Okay, seriously, I know we're sick to death of "Bruce Lee and his legacy in MMA" but I recently spent some time with his writings and biographies and I have to conclude that, in fact, Bruce was an important fore-runner to MMA.
In particular I'm referenced John Little's Jeet Kune Do commentary, which fills out the Tao of JKD notebook a bit more, and in it Lee evaluates various styles and what each can contribute to the fighter - and he sounds prescient, saying in 1970 what a lot of people are saying today about kicks, boxing hand work, clinching, throwing and ground fighting. I think Lee would have been surprised by the innovations judo/BJJ brought to fighting but he certainly anticipated them.
Add to that his feelings about STYLE, that his style was no style, and compare that to the "styles" of MMA fighters - all of whom could be said to not have a specific style at all and I gotta conclude, wow, we are living Bruce Lee's vision. He was more interested in street fighting or pure physical training and philosophy rather than cage fighting or sport, but he called it - his personal evolution is where martial arts has gone in the last fifteen years.
Good post.
More people who consider themselves fans or fighters of MMA should go read Toe of Jeet Kune Do.
Go get schooled lil biches
Florida, we had a JKD thread on the otherground and several - well, a couple - green namers chimed in with how much it had contributed to their understanding.
I don't think Bruce was a grappler, nor did he know the full strength of grappling. There's notes in the Little text that say he has to "learn more throws" and "mat work." Also, a few small joint locks. So I really do think he would have been surprised at the role grappling has played in MMA. But, again, he was a street fighter -
lol, everyone too buzzed for this discussion?
lol. I'll have to check out that book. But the author basically agreed with me?
"I have to conclude that, in fact, Bruce was an important fore-runner to MMA."
***Ogami Itto has hit the correct.
Thanks, yaw. Yeah, I fogure we've probably done this to death. Are people on the UG generally in agreement with me?
Yeah, I think it's safe to say that. Lee is worthy of a ton of respect and I've always been a fan.
It's probably worth noting that he never had any use for organized martial arts competitions though. I don't think he would have been a fan of MMA.
TH
Yes Ogami...you are on point
hackett - Yeah, I think it's safe to say that. Lee is worthy of a ton of respect and I've always been a fan.
It's probably worth noting that he never had any use for organized martial arts competitions though. I don't think he would have been a fan of MMA.
TH
You may be right!
Kneeblock - What I wonder is how Bruce, who always said his dream was an event that featured Realistic Total Combat and scoured the globe in search for such an event, could have completely overlooked both the Thais and the Gracies.
I'm guessing you got an early start on St Paddy's day drink and are having some fun with a little trolling here :)
For anyone who wants to know, Lee comments on Thai boxing several times in his writings. Sketches appear in the books based on his writings like Tao of JKD and Jeet Kune Do. Dan Inosanto mentioned over and over that Lee adapted some stuff from Muay Thai in his teachings to him and others.
I doubt he ever heard of the Gracie family, though.
LOL @ "Realistic Total Combat" ... is that anything like "Battleship?" Because I think it's also just in the mind of a UG member...
TH
Bruce did an armbar in Enter The Dragon.
YOU DON'T SAY????
People like the Gracies, Waldemar Santana and Kimura practiced what Bruce only talked about. And they did it decades earlier. Low kicks, elbow strikes, headbutts, takedowns and submissions where all part of their arsenal...
Bruce Lee was good with theory.
Gracies put the theory through the test.
Because he didn't actually fight, he missed several important ranges needed to be trained such as clinch, sprawl, takedown, grip fighting, and only got to the point of 'one-step' sparring in groundfighting. Ironic. Maybe he'd have gotten there, but people say he didn't really like judo. He actually "missed the Moon" he warned us against doing because he failed to see Kano's message that aliveness is a 'training method'. Because he thought you couldn't pull off pure judo in the street, he pretty much dismissed it. He was wrong. He also focused on training a range where you can't go 100% and ignored ranges where you could safely go 100% (grappling, wrestling, judo, clinch fighting, etc.)
Though we might say he'd have gotten there, he was exposed to it a little bit with Gene LeBell, but was hampered a bit by his genetic gifts. Since he was so fast, he felt he could 'force' his range on others. To bad he never met someone like the Machados or the Gracies. Unfortunately, I think he'd have suffered a lot of cognitive dissonance and been blinded to the beauty and utility of ground fighting and sub grappling.
He did realize that submissions existed but didn't systematically explore them. Why, we don't know. Even in the 90s, his 'foremost' grappler, Larry Hartsell only half-way got sub grappling (at least looking at his vids - he never showed rolling in them, but did his moves like a series of 'tricks', or as Japanese Ju-jitsu which is somewhat static and done without significant resistance by many).
End Thread!
What's the Lebell story? The one where he puts Lee on his shoulders and carries him around like a misbehaving kid?
John Little's Jeet Kune Do commentary
Is this available as an ebook?
Ogami Itto - ... But, again, he was a street fighter -
LOL