Simply put, JKD is the art and practice of not wasting one’s time. At BAD Factory, we do not practice techniques that do not suit our needs, even though they are popular and espoused by many. We do not utilize strength and conditioning programs that do not produce what we deem optimum results, even though accomplished experts swear by them. In fact, we do not diet either; we eat what we want, and let our training take care of the rest. We are renegades by code.
Popular opinion and practice remain in the periphery for us. We are this way because direct experience tends to debunk these notions definitively for our purposes, so subscribing to anything without directly validating it for ourselves is simply not our style. We would rather spar and analyze our results, than read someone’s manifesto, buy their uniform, worship their expert, and believe THEIR results.
If one considers this line of thinking further, our method becomes even clearer. We do not become boxers to learn how to jab. We do not become muay thai fighters to know how to apply a half-plum, then throw a rear elbow. We do not become wrestlers or jiu-jitsu fighters to know how to execute a double-leg takedown, clearing the legs, in order to achieve a side-mount control.
We become what the task demands of us. We learn as our experiences teach us. This process has proven to be very rewarding.
To do otherwise would be a more costly and inefficient proposition, in terms of time spent developing skills that we may, ultimately, not need for our overall purposes. For example, we do not believe in “becoming” a boxer in order to improve our “stand-up”, for this simple reason: years devoted to becoming a boxer trains you to box only against boxers.
The value of a boxing coach’s expertise lies solely on how his experiences directly mirror ours. There is great value in his expertise, but our direct experiences in sparring and live application will ultimately determine the usefulness of that expertise. We have no use for knowledge, no matter how expert, if the task (and its successful completion) does not require it. This is a subtle process, in which expert knowledge in one context must give way to on-the-field modifications in another. This process is often misunderstood.
Then again, so are renegades.