Enter the dragon

By Jonny Clement Brown Source:Global Times Published: 2013-1-31 20:33:01

 

Jeet Kune Do master David Quigby opened his school last year, hoping to introduce the modern form of martial arts to Beijingers. Photo: Jonny Clement Brown/GT
Jeet Kune Do master David Quigby opened his school last year, hoping to introduce the modern form of martial arts to Beijingers. Photo: Jonny Clement Brown/GT



The driver of a large Toyota Land Cruiser at the rear of the taxi I'm in honks his horn, impatient at being held up in traffic as I fumbled for my wallet to pay the driver. As I scrounge around for change, a chorus of blaring horns from other vehicles echoes in the Ocean International Centre residential compound in Chaoyang district.

Pedestrians, shoppers and residents coming home from work are distracted to the point of looking around, attempting to locate the source of this noise pollution.

Fare paid, I get out of the taxi and find myself confronted by the angry Toyota driver. Wagging his finger menacingly in my face, it's the last thing I need. I'm already late for an interview with American Jeet Kune Do (JKD) instructor David Quigby.

Meeting the master

The 30-year-old American specializes in the form of martial arts pioneered by legendary kung fu artist and actor Bruce Lee. JKD is about more than fisticuffs, however, encompassing a wide-ranging hybrid system of life philosophy.

I only wish I'd met Quigby earlier.

"You should have taken him out," Quigby tells me of the Toyota driver, as we exchange pleasantries in the lobby of Frasier Residence in the compound. It is here where he lives and runs the David Quigby School of Martial Arts, specializing in JKD and Filipino martial arts.

I try to explain that the prospect of me, a foreigner, fighting a local Chinese would likely erupt in a gang beating - with me on the receiving end.

"Really?" Quigby enquires with genuine surprise. "I think that would have been fun."

Originally from North Carolina, Quigby arrived in Beijing a little over one year ago in the hope of teaching JKD to anyone interested in learning Lee's signature philosophy.

Journey into martial arts

Interestingly, Quigby claims to be the only JKD instructor in Beijing - possibly the entire Chinese mainland - who has traceable lineage to Bruce Lee's pure fighting style.

"I've literally been a fan of Bruce Lee since I can remember. I was brought up watching his movies with my dad. Even if I try, I can't remember a time when Bruce Lee was not a part of my life," Quigby told Metro Beijing.

At the tender age of 6, Quigby began learning martial arts. He started with karate and taekwondo, but his life changed, by fortuitous accident, when as a teenager he discovered his passion for JKD.

"I was 15 and there was a martial arts school near where I lived run by a guy called Scott Shields, who taught JKD and Muay Thai boxing," he recalls.

However, it wasn't until Quigby met his mentor and friend Ron Balacki while completing a master's degree in social sciences with a minor in Korean history at the University of Chicago in 2009 that he found his true calling.

"I went to a seminar of his [Balacki's]. He's a pretty big name in the JKD and Filipino martial art worlds. I just love the way he talked. He's an amazing martial artist and we just clicked. I follow his curriculum for the most part," says Quigby.

Lee's untimely death came at the age of 32 on July 20 1973, roughly 10 years before Quigby was born. However, Quigby's lineage to Lee can be traced through Balacki, who has in excess of 20 years training under master Dan Inosanto, a student and close friend of Lee's. Inosanto is now the world's foremost authority on JKD, having achieved the highest level of instructorship.

Now, however, it's my turn to learn the "way of the dragon."

As we enter the small makeshift JKD classroom - a pool table room adjacent to the building's main residential gym - Quigby tells me that we are going to start off with a JKD form of boxing that involves kicking, punching and grappling.

Interception, not decapitation

Quigby says that, in the most simplistic terms, the essence of JKD is to "poke 'em in the eye, kick 'em in the nuts and run away." His slight southern drawl makes the whole thing sound both fun yet serious at the same time.

"JKD means 'way of the intercepting fist,'" he continues. "That can be anything from intercepting, perception, physical threat or even intention. It's about dealing with things before they happen."

Face to face in a fighting stance, Quigby tells me to try and motion to punch his face. I try, but my arm is immediately swatted away by an intercepting slap, his strength belying his diminutive stature.

This type of defensive move, says Quigby, is called "trapping." It demonstrates the need to first disarm your opponent before counter-attacking with your stronger arm as your enemy is left open and vulnerable. 

We soon move onto footwork and punching, culminating in an intense workout at the end, whereby I alternately throw 10 punches and do 10 push-ups in quick succession.

It's been a tough workout, but I still feel none the wiser to the ways of Lee's martial art.

For a novice, JKD seems unquantifiable because there is so much to learn. However, this is possibly to do with the fact that it is always progressing, much like Lee's oft quote about the way water can take different forms given the type of container it resides in.

"In essence, JKD lacks tradition," Quigby admits. "It's not a traditional martial art. It's a modern, evolving, progressive martial art. The JKD of 1973 when [Lee] died is not the same as it is now. It's like China - always changing, adapting."

Although his primary objective when coming to Beijing was to open up doors for JKD because he had heard "people were hungry" to learn it, Quigby hints that he has been a little disappointed of the state of traditional martial arts on the mainland.

"I'm going to be diplomatic and just say that it wasn't for me," he says. "I've seen some kung fu masters' demonstrations. Let's just say it just wasn't what I was expecting."

Quigby teaches English at a primary school in Jinsong when he isn't instructing JDK to supplement his income. The transient flow of expats in Beijing means that his students vanish as quickly as they come. However, for as long as he stays, Quigby won't give up on his mission just yet.

"I want to spread JKD in the capital. China is the origin of martial arts. The martial arts that we all know originated here. To give something like JKD back to China would be an amazing thing," he concludes.

 



Posted in: Metro Beijing

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