The Jeet Kune Do Scene

Came up with another scene.  I'll call it "Scene 13a" for now.

I spent yesterday (Monday...  Since I haven't been to sleep yet, this is still "Tuesday" to me) considering whether or not I should go ahead and start my first draft with the outline as it is.  Do I need one more scene for Investigation #2 and three more scenes before wrapping up the mystery?

I don't think so.  I think the second investigation contains all the information and action it needs, and the only reason to put off the wrap-up of the story would be if I could intensify the novel one more notch before letting everybody off the hook.

And I don't think I can do that.  (Not until after I've finished an read the first draft, anyway.)

It'll mean I need to average about 2,223 words per chapter (instead of 2,000 words per chapter) to achieve my goal of no less than 80,0000 words, but I'll bet I can manage.

Actually, now it's 2,163 words per chapter.

It occurred to me on the way home from work this morning that I might want to put Philip in at least one non-paranormal physical confrontation.  Most "heroes" can kick ass, and Philip can, too, but he never (almost never) gets himself into a situation that requires him to fight.  However, it might be useful for my Reader to know that Philip CAN fight, when necessary.  (Because he's a smart guy, it's just never necessary.)

So as I played this scene out in my mind -- What would Philip do when confronted with a drunken, testosterone-riddled Alpha male? -- I have him not punching his attacker, but simply not-being-punched by his attacker.  As I would do.  My brother taught me Jeet Kune Do about 18 years ago, and I have yet to need it.  I mean, I use the philosophies that underlie Bruce Lee's fighting techniques, but I've never been forced to so much a block a punch.  In THE TAO OF JEET JUNE DO, Bruce emphasizes several times that the best fighter knows how to avoid fighting.  But Jeet Kune Do can be applied to every physical move you make, the way you look at any situation, the way you choose to respond to any problem.  In an interview, when asked if he used is father's fighting style (meaning Jeet Kune Do) Brandon Lee said it wasn't so much a fighting style as a philosophy for living, and I believe that can easily be true.  But if I ever get into a fight, my weapon of choice is Jeet Kune Do.

But in particular, I was thinking about the way you can use Jeet Kune Do to manipulate your opponent's body against his will.  He can jab you in the chest, and it will hurt.  But he's only jabbing you with the force of his finger, wrist, forearm, and maybe his bicep.  You, however, can press on his chest with the force of your toes, feet, ankles, calves, thighs, hips, torso, shoulder, bicep, forearm, wrist and finger, and push him totally off his balance.

To any onlookers, you both did the same thing.  But you remained immobile and he feinted backward like you're finger weighs a hundred tons.

You're doing the same thing as Lee's One-Inch Punch: You're channeling the power from most of the muscles in your body into your finger, and instead of aiming for his chest, you're aiming BEHIND his chest.  But anyone watching sees the exact same motion.

It's kind of like magic...

...and that's when I realized the true value of this scene!  :D

CHI!  Bruce Lee -- ALL martial artists -- talk about Chi, the subtle energy that flows through our bodies.  It's not scientifically proven, but Western Medicine is no longer able to deny the observable effects of Eastern treatments like acupuncture and acupressure!  Yoga is in an upswing of popularity, and that's about getting the Chi flowing properly!

With this one scene -- initially intended to make sure more mainstream readers don't think my protagonist is an egg-head wimp -- I can convey SO MUCH about paranormal investigation!

With Bruce Lee's One-Inch Punch, does it work because he's channeling his Chi, or does it work because he's using more muscles than the ordinary person?  He said it was both.  Or could it be a psychological effect?  (You think you're able to channel more power into your finger, fist, whatever, and therefor you, somehow, are able?)

THAT is what paranormal investigation IS!  We don't know what's going on or how it works, but we're exploring theories, some of them scientific and some of them ancient folk wisdom, and just trying to collect more data so that we might one day understand the phenomena better!  :D

And if I write the scene right, I don't even have to make a particularly obvious link between the two for the benefit to carry over to the rest of the book in the reader's subconscious!

I may make it obvious for the first draft, just to see how it goes over with my Beta Readers.  But just explaining a little bit about how some apparently "mystical" martial arts techniques work will do the job of making some of the rest of the stuff toward the end of the novel seem a bit more plausible, even to a non-investigator!  :D

Writing!

It's kind of like magic!