backfist

Correct. Lee trained with many notable martial arts legends, masters and professors--my late instructor among them. And I agree that he had an incomparable foundation on which to build. I'm not saying that martialartsresearcher is the next Bruce Lee, but I support him (so long as he masters the basics) for setting out to create his own art. One thing about martial arts--like most other arts. You can call yourself whatever you want. The proof is in the finished product.

I don't see too much of a problem with self-teaching. There are many self-taught artists of numerous disciplines. Certainly a solid foundation helps in the event such a person wishes to perfect and teach his or her own art later. I seem to recall a relatively young gung fu practictioner who created (taught himself) another style; perfected it and taught it. All before the age of 30. And Jeet Kune Do is doing just fine.

Depending on where you live, you may wish to look into Kajukenbo. It's a combination art whose origins are in Hawaii. While it does have a strong Kenpo basis, it's gung fu emphasis is noteable. I can also attest to Hung Gar.