Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - To the Greatest Martial Artist of All Time

The_Dunedan · 11-30-2006, 11:10 AM

Now, I wouldn't say that Bruce was -the- greatest. There have been a -very- small number of people who I'd put in his league, less than a dozen, so he's certainly in rare company, but I dunno if he was -the- greatest. He was, however, the only person I'm aware of who was -that- good when he was -that- young.

His genius was in translating the frequently esoteric practices and metaphysics of Chinese martial arts into a format which made sense to Westerners and Easterners alike. He also did many martial artists a huge favor by greatly simplifying Kung Fu. I grew up around Kung Fu, as both my parents were active fighters since the early 70s. If Kung Fu can be said to have a weakness, it's the fact that progression is extremely slow and very exacting. It's extremely precise; like trying to learn painting from Leonardo Da Vinci. Lee's techniques pared away a lot of what some people feel is "dead weight" in traditional martial arts, and got down to raw basics.

Put another way, to become a truly proficiant Kung Fu practitioner takes decades. To become a proficiant MMA fighter, on the other hand, takes a great deal less time because there's simply less stuff to learn and less "red tape" to go through. You train just as hard and practice just as much, but you're practicing fewer techniques, so you become proficiant in those 500 movements -much- more quickly than you would if you had to learn/practice the 3500+ movements in traditional Kung Fu styles.

I've always been rather a traditionalist, and liked the slow intensity of Kung Fu. But for many people, especially people who aren't Sinophiles, Bruce's techniques simply work better.

As regards Lee's physical strength, it was impressive. I've seen other people do similar things, though; I was there (5 years old, mind you) the day my father broke a waxwood spear in his hands while executing a Form. I've seen men (and one woman; Laura Truley) bend two feet of 3/4" rebar in half by pressing it against their -throats.- Sifu Johnny Lee and his students had a feat where both men would place a spear with two heads, one at each end, against their throats and push inwards until the shaft broke. This kind of thing is hardly common, but Bruce wasn't the only person capable of such things. Some of the stories of the "Three Tiger Generals" during WW2 are also pretty wild.

11-30-2006, 11:10 AM	#16 (permalink)
The_Dunedan Junkie	Now, I wouldn't say that Bruce was -the- greatest. There have been a -very- small number of people who I'd put in his league, less than a dozen, so he's certainly in rare company, but I dunno if he was -the- greatest. He was, however, the only person I'm aware of who was -that- good when he was -that- young. His genius was in translating the frequently esoteric practices and metaphysics of Chinese martial arts into a format which made sense to Westerners and Easterners alike. He also did many martial artists a huge favor by greatly simplifying Kung Fu. I grew up around Kung Fu, as both my parents were active fighters since the early 70s. If Kung Fu can be said to have a weakness, it's the fact that progression is extremely slow and very exacting. It's extremely precise; like trying to learn painting from Leonardo Da Vinci. Lee's techniques pared away a lot of what some people feel is "dead weight" in traditional martial arts, and got down to raw basics. Put another way, to become a truly proficiant Kung Fu practitioner takes decades. To become a proficiant MMA fighter, on the other hand, takes a great deal less time because there's simply less stuff to learn and less "red tape" to go through. You train just as hard and practice just as much, but you're practicing fewer techniques, so you become proficiant in those 500 movements -much- more quickly than you would if you had to learn/practice the 3500+ movements in traditional Kung Fu styles. I've always been rather a traditionalist, and liked the slow intensity of Kung Fu. But for many people, especially people who aren't Sinophiles, Bruce's techniques simply work better. As regards Lee's physical strength, it was impressive. I've seen other people do similar things, though; I was there (5 years old, mind you) the day my father broke a waxwood spear in his hands while executing a Form. I've seen men (and one woman; Laura Truley) bend two feet of 3/4" rebar in half by pressing it against their -throats.- Sifu Johnny Lee and his students had a feat where both men would place a spear with two heads, one at each end, against their throats and push inwards until the shaft broke. This kind of thing is hardly common, but Bruce wasn't the only person capable of such things. Some of the stories of the "Three Tiger Generals" during WW2 are also pretty wild.