The Bruce Lee myth! Do you buy it?

[Cygnus A]

He was beyond his time doing things nobody else did in that era (training wise). He would likely get schooled by many today, but that is a question that really can never be answered.

 

[rj144]

Many have an invisible aura.

 

[rj144]

Honestly, who knows how he would have done. The dude was like a savant of martial arts though. With some dedicated training for mixed MMA, do you not think he would be pretty elite though? Elite doesn't mean unbeatable, by the way.

 

[Deleted member 409801]

28 year old BJ vs Bruce Lee would in all likelihood have been a prison rape. BJ now..........well BJ shouldn't even be fighting at this point.

 

[MMouse]

So a guy with no fighting footage, only small light sparring videos(rare) is supposed to be this bad ass, that would do great in the early ufc? Sorry I don't buy it, but this myth has been perpetuated on the internet boards. This thread comes from a discussion I had with a co-worker. He said Bruce Lee was the goat and would beat any one. I just asked him about some footage and he shut up very quick. Now my opinion is that he can be called a pioneer of early martial arts in the western world. But I don't buy this invisible aura.
Thoughts?

you're co-worker is a dumbass

First off, he's not a prize fighter. He's a teacher, philosopher, actor and someone who embodies martial arts lifestyle (trains, learns, and teaches).

During his time, there were boxers, and thai boxers (in his weight class) that were around that would have beaten him.

Again he's not a prize fighter. I honestly don't see bruce other than someone who's trying to make martial arts mainstream in north America

That said, let's say he did want to head the MMA route, he probably like any combat athlete would have tried to find a way to adapt, grow his skills, get a camp, coaches and dedicate his efforts to that.

 

[Chad R. Thundercock]

So a guy with no fighting footage, only small light sparring videos(rare) is supposed to be this bad ass, that would do great in the early ufc? Sorry I don't buy it, but this myth has been perpetuated on the internet boards. This thread comes from a discussion I had with a co-worker. He said Bruce Lee was the goat and would beat any one. I just asked him about some footage and he shut up very quick. Now my opinion is that he can be called a pioneer of early martial arts in the western world. But I don't buy this invisible aura.
Thoughts?

He was a Cha-cha dance champion in Hong Kong, a far as his competitive accomplishments go.

 

[Striderx5]

Be like wafer

 

[Chesten_Hesten]

He deserves great recognition for his far reaching influence on Martial Arts. He inspired many to forget the stylist bullshit and use what works.

The UFC 1 stuff is irrelevant. It's like saying Chuck Norris would have dominated. Bruce and Chuck were both too old.

So was Superfoot Wallace, and he was there at UFC 1.

Wallace was a bad motherfucker in his day.

 

[Fedorgasm]

People that say Bruce could beat anyone are annoying. They are missing the point of why Bruce was so great.

He was not great because he was the best fighter in the world. He was great because he was a visionary. He recognized that tradition was holding back martial arts from evolving, so he broke tradition and studied multiple arts.

He also broke tradition and looked at each technique with a scientific eye. He even started referring to them as the "martial sciences" instead of martial arts. Whatever technique was effective, he kept, whatever was not, he threw out.

Thus he created the ultimate martial art: The way of no way. Which basically says, if something stops working, stop doing it, and replace it with something that does work. So MMA fighters nowadays are all practicioners of Jeet Kune Do whether they realize it or not.

The only thing you can fault him for is perhaps his testing methods. Whereas Helio and Carlos Gracie would regularly fight people in order to discern which techniques worked and which ones didn't. Bruce Lee rarely if ever tested his techniques in this manner. But you can hardly fault him for that. The man had a movie career to think about and couldn't risk getting his face bashed in or having a serious injury that would prevent him from doing his fight scenes.

So the result is that Bruce could most likely beat up most guys on the street, and likely most mcdojo masters as well. However, I firmly believe he would falter against anyone who tested themselves in real competition and had success. I think he would've lost to Chuck Norris, and Chuck has said this too, but of course he got so much hate from the fanboys that he had to backpedal on that statement.

 

[chubbman]

He was the Seagal of the 60's.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

How good would Jackie Chan or Jet Li have been in MMA?

The Ong Bak guy?

These mfers are actors. Floyd cant stop teh double leg

 

[bowened]

Bruce has the respect of many legit martial artists, including Judo Gene LeBell, whom he trained with for over a year learning wrestling, subs, and obviously Judo, while also teaching Gene some moves of his own.

Guys like Gustafsson and McGregor know what's up.

I'm specifically talking about firsthand knowledge. Connor and Gustafson weren't on this earth at the same time as Lee. It's nice that they respect him. I respect him too. But I'm referencing those who saw him in action. I consider their word to be the most important evidence, but also the most potentially biased with regard to his students.

I've heard Judo Gene talk about his training with Lee--mainly that the reason Bruce trained with him was that Gene was able to dominate him in a friendly sparring type scenario. And that sold Lee on the effectiveness of grappling.

 

[Savant21]

I always got the impression that most of Bruce Lee's teachings/philosophy was heavily inspired by Miyamoto Musashi. Lee was a great Martial Artist but I personally find Musashi superior in every way.

 

[BearGrounds]

I'm specifically talking about firsthand knowledge. Connor and Gustafson weren't on this earth at the same time as Lee. It's nice that they respect him. I respect him too. But I'm referencing those who saw him in action. I consider their word to be the most important evidence, but also the most potentially biased with regard to his students.

I've heard Judo Gene talk about his training with Lee--mainly that the reason Bruce trained with him was that Gene was able to dominate him in a friendly sparring type scenario. And that sold Lee on the effectiveness of grappling.

First video I linked you was first hand knowledge. A legit martial artist, with accolades.

Gene taught him things he didn't know, and vice versa. Proof that Bruce cross-trained and took grappling arts into consideration, as well as seriously.

The rest was just for kicks.

Stay a fan, he was legit.

 

[A.S. Deep]

Was he the baddest man on the planet? No

Was he good enough to be competitive in UFC 1? Maybe

He was training grappling before his death. With a few more years of grappling training he'd probably have an edge on most due to submission knowledge.

 

[ShinkanPo]

No doubt he is great inovator and introduce many modern concepts of fighting.

But I dont buy it at all that he is an above average fighter, he has not proven that in combat all we have are annecdotal evidence of his performance.

 

[bowened]

First video I linked you was first hand knowledge. A legit martial artist, with accolades.

Gene taught him things he didn't know, and vice versa. Proof that Bruce cross-trained and took grappling arts into consideration, as well as seriously.

The rest was just for kicks.

Stay a fan, he was legit.

I think Joe Lewis' claims are reasonable and believable given the footage of Lee available.

 

[Thai Domi]

I have a good friend that insists Bruce Lee would beat Prime Fedor.

Sherdog, please weigh in on this.

 

[loyalyolayal]

I always got the impression that most of Bruce Lee's teachings/philosophy was heavily inspired by Miyamoto Musashi. Lee was a great Martial Artist but I personally find Musashi superior in every way.

And actually fought to the death matches & wars.

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

No, I don't buy it. His philosophy was sound. I'm sure he knew many effective techniques and was super athletic. But as far as actually being able to use those techniques in a fight, well I doubt he did the kind of training necessary to be able to do that. I think he even knew his limitations too. He knew that a boxer who wrestled could take him out and even said as much. I'm sure he could fuck up the average person though. Hell, with what limited training I've done, I was able to handle myself against people much larger than myself and was quite successful.

quote on the boxer wrestler would've beat him thing?