Bruce Lee. The greatest there ever was and ever will be?

Question

Who else things there is no one else that could fit into his shoes.

Answer 1

Even the best fighters today say they are not even half as good ...But my favorites are
Bolo Yeung is great
Jet Lee is too.....But their is only one Bruce Lee

Answer 2

He is one of the greats. Think about this analogy. A lot of people say Lance Armstrong is the greatest. Up to this point in time, he is when it comes to the Tour de France. But he is not invinsible. So is (was) Bruce Lee. In my opinion, Jet Li is even better but that's just an opinion. I'm sure there are many not so camera-friendly faces out there that have greater skill if not popularity.

Answer 3

Bruce Lee was fast. No if's and's or but's about it. But one must remember that he was a movie star. When discussing the title of "the greatest martial artist ever" one has to take into consideration the facts. I mean, look at Rickson Gracie. There is no glam, no hype, and definately no hollywood features about him, yet never in his life has he lost a fight. Bruce Lee did many demonstrations, and movies, but I have yet to find evidence of him getting into a fight, or even entering tournaments (not including the cha-cha). In no way am I trying to bash him, but all I am saying is to remember that he was an actor. Thanks.

Answer 4

almost any professional pro MMA fighter today would destroy bruce lee.

People watch his movies and think he is a god because they surround him and attack one at a time and the fight is choreographed.

Figthing and his concepts and theories have been built and improved upon since his time, I would be willing to bet dan insonato today would take bruce lee (If you don't know who insonato is, you don't know **** about bruce lee).

Bruce lee himself even admitted that Muhammad Ali would beat him. Bruce lee should be remembered for what he did contribute in both MA and film but not by nut hugging him and giving "chuck norris like facts" about him and really believing him.

The difference is that chuck is alive, so the top 30 lists are funny (some of them), bruce lee is dead and has this nut-hugging fan boy base that totally disrespects him and his memory by not knowing what they are talking about and have never even seen live sparring bruce lee footage. A large part of bruce lee's fame came because of his death.

During life his actual skill level is debateable because we have no Vale Tudo or other no holds barred type of match up to get any recordable information from, just word of mouth, what a court would call "hearsay".

Draw your own conclusions, but base them on logic. Was groundfighting common in bruce's day? No, is it likely bruce would have prepared for something he didn't even imagine it was a factor? No, how could he?

Concepts of his were good 30 years ago, but things change.

Answer 5

sure, Bruce lee became the very perfect. He became no longer killed by a ninja and he taught Chuck Norris. i don't think he will be beat truly. He became a carry close of all 5 kinds. few can carry close a million in a life time. He held no belts because he became no longer educated by a carry close, as such. He received non secular preparation from the shaolin monks.

Answer 6

Bruce Lee will never be replaced. He is to Martial Arts what Jesus is to the Bible. Its that Simple. There are thousands of Martial Artists now and Thousands of Preachers and a few stand out but they are Not Bruce Lee and the Rest sure are not Jesus!

Answer 7

He will always be the best at being Bruce Lee no one will be better!

Answer 8

He'll never be better than Apide Hirun. Apide Hirun would make bruce Lee scream like a little girl. bruce Lee wouldn't get in ring with Apide when Apide was at his peak!

Answer 9

Woah Bluto Butarsky, easy there. Sure, everyone's seen his movies, and they ARE ridiculously fake, but Bruce Lee was the 1st person to really go about cross training in different martial arts. Because of his example and his status, he was able to open previously closed doors in martial arts, allowing many people to be able to train in many separate styles. In fact, it was because of his fame and example that we have today such a worldwide following on MMA and why so many people cross train nowadays - in the UFC they have explicitly stated they consider Bruce Lee the father of MMA. However, Bruce Lee considered himself a martial artist much moreso than an actor - he was constantly trying to get better, find new ways and techniques that worked for him, and stayed in tip top shape.
Almost any pro MMA fighter can destroy him? I doubt that. You must also take into account weight divisions. While it may be idealistic to say that a 90 lb girl with sufficient training can beat a 300 lb lineman in a fight, the reality of the situation is far from it. Similarly, Lee may not have been able to beat just any MMA fighter, but one within his weight range of 140 lbs? He could have been dominant. Same thing with him and Ali, Ali being over 200 lbs. Although the fact that in a real fight Lee has been trained in both kicking and grappling, while Ali just in boxing - it would have been interesting to say the least.
Dan Inosanto could not have been able to consistently beat Bruce Lee had he stayed alive - sure Inosanto trained in a gazillion different martial arts, but so did Bruce, and he would have likely have continued to improve and train, instead of remaining stagnant. Inosanto himself said that he greatly respected Bruce not because of his wide knowledge in martial arts, but also his natural talent and "viciousness". Inosanto now is a truly fearsome guy, but if Bruce was alive he' be even moreso.
Also keep in mind that Lee actively trained in Jiu-Jitsu and groundfighting derived from Silat (from Inosanto), so he was not completely clueless there. A common misconception among pure MMA is that if they can take their opponent who's trained in standing martial arts to the ground, they can easily win. That is true. IN THE OCTAGON. In a real streetfight, it is no holds barred - when you're struggling to apply that arm bar you learned in BJJ to your opponent, he's jamming his fingers into your throat and ripping out your windpipe. Similarly, when you try to apply a "Kimura" or "Americana" in a real streetfight, your opponent is pulling your hair, gouging out your eyes, scractching you, etc. These are not things you can do in the octagon. I've trained in BJJ for several years myself, and while I appreciate it's usefulness and dominance on the ground, I take it only in that context and within that of actual streetfights.
Was Bruce Lee as godly as everyone makes him out to be? Of course not. But did he have a humongous lasting impact on martial arts today because of his life and death? Without question. The concept behind Jeet Kune Do is about adaptation - absorb what is useful and discard what is useless. That philosophy is applicable today, not just 30 years ago.

Answer 10

Bruce is definitely an original. There will never be a more accomplished fighter.