Over rated Bruce Lee

I my self am a Bruce Lee fan, but I dont think he is as good as he was made out to be. I have read his books and they are very interesting and well put together, but I have also read other books from over seas that my grampa had transelated that were better than Lee's. Lee also never participated in any compitition that I am aware of. All of the fights Lee got into are basicly miths. No proof to back them up what so ever, kinda like religion but I wont get into that. Bill wallace, now he is a true martial artist. I have seen him in action in the ISKA. Chuck Norris also is a true champion who was undefeated in point tournements for I dont know how many years. Bruce Lee was just another over rated movie star. I belive he was good but not the same caliber as wallace or norris. There are many good martial artists out there that are way better than Lee that we will probly never even hear of. Lee was marketed good. I just dont belive that he should have this LEGEND status.

 

Mr Norris would disagree with you.

Bruce Lee was a ground breaking innovative martial arts genius. But yes - his ability has been well over-hyped over the years but I still think you're selling him short.

 

How can you say Bill Wallace and Chuck Norris are true 'Martial Artists' but Bruce Lee wasn't ?? Yeah they 'were' excellent athletes and good at what they were doing, but not rounded as a martial artist (no groundfighting or clinchwork for example)
You've gotta remember that Bruce has been dead for 30 years !! Some of the stuff he was doing back then, such as cross-training and studying different arts to learn what was useful, was light years ahead of his time. Some 'martial artists' havent even caught up yet and are still bogged down with traditional mumbo jumbo.

You are being short sighted, only listening to rumours and maybe watching 'Dragon' (Total Fiction !) instead of looking beyond that and seeing the true inovator that he was. But even now things have gone past what Bruce was trying to do - things have evolved, it's only natural.

Jay

 

Were is the proof that he is better than wallace or norris, they both competed and all bruce ever had was mith/story fights.

 

LOL ... man u is crazy

 

I think most people in the martial arts world have been influenced either directly or indirectly by Bruce Lee regardless of the style they practice. Im pretty sure there wouldnt have been as many martial arts clubs out there without him.

No-one cant prove that he was better or worse than Wallace or Norris. Might as well ask who would win in a battle between Batman and Spiderman. (I reckon Spiderman would win with his sticky hands technique)

Yes, Bruce was a man with faults but look at what he achieved against the adversities he faced. Just shows what you can do with a positive mental attitude and a ton of elbow grease. Youve just got to take your hat off to him for that.

 

I've heard from several sources that Hong Kong was a rough & tumble place when Bruce lived there. That fights were pretty common. It's entirely likely that he got into a number of fights there.

Everything I've heard about him leads me to believe that he was *very* good.

I've heard from several people who trained with him that he was among the best they'd ever seen, or have ever seen.

Here's a story that Dan Inosanto related at a seminar (to the best of my recollection).

Is *all* the hype true? Probably not. It rarely is.

From everything I've read and heard, I've gotten the impression that Bruce was just a man, a man with faults -- same with any other human; but he was a very impressive martial artist and fighter.

As far as Bruce competing, here's at least one:

As far as Bruce being a legend ...

"Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man." -- J. Robert Oppenheimer, speaking of Albert Einstein

I think this can also, tangentially, be applied to Bruce. He only lived 33 years. He was only in the US for 12 years. He was only in the public martial arts eye for 11 years. He was only in the general public eye (as an actor) for 9 years. And yet, 30 years after his death, there's still a boat load of discussion about him and his impact on the martial arts world is still evident. That rivals the accomplishments of a lot of other legends. Why shouldn't he be considered a legend?

Mike

 

Yeah, Chuck Norris is now on TV late at night trying to sell total gym which at the highest level is ideal for body building.

At least Lee was a realist, and not an idealist like Norris seems to be with his point sparring, corny movies and total gym.

 

Corny movies!! I love those movies, what with their purely spectacular scenes and great stories!! *sarcasm* btw, is Walker Texas Ranger broadcast in the UK?? Kind of sad how he's now into info-mercials.

 

Bruce Lee won some titles in Hong Kong for 'Cha Cha' dancing, so if we go by what you are saying, that must make him the BEST cha cha dancer in the world ... EVER !!! (the trophy's must prove it !)

Jay

 

I agree with what most people have to say about Bruce. Regardless of whether anything can be proved, you cannot deny the overwhelmingly positive effect that Bruce had on MA. Since his entrance onto the international movie scene everyone is aware of martial arts - think about the way people respond when you say you are studying a MA...they imitate Bruce Lee (knife hands and sound effects included!) - he brought MA to the masses and motivated loads of people to atleast give it a shot. The real testament is that he is still inspiring people years after his death - that truly is amazing. Much respect.

 

LOL! Bruce Lee not in the same caliber as Norris? LOL!!!!

|Cain|

 

whats so funny, Lee has NO PROOF of his myth fights. Norris and Wallace both do. He was all talk and no action. If im wrong link me a vid of him winning a iska belt of a major point tourney, or winning anything for that matter, i thought not.

 

Go and ask anyone who isn't into MA's if they know who Bill Wallace is ... then ask them about Bruce Lee.
You're missing the point - it's not all about winning trophy's, that proves diddly squat - all it shows is that they did well in 'organised competitions' of their CHOSEN sport.

The earth is round as well, but I can't actually prove it for ya

 

Did you even *read* my comment?

Bruce won a boxing match in Hong Kong. Beat a 6 time English champ. Documented. Video? Not that I'm aware of.

But competitions are of limited proof to begin with.

Now, Mr. DeLamar, I'm getting the distinct impression that you are nothing more than a troll (intentionally or not). So, until you come up with something worthwhile, I'm done responding to you.

Mike

 

all talk no action, show me the boxing video. i will show you one of wallace.

 

Shhhhhh ... the empty can rattles the most

 

All right. I've looked through the rest of your posts here and, judging by them, you're not "a troll."

But this thread and your posts are very "troll-esque". Since you don't seem to actually be a troll, I'll go ahead and respond to this and see where we go from there (hopefully not in a circle again).

I see from one of your other posts that you're a Goju-Ryu guy. Cool. That's where some of my roots are, too.

So, do you have video of Kanryo Higashionna or Chojun Miyagi winning any fights?

How about Yip Man or Morhei Ueshiba? I've seen vid of Ueshiba demoing, but never competition or fight video.

So, by your standards, they're all myth too, right?

All we have to go on with any of them, and with Bruce, is testimony from people who knew them. I'm assuming that, as a Goju man, you respect Miyagi's skill, right? So why don't you get hung up on seeing a video of him fight?

I've heard quite a few people who sparred with Bruce talk about his ability to fight. These people were accomplished martial artists before they ever met Bruce. People like Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo, Ted Wong, etc.

When all you have is eyewitness accounts, then that's all you have.

Why do you demand so much more of Bruce than of, for instance, Miyagi?

Mike

 

Are we talking about Bruce Lee as a Martial Artist, or as a Fighter? The whole focus about the thread seems to be on 'competition fighting ability' and not 'martial arts ability'.

What about philosophy, form (or kata), chi? What about the ability to inspire his students, and the many generations of martial artists that have learnt because of him. Light Ng is right in that many of us have been inspired and took up Martial Arts because of him. (Me for one).

Best competition fighter in the world ever – probably not. Most influential martial artist ever – definitely so. Best Martial Artist – as the Heineken advert says, ‘maybe’.

 

I'd like to answer, by asking a question.

Assuming that Bruce Lee was in fact overrated, who was responsible for the myth?

Was Bruce Lee going around telling everyone he was the best?

Many people who have written about Bruce, have spoken about his arrogance, but usually go on to qualify that by telling us that he could pretty much back up everything he said.

I put it to you that the 'overrating' of Bruce Lee was done after his death, by the media and everyone else who sought to earn a buck.

Can't we let the dead rest in peace?