Its not questionable that Bruce did real sparring because its known that he sparred and preached the importance of sparring with gear on so you could go harder. He was ahead of his time because just look at his training regimen that he meticulously wrote down. Advanced calisthenics, weight lifting, jump roping, stationary bike, road work, shadow boxing, sparring, heavy bags, mitts, kicking shields, 1000s of punches and kicks a week, diets, all ranges of combat, takedowns, grappling, etc. Did you know he took Judo in Seattle before he even met Gene Lebell and learned grappling form him? Bruce Lees 1st student and good friend Jessie Glover was a black belt Judoka who dominated tournaments back in the day and Bruce would train with him and a few other guys. He even took formal lessons at the Seattle Dojo. If you're a serious martial artist then Bruce Lee should 100% be an inspiration because anyone who's trained hard can look at how Bruce trained and respect what he was doing.
