Jeet Kune Do Australia

Without being disrespectful to anyone teaching martial arts....Once you had spent any time training under Walt, it would be very difficult to train under anyone else...Or at leat this is my lived experience...Paul McGovern

My martial arts journey started in 1982 with karate and while I enjoyed the training and the friendships, I always felt that my skills wouldnt translate to a real fight. I would drift back to the karate now and then but my occupation at the time was as an entertainer in venues where alcohol would create situations where conflict would ensue and when I found myself in these situations, I always regretted not having been back to Walts classes...At the first opportunity I would head back to my JKD class and refresh real world skills.There is nothing wrong with training in a traditional art as long as you are clear about what it is you are practicing...Paul McGovern

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Bruce Lee placed great importance on forearm development for trapping and punching power.Thankfully there are a great deal more efficient devices available for forearm training these days and I have found the "Dynamo" by Gripzilla to be excellent when combined with hand grippers.Right to the end Walt would sit with a pair of grippers and train hand strength...He knew what the outcome of his illness wold be but he never gave up...An example for the rest of us to follow.

"5 pounds of pressure to the knee is all it takes"...Walt Missingham

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Who remembers the delights of the "rope drill" with Walt barking at us to punch harder and move quicker? Walt raising his voice always got everyone's attention....Great days.

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One thing that stands out for me with the way Walt trained us was the importance he placed on safety in training whether it be wearing protective equipment in drills to being aware of potential safety hazards in the training hall.
The biomechanics aspect of training comes to the fore when I talk to friends from my karate days and discover the number of knee and hip surgeries they have had. Even Bill Wallace has had both hips replaced due to extreme stretching. I have yet to hear of anyone in our academy having any orthopaedic issues directly arising from training.He knew what he was doing....Paul McGovern

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Walt would be pleased to see everyone reconnecting via this page and keeping things rolling in whatever capacity ...This is a vehicle for us to chat and hopefully get together and do some training...This is our way of keeping Walt's spirit alive...Paul McGovern

Walt and Lawrence Lee were pioneers of non-classical Kung Fu in Australia and we close friends. Aside from John Stevens, did anyone else do any training with Lawrence?
if so, how did you find the training?

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Does anyone know what became of Mark Bain? He was an excellent martial artist and someone I tried to emulate.He had a great, open attitude to giving advice and was always prepared to help where needed.I held Thai pads for him during a circuit one night at Parramatta and he shook the fillings loose in my teeth with his round kicks...Paul McGovern

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Some great training sessions with Walt in the 1990's at this hall in Merrylands. Does anyone else remember training here?