Description
🏆 2023 BIBA® Non-Fiction: Martial Arts Winner!
Breaking Through is about much more than a single kata. It describes Colin Wee’s four-decade journey in the martial arts, during which he came to recognize common training deficiencies in traditional hard-style striking arts such as Karate and Taekwondo. His ingenious, multi-faceted solution, dubbed the JDK Method, utilizes the strengths of kata to teach key dynamic combat skills and concepts forgotten and overlooked in modern training. Breaking Through is a case study of the JDK Method as applied to Bassai Dai—a pattern trained across many Karate and Taekwondo styles.
The twelve applications presented herein delve beyond simplistic bunkai and traditional step-sparring. The lessons taught through Bassai Dai—which Master Wee and his students have relentlessly studied, tested and trained—are an effective series of principles and defenses against the most common and frequent attacks one is likely to face. When instructors and students link the applications from Breaking Through to how Colin and his students got there—the logic of why the applications work and how the applications address a dynamic combat situation—they learn to fill in the gaps left by traditional training.
This is where the magic of the book truly happens. Once readers establish the link with the applications and the methodology, they can apply this knowledge to any other form in any other system, and it instantly levels up their understanding of how traditional training can be put to work.
Published at a time when many have foregone the practice of patterns, claiming they are outdated and of little use to modern students, Colin unlocks advanced lessons encrypted in Bassai Dai kata and by this demonstrates how to universally apply the JDK Method to patterns in any style of martial art.
Colin Wee is a highly respected martial artist, author, and instructor with a deep passion for the martial arts. Born and raised in Singapore, Colin began his martial arts journey at a young age, showing a natural talent and dedication to his training. He is widely recognized for his expertise in Taekwondo applications and Karate bunkai, combining the principles and techniques from both hard and soft style disciplines to create a unique and effective approach to martial arts.
With over 40 years of experience, Colin is ranked as a 7th dan in Traditional Taekwondo, holds the Instructor of the Year Award 2016 from American Karate and Taekwondo Organization, and was inducted into the Australasian Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2020. In a previous life, Colin was a National Representative and Assistant National Coach under the Archery Association of Singapore.
Colin believes in the transformative power of martial arts as a holistic practice that extends beyond physical development. Through his mentorship using the Tenets of Taekwondo – courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit – he instills valuable life lessons and principles in both martial art students and young executives. His expertise in sports coaching allows him to tailor training methods to individual needs, fostering personal growth, discipline, and self-confidence in each practitioner.
Colin holds a BBA with Honors from Southern Methodist University, and an MBT from University New South Wales.
Colin Wee’s unwavering dedication to martial arts, his extensive network amongst high-level practitioners, and his commitment to sharing his expertise make him a respected figure in the martial arts community. Whether through his teaching, writing, or personal practice, Colin continues to inspire and empower martial artists around the world.
