Bruce Lee - Overly hyped?

[Anthrax Invasion]

I'm not very informed when it comes to martial artists, but whenever something comes up among people, I hear Bruce Lee touted as being God-like. How good was he, really? How good would he be today if he were around? 'cause from what I understood, he mixed arts which wasn't too common back in the day. These days, though, I think Bruce would be a mediocre fighter at best, as every guy mixes styles (thus MMA) and there's a lot more we've learned to this day.

I hear so many tall tales, things like according to a MA institute (don't even know what the fuck the douche bag menat by this) he had the "perfect kick" that could break any bone in your body, shattering a person's jaw, etc.

What's true, what's not? How good was he?

 

[MikeMartial]

We'll never truely know. What we do know, is that:

1) His skill level was elite. This was obvious.

2) His conditioning was excellent, and his knowledge of conditioning was far ahead of his time.

3) His concept of Jeet Kune Do was essentially the first MMA concept---once again, far ahead of his time. Take what works, use it, discard the rest.

Now, the big question: How would he fair today? IMO, put him into his weight class in a MMA match, and I think he'd do damn fine. He was a striking martial artist as a kid (the stories of his youth in the backstreets on China are more than likey massively embelished, but he did start training early), and incorporated grappling later on. Not unlike most MMA athletes, hmm?

I think any martial artist that falls into the "legend" catagory is subject to hype. It's just the way it is, and the way fans want to remember their legend.

 

[Djimbe]

oh shit , here we go ....

No .

Bruce Lee had about 20 Months of MA Training and a LOT of Hustler/Actor in him . He won NO Fights of Consequence in his lifetime and only got in a single fight as an adult , and after lying and claiming to have beaten his opponent to a pulp ran from a Public Rematch , and never again Fought anyone as an Adult in his lifetime .

He READ a lot about MA , and Practiced a lot in his Back Yard . His Ideas about Conditioning were ABYSMAL , and included concepts like "Total Weight Lifted Equality" - in other words lifting 10 lbs 10 times = lifting 100 lbs once . The reason he LOOKED so "Ripped" was that he had an Undescended Testicle , and basically took a LOT of Diuretics and Steroids , neither of wich were Taboo at the time . He Overtrained to the point of physical peril , and his cardio workouts and mile times were FAR less than that of the average MT Fighter or Kickboxer even of his time , much less ours .

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

Have any factual proof of that, djimbe?

 

[ass_face]

oh shit , here we go ....

No .

Bruce Lee had about 20 Months of MA Training and a LOT of Hustler/Actor in him . He won NO Fights of Consequence in his lifetime and only got in a single fight as an adult , and after lying and claiming to have beaten his opponent to a pulp ran from a Public Rematch , and never again Fought anyone as an Adult in his lifetime .

He READ a lot about MA , and Practiced a lot in his Back Yard . His Ideas about Conditioning were ABYSMAL , and included concepts like "Total Weight Lifted Equality" - in other words lifting 10 lbs 10 times = lifting 100 lbs once . The reason he LOOKED so "Ripped" was that he had an Undescended Testicle , and basically took a LOT of Diuretics and Steroids , neither of wich were Taboo at the time . He Overtrained to the point of physical peril , and his cardio workouts and mile times were FAR less than that of the average MT Fighter or Kickboxer even of his time , much less ours .

Wow... I think I could have destroyed Bruce Lee now...

 

[1392477]

His concept of Jeet Kune Do was essentially the first MMA concept---once again, far ahead of his time. Take what works, use it, discard the rest.

Absolutle correct.

Now, the big question: How would he fair today? IMO, put him into his weight class in a MMA match, and I think he'd do damn fine.

Not so convinced on this one, we have come a long way in strength training and conditioning. Todays fighters are much stronger and better conditioned than previous generations.

 

[Djimbe]

Have any factual proof of that, djimbe?

of wich ? I cant show you PROOF that Lee never Fought , you cant PROVE that somethign never happened , but please find evidence of a Fight as an adult had by the man ? I mean , the guy was one of the most famous ppl on the PLANET and you cant find a Poliece report , any Arrest Record , Videotapes , Pictures , film - NOTHING .

Here is Master Mark saying some of the same things in an Interview .

http://members.aol.com/martyeisen/mantis/Lee.htm

 

[Djimbe]

His concept of Jeet Kune Do was essentially the first MMA concept---once again, far ahead of his time. Take what works, use it, discard the rest.

Absolutle correct.

Actually , no .

Bruce didnt come up with anything of the Sort . Dong Haichuan was "Mixing Martial Arts" a hundered years b4 Bruce was even born , in fact ALL Bagua tought by him was ONLY taught to a Master of another system .

The System Preying Mantis uses Monkey Footwork .

Wing Chun is a Hodgepodge of Systems taught in the Shaolin tradition .

Hun Gar is a mixture of Tiger and Crane ...

The Chinese have been "Taking WHats Useful And Abandoning The Rest for CENTURIES . In fact , that quote itself is a Ripoff from one of chinas great Philosophers , Chuang Tzu .

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

of wich ? I cant show you PROOF that Lee never Fought , you cant PROVE that somethign never happened , but please find evidence of a Fight as an adult had by the man ? I mean , the guy was one of the most famous ppl on the PLANET and you cant find a Poliece report , any Arrest Record , Videotapes , Pictures , film - NOTHING .

Here is Master Mark saying some of the same things in an Interview .

http://members.aol.com/martyeisen/mantis/Lee.htm

Good stuff. I didn't doubt you, as you seem to know your shit when it comes to the arts - I just wanted to know if there was anything I could shove in people's faces when they just go "Oh, you're into MMA? BRUCE LEE!"

 

[Kane Fan]

why would having a messed up testicle give you a ripped look?