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Bruce Lee - Great at the Art of being Martial

ilmmadilmmad Registered User regular
edited July 2008 in Debate and/or Discourse
So I just came back from watching Enter the Dragon, and even as a longtime fan of Bruce Lee the man continues to amaze me. What is so great about his movies is that for the most part he can do everything he does on screen in real life. Bruce Lee is more than just a great fighter, however - he is the creator of Jeet Kune Do - Way of the Intercepting Fist. Jeet Kune Do is a mixture of various styles and tactics, however one of the main aims of the Intercepting Fist is to allow practitioners to free themselves from use of any particular style.

Also did you see when Bruce Lee fought Chuck Norris?
Rome is great for streetfighting

Or when he destroys an entire school of fighters?
Oh God the humanity

One inch punch!
One inch rape morelike

Discuss Bruce Lee and his amazing ability to use nunchaku.

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    B:LB:L I've done worse. Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    He had limited martial arts experience, and while his training was extreme, he injured his back through poor weightlifting form and he had a dangerously low body fat percentage.

    To create Jeet Kune Do, he took his basis in Wing Chun and tried to apply principles he read about in a book, Sports Illustrated: Book of Fencing and Boxing by Edwin L. Haislet. His book for Jeet Kune Do was just an excerpt of his notes. Note that he was not plagiarizing, since his notebook was published post-humously:
    wikipedia wrote:
    Writings attributed to Lee published posthumously by his estate in several volumes (including The Tao of Jeet Kune Do and the Bruce Lee Library Series of books), have been found to contain scores of incorrectly attributed material, including passages belonging to Alan Watts, Helen Keller, Dear Abby, Fritz Perls, Benjamin Franklin, Hugh Prather, Eric Hoffer, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and dozens of other writers. These writings were published from hand-written notes which Bruce Lee compiled throughout his life. While it is fair to point out that Bruce Lee did not authorize the publication of his notes after his death, one of the books, The Tao of Gung Fu, contains at least one essay Lee submitted to his Freshman English class at the University of Washington at Seattle as well as a draft of a chapter for a proposed book by the same name. Both contain plagiarized passages from the books The Way of Zen and This is It by Alan Watts, creatively arranged and presented as the first-person experiences of Lee.[70] In the book, Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew, written by Lee's widow, Linda, Bruce Lee's former English teacher recounts accusing Lee of plagiarizing. "I accused him once of doing that and he sort of laughed," stated Margaret Walters. "He didn't admit it, but he didn't deny it, either."

    He was a masterful marketer, but his marketing propagated several heinous stereotypes. One of the worst ones was that martial artists from China were forbidden or unwilling to teach martial arts to anyone outside their race, whereas the truth is that many of those artists allowed anyone to learn from them. This marketing had the benefit of making him seem unique and rare, to draw in students, but it also drew ire from the community. One martial artist, Wong Jack Man, challenged him to a fight, and according to accounts, Bruce clawed for the eyes and throat. Now, there are no rules in a fight, but it was quite surprising to see that tactic in an exhibition/sparring match. The fight ended in a draw.

    Bruce Lee. The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

    Separate it.

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    ilmmadilmmad Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    From what I've read, he didn't have "limited" martial arts experience.

    ilmmad on
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    ege02ege02 __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2008
    B:L wrote: »
    He was a masterful marketer, but his marketing propagated several heinous stereotypes. One of the worst ones was that martial artists from China were forbidden or unwilling to teach martial arts to anyone outside their race, whereas the truth is that many of those artists allowed anyone to learn from them. This marketing had the benefit of making him seem unique and rare, to draw in students, but it also drew ire from the community. One martial artist, Wong Jack Man, challenged him to a fight, and according to accounts, Bruce clawed for the eyes and throat. Now, there are no rules in a fight, but it was quite surprising to see that tactic in an exhibition/sparring match. The fight ended in a draw.

    You need a citation for every single one of those sentences.

    ege02 on
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    The Green Eyed MonsterThe Green Eyed Monster i blame hip hop Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I vote some other guy.

    The Green Eyed Monster on
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    TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited July 2008
    ilmmad wrote: »
    From what I've read, he didn't have "limited" martial arts experience.

    He didn't have exceptional martial arts experience. He started wing chun aged about 15. There is conceivably no celebrity ever born that had a bigger aura of bullshit around them than Bruce Lee. You should ignore maybe three quarters of the stuff you hear about his abilities.

    My favourite analogy is everyone saying someone is the best swimmer who ever lived without seeing them get in a pool.

    Tube on
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    The Green Eyed MonsterThe Green Eyed Monster i blame hip hop Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    ilmmad wrote: »
    From what I've read, he didn't have "limited" martial arts experience.

    He didn't have exceptional martial arts experience. He started wing chun aged about 15. There is conceivably no celebrity ever born that had a bigger aura of bullshit around them than Bruce Lee. You should ignore maybe three quarters of the stuff you hear about his abilities.

    My favourite analogy is everyone saying someone is the best swimmer who ever lived without seeing them get in a pool.
    But I head he like died from working out?

    Gangsta.

    The Green Eyed Monster on
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    SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Schrodinger on
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    ZimmydoomZimmydoom Accept no substitutes Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    The more I read about Bruce Lee the less I like him. Which is unfortunate, because he really is a major pop icon and his movies have had a huge influence on my generation. Also his wife is a cunt.

    I was terribly disappointed when I found out that like 99.8% of Enter the Dragon was absolute grade-A bullshit.

    Zimmydoom on
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    ilmmadilmmad Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    ilmmad wrote: »
    From what I've read, he didn't have "limited" martial arts experience.

    There is conceivably no celebrity ever born that had a bigger aura of bullshit around them than Bruce Lee. You should ignore maybe three quarters of the stuff you hear about his abilities.

    This is all very new to me, so until I see evidence I'm not changing my opinion of him.

    ilmmad on
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    TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited July 2008
    yeah I mean why would you

    after all this guy at school said he could shoot lasers from his fingers

    Tube on
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    BubbaTBubbaT Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Targeting the eyes or throat is a basic attack in Southern Tiger Claw (the groin is also a common target), and clawing attacks around the face and neck are also used in Tibetan White Crane. Not that either was using those styles, but I don't get why targeting those vulnerable areas would be seen as incredibly unusual, especially considering Wing Chun is also a Southern style.

    There was never any definitive account of how the Wong fight ended. Some accounts have Man turning tail and straight-out running from Lee, while Wong claimed they fought for half an hour. Unsurprisingly, Man's friends back his account while Lee's backed his. And it wasn't just sparring, it was a fight. You don't publically issue formal letters of challenge just to practice.

    BubbaT on
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    dlinfinitidlinfiniti Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    BubbaT wrote: »
    Targeting the eyes or throat is a basic attack in Southern Tiger Claw (the groin is also a common target), and clawing attacks around the face and neck are also used in Tibetan White Crane. Not that either was using those styles, but I don't get why targeting those vulnerable areas would be seen as incredibly unusual, especially considering Wing Chun is also a Southern style.

    There was never any definitive account of how the Wong fight ended. Some accounts have Man turning tail and straight-out running from Lee, while Wong claimed they fought for half an hour. Unsurprisingly, Man's friends back his account while Lee's backed his. And it wasn't just sparring, it was a fight. You don't publically issue formal letters of challenge just to practice.

    i do,
    hey bubba, you sonofabitch, i'm gonna fucking practice your ass to hell. lets practice!

    dlinfiniti on
    AAAAA!!! PLAAAYGUUU!!!!
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    ege02ege02 __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2008
    Bruce Lee was a fantastic martial artist.

    There are myths and legends involved with every good martial artist, but in Bruce Lee's case, a great deal of it was true. He really did perform the one-inch punch. His "unstoppable punch" myth is also true (involving USKA world karate champion Vic Moore, who couldn't block any one of eight of Bruce Lee's straight punches to his face, and this is despite the fact that he was fully prepared). And many others that I can't remember right now.

    Most of the bullshit part is in his movies.

    ege02 on
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    JohnDoeJohnDoe Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    yeah I mean why would you

    after all this guy at school said he could shoot lasers from his fingers

    Yes, some guy on a forum is a much more trustworthy source.

    JohnDoe on
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    TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited July 2008
    extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. The Bruce Lee claims don't have the proof. All I'm saying is that you should question the sources of all the amazing Bruce Lee information because they are largely (almost exclusively) unreliable. I'm not making extraordinary claims here.

    It's also interesting how angry people get when you suggest that maybe Bruce Lee couldn't shit pennies and teleport.

    Tube on
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    ege02ege02 __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2008
    The one-inch punch. (also featured in Kill Bill btw)

    I found this regarding him and Vic Moore.

    ege02 on
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    PeasPeas Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    ege02 wrote: »
    The one-inch punch. (also featured in Kill Bill btw)

    I found this regarding him and Vic Moore.

    Bruce would announce to Vic Moore that he was going to throw a straight punch to his face, and all he had to do was block it. He would take several steps back and ask if Moore was ready, when Moore nodded in affirmation, Lee would glide towards him until he was within striking range. He would then throw a straight punch directly at Moore's face and stop before impact. In eight attempts, Moore blocked zero punches.



    Q&A with Vic Moore

    3. Can you please tell me what happened at the Long Beach Tournament in 1967 and what Bruce was demonstrating with you?

    Victor Moore : We were demonstrating speed punches. Most in the crowd that day would consider it a draw.

    :lol:

    Peas on
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    Alistair HuttonAlistair Hutton Dr EdinburghRegistered User regular
    edited July 2008
    ilmmad wrote: »
    From what I've read, he didn't have "limited" martial arts experience.

    I think what B:L means is Bruce Lee had limited fight experience. Yes there are the rumours of roof-top fights in Hong Kong but there is very limited documentary evidence of Bruce Lee fighting non co-operative opponents as opposed to single technique demonstrations.

    Alistair Hutton on
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    DaedalusDaedalus Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Even if Bruce Lee was a bit of a dick in real life, the films are still great. I mean, Thomas Edison was a huge cockhead, but I don't mind using incandescent light bulbs.

    Daedalus on
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    SchrodingerSchrodinger Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Daedalus wrote: »
    Even if Bruce Lee was a bit of a dick in real life, the films are still great. I mean, Thomas Edison was a huge cockhead, but I don't mind using incandescent light bulbs.

    Umm....

    green-basics-cfl-white.jpg

    Schrodinger on
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    OctoparrotOctoparrot Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    He didn't have exceptional martial arts experience. He started wing chun aged about 15. There is conceivably no celebrity ever born that had a bigger aura of bullshit around them than Bruce Lee. You should ignore maybe three quarters of the stuff you hear about his abilities.

    He never even got to the most important forms in the wing chun system before he bailed on it.

    Octoparrot on
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    TheCrumblyCrackerTheCrumblyCracker Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I thought him and Chuck were taking off their shirts so they could start making out. I was so wrong :(

    TheCrumblyCracker on
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    PirateJonPirateJon Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Octoparrot wrote: »
    He didn't have exceptional martial arts experience. He started wing chun aged about 15. There is conceivably no celebrity ever born that had a bigger aura of bullshit around them than Bruce Lee. You should ignore maybe three quarters of the stuff you hear about his abilities.

    He never even got to the most important forms in the wing chun system before he bailed on it.

    You say it like it's a bad thing.

    PirateJon on
    all perfectionists are mediocre in their own eyes
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    OctoparrotOctoparrot Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    PirateJon wrote: »
    Octoparrot wrote: »
    He didn't have exceptional martial arts experience. He started wing chun aged about 15. There is conceivably no celebrity ever born that had a bigger aura of bullshit around them than Bruce Lee. You should ignore maybe three quarters of the stuff you hear about his abilities.

    He never even got to the most important forms in the wing chun system before he bailed on it.

    You say it like it's a bad thing.

    It's not a system that takes particularly long to learn. I mean, there's no mystical deathblow revealed to you after 20 years. I can't make value judgments on how it would have made him a better fighter (or actor), but it definitely helped Jackie.

    Octoparrot on
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    TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited July 2008
    Daedalus wrote: »
    Even if Bruce Lee was a bit of a dick in real life, the films are still great. I mean, Thomas Edison was a huge cockhead, but I don't mind using incandescent light bulbs.

    Yeah, he made awesome films and was in great shape. He just wasn't the world's most extraordinary martial artist and to say he is insults the many, many considerably more talented martial artists before and since.

    Tube on
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    FallingmanFallingman Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I think it was just that he was the first mainstream Martial Arts star... He's a classic. All this still is just a symptom of that status. Yes he had skills, performed some amazing feats... The extent of which will forever be blurred because he is now larger than life.

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    Robos A Go GoRobos A Go Go Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Daedalus wrote: »
    Even if Bruce Lee was a bit of a dick in real life, the films are still great. I mean, Thomas Edison was a huge cockhead, but I don't mind using incandescent light bulbs.

    Yeah, he made awesome films and was in great shape. He just wasn't the world's most extraordinary martial artist and to say he is insults the many, many considerably more talented martial artists before and since.

    Can you give some examples of more talented fighters, both inside and outside the realm of film?

    Preferably in youtube format?

    Robos A Go Go on
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    FallingmanFallingman Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I'd say hat purely in terms of "Film Martial Arts" 3 obvious candidates would be Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Tony Jaa.

    But this is problematic for 2 reasons.

    a) The filming techniques in Bruce Lee's era were restrictive... (I seem to recall early black and white footage where he was asked to slow down). They realy didnt know how to make him look as good as he could have looked.

    b) Bruce Lee's reputation comes more from his "street cred". The above examples are fantastic on screen, but I dont know if they have a comparable reputation in combat.

    Fallingman on
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    GungHoGungHo Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    B:L wrote: »
    He was a masterful marketer, but his marketing propagated several heinous stereotypes. One of the worst ones was that martial artists from China were forbidden or unwilling to teach martial arts to anyone outside their race, whereas the truth is that many of those artists allowed anyone to learn from them.
    The issue for propogating a lot of Chinese arts was that, at one time, you had to go to China and have some way of communicating to learn something from someone "qualified" to teach (and for some of the more esoteric ones, you still have to)... not an insignificant task if you needed to live there for a time (martial arts training isn't a seminar process... it doesn't take you 20 years, but it needs more than a week), especially considering it hasn't been an easy country for foreigners to live in until the last decade or so.

    However, there really were such things as "family" or "clan" skills that would not be taught to non-clansmen in clannish cultures, and that sort of thing is hardly relegated to China or East Asia.
    celery77 wrote: »
    But I head he like died from working out?

    Gangsta.
    Wikipedia says one doctor said he could have died from weed. OLOL.
    BubbaT wrote: »
    Targeting the eyes or throat is a basic attack in Southern Tiger Claw (the groin is also a common target), and clawing attacks around the face and neck are also used in Tibetan White Crane. Not that either was using those styles, but I don't get why targeting those vulnerable areas would be seen as incredibly unusual, especially considering Wing Chun is also a Southern style.
    I'd come at your eyes and throat too if you started a fight with me and you left them open. I mean, who would stand there and trade blows like a frat boy or a boxer in an actual fight unless you were a frat boy or a boxer? Soft targets FTW.

    GungHo on
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    JohannenJohannen Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    The drug abusing, cheating, self righteous winer Bruce Lee?

    He was a dick and I can say this without just being randomly annoyed at him. I used to be a huge fan of Bruce Lees, loved his movies and thought he was awesome in what he could do and how he did it. Then I decided to read pretty much any book I could about him... and that's when I gained an overall picture of the true story.

    No matter the book, whether it be positive or negative toward Bruce Lee, the same things keep popping up:

    1. he used to fight and beat people who were weaker than him for fun.
    2. he was not always as tough as you think he was (he got beaten up by a cage fighter who held him by the throat whilst he screamed, and he asked a professional boxer to show him a punch three times before he effectively blocked it)
    3. he cheated on his wife many many times, even sometimes making it obvious to his children.
    4. he abused drugs pretty regularly and was probably a pretty bad father and husband for the way he was.

    Johannen on
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    PirateJonPirateJon Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Can you give some examples of more talented fighters, both inside and outside the realm of film?

    Preferably in youtube format?

    Outside film? Helio gracie. Jigoro Kano. Muhammad Ali.

    In film? Tito Ortiz.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tywBz3C5tOk


    I'd come at your eyes and throat too if you started a fight with me and you left them open. I mean, who would stand there and trade blows like a frat boy or a boxer in an actual fight unless you were a frat boy or a boxer? Soft targets FTW.
    Everyone thinks this.

    PirateJon on
    all perfectionists are mediocre in their own eyes
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    GungHoGungHo Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Daedalus wrote: »
    Even if Bruce Lee was a bit of a dick in real life, the films are still great. I mean, Thomas Edison was a huge cockhead, but I don't mind using incandescent light bulbs.

    Yeah, he made awesome films and was in great shape. He just wasn't the world's most extraordinary martial artist and to say he is insults the many, many considerably more talented martial artists before and since.

    Can you give some examples of more talented fighters, both inside and outside the realm of film?

    Preferably in youtube format?
    I cannot link to Youtube from work, but Hwang Jang Lee and Gordon Liu Jia Hui were legitmate on and off screen... a lot of people from the silver and golden age of HK period cinema were legitimate martial artists who got into acting. Bruce actually started the ball rolling for people who were more actors than martial artists (e.g. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and in some ways, Jet Li who I'd consider an actor first, despite his wushu training) as "Eastern" action became a money draw after him.

    Gene LeBell is legitimate off screen and very highly regarded by, well, everyone who has heard of him or seen him.

    GungHo on
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    JohannenJohannen Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Actually I'd say Bas Rutten is probably a tougher fighter than Bruce Lee. Although, he too is a dick (but I wouldn't fucking say it to his face... or within 100 meters of him)

    Street Lessons

    kick him to the balls

    Johannen on
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    PirateJonPirateJon Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Any ranked MMA fighter would beat bruce's ass. As good as El Guapo is, I don't think he's legendary.

    PirateJon on
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    SentrySentry Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I'm sorry... this thread just seems to be so full of angsty haters... could at least ONE of you back up some of this stuff?

    I mean, you all are like "of course he was a horrible, horrible person" but you offer NO evidence whatsoever. Someone freaking post SOMETHING...

    Sentry on
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    JohannenJohannen Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Also, if you want a pretty awesome story to go with the fighter then Masutatsu Oyama offers some good shit.

    And Sentry: Read pretty much any book on Bruce Lee, I read about 10, and look it up yourself. Any internet source could be countered as could any book, but the books aren't just fan or hate mail, they're actual publications that have to contain relevant and truthful material (as best as to the writers knowledge, or they can be sued for slander amongst other things.)

    But here's one if you want:
    http://www.bruceleedivinewind.com/death.html

    Johannen on
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    MayGodHaveMercyMayGodHaveMercy Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Chuck Norris was (seriously) a pretty good fighter.

    EDIT: Well damnit...
    Wikipedia wrote:
    At a martial arts demonstration in Long Beach, Norris met the soon-to-be famous martial artist Bruce Lee whom he respects and considers superior.

    MayGodHaveMercy on
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    BubbaTBubbaT Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    PirateJon wrote: »
    Can you give some examples of more talented fighters, both inside and outside the realm of film?

    Preferably in youtube format?

    Outside film? Helio gracie. Jigoro Kano. Muhammad Ali.

    You're joking, right? Ali could barely stay standing against wrestler Antonio Inoki, and that was with the rules rigged in Ali's favor - eg, no grappling whatsoever, Inoki could only throw a kick if one of his knees was touching the mat, no kicks above the waist, no knee attacks below the waist, no palm strikes to the head, etc. Inoki laid on his back for 15 rounds kicking the crap out of Ali's legs, while Ali struggled to figure out a way to box a guy who was already down (he threw 6 punches in 15 rounds). The fight ended as a draw because Inoki lost 3 points on a foul, and Ali suffered significant damage to his legs.

    I'm pretty sure Lee, with a background in a striking art, could do at least as well as a guy whose background was in grappling.

    BubbaT on
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    DerrickDerrick Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Um, that was just a retarded rule system meant to completely not simulate an actual fight if you got to lay on your back and kick all day. Seriously.

    Saying Muhammed Ali wasn't a great fighter is tantamount to calling yourself an idiot. You can argue the merits of Bruce Lee if you want, but go watch a fucking video of Ali fighting in the sport.

    Derrick on
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    TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited July 2008
    Fallingman wrote: »
    b) Bruce Lee's reputation comes more from his "street cred". The above examples are fantastic on screen, but I dont know if they have a comparable reputation in combat.

    which doesn't really matter because bruce lee's reputation in combat is largely bollocks.

    Tube on
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