Bruce Lee...Greatest fighter?

[bruceflea]

Well, as i stated in an earlier post, on another thread, nothing he said was actually new... it was merely rehashed and presented to an ignorant audience as if it were his ideas.

Many attribute things to Bruce Lee, because it came out of his mouth, or because it is noted in one of his writings... but he is not the originator of such thoughts, nor even of such words. They can be found in books like Sun Tzu's Art of War, thought to have been written before 400 b.c. which, i'm sure you would agree, clearly predates Bruce Lee.

In section six, parts 27-29 of The Art of War, Sun Tzu writes:

• 27. Now an army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.
   
  28. And as water shapes its flow in accordance with the ground, so an army manages its victory in accordance with the situation of the enemy.
   
  29. And as water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions.

I think he made it clear alot of his ideas dirived from old philosiphy and teachings. He was 33 years old when he died and he taught himself alot in those young years. Even you cant deny he was and IS a good role model.

Why? Because he inspired so many young people to do something with there lifes...even in a non-martial art way. Just achive your goals and strive. That was his greatest achivement.

I dont understand how we can bash bruce lee still....the mans a long time dead. But the fact we are discussing him still, shows his deep influence.

Just my opinion.

[White Warlock]

or the impression that he made................it proves he was good and by being he was popular and clever business men made merchendise to make money all because he was skilled and left a legacy........

Not really...

Mostly it's because the t-shirts look cool, and because the name Bruce Lee is synonymous with "kick butt martial arts." It's not necessarily the truth, but it's what merchants are selling to the unskilled fanbase.

Really, Bruce Lee has become an icon, a representation of what martial art movie stars all over the world aspire to be... i.e., psychedelic colors on a t-shirt.

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Seriously though, there's a disconnect here on what's really going on. Commercialism is gearing the minds of the consumers to perceive one thing or another. The cycle of marketing goes like this, "this is what you want to buy" followed by it's, "what seems to be popular," and then back again to, "this is what you want to buy."

In this case, Bruce Lee symbolizes martial art movie stars because decades ago he was sold as "what you want to buy." Martial art movies are in right now, so... of course martial art movie stars are popular. What that brings in return is, "Bruce Lee t-shirts are what you want to buy."

Commercialism and the process of marketing is far more than this, but i'm presenting what it is in a nutshell so as to communicate the underlying factors associated with this 'idolatry.'

[fallen_milkman]

I avoided this thread until now because I figured it would all be pro-Bruce Lee. The man was a good actor, I'll give him that. Otherwise...I am in full agreement with White Warlock. Bruce Lee is given FAR to much credit in the MA scene. I am starting to have the same problem with Jackie Chan.

[SatyagrahaKF]

Good sharing of opinions. Bruce was an incredible sight on the movie screen and in my opinion a good person in life. I am in no position to say whether or not the man is the best martial artist due to the fact that I have not seen all martial artists! But, his influence is GREAT, and you have to respect him for his accomplishments in the martial arts and cinema world and the people he has inspired. Jeet Kune Do was a pretty good system as well...

[ninjasteve]

Allways wanted to try jkd. Bruce moved so fast.

[Goju_boi]

JKD is good, but that doesn't really mean you'll be as fast as he was.

[White Warlock]

jkd is not a system, but a concept, an approach to learning.

[Goju_boi]

I don't think anybody mentioned it as a system.Anyways I guess just about everyone that's into bruce knows that.

[White Warlock]

SatyagrahaKF mentioned it, last sentence of his post.

[Goju_boi]

hmm good point