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Jim Sogi Philosopher, Juris Doctor, surfer, trader, investor, musician, black belt, sailor, semi-centenarian. He lives on the mountain in Kona, Hawaii, with his family. Write to us at: (address is not clickable)

9/11/2005
Bruce Lee, by James Sogi

Bruce Lee was a famous master martial artist and movie star in the '60s and '70s. He called his style of martial arts Jeet Kune Do. He taught effective strategies useful to traders.

Five ways to attack:

1. Simple angle attack. Coming from an off angle, punching and kicking, closing the distance.
2. Combination attack. Sashay in, kick to shin, upper cut, cross., move in to lock and immobilize or incapacitate.
3. By drawing. When moving back, drawing the opponent off balance, pull to take down when opponent off balance, or kick during opponent's lunge.
4. Hand immobilization attack. Closing distance, immobilize opponent's hand with wing chun, slip in, upper cut/cross.
5. Progressive indirect attack.
   • High to low. Kick down to shin/punch down to stomach.
   • Low to high. Kick to head. Kick, Upper cut combinations
   • Breaking rhythm. slip/cross, uppercut/ move in, wing chun/arm bar. (There are many ways to get in and out of a trade or to analyze the market or how to invest.)

An attack must be determined and continuous until a hit is scored or the attack is parried. There are three factors in an attack:

1. A fine sense of timing.
2. Perfect judgment of distance.
3. Correct application of cadence. (the shift in cadence before and after 8/28 was key in this last three weeks trade.)

Avoid getting locked into a fixed martial arts style regardless of the conditions or the personal differences. This is the same message as Chair's advice: don't get stuck with fixed systems. The martial artist should be like water which can't be grasped or hit. When in a cup, water is a cup, when in a bottle water is a bottle. Running water never grows stale.

Some of the best strategy comes from mixing styles and switching from system to system in the course of combat. Moving in with a kick and punch (boxing), slip inside with wing chun, immobilize with with jitsu bar, then take down incapacitate with aikido move. Don't limit to one style as the conditions constantly change.

Growth stops when bound by set patterns. (To those who trade fixed patterns, no matter how significant) True observation begins when devoid of set patterns. Freedom of expression is beyond systems.

On Footwork:

1. Shuffle. Double and single. Forward and backward.
2. Slide step.
3. Sashay.
4. Circle. (Know how to move around within a trade, adjust.)

The purposes of foot work are to:

1. Move ahead of the attack.
2. Put the opponent on the defense.
3. Control timing and distance.
4. Control play.
5. Build confidence.

(A trader with good footwork can stay ahead of the game and get good entries and exits with confidence, and be ahead of the attack.)