Recently, I read “The Straight Lead” by author Teri Tom.

Hands down, this is one of the best martial arts books I have ever read. Teri Tom comes from a JKD background. In this book, she describes the history, science, and mechanics of Bruce Lee’s JKD core punch, the straight lead. Tom is a student of Ted Wong and writes regular columns for “Inside Kung Fu.”

The cover of Teri Tom's book.

Unlike most of the “how-to” martial arts books on the market, Teri Tom details the science of the straight lead and illustrates the science with numerous illustrations and photographs. She provides a fascinating insight into Bruce Lee’s development of this punch.

Further, Teri Tom reveals that Bruce based this technique mainly on Western fencing and early 20th-century boxing.

The result was the development of a non-telegraphic punch that combined speed and power.

She covers the proper stance, footwork, and punch mechanics and finishes with the punch’s delivery. She explains the scientific foundation for each aspect of the straight lead for each stage.

While this book does not directly discuss Filipino martial arts, it illustrates a concept many FMA practitioners have long known. The most difficult attacks to defend against are thrusting attacks because they are difficult to detect and defend against.

Like the straight lead, thrust attacks are difficult to see. For example, detecting a thrust to your left eye is more difficult than detecting a #1 attack.

Likewise, there is not much time for defending against a #5 thrust to the abdomen, particularly if you are in the medio or corto range. On the other hand, you have a better chance of success against angles #1 through #4 because they are easier to see. For those reasons, the thrust type of attack deserves extra attention in the dojo.

Kudos to Teri Tom for a terrific book. I highly recommend adding this book to your martial arts library!