Was Bruce Lee just a actor?

Question

Why do people think Bruce Lee was so tough? wikipedia.org tells of one unpublicized fight that had a controversial ending. Bruce Lee doesn't seem to have any fight experience. Sure, he was in shape, strong, fast, and all around athletic, but doesn't mean that he could beat an experience fighter. All he seems to be is a "martial" artist who acted.

What makes you think that he could really beat Chuck Norris, let alone one of the modern MMA or kickboxing fighters? I'd take Sean Sherk or Takanori Gomi over Bruce Lee any day.

Answer 1

your a muppet, have you ever seen any of his films or his stunts, he was a martials master, he was the best famous martial artist ever nd if i remember correctly in way of the dragon he destroyed chuck norris, ok it just a film but he wuld have done neway, all chuck norris ever did was win a non/semi contact kickboxing tournament ne way nd all those people in MMA arent martial artists theyre jus sport fighters who wouldnt stand a chance against a real martial artist. How could he be inexperienced considering he started when he was 14. Have you got something against bruce lee anyway, whats the point in sayin that someone you never met, saw fight or demonstrate was a crap martial artist??!!
If sean shrek and Takanori Gomi are such amazing martial artists then howcome no f****r knows who they are other than MMA fans whereas everyone has heard of bruce lee.
Also how come you started it off as a question then finshed it with your conclusion that he was crap. surely in asking the question you wanna know who he was and how good he was??!!
You need to wake up and smell the coffee, MMA aint this amazing, ultimate "martial art" its jus another sport.
MMA fight: 2-3 minutes
martial artists fight:....5 seconds
So perhaps your amazing fighters Shrek nd the other guy may have the balls to challenge bruce lee, but would they be alive at the end to tell you about how ****** up they are??
Besides martial arts aint just about fighting its about self defense, calming, relaxing, seeking perfection, gaining self control and disipline...etc

Answer 2

Despite Lee's legendary status and the impression you would get from his fans that believed him to be unconqerable, he was only a man. But was he JUST an actor? Definetly not. He was a writer, director, he majored in philosophy in college, there is plenty of documented footage proving that he was a martial artist, he was a teacher, and there is plenty of testimony making it clear that Bruce was a pretty tough dude. Bruce started training in Wing Chun when he was 13 years old and continued training up until he died at age 33. Thats proof enough that he was a trained martial artist, in addition to being an actor as well.

As far as his 1 on 1 fighting/sparring skill goes: many people say that he was about average. He just wasn't a sport fighter or a fighting competitor. He believed in a different fighting method; one without any rules, and thats what he eventually started practicing.

People like Bruce understand something more important than people like you. Its nothing mystical, but its something that you need to sort of figure out on your own. But he was just a man, and yes he could have gotten beat by Norris, Sherk, Liddel.

Answer 3

You are making the typical mistake in thinking competitive "sport" martial arts are proof of fighting prowess.

Just because Bruce Lee only displayed martial arts in movies and not competitively doesn't mean he couldn't fight. In fact, his approach to training for a fight was to include tools/techniques perfectly appropriate for a street altercation where it's life or death that would never be allowed even in the octogon ring.

And as far as his fight experience, if you do some research you'd find from students and contemporaries of Bruce Lee alike that he was in fact challenged on more than one occassion. There is a story of one challenge happening on the set of Enter the Dragon film. One of the extras they had hired decided try.... and regretted it.

And if he wasn't really that good.... Why do people, like Chuck Norris, talk about the man with such respect and admiration?

Answer 4

Uh huh...Bruce Lee was a prodigy, learning the equivalent of a black belt in two weeks. He wasn't a pro fighter, so no, we really have no idea how he'd done in competitive fighting, but wikipedia isn't the final say in these things. There is a tale of Bruce beating a black belt with a submission move for the right to teach gung fu to Americans. A couple things we know for certain. Bruce's hand speed couldn't have been embellished with Hollywood magic. At 24 frames per second, the camera couldn't catch Lee's movements as he'd punch and get back on guard before the camera could accurately record it. The other thing that couldn't have been faked was Lee's control. Ain't no-one since then have had that kind of control.

Answer 5

Bruce Lee had MANY real fights and I haven't heard of him losing any (not saying he never did, they just weren't reported). On the sets of his films overseas he was challenged almost every day and almost never turned down the challenges. One situation was shown in one of his biographical films (I forget which one). He beat up a guy who challenged him so the guy brought his big brother the next day who was a Thai fighter I believe, Bruce beat him too. Another fight had him against a very strong guy who Bruce had a hard time beating, but he finally finished him by grappling and smacking his head into some concrete steps.

On the set of "Return of the Dragon" the wrestler stuntmen doubted his power so he had one hold an air shield next to a fountain. Bruce sent him up in the air and into the fountain.

There are clips of him on the web. He practically invented sparring gear and there are clips of him sparring and you almost can't see his legs move.

All the film people on his movies and TV shows (Longstreet, Green Hornet) say he had to slow his kicks and punches down so the camera could catch them better.

He actually had some pro fights, I believe they used the footage in Game of Death.

He got in many street fights as part of a gang in Hong Kong, that's why his parents sent him back to the US at about age 18. his brother said he would use a chain as a belt in case he had to fight.

Now, does that mean he could beat every single MMA fighter in existence? No. In his day, nobody was training like that though. Just about everybody was training within a classical system. Nowadays, he would not be so unique. In his day he was.

Answer 6

I can understand your concern, but make no mistake, Bruce Lee was a recognized Master by most all authorities in the arts. Jackie Chan is a actor who does martial arts. Bruce Lee was the innovator of the new.

Keep in mind that prior to Bruce, most Americans were brain-washed by the Asian masters to believe that their was was the only way, and the best way. Bruce rejected this way of thought, despite being taught by one of the greatest and most respected masters to have lived, Yip Man.

As a result, Bruce broke the barriers of intermingling different martial art styles, taking the best from all the martial arts he studied. Hopefully this sounds familiar--that's Mixed Martial Arts! Before Bruce, there was no "eclectic" martial arts. Now, it's increasingly difficult to find traditional martial art schools.

As far as "toughness" goes, it might be pointless to talk about. The fight game as we know it now Bruce would have loved to see, no doubt about it, but there wasn't that kind of opportunity in the late 60's and early 70's. What is known is that those who knew him described him as a force to behold--including Chuck Norris. He couldn't believe the speed and agility of Bruce. Unfortunately, he's gone, but just keep in mind that the man who's probably most responsible for the eventual evolution of mixed martial arts--and the hero's you know and love in the sport--is probably none other than Mr. Lee himself.

I hope that helps!

Answer 7

Agreed
As Long As You Add
"Martial Artist"
Which He Was and Prob One Of The Best Ever
He Was Not A Martial Fighter

Answer 8

WTF ok, Bruce Lee is my martial arts idol, the whole reason that I train. I can never aspire to his greatness, but he is my whole inspiration. So I'm gonna tell you about him so you get your wrong As s ideas gone! He began training at a young age under one of China's best wing chun sifu's Ip Man, after that he also studied many other styles of Kung fu. He as well studied weapons, such as the staff,butterfly swords,escrima, ect but is best known for his skills with the chucks. As well as kung fu he also studied styles such as TKD,karate, Kenpo, Muay thai, ju jitsu,Savate, and one of his favs was also western style boxing. He refined his skills on the street, often fighting multiple opponets, some armed with knives Ect. He also invented 2 new styles of his own, taking what he learned from his teachers and his students, he only kept what was useful, and discarded the rest. his first style was called Jun fan gung fu, and his second was jeet kune do ( way of the intercepting fist) When your way is no way, another words anything gos, is his philisophy. And oh ya, if chuck could wup him, then why was he one of his students? Along with sugar ray,dan inosanto,john saxon, and wilt chamberlan. Sorry that I'm pissed, but get more info before you open your mouth, it makes you look ignorant. 34 years later he's still loved by millions, you're just jealous

Answer 9

Chuck norris was Bruce Lees student. Case ci-losed

Answer 10

see thats the problem with you and ppl like you on yama.you dont know anything about martial arts so you get your info from sources like wikpedia.wikpedia is quite often wrong about a lot of things.and then you come on here and try to make out you actually do know something and know sfa.now what makes you think he couldn't beat them guys?besides the fact hes dead?you dont have to be einstien to work out BL was far more than just an actor.i'm not saying BL is unbeatable but he would make mince meat of the guys you mentioned.go back to your lounge chair and your play station and and increase your martial arts knowledge some more.