Was Bruce Lee TRULY an Incredible Athlete? Would He Succeed in MMA? - A Case Study
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- Опубліковано 26 гру 2023
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In this video, Grant Stevens takes an in-depth look at Bruce Lee's training and fighting prowess to answer the question: was he truly a great athlete?
Bruce is placed on a pedestal by many. Some regard him as one of the greatest martial artists of all time, a trailblazer, and an incredible athlete. There are stories of him performing incredible feats. Others say that Bruce was little more than an actor.
Was Bruce Lee really that strong? We know his measurements and his lifts and they don't align with the stories. Why did Bruce Lee never compete in fighting competitions?
What's the truth? How good was Bruce Lee really?
And: would Bruce Lee do well in MMA?
First of all: those two questions are NOT necessarily related. MMA success is not the only yardstick by which to measure a martial artist.
As for the rest... while we may never know for sure, there are certainly many clues. We can see the way he moved. We know the theory that guided his training. And there is a small amount of footage of Bruce's sparring floating around.
As usual, the answer is most likely nuanced. Here's Grant's informed take on the matter.
What do you think? - Навчання та стиль
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Nice plug 😂😂 🤜🤛
Amazing segue
Thanks, love this video!
I had the bell turned on but not getting notifications or even seeing your content in my feed
By what I understand, he'd be really disappointed if he was the pinnacle of martial arts and training - because it would mean they stagnated rather than progressing beyond his pioneeristic work. He STARTED things, but he was expecting for people to build up on what he did and leave him behind.
Yes, the Tao of JKD 🙏👍
BUT if he had lived longer/been born later (and retained his skills) he would have adapted rather than been left behind.
He has been left behind, far behind. He wouldn’t be disappointed at all with the martial artists of today.
@@radiantmind8729not that far behind. If you read his full work snd researched into his notes, drawings, interviews, i dare say a huge chunk of what he did back then would still apply today. Fighters today are still doing a ton of what he was doing. But yes, definitely there are newer and better methods now - even an art like boxing is still evolving - but to say he is far behind is simply inaccurate.
Joe Lewis himself has admitted Bruce beat him in sparring. It was pretty close to a real fight - basically Joe hurt Bruce’s student Herb Jackson badly by using a dirty move as Herb was winning - and Bruce took over and schooled Joe.
i have never been a fan of people saying he didnt fight top guys because alot of the top fighters of his time that knew him respected him a great deal so they obviously recognized his skill
Bruce Lee’s philosophies and they way he expressed them with his words and actions made an impact on many people beyond martial arts. I feel the spirit of this channel encapsulates a lot of what Bruce stood for. I heard Bruce injured his back severely, which forced him to read and study more to train his mind. Maybe if he hadn’t hurt his back we wouldn’t have learned so much from him.
I've always considered him more like a poet of martial arts, in much the same way that Carl Sagan was. Both were highly skilled and well respected in their fields, but both were also really good at expressing what they felt and making it appealing to the masses.
JKD isnt just a philosophy. that's only half of what our art is
The irony of Bruce Lee's legacy is that he was a pioneer in demystifying martial arts in popular culture, but a lot of his most ardent modern fans see him as the ultimate mystical practitioner.
& MMA fanboys say he was just an actor! You see neither of these people actually understand what Bruce Lee's JKD is actually about.
That's an excellent point. Whew boy is the martial arts world riddled with mystical bullshit, still to this day.
@@southtxguitarist8926There are actually two extremes to avoid when trying to understand JKD! first one is obviously the mystical fighting & the second one is fighting with sport regulations. Bruce criticized both extremes!
"Let us put it this way 99% of the whole business of oriental self defense is boloney. It's fancy jazz, it looks good but it doesn't work." - Bruce Lee [saint paul dispatch 1968]
"Too often one of those big-belly masters will tell you that his internal power has sunk to his stomach. He isn't kidding, it is sunk & gone! To put it bluntly, he is nothing but fat & ugly. - Bruce Lee
If you put on a glove you are dealing in rules, you must know the rules to survive but in the street you have more tools in your favor the kick, the throw, the punch. - Bruce Lee [To Ryan O'neel]
As Bruce himself described it JKD is 'efficient street fighting'. Here's another controversial fact Bruce was also against mixing JKD with other martial arts! Take a look at this letter written by Bruce Lee to Jerry Poteet after he tried to mix JKD with some other martial art!
'X' is Jeet Kune Do 'Y' is the style you will represent. To represent & teach 'Y' one should drill its members according to the preaching of 'Y'. This is the same with anyone who is qualified & has been approved to represent 'X'. To justify by interfusing 'X' & 'Y' is basically the denying of 'Y'....but still calling it 'Y'. A man as you put it, Is one who is able to stick to the road he has chosen. A garden of roses will yield roses, & a garden of violets will yield violets. - Bruce Lee [To Jerry Poteet]!
@@jagger_claw thats true but there are many more Bruce fan boys who think he was an elite fighter. There are youtube channels dedicated to the myth of Bruce Lee.
@@cuzz63Everybody that don't do any proper research on Bruce before opening their stupid mouths are at fault here. This includes the likes of Joe Rogan who to this day continues to spread misinformation on Bruce & ruin his legacy. There are many misinformed fools on UA-cam who think they know what Bruce's JKD was about but when cross questioned about this or that it becomes quite painfully obvious that they have no idea what they are talking about!
Bruce Lee is so important to the Martial Arts community cause he popularize the arts. You mentioned that he didn't compete in tournament fighting, chuck Norris said it best He didnt have to cause he already had a name. If you want to know about Bruce Lee fighting abilities, I strongly recommend The Book Wrath of the Dragon by John little. It talks about all of his fights and sparring fights.
"sparring fights."
Sparring isnt fighting, its training. John Little wrote a book to soak the rubes.
Sorry, I realize this is my fourth comment but you brought up guys ahead of the game before Bruce and it made me think of Jack Dempsey. Every knows he was a champion boxer.
But he was in dozens of bar brawls back in the day and he also was an avid practitioner of Catch Wrestling. His book How To Fight Tough has boxing combinations followed into arm drags into standing RNC's, how to tie a man up with his jacket, scissor leg takedowns, etc.
I know this is more of a fitness than a martial arts channel but since Dempsey also did 300 pull ups a day as part of his training it may be just right for this channel.
I’ll never forget as a 15 year old boy (I’m 65 now) accompanying my older brother to watch Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon for the first time in 1973-4. Up to that point, I’d been impressed by David Carradine’s Kwai Chang Caine’s seemingly effortless and calm dispatching of clumsy thuggish cowboys in ‘Kung Fu.” Nothing prepared me for the astonishing visual spectacle of Lee. Years later, I discussed with my brother, that first experience. We both agreed that it was in a way frightening. To us it was a visceral experience - we felt slightly disturbed by how brutal and spectacular his performance in the caves leapt off the screen. His sheer presence, charisma and searing intensity gave us goosebumps. Looking back now, it was a combination of several factors that made such an impact on us. These being the aforementioned feline-like intensity he exuded, his incredible sweat streaked physique, lit dramatically, sequences of slow-motion, intercut with those shot at normal speed with both demonstrating his balletic grace, timing, sheer speed and precision. The bone crunching (grossly exaggerated) sound effects contributed significantly to the brutality of the spectacle as guard after guard was dispensed, punctuated by his legendary war-cries.
I have no time for those fans who elevate Bruce Lee way above the limitations imposed by the law of physics and claim he could perform superhuman feats. He was human, like the rest of us. Grant suggests that Lee himself would not have endorsed the wild and often ridiculous assertions made by many of his die-hard fans. I achieved my 4th Dan in Shotokan karate and in my day trained very hard with some of the best in the world. I learned through first hand experience the limitations of style and an overinflated belief in one’s own ability. There is nothing that Grant said in this really refreshing and honest video about Bruce Lee, that I could disagree with. There is a legend surrounding and being perpetuated by the followers of Bruce Lee that at its core, is based on exaggeration and pure fantasy. That is the stuff of legends. As grant discusses, Lee was exceptional, talented and ahead of his time. He also possessed buckets of sheer charisma that is in my opinion lacking in all those who tried to emulate or surpass him on the big screen. Lee himself said that he did not believe in the word “star” and was humble in that respect. I believe , like Grant, that Bruce Lee was unique during his lifetime and deserves his mantle, but I agree that such a great man doesn’t need the inflated claims bestowed upon him by his fans. I think it actually diminishes everything he actually believed and practiced, both physically and philosophically. I was an instant fan at 15 years of age and I’m still a fan at 65 without having to support and perpetuate a delusion.
Thank you for sharing! I loved reading your comment
Excellent comment.
I agree that deifying *BL* takes something away from the actual Man and his accomplishments.
Quite well said
I agree with most of what you are saying.
What a strange take. Nobody with any logic believes Bruce could catch rice with chopsticks, or challenged masters at their dojo or other ridiculous nonsense like that.
The problem is. To today’s generation, he is either an actor or a martial artist that did it as a hobby, a bit of fun, that he wasn’t really that “good”
The historical facts. That’s actually documented historical fact is that Bruce was absolutely exceptional at what he did. He sparred hard with pro boxers, pro karate guys, judokas, lots of different, bigger guys from different background and he always, always came out on top.
It’s pretty obvious that he was far far above just being “good” or “great”. People like him do not come around often. Inosanto his friend and student of 10 years has said in all the years since, he’s never had anyone come through his doors at his academy that had all the attributes Bruce had. Power, speed, timing, the ability to intercept, he’s had fast people, strong people, but nobody who has it all like Bruce did.
This is a common thread amongst 99% of the people who knew Bruce and trained with him. They all say they had never meet anyone like him that had his ability, Jackie chan and Sammo hung, who both worked with him say the same thing.
The real problem is people trying to make out he wasn’t exceptional. That he couldn’t fight, didn’t fight, or just did it as hobby. Nobody said any such thing when he was around, now everybody something to say.
This is a guy who trained year round like a pro fighter. Not someone who trained for a few weeks/months out of the year for an upcoming fight.
Some of the stuff grant says is laughable, he’s got massive gaping holes in his knowledge. Quotes Chuck, who said a very disrespectful comment about Bruce “just hitting the bag” when he was pretty often having fights, and that included someone with a knife, and an axe.
John Little’s new book wrath of the dragon the real fights of Bruce Lee just came out and has all the historical verified, documented accounts of all of Bruce’s fights and sparring, including Joey Orbillo who was a professional boxer.
Bruce never backed away from a challenge, and he wasn’t afraid of anyone as he himself made clear.
when he was alive, nobody wanted to pick a fight with him, he was considered phenomenal by pretty much everyone who knew him.. and now today he’s just “okay” or “”average”. It’s ridiculous and absurd.
There’s a reason why there hasn’t been another Bruce Lee and no, I’m not just talking about his films, or charisma, I’m talking about his ability to excel in martial arts, his attributes, the way he trained, all the unorthodox methods.
If you watch John Little’s interviews with the Kung fu genius on here, you’ll see like John said, that Bruce was fanatical about what he did, he lived and breathed it. Not even pro boxers or mma people train to that extent and they aren’t reading anything they can on it during their down time.
This is historical fact. Not opinion. You say you don’t have the patience for people elevating him to godlike status.. well, it seems to me he was leagues above everyone and could do things others couldn’t do, even today I really don’t see anyone else like him. Sure he was human, but talking about him like he wasn’t something special isn’t being honest either. I don’t have the patience for people trying to make him out to be an average guy who would get demolished by an mms guy today or just did martial arts as a hobby.
It’s not accurate to say he was somewhere “in between” an actor and martial artist either. Despite what grant said in the video, he left a lot of facts out and there was glaring holes in his knowledge. He just scratched the surface at best but he’s not really invested in the historical facts about Bruce Lee. Most people aren’t. Most people think he didn’t know anything about grappling, most people don’t even know the names of his students or the evolution from Jun Fan Gung Fu to Jeet Kune Do. They name drop to get views and it works. Trashing Bruce is the popular thing today. You can find countless videos talking absolute nonsense about him. It’s the current trend. People have built entire careers out of just being associated with him.
Even though Bruce wasn’t a “fighter”, he was undoubtedly a great athlete and was ahead of his time in many ways. I think comparing him to today’s standards is a little like criticizing Alexander Graham Bell for not inventing the iPhone.
To me, personally, Bruce Lee will always be a philosopher first, before even taking into account his fighting abilities, or prowess as a martial artist. He used the martial arts as a means to an end of understanding and expressing himself.
Awesome video, dude. Thanks for the perspective
To you but you never met the guy lmao everyone who knew Bruce on a personal level said he was a martial artist and real fighter first and foremost….. you can’t deny how many other real combatants he teached….
Very well said, Benito Harry Collmann. This is why I believe that Jeet Kune Do can never be taught from a
Physical platform. Because it was the philosophical aspect that channeled the physical. Kudos to your statement.
A very mediocre philosopher if any at all 😂
Bruce was more dedicated to his fitness and training than most people of the time. He was a hard worker, and had the mental fortitude and dedication to overcome a version of Hollywood that didn't think a "Chinaman" should be in a lead role in a film in the US, changing the world and proving them wrong. He was 5'8" tall and walked around at about 145 lbs. He could easily have been on the larger side of the Bantamweight division nowadays by cutting water weight, or of average size at 145 without even having to dehydrate. He didn't have the training we have available today, but if he did he could get quite good. He was far fitter than most hobbyist MMA practitioners today. Would he be champion? No way to know, but he could have had some success in MMA with the right training for sure. Could he just teleport from then to now and jump straight into an MMA fight? Hell no, but that's not a fair expectation to begin with.
Is that why Bruce did loads of meth, coke and steroids? For his health right? lmfao
@@gharm9129 Most dangerous MMA fighter in the world right now, Jon Jones, is loaded full of coke and steroids too. Just sayin'.
The man famously lived a clean lifestyle, lean meats, fish etc. Where did you hear about coke habits?@@gharm9129
@@gharm9129what the fuck are you talking about bro
Bruce wasn't 5'8", he was 5'7"👍
If the question is : could Bruce Lee fight with an heavy weight high level boxer in a ring ?
The answer is yes.
For exemple : he fought Joey Orbillo (188pounds) and won.
+ Joe Lewis, the best heavy weight karate champion (and kick boxing) of his time said that Bruce Lee was the best and beat him.
Joe Lewis also said that it was the same for many champions of his time but they don't want to admit by pride.
About Mohamed Ali, Bruce said : "He could kill me"
This sentence refer to "if they had fought in a boxing match" (which means only fists not total fight
About the fight IQ, Bruce Lee fought a lots in street fights wich certainly made him develop a very good fight IQ.
In my experience, guys who are good on the ring sometimes are useless on the street but guys with solid street fight background, when they train combat sport/martial art they become really strong on the ring.
About weightlifting, the document shown corresponds to one of his very first strength training (it is therefore normal that the weights are light).
In addition, Bruce Lee never sought to make series with heavy loads because he trained for speed.
That is to say that the movements were executed with as much speed and explosiveness as possible and not slowly to seek hypertrophy.
I’ve been in around fifty street fights. Serious fights. I’ve seen friends in street fights a couple dozen times. Some of my family and friends have fought competitively in boxing and kickboxing. A couple of my friends were high school wrestling champions. The one friend of ours that all of us knew without question was the best fighter among us was a guy who never had any formal training whatsoever. If you heard the stories about this man’s fights you’d think it was a movie script. I’ve even heard stories of him that I wouldn’t believe if I didn’t have stories I told of him that were hard to believe.
When you’ve known people like this and you’ve had significant street fighting experience it’s not hard to imagine Bruce Lee being an incredible fighter despite not fighting competitively.
Bruce had plenty of street fights, including challenge matches. When Bruce developed his expression of the martial arts he did so with the experience of fighting with no bell, no rounds, and no referee. Bruce was probably better than you imagine.
Well said. There's people like Geoff Thompson, Lee Morrison who between them have had 100s of real life or death confrontations. Not filmed or documented. I eould like to see any of the doubters tell them they can't fight.
@@UnjustVerdict You haven’t been in many street fights I see.
It's important to note that without Bruce Lee input or contribution to the martial arts, the Western world at its best would probably still have practiced their karate classical mess. Another point is that no one questions whether those karate masters were involved in tournaments or not. And to be fair, no one questions the ability of the kung fu masters from the east either. Without Bruce Lee, kung fu would have been kept a big secret to the Western world. Bruce broke many barriers, so you could have the freedom to talk in the manner in which you are doing now!
A 20min long video of someone that inspired me so much & a role model the person to introduce to marital arts. I can’t put it into words but I’m just a MASSIVE Bruce lee fan. What attracted me about Bruce was his physical capabilities, down the line watching his interviews. Reading his books documentaries etc, listening to people that knew him personally talk about him in interviews. Understanding him more overall as person, back then when I first found out who he was. Hearing all of those fantasy rumors made me believe he was. Undefeated god-like figured, but lucky enough I followed people who actually knows what they’re talking about when it’s Bruce lee. People like Kung-fu genius & goldenbell training. I like Bruce Lee for the type of person he is outside of martial arts he’s just that guy the people I see as role models or had. A positive impact in my life I always liked to learn them as person not just leaving it at the surface level achievement’s fantastic video Adam & grant!
Also Bruce Lee also had a heavy Influence on my mindset & outlook of life in general I was heavily invested into his philosophy too
For people who have not spent their lives dedicated to martial arts, it can seem to be that someone with Lees' physical prowess and technical knowledge would have to have been a superlative fighter. In this age, there are even less excuses to cling to this idea; watching the footage of a high level professional fighter in fight camp should dispel the illusion of what is "enough" in terms of training. It is not that he couldn't have achieved that level, its just that he never did. He dedicated his life to pursuing a different aspect of the "Art" in Martial Arts. For me, now at 46, my focus is much more on the healing and conditioning side of the spectrum; there's something within this field for everyone.
I hate the way people call Chuck Norris a fighter, he was a point fighter and back then point fighting was very much nothing like combat fighting of today, very unrealistic. If you want to use an example of fighters at the time albeit it happened slightly after his death look at Benny Urquidez, Joe Lewis Bill wallace etc for full contact karate and kicboxing
And many more hate the way people call Bruce a fighter when he didnt even point fight. Benny, Joe and Bill all were point fighters in the beginning...must have been useful for something.
I'm 67, so I watched Bruce Lee on the Green Hornet and was in high school when he died. To me Bruce is similar to Jimi Hendrix, close to the same age, both electrifying performers, both changed the face of their respective fields, and both will always hold a special place in my memory from that time.
That said, it's my opinion that putting them into a modern context as "the greatest" or whatever is nonsensical. I'm a professional guitarist, and I can easily think of a dozen or more guitarists off the top of my head who are more versatile and technically accomplished than Hendrix. The same goes for Bruce Lee. We can all appreciate his screen presence and martial arts skill in that setting, but there's simply no proof that he would have been, with his existing skill levels, successful as a modern MMA fighter. Literally all of his supposed prowess as a fighter is based on hearsay. Even his fight with Wong Man Jack, who - let's be honest - was a restaurant owner, not a pro fighter, was described very differently by various people who were there. Tai Chi "master" William Chen said the fight lasted over 20 minutes and resulted in a tie, hardly the pyrrhic victory we'd expect from the mythical status Lee was credited with.
What fight do you know that ever lasted 20 minutes? Why would Bruce need to improve his cardio if he could go toe to toe with someone for that long. Doesn’t make any sense. Think you need to read a book like ‘wrath of the dragon’ to learn the real story of the fight.
@@30plusfitnesstv So historically lots of fights have lasted longer than 20 minutes. There are records of boxing and wrestling matches that lasted hours, and modern MMA main events are 5 five minute rounds which often go the distance. Modern boxing matches are 12 three minute rounds. Royce Gracie's and Ken Shamrock's second fight lasted 30 minutes with a 5 minute overtime round, and Gracie's first fight with Kasushi Sakuraba lasted a total of 90 minutes before the Gracie corner threw in the towel. Unlike Bruce Lee's supposed fights, these are on professionally shot videos in case you want to verify them.
As far as reading the book you mention, I may read it, but I'm not convinced it's a definitive telling since there are HUGE discrepancies between versions from people who were there. Also, I didn't say anything about Lee's cardio. You might want to reread what I did say. Last, I'm of the opinion that this fight is WAY overblown and doesn't prove one way or the other that Lee was a great fighter.
I think you make a good point however use a bad example. Its noted that after that fight, Bruce made major changes to his fighting style because he felt it was ridiculous that he could not end a fight with a man running away from him for 20 minutes. He became far more efficient as a fighter after this. Also, the restaurant owner was a martial arts teacher himself. I still agree with your main point, that people assume Bruce was unbeatable force of nature - its just that I feel people belittle his street fighting experience. He wasnt just taking on thugs, he was fighting martial arts teachers and their students. That doesnt equal professional fighters but its far from a common "Kimbo Slice" kind of brawler.
@@hikaihikonoken9052 from my understanding the fight didn’t last anywhere near 20 minutes. And Wong jack man and his chums wanted some rules before the fight. Bruce was having none of it. No one was or is unbeatable. But Bruce was obsessed with improving his fighting abilities. He trained for street encounters not point fighting which were nothing short of games of tag at the time.
@@southtxguitarist8926 we are talking about a challenge match here not some 5x3 minute round fight. You ever seen a 20 minute street fight? I guess all these things are just myth because well there is no footage of it 🤦♂️
I always find it so funny when people think they understand how good Bruce Lee was, and then they proceed to leave stuff out and or be way off on what they see :') For the record I am a long time elite Mixed martial arts practitioner in multiple striking, submission, grappling, pressure point, and weapons arts, so I'm not simply a fan of Bruce Lee without any actual fight understanding. Bruce Lee was so strong and explosive, that normal 250-300 Ibs heavy bags were way too light, the man legit had to use a custom made 700Ibs heavy bag that swung off the floor, there's a video on youtube of one of his students side push kicking and swinging the bag half way up, and it's said that Bruce himself could make the bag touch the ceiling which logically makes sense, just so people understand to a good enough degree just how insane this ability is, no one and i repeat NO ONE in all of professional combat sports today, no one has needed a bag heavier then 300Ibs, hence why there are no heavy bags in gyms over 300Ibs, if people today were stronger and more explosive then Bruce Lee, then people would be using heavy bags over 700Ibs but they don't, also Bruce Lee had the ability to 6 inch punch a person, make them fall back into a chair, and then slide 4-5 metres, again no one in all of combat sports today is able to do such a feat, take any person past or present who you think is strong or powerful enough, I guarantee you no one is coming close to such ability. People don't properly understand Bruce Lee, because Bruce Lee was on a totally different level, it's as simple as this :')
😂😂😂
@@titomaximus1377and you forgot to mention Bruce Lee was so strong he picked up Castle Grey Skull
Amén
Amén
Facts! And I find it funny when these idiots think that any random mma guy would easily take Bruce to the ground and pound him easily. Like Bruce wasn’t knowledgeable about grappling and takedowns. If this guy even did a shred of research, he’d know that Bruce’s first student was a guy named Jesse Glover, a second Dan black belt in Judoka who was one of the top judo players in the country. This guy was 5’11 220 and a rugged street fighter. His second student was a 6’2 225 guy named Ed Hart, who was a golden gloves and professional boxer. Another guy by the name of James DeMile was a boxing champion in the Navy who was 6’0 220. All three of these guys became Bruce’s students when he was a 19 year old kid fresh off the boat from Hong Kong. Now why would these guys become students of Bruce if he wasn’t the real deal? All three have lamented that they couldn’t do anything with Bruce and that he could beat them easily. I don’t think people realize how fast Bruce was. Nor how devastating his power was.
My view Bruce Lee is better then what most people think of him. Fast, Technique, Power, Leverage, Strong, Timing and he was an innovator in the fighting arts, he was obsessed with fighting. You can see from the movies he could fight, if you know what to look for. If you were to put Norris, Lewis or a modern MMA fighter in position of Bruce Lee to do all his movies, they wouldn't of had those attributes, to say wow, look at guy, that skill, speed, power and technique. Bruce Lee was clearly a phenomenon.
If you look at the Hong Kong Demo where he is filmed secretly, you can clearly see, how he had perfect leverage in his punch's to generate power. His kick's were also devastating. His the type of guy to practice a punch or kick, like 1000 times to perfect it, and you can clearly see it.
Very interesting and informative video. Really enjoyed it. Thanks, Grant and Adam!
For all wanted to know more about the real Bruce Lee, please check out John Little.
Who said having a career as an actor, one might not know how to fight. It is just that we are convinced that if it is recorded in a video or film in competition. One must know how to fight.
In my opinion, Bruce Lee is definitely a fighter and the greatest martial artist of all time.
Obviously Miyamoto Musashi & many other warriors from the past can't fight cause they have no footage or record of fighting in sport competition with rules like in MMA!🤣 [I'm being sarcastic here]
@@jagger_claw Likewise 🤣
I am reading Wrath of the Dragon by John Little. The entire book is about Bruce Lee's real fights. Most people only know the Wong Jack Man fight which isn't even the most impressive fight.
@@bruhmoment3731same here. Great read with thorough research by John Little.
@@bruhmoment3731Ever heard about the 'reaction lag time'?
This was excellent. From what I know of Jeet Kune Do, it sounds that Lee drew a lot from Krishnamurti.
Thank you especially for noting how independent and self-motivated Lee was compared to contemporary fighters. It is extraordinary that he got so far from self-direction and inner discipline.
Really good, thanks for posting!
Loved this! Thank you!
we cannot ignore Adams sponsorship break! opening was hilarious 😂
I feel that Bruce Lee was an Innovator of martial arts, he wanted to improve it in his own way, trough his philosophy's. Though I do believe he was still on the progress on his own work of improving Martial Arts. I do believe at some point he would've liked to test his martial arts philosophy and training at an actual ring. But unfortunately we never got to see him reach that point due to his early passing. As well I'm sure that he would've liked to bring his style of teaching and teach actual fighters, at some point in his life!
P.S I really like that point you made! On how things will be TOTALLY different if you have you a whole team by your side straightening the path Vs doing everything on your own, trough failure and success!
Bruce Lee was a martial arts superstar in his time. People routinely said he was the best theyd seen, so bruce had an aura of invincibility in his day.
Why would Bruce Lee need to enter Vale Tudo? Bruce Lee was the guy with a reputation for being a bad man, who was in all the martial arts mags, who was outspoken when it came to talking about martial arts. Weren't their movie contracts being offered to anyone who could defeat the invincible bruce lee at the time? So all roads led to Bruce. You knew where to find bruce.
At a BJJ seminar held in France a Q&A a Gracie was asked why they didn't challenge Bruce? The reply was we had too much respect for Bruce to challenge him..
happy new year adam!
When people say that Bruce Lee could have beaten Mohamed Ali on a fight, we are talking about a real fight, on the streets with no rules everything goes.
Well, bruce lee would beat Ali in the street, he said it himself. But the video maker isn't interested in discussing the fact bruce said hed beat Ali, only interested in regurgitating the look at my little hand comment. Which shows this video maker is bias against bruce.
Video maker won't even admit bruce lee was a great fighter when the whole world does? But the whole worlds fanboys, but video maker is the fair one, according to the video maker?
@UnjustVerdict
Oh behave yourself. Are you that stubborn that you don't take onboard any testimonies, and you are in denial?
Believe bruce didn't do anything at all if it makes you happy? Chael sonnen indulges in that behaviour too and it's usually not a good look
@UnjustVerdict
People said many things about bruce. Fast, strong, incredible knowledge, incredible tecnician, a genius of fighting.
Joe lewis couldn't touch him in a one off sparring session. Hayward nishioka said he couldnt do anything to bruce. These aren't nobodies. Skipper mullins would pick bruce in any street situation.
These aren't nobodies whose opinions are irrelevant!
Will there be a lightbulb, eureka moment at some stage with you and you conclude " i knew there was something about that man"
It seems the people of the time considered bruce an incredible fighter and talent. Why can't you seem to see things others can? The spotlight needs to be on you I think your trying to divert attention away from you?
@UnjustVerdict
At end of day, you are who you are. You can call bruce anything you want. Go on, call Lee a bum. Let the people who knew bruce, or saw bruce think he was the best theyd seen....a great fighter. For sure you think what you want to and say what you want. But don't forget the spotlight is on you then. People might think your in denial and trolling. Once you've given your 2 cents, it's no longer about bruce, it's about you.
@UnjustVerdict
Yeh, I feel I'm getting to know you better still. I see, everyone's a fanboy, and the fact that you aren't, you can see things through unbiased eyes and you are more credible? Interesting, very interesting.
It’s always a slightly unfair question as every sport evolves drastically in its ‘meta’ that makes it unreasonable to expect people of a previous era to compete. Whether he was a great athlete however, is non-negotiable, the guys speed ,mobility, balance, calisthenics, and diversity of attributes is still rarely matched today. And while Bruce lee was a mma practitioner of sorts JKD was more so philosophised around street fighting
Controversial fact Bruce was actually against mixing JKD with other martial arts!
@@jagger_clawwhat
@@jagger_clawYeah but he didn't get the complete knowledge to combine it he died young
Yeah, it's like comparing boxers from 100 years ago to modern ones, it's a ridiculous notion
@@AwakenZenWhat? What are you taking about? Combine it? Combine what? Bruce was against mixing JKD with other martial arts like I said before! Here's the letter written by Bruce Lee to Jerry Poteet after he tried to mix JKD with some other martial art!
'X' is Jeet Kune Do 'Y' is the style you will represent. To represent & teach 'Y' one should drill its members according to the preaching of 'Y'. This is the same with anyone who is qualified & has been approved to represent 'X'. To justify by interfusing 'X' & 'Y' is basically the denying of 'Y'....but still calling it 'Y'. A man as you put it, Is one who is able to stick to the road he has chosen. A garden of roses will yield roses, & a garden of violets will yield violets. - Bruce Lee [To Jerry Poteet]!
Always appreciate your balanced perspective. Another great video. Thank you Grant.
lol @ “balanced”
Awesome video essay Grant!
I like how you kept in those punch lines that fell flat. Thats a nice touch. Transparency always nice with any creator.
It is fair for skeptics or haters to say Bruce Lee was not a proven fighter. But it is undeniable that he was a proven martial artist teacher. The father of American kickboxing Joe Lewis credited Bruce Lee for improving his skills tremendously and helping him win a lot of fights. So I think it's safe to say that Bruce knew a thing or two about fighting.
People confuse knowing about fighting with being a fighter.
Bruce sure could fight exceedingly well, better than he needed to. Not as if he was going to stumble across someone better back then. He was years ahead of the game
@@iluvcliffrichard based on? If your going to make such a claim then be prepared to support it with actual facts.
@cuzz63
Again, you pays your money you takes your choice. Don't be so preoccupied with changing people's minds.
I pick bruce not to just beat joe lewis like he did but anyone of the time. If I bet on bruce and bruce loses, then its my money I lost and noone to blame but myself.
You'd not be able to work in a betting shop as you'd be insulting and challenging your customers choices?
@@iluvcliffrichard Well I am curious as to why anyone would bet on Bruce based on his actual record.
Excellent video very detailed and very well showcased left a big like on the video ☯️
Provably the most honest a balanced assessment of Bruce Lee I have seen, good work.
Bruce Lee is one of the fathers of MMA.
He was one of the first and certainly the first prominent martial artist who promoted learning from other fight forms.
Because he lost to Wong Jack man and had to go deep in his bag
No, he's not. Jigaro Kano, creator of judo, and Gichin Funakoshi, who brought Okinawan Karate to the Japanese mainland, were training with each other in the early 20th century. It doesn't get much more prominent than that.
Moving on, check out Bartitsu, William E. Fairbairn, Kajukenbo, Donn Draeger, Bruce Tegner, and Jon Bluming, all individuals or styles developed hybrid martial arts/self defense systems WELL before Bruce Lee got the idea. Let's look at Fairbairn as one example.
Fairbairn was a Royal Marine (British military) who joined the Shanghai Municipal Police in 1907. He studied boxing, wrestling, savate, jiu jitsu, judo, and Chinese martial arts and developed his own system from these which he called Defendu, later taught to military personnel in WWII and riot police. Two training films were made featuring him in 1941 and '42, when Bruce Lee was a baby.
Fun fact Bruce was actually against mixing JKD with other martial arts! Here's the letter Bruce Lee wrote to Jerry Poteet after he tried to mix JKD with some other martial art!
'X' is Jeet Kune Do 'Y' is the style you will represent. To represent & teach 'Y' one should drill its members according to the preaching of 'Y'. This is the same with anyone who is qualified & has been approved to represent 'X'. To justify by interfusing 'X' & 'Y' is basically the denying of 'Y'....but still calling it 'Y'. A man as you put it, Is one who is able to stick to the road he has chosen. A garden of roses will yield roses, & a garden of violets will yield violets. - Bruce Lee [To Jerry Poteet]!
@@southtxguitarist8926those names you mentioned, including Gene Lebell whom many people claimed was doing MMA, were never doing MMA in its truest sense or by today’s definition. Yes, they had a meeting of styles and exchanged ideas, techniques, but Bruce truly incorporated cross training, running, weights, isometrics, cycling, eccentric movements, techniques from multiple disciplines, and full on daily functional training and actually blended a mix of styles into his regime.
@@southtxguitarist8926 thanks for your reply, and look, I don't want us to get into some pointless online debate. I'll just share my view, and of course, you have yours and I'll respect that. We can simply agree to disagree.
First off, I believe being in competition or not has got nothing to do with training as a mixed martial artist or in general a martial artist. I know people who don't compete, train hard, have other day jobs (bankers, chefs, bouncers, lawyers, marketers, gamers) not related to martial arts and can kick the butts of people who train for competition. Not being a competitor doesn't mean you can't fight well. Of course, competitors have an edge and many can kick my butt because they train hours every day but so did Bruce Lee and many others I know. Bruce literally trained like a pro athlete and back then people in the martial arts circle never met anyone else like him and he was the one who got them started training the way he trained. This was attested to by many pro athletes of that era. Even Kareem Abdul Jabbar mentioned that it was Bruce that made him realise the importance of stretching and strength training. Even Arnold was amazed by him.
I have never competed, but I used to train hours each time and often sparred 2 hours (with breaks of course but still, there were many rounds of 3-minute sparring rounds with people of all sizes and styles) with my gang, and sparred with people who competed and people who didn't. And it wasn't always competitors that did better than the non-competitors. Recent years I stopped training intensely due to being nearly 50 and I have a host of injuries. But I am very sure of my abilities even though I have never been in competition. I certainly never trained like Bruce did.
But no one is unbeatable or invincible - Bruce Lee certainly wasn't but we got to give credit where credit is due. If it wasn't for Bruce, a ton of what we see in MMA or martial arts in general wouldn't be popularised or done today. Obviously we can't find the exact origin but it is definitely to his credit that MMA and modern training methods grew to what it is today.
Very well done.Excellent content.Narrative just a bit quick at times. Remarkable amount crammed into a very short video.Congratulations and thanks a lot.
Thanks for the video. A few things I’d like to point out.
-If you want documented accounts of Bruce’s “real fights”, I highly recommend John Little’s new book, Wrath of the Dragon.
-I agree that the 1967 sparring match isn’t a point of reference for Bruce’s fighting abilities. The term “JKD” was coined in 1967, so Bruce’s art was still in its infancy at that point. Plus, he was demonstrating with students, so we have no idea how serious Bruce actually was during those matches, or if he was serious at all (his relaxed body language would seem to indicate otherwise).
-Bruce Lee’s JKD was not simply a glorified form of cross-training of different styles. He emphasized sharpening attributes that would allow a fighter to intercept a full oncoming attack; timing, perception, speed/non-telegraphic movement, and proper body mechanics, to name a few. He read fanatically about kinesiology, conditioning and nutrition (and yes, philosophy).
Cheers
EDIT: also, when you say there isn’t much footage of him actually fighting, it’s normal because back then in martial arts circles, challenge matches were usually held in some form of secrecy, and Bruce wasn’t the type of guy to publicize who he schooled.
Good comment. Common sense and someone who has clearly put time into finding out the facts about Bruce. If only more people were like you instead of this guy who made the video based on surface level knowledge at best.
It’s nice to see someone know what JKD is since the “mixed art” thing has been pushed hard for so long.
@@axelstone3131 Thank you! Good to know there are people out there who have deeper knowledge of what Bruce Lee and JKD was about. I agree that the speaker in this video has only superficial knowledge of these subjects. There’s so much confusion regarding Bruce Lee’s JKD nowadays, and videos like this only seem to perpetuate the confusion. Cheers!
@@waddledee4993 absolutely 👍🏻 have you heard of Tommy Carruthers? Ifo JKD is his organisation. Bruce’s first student Jesse Glover knew him for 20 years. He said he’s the closest to Bruce ever even seen anyone. Worth checking out Thomas Marx JKD and John Paul Daily they are both instructors under Tommy.
Great video, but I’m keen to add my 2 cents. Those “real” karate fighters from the 60s trained with and under Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee’s students were often black belts in other styles, and some students were boxers often from a military background.
Also, I don’t know if Vale Tudo was well known outside of Brazil in that era.
Exactly who would have heard of vale Tudo unless you lived in Brazil.
Bruce didn’t fight for fun. This is why the who whole “mma fighter/vale tudo” stuff is stupid.
Now.. if you approach him when he’s walking down the street or you start a fight, or get in his face, then it’s different story. That’s the type of guy Bruce was. He didn’t “fight” just because he wanted to fight. I don’t know why people don’t understand this. He had other interests as well even if martial arts was his life.
wonderful points made. leg length discrepancies are common. They are biomechanically insignificant if they’re less than 10 millimetres in difference, greater than that it can impact gait, hip, knee, low back. Bruce’s S&C was specifically functional to him and that was his ethos, do what works for you. For my Kyokushin training i used to powerlifting…. recovery was difficult to manage and i’ve since employed kettlebells. Easier recovery, decreased injury risk, personal functionality☑️
Strength and conditioning was not part of the old guards training, but look at GSP, he would only do Snatch and Cleans with a barbell after his BJJ training. He’s arguably the greatest modern martial artist and he does not put as much significance toward S&C, but that is what works for him and he is in that top percentage of humans and what applies to GSP certainly does not apply to me of the other 98.9% of humans.
Hi Adam. I'm getting quite interested in sandbags as a training tool. Any video ideas for sandbags?
Excellent comprehensive video mirroring my thoughts.
Or in other words.
Neatly confirms my bias.
This was mentioned in the previous martial arts video that to be at your peek agility. You can’t be too bulky, somewhere around your natural weight. People should keep this in mind if they want to be very agile. It’s not that you can’t do martial arts well if you’re on the bulkier side. However to be at your best it is advised to be leaner without too much bulk.
I would argue that packing on a lot of beef is good for fighting as long as you don't pass the point of diminishing returns.
If you are spending multiple days a week busting your ass, trying to add just 5 pounds to your squat, or pack some extra meat on your bones, your time would be better spent in fight training.
Basically, more muscle and strength is always better until:
A: You spend enough time lifting that your fight training falls behind
B: You lift enough that you can't recover fast enough to give it your all in fight training
C: You get too heavy for your weight class.
In order to get bulky enough to have it negatively affect your fighting performance outside of these three variables, you would have to dedicate your life to becoming a mass monster.
@@elijasuiters9932 The problem is even a little bit extra bulk can reduce your agility. I think only for certain martial arts like wrestling can you afford being a little bulky.
I wish there was a way to be moderately bulky and not compromise agility but unfortunately that's not the case.
ua-cam.com/video/ARoNcCU5IDs/v-deo.htmlsi=nLXE_LOEKmYKB2iG In this video he explains at 4:35 only to be a little bit below or above your natural weight or you sacrifice agility.
The exception are people who are naturally big and they can be at their peek agility whilst being more bulky than average.
@Ren-0 I heavily disagree
Look at heavyweight UFC fighters and boxers
Plenty of them could be considered "bulky"
They don't look like competitive bodybuilders, but that's because they spend most of their time and energy doing fight training and can't afford to waste valuable training time and systemic fatique on building muscles that will only help them a little bit.
If they somehow had the time and biological resources to build a monstrous phisique while not subtracting from their fight training, I have no doubt they would.
You have to get bulky to an unhealthy degree before it saps your stamina and agility. Like golden era bodybuilding and onwards levels of jacked.
A fighter is not going to look like a competitive bodybuilder, but that's just because you can't maintain a phisique like that while doing grueling fight training.
Your body will not hold onto enough muscle mass to slow you down or drain your stamina if you're doing enough fight training.
Any MMA practicioner and Bruce Lee fan would tell you, he would do well, but he his limited by the skillset of his time and also we should have to see how he managed himself in a fight. Great video all around.
He understood gaps in his game and was exploring more grappling before his died. It wouldn't be something that transfers well to screen.
More of his philosophy can be seen in Game of Death.
@@yvonnesanders4308
Bruce Lee didn't grapple!
ua-cam.com/video/2S4LCttLZak/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
The problem with grappling in street!
ua-cam.com/video/f7PCBf5xQr0/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
Is BL's JKD outdated?
ua-cam.com/video/A_B1b0UvqPI/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
Limited how? How do you go beyond simplicity and directness? 🤔 please tell me what you thinks his “limitations” were?
I have heard Bruce sparred with chuck and left him “red faced” so it’s a bit misleading to imply Bruce never sparred with the best.
Joe Lewis himself said Bruce could hold a barbell with weights horizontally outwards, parallel to the ground, for over 30 seconds. Extremely hard.
Yeah but he didn’t film it so it never happened 😂
@@30plusfitnesstvLol
Extremely good video, Sir. I really enjoyed how you balanced the myth with the facts and your perspective of altheticsm and what was conventional and unconventional for the time. This is one of the best Bruce Lee videos on the internet. Thank you.
It’s a terrible video with massive gaping holes in the historical facts about Bruce Lee.
Grant, it would’ve been great if you elaborated more on the supposed “speed lifting/training” he did with weights when your brother touched upon, but never elaborated on, it a few years back. Maybe in a future video?
From what Ive heard, he would lower slowly with good form and then explode up as quickly as possible in his squats.
He trained for the motion not for hypertrophy.
Great video! The thing most people miss (that you discussed) is the accomplishment of developing ideas without having all the resources we have now. Bruce worked so hard to accumulate knowledge and refine his approaches. He wasn't Kung Fu Jesus, but he was definitely impressive.
Well done, respectful commentary.
I think that Joe Lewis quote about him having a "weak neck" is interesting. I think it goes to show that speed, skill, strength, all of that stuff that makes great fighters great isn't all there is to it. Elite combat sports athletes are just kind of built different, and can take damage that the average person just can't. I can totally picture a guy like Bruce who trains all day every day and does incredible in sparring and demonstrations still just not having that freakish toughness to him. And thats okay imo, Bruce was an incredible human being and talent, personally I think contributions to philosophy are even more important than his contributions to fighting.
Part of that weak chin might've been from lack of recovery or how lean and dry Lee liked to stay almost year round. But otherwise when your cards are so well stacked in all other areas, training to hit and not get hit instead can alleviate most of the issues related to having a weak chin - and in general having a good base of IQ tailored to not get hit. I think Silva and Garbrandt are probably the best examples of this - guys who can't trade as much as other fighters but made do with their incredible evasiveness (though Garbrandt does throw that skill out the window when he feels like gaining the carthasis of winning a trade and subsequently getting knocked out.)
@@joh_kun5530 to be fair, to get that point where you can reliably not get hit, that takes a lot of getting hit
A lesson I'll have to keep learning in my martial arts journey as well. Hopefully I can afford to take at least some of those knocks in the future considering past unrelated head and brain traumas @@Jake-yz3qv
The “weak neck” comment by Joe Lewis was contradicted by his own testimony on how he couldn’t touch Bruce in sparring. In one of his own forgotten instructional videos, he actually went on record to say that Bruce was so fast that he couldn’t touch him, and even went further to say that not even a bullet could. Obviously the bullet comment was hyperbole but it’s a clear testimony to Bruce’s speed. Joe himself also told Stephen Wonderboy that the hardest kick he ever took was from Bruce.
Please don’t say that Wonderboy is a zealot or fanboy. Unless you’re calling Wonderboy a liar, not everything said about Bruce should be automatically discounted as fanboy exaggeration.
@@UnjustVerdict Go do your research
Bruce Lee would've flattened Ali with one swift kick to the head that he would never have seen coming. Size is not the ultimate determining factor.
More like a low side kick the the knee or hit to the groin. The people who laugh at this “hypothetical” fight have no idea about the reality of how someone like Bruce would deal with a bigger guy like Ali. He’s not going to box him clearly. People generally hit with the front leg, left or right extended, it makes for a pretty easy target to hit.
Bruce didn’t really do high kicks when he had fights. That was more movie stuff.
Simplicity, directness and efficiency.
Also bruce said in boxing. No way Ali would win if Bruce used his kicks. He kicks harder than anyone even today. Sending 250lb guys flying back who were behind pads. I think because these gents can't do what Bruce could do. They want to disregard real fighters statements on his strength. Actually bruce lee many folks saw him also hold 45lb dbs and 80lb dbs straight out. That's how he developed incredible strength from his fighting positions
@@shel0016 Bruce could do a lot of things the majority of people, even other martial artists couldn’t and still can’t do. It’s historical fact, not opinion. But people don’t want to hear it. I kind of get it. There’s nobody around in the public eye like Bruce and there hasn’t been since so it’s very hard for people to believe it. But when you have multiple multiple different people who knew him and were around him all saying the same thing it’s a little difficult to disregard what they say.
Because we aren’t just talking about 2 or 3 people, we’re talking around dozens of people here. There’s also people in Hong Kong who knew and worked with him. People like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, they all say the same thing. Nobody wants to put the time in and do the research. All this video is was a 5 minute google search with some popular “lies” pushed as facts put in and some guys opinion that was formed on the basis of misinformation and lies.
I think it's worth noting too that while I love Chael and watch him every day he says basically if you weren't in the ufc or something like it you're a phony who couldn't fight a lick.
But then in his toughest man he ever met video he tells the story of how he an ncaa champion and 3 time title contender. Matt Linland a silver medalist and ufc champion. Dan henderson a bronze medalist, ufc, pride, and strikeforce champion. And Randy Couture a 3 time Olympian and 7 time ufc champion quit inviting a guy named Les Gutches to practice because he would just come in and kick the crap out of all 4 them. But les never competed.
Bruce's training evolved to a point where he focused on getting stronger as possible while not getting any bigger.
Correcto! With isometrics
Bruce Lee is my Idol 💪🥰 and since 97s
In German we have two different terms:
Kampfkunst (Martial Art) and Kampfsport (Martial Sport).
I feel like this distinction provides some insight. Fight IQ is important for Martial athletes. No questions about that. But it's less important for a Martial Artist.
There is only so much time in a day. And those who are best at fighting right now, will not have the time and mental capacity to develop new ways of training, thinking and teaching martial arts. It's why soccer trainers are often A to B tier players beyond their prime. They were fine enough. But their focus switched aftter some time. And if you want to develop the sport, you need both, the S-Tier athletes and the good enough athletes, becoming essential to the development of the sport.
Sport vs Street fighting!
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An important fact one needs to understand is that if Bruce Lee was fighting in MMA today, he would have fought in his own weight class & not against heavier opponents. In that case in my opinion, he would have won most of his fights and would probably have been a MMA world champion. He was a realistic martial arts practitioner and not bound by rules of an individual martial art. He was willing to mix and match different styles & his focus was on winning against opponents and not necessarily sticking to one style. He had a champions mindset, hence if he was there in today's times he would definitely have been a MMA world champion in his weight class.
If he was alive when mma became popular, he would have been around 50 yrs old in1993. Now, he'd be more than 80. Lmao
@@GDCDGC this is a very dumb comment, devoid of common sense. Obviously when I said "if he was there in today's times" I was referring to him being just as young and in his prime as we knew him.
@@jp1966a your comment is even dumber because it's pure fantasy. If he was alive today, he would never be in his prime. Plus, its impossible to know if he'd be champ. We won't even know if he'd even be a martial artist if he was born on a different timeline. All you could do is speculate. Your comment is that of a typical bruce lee fan which is hilarious. He is dead. Quit imagining that he'd dominate today in mma or in any field of combat. Lmao
Because people who knew bruce tend to say he hit like a heavyweight, id say he'd have a high ko record in the lighter weight classes. Like a 100% ko record
That Northern style he demonstrated for his Green Hornet screen test was absolutely flawless. He was nervous about the entire interview but he felt so at ease and in the zone when he was asked to demo his skills. He received coaching on what to say and how to appear, but poured his heart and soul into that performance. He would not be denied that day.
Yes he was a incredible athlete ..And he most definitely would succeed in MMA..I don't know why people question this man abilities..it's easy to see that Bruce Lee Was the truth.. The Real Deal..
Jealousy
Before I found this on UA-cam, my Wife and I was saying the same thing you just said!
you completely ignored the eye witness testimonies of Bruce fighting the stunt man on the set of Enter The Dragon and other challenges he faced off camera.
That's true he kicked the shit out of him. Sadly Tarantino's flick subverted the truth and people now think it went the other way.
Bruce Lee & Musashi are fake warriors cause they have no footage or record of fighting in sport competition with rules like in MMA!😁 [Just being sarcastic here]
@@jagger_clawMusashi existed before footage or records. Joke or not that was dumb
@@AwakenZenToo bad for Musashi he should have fought in some sport competition with rules like real warriors do! Since he didn't he was a fake warrior just like that idiot Bruce who also didn't carry around an HD camera or an Iphone in the 60s & record all his fights just so he could prove to some random idiots on the internet that he was a real fighter!🤣
@@jagger_claw Yeah Bruce Lee was an idiot which is why he's dead lol
Well said! 👍🏻
This Is An Excellent Video!
Ha ha, don't think so.
Thank you for mentioning the outrageous extremes people decided to died on for Bruce Lee.
People who never have the intention to enter the world of martial arts can still learn a lot in life from Bruce Lee.
As someone who has been training martial arts a bit, I can almost 100 percent agree with Grant. Bruce is my greatest inspiration, and I consider him like a grandfather I never met. Bruce was human, and he definitely had his flaws, which I am sure most of you know. I tell you that his tactics really are beneficial in sparing. Bruce taught to be on your strong side and attack mainly with your lead leg and hand. I use his tactics like oblique kicks side kicks to the legs backfists and fake backfist to lead side kicks all the time. His training philosophy made me a better martial aritist in a short period of time. He knew what he was doing. He may possibly not beat Mike Tyson or Ali in a fight but certainly he was a student of the sweet science of fighting. Love to Grant and keep up the good work
A famous quote from one of his films comes to mind. "what was that?"
I know that there's a story in several biographies about Bruce sparring with a Wing Chun master from China who didn't like what he was doing with Jeet Kun Do. According to eye witnesses, it was a one sided affair with Bruce mostly chasing him around the arena as he fruitlessly defended. There's no footage of it, however, but this is indeed a published account and one friends/family back up, not an online rumor.
Bruce also reportedly suffered from a back injury as a result of doing a weighted lift he later argued should never go beyond the weight of the bar itself. The story is that he was told he would never be an athlete again, but read a lot of Jiddu Krishnamurti (influencing his overall philosophy) and performed some kind of self-engineered PT to recover his range of movement.
🤣😂
@@titomaximus1377you’re getting the fight confused with Wong jack man fight. That fight has been made into something it never was. It was over within a minute.
Bioneer - thanks for this video but quite a number of things are off the mark. Bruce knew about tension, isometrics, eccentric loads. The lighter weights he used for training weren’t the only weights he was moving. Next, about ground grappling, he trained with the liked of legends like Wally Jay, Hayward Nishioka. Whilst I wouldn’t say that he would trump many people on the ground, he would be far from being completely helpless. Also, in the words of Hayward Nishioka himself, it was hard to even get Bruce onto the ground. When they used to spar, he couldn’t catch hold of Bruce as the man was too fast - and even if he grabbed him he couldn’t hold on to him as he was too strong. You need to do more research.
Exactly. Then Nishioka tried to save face by saying Lee would get crush in the grappling game. But He couldn’t do nothing with Lee.
Edit: hey, you just said the same thing as I was typing this! Rock on.
The thing I hate about the Bruce Lee Zealots is to me it's disrespectful for them to hold him up like that. He didn't actually want to be held up in that way and to me it's more respectful to talk about his limitations while still appreciating what he has done for modern combat sports.
Half century after his unfortunate passing,
The martial arts world is still enamored by his passion.
That itself tells you something,
It’s almost like after Mozart passed.
Bruce Lee has always been a big role model for me. His lightning speed and agility paired with his unique look and style, on top of his philosophy made him an icon.
Yes that is true but I think he is also a victim of his own success especially after his death many years later. I like his philosophy on life. I am a fan if his but to idol worship people and not treat them like a human being. Sadly it was Bruce Lee's drive to being better that ultimately lead to his death as he wanted to be better even at the cost of his own health.
@@wubear260 yeah he wasnt bad but they play him up too much hes human hes not a god but hes a good idol especially to day when ppl idolize ppl like andrew Tate
@@all9472Funny you mentioned Andrew Tate cause he made some good points about street fighting & I think Bruce would also agree with him there [good points on street fighting].
@@jagger_clawAndrew Tate is a meme
@@AwakenZenWhat ever he is his advice on street fighting is good!
Andrew Tate on street fighting!
ua-cam.com/video/Fky-0KrS9AY/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
The problem with grappling on street!
ua-cam.com/video/f7PCBf5xQr0/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
GSP on street fighting!
ua-cam.com/video/3MoiMCWhGuw/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
Sport vs Street fighting!
ua-cam.com/video/B3qNW57Pjec/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
Bruce was a Film Star and a good looking guy, with brains.
Why would he jeopardise that for some knuckle headed fight.
He was a street fighter growing up and a boxing champ while in college
18:00: I think doing it all yourself is a powerful thing. Having that internal drive to push yourself, and not just perform exercises mechanically is surely ergogenic.
Great Video. Thanks for using my music 👍👍
Grant found it! But it’s awesome, thanks for making it!😁🔥🔥
One thing I would want is for Bruce to not have died so young. Imagine how he would have evolved and learned. Imagine him on Walker Texas Ranger with Chuck Norris! Sammo Hung was in one episode! 😊
He would have been beat & there would be no legend
@@bobafatt2155 Stupid comment
I realized had he lived “Circle of Iron” aka “The Magic Flute” would have been groundbreaking and I think we would have down the road seen a Bruce Lee vs Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.
@@bobafatt2155😂 you’re a terrible comedian
@@axelstone3131 , it’s true he would have continued making movies then as he got older he would have become less popular & had a few guest appearances on Walker Texas Ranger
HIs conditioning was *legendary* Imo, that alone gives him a significant edge over his opponents. Also his isometric training assisted in giving him insane power despite the 135lb bantamweight he was. Im not saying he would be undefeatable but imo he would have quite an edge over most of his opponents.
He was ahead of his time for sure and because he put his theories into practice in his own training I do agree with you. Everything is relative tho.
Shoutout from one of yr subscribers ✊️😁
No his conditioning was garbage cardio garbage traditional chinese body "conditioning" is pseudoscience
@suraanbrenner4096 ayyy! Great minds! 🧠 and I love that you said it's relative bc imo that's so true!
@@NoLimitSquadEver heard of the 'reaction lag time'?
@@faithalone5081 Well then it's a good thing Bruce Lee wasn't doing this traditional Chinese body ''conditioning'' 😂😂😂 could of really given himself some terrible conditioning 🤣🤣🤣
The ad break made me chuckle 😂
What a lot of casual fans also don't seem to understand, is that Bruce was a street fighter, before he ever became a martial artist. If you look at jeet kune do, it's specifically designed for self defence. That's why i don't understand that whole 'Bruce never fought in the ring' nonsense. It was never his aim.
Bruce Lee vs Mike Tyson is barbershop talk
I think he would have been a glass cannon. Probably able to hit extremely hard but if hit then not able to take anywhere near that level of punishment.
Even though he never challenged the top fighters of his generation in tornaments, many of Bruce Lee,s close associate,s have claimed he did challenged the top fighter,s of his generation in street fights and bettered them.
Went into this totally expecting Adam to be presenting the show, big smile when i hear Grants voice as im making a cuppa ^_^ excellent insight into the man the myth the legend that is the one and only Bruce Lee. You got to the point well, i still consider him to be boarderline superhuman for speed to power to weight ratio. In todays world with the right team he would dominate just like Inoue is at the moment in his feild. He had that dog in him i feel ^_^ as to why he didnt mess people up yet trained for the streets, he studied philosophy for a degree. Clearly not inclined to violence yet he packed his kickbags with metal ive heard. A facinating subject im sure you could make many more on him, a bruce lee podcast with live action demonstrations and follow along breakdowns from Adam and Grant would be ace, i dunno about yall but id like to see that ^_^
How he would perform in MMA would depend on how his genetics compare to others in his weight class, and developing ground game. He does seem to be ahead of his time in his approach to training. Phenomenal at demonstrating his athletic talent onscreen.
As a big Bruce Lee fan, congratulations on a really well put together, well thought out and well balanced video!!
Nothing any honest bruce lee fan has n't heard a thousand times. Just someone new mouthing a script to yet another you tube video.
the best of the videos
One thing I'd like to point out and clarify and it has nothing to do with the video itself, Bruce Lee wasn't un-trained. He was Un-tested in the ring, Agree with that, but not un-trained. He was completely trained, in fact by some of the best masters in certain martial arts and not just that, he was self trained as well. He dedicated his life to self reflection of his Style and training, which to me is the most important trait for a martial artist. Maybe by modern MMA standards and standards of other martial arts and boxing rules, weight class comparisons etc... his technique is a bit sloppy and doesn't pass the technical assessment, but that's the nature of marital arts in general its constantly evolving. And the most important reason why i think Bruce Lee would have excelled as a Martial Artist not just in those times but also in modern times, was coz of his Philosophy specifically towards martial arts and fighting. He was willing to adopt the best of each style into his own. He put no limitations or boundaries for himself and his style of fighting and this philosophy later became the corner stone of modern MMA.
There is room for both, the Myth and the Man..The godlike myth of Bruce has probably produced more martial artist and sports specialists, than anyone else.
From loving the myth as a kid and then as I grew older learning about the man behind it, my takeaway from Bruce has been: Keep an open mind, try everything, learn everything, but keep only what you can use. (and flashy stuff has a promotional use, as his films proved)
To Devil’s Advocate , part of being a great fighter is knowing not to risk fights you can lose. In that, he was undefeated 😈
He lost to Wong Jack man
@osas5211 Debatable, we'll never know, but Wong Jack Man side of the story claims the fight lasted 20 minutes of him ducking, dodging and not trying to hurt Bruce.
I find that a bit difficult to believe, honestly.
@@PingTPunk-rq9us Bruce didn’t call Wong jack man the runner for nothing. Think Wong took far too many chain punches to the back of the head. It probably felt like twenty minutes but probably lasted two.
I don't think Bruce was by any means an infallible fighter, and I think the modern martial arts world has built considerably on the body of knowledge of martial arts he developed in his lifetime. But, I think this video is underselling to an extent some of his physical achievements. As far as I know, there's no film footage of any of his weightlifting feats, but the likes of Joe Lewis for instance (not someone given to talking up others' achievements in general) attested to personally witnessing them. Joe Lewis was definitely one of the more avid weightlifters among martial artists of his day, and by no means shy of the camera, but I don't believe there's any footage of his weightlifting feats out there either.
Wong shun leun had 100 street fights and none were filmed
@@iluvcliffrichardthere’s not video footage or photos of dinosaurs walking around so I guess it didn’t happen either 😂 these people man
@axelstone3131
Ha ha most people probably don't have video footage or photos of mum and dad getting it on, to produce you and I too, but we weren't produced out of thin air. Sorry to put that image in your head
The thing is..The majority of mma fighters today do not underhand the concepts of simplicity and directness.. the idea of going past something that’s not really able to be improved upon except by improving your attributes is kind of silly.. by mixing other arts and the supposedly “new knowledge” you’re ending right back at what Bruce himself called the “classical mess” although today it would be called the modern mess.
@@iluvcliffrichard why you have to go and do that man lol. Haha. The idea of “I can’t see it so it didn’t happen” is stupid when you can see the evidence right in front of you
Bruce Lee was a movie star, a superb athlete and also a martial arts pioneer.
His writings indicate that he believed that a less limited approach to martial arts makes him an MMA pioneer.
Bro is the actual Goku
That's wrong. He did sparr Chuck & Lewis and WON. Read the new book Wrath of The Dragon by UFC judge & writer John Little. An objective compilation based on extensive journalistic research about his sparring & street fighting record. More over Chuck admitted 2 times previously to the clip in the video that he lost to Bruce. At that him & Lewis only competed in no touch point Karate back then. Something Bruce referred to as "dry land swimming". That's why he was the 1st one to put on protective gear and sparr all out. Bruce didn't know about Vale Tudo in Brazil back then. Very few people outside of Brazil did (didn't show it on tv/no internet). But he did have a fighting record mostly in the street. A whole lot of fights with people who had knifes & so on aswell. He was in a street gang in his youth (the tigers of junction street). He taught & sparred several decorated grapplers who were amongst his 1st set of students (years b4 he met Gene Lebelle) who also give their opinions in the book. He spuatted 95lbs 10 reps as fast as he could strictly to develop explosiveness. All his training went along those lines. Btw why would Joe Lewis lie about his strength now? 🤷♂️ You should do some more research young man cause this video is in no way equivalent to some undisputed truth even tho u come across like u believe that u really know it all. Good luck.
Someone who knows what they are talking about 👏
@@UnjustVerdict what’s your experience and knowledge?
Beautiful in depth and unbiased analysis! Bruce Lee deserves this!
Chuck Norris also said that Bruce Lee would have done well in MMA.
People had a chance to show Bruce was overrated in sparring with bruce, it would be your only opportunity to expose bruce, as Bruce wasn't a pro or tournament fighter. Bruce knew it was his only chance to test himself also, as where else is he going to fight and test himself against Orbillo, or Chuck norris, or Louis Delgado?
Bruce always came out on top. That's why Bruce is one of the greatest fighters who ever lived and best fighter of his time
The funny thing is this is historical fact. Not opinion. But no matter what evidence present people still say the same stupid nonsense like in this video.
I'm sure Orbillo would love to be giving anecdotes of the time he hit bruce, and bruce was out for the count unconscious on the floor. Orbillo is a proud fighter, I'm.sure he'd prefer not saying bruce outclassed him.
Grant Stevens says he will play devils advocate and say bruce was neither greatest fighter who ever lived, or the other extreme of being just an actor? And that bruce was somewhere in the middle?
No, Bruce wasn't somewhere in the middle, he was somewhere very near the top up to this very day. Hecwas closer to being greatest fighter who ever lived, than being just an actor, so bruce wasn't somewhere between the 2 extreme views. Nobody thinks bruce was just an actor that's just trolling, so Grant doesn't need to give people who say bruce was just an actor the time of day, should be zero tolerence
@@rickocconnell9056 orbillo has spoken about it thought. He said he found it frustrating cause he couldn’t get near him or hit him.
I don’t like this grant guy. He’s got a punchable face and his viewpoints and the way he talks in this video pissed me off. I get it, he’s got some skills so things he’s hot shit. I hope for his sake he doesn’t think he’ll be able to pull off all of those fancy high kicks when someone’s trying to fake his head off in a real fight
@@axelstone3131
Ha ha, yes I don't like how grant says bruce is somewhere in between. To try make out he's not a bruce critic.
Bruce is far closer to being the greatest fighter ever, than being just an actor.
I'm no mathematician, but even i can work out, that doesn't make bruce somewhere in the middle, but rather somewhere at the top.
A fair and balanced point of view. “When there’s 2 extremes, the truth lies somewhere in the middle,” is something I say quite a bit.
Interesting video.
I am currently reading Wrath of the Dragon by John Little. It is a book about real fights that Bruce was involved in. Many of them are not very well known. For example, there was a fight that took place at a local YMCA where Bruce Lee fought a very accomplished karate black belt and defeated him within 11 seconds. John Little interviewed multiple witnesses. The most notable thing is that information regarding the YMCA fight can also be found in Bruce Lee's diary.
Doesn't really matter guys like Bruce & Musashi have no footage of fighting & most importantly they haven't competed in fighting competitions with sport regulations such as MMA! This means they are not proven & are fake fighters!🤣 [If you can't tell I'm being sarcastic here]
@@jagger_claw You know what's funny, Bruce Lee had students who had actual fight records lol, so it shouldn't matter if Bruce Lee had a fight record or not, yet people still bang on about it :') Lee's students went from being decent professional strikers, to then being able to beat opponents easily, the fact that this change in ability actually happened, this outright proves that Bruce was by far the best in the world 😂
@@bulletproof1581 not to mention the fact that the father of American kickboxing/full contact karate said time and time again that Bruce Lee improved his skills tremendously. But yea sure, Bruce was just an actor lol.
@@bruhmoment3731Spot on, I mean there's just so much information that makes it obvious Bruce Lee was the best fighter, yet people still shit on him aha, either they look past allot, or they assume allot, like damn there had to of been someone who was the best at the time, why the hell are people so bent over it specifically being Bruce Lee 😂