, it doesn't mean the plays were bad.  It doesn't mean the technique of throwing a pass is no good.  It means simply that you have not developed the attributes required to apply those skills against that particular opponent.

The modern martial arts owe a lot to Bruce Lee.  He pioneered the use of the training equipment seen in every martial arts gym in America.  He researched and tested ideas from martial arts from all over the world.  He even fought - literally - for the right to teach non-Chinese people martial arts.

Now we come to the end of this famous battle, and the 4th part of this "mini-series"

The last bit is often forgotten as we tell the story to children.  David took advantage of his opponent's moment of weakness and followed through.  He took Goliath's own sword and cut his head off with it.

I guess I understand why we rarely tell that to the kiddies, and why women recoil from it.  There is a tremendous lesson there though.

In Part 1, we covered the role of faith and clear mindedness.

In part 2, we saw how it is best to have more than one plan, in case of inevitable problems.

Now we continue to explore how David actually engaged the giant.

Part one began with David approaching the battle with unshakable faith and a clear mind.  What else did David bring with him?

When David was preparing for battle, he picked up 5 smooth stones.  Why five?  If he had faith, why not 1?  For that matter, why bring any weapon? 

Often women interested in self-defense want to know what martial art is best for them.  Naturally, I think the concepts of Jeet Kune Do, as taught by A Personal Defense, are the answer.  I would like to explain that position, since I arrived at it in a way opposite from that which most seem to arrive at theirs.

After years of hearing people say their art was the answer, I started wondering what the question really was.  I realized it was usually something more like "What approach helps me reach my goals?"  Usually those goals, for men, include dominating bad guys and maybe winning in competitions.  For women, the goal was usually to feel more secure.