DeLamar.J Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 I my self am a Bruce Lee fan, but I dont think he is as good as he was made out to be. I have read his books and they are very interesting and well put together, but I have also read other books from over seas that my grampa had transelated that were better than Lee's. Lee also never participated in any compitition that I am aware of. All of the fights Lee got into are basicly miths. No proof to back them up what so ever, kinda like religion but I wont get into that. Bill wallace, now he is a true martial artist. I have seen him in action in the ISKA. Chuck Norris also is a true champion who was undefeated in point tournements for I dont know how many years. Bruce Lee was just another over rated movie star. I belive he was good but not the same caliber as wallace or norris. There are many good martial artists out there that are way better than Lee that we will probly never even hear of. Lee was marketed good. I just dont belive that he should have this LEGEND status.
CheekyMusician Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 I think the fact he died young has quite a lot to do with his legend status. I mean look at James Dean, Marilyn Munroe, John Lennon etc. They hold legendary status due to their short lives and tragic deaths too. If they had lived they'd probably have had their 15 minutes of fame, grew old and faded into the past. Smile. It makes people wonder what you've been up to.
Kirves Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 You can learn a lot about Bruce's skills by reading books by the people he trained with. They tell anecdotes and stories about him with great respect but think of him as "one of the pack", not some god-like above-everyone-else superman. In addition to the facts that he was a Hollywood star from HK and died young, his legend status also builds on the fact that he p*ss*d a lot of people off. He threw dear traditions and habits into the trash bin and stepped on lots of toes. He did a great service to the M.A. populus in general, because he challenged the narrow-mindedness common to that era.
JerryLove Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 . Chuck Norris also is a true champion who was undefeated in point tournements for I dont know how many years. Bruce Lee was just another over rated movie star. You do realize that, even while an undefeated champion, Chuck studied under Bruce? There are corroborated fights. I've watched Linda Lee discuss the rather famous chinatown one. Finally, I wonder how many Dan Inasanto's and Chuck Norris's need to say he was great for you to believe it. That siad, I do think his fame is greater in comparison to his skill than many other noteable artists (Wu, DeThaures, Chen, Vladikov, and a hunderd more I don't know); but I think you are swinging the pendulum too far in the other direction when you say Bruce Lee was just another over rated movie star. I belive he was good but not the same caliber as wallace or norris. https://www.clearsilat.com
jiu-jitsu fighter Posted February 14, 2003 Posted February 14, 2003 don't call bruce lee overated, your showing the utmost disrespect, bruce trained people like larry hartsell and dan inosanto he deserves alot more respect than your showing "When we go to the ground,you are in my world, the ground is the ocean, I am the shark,and most people don't even know how to swim"
G95champ Posted February 15, 2003 Posted February 15, 2003 Agreed Lee was no superman but he was the first. Being the first makes you the best in a lot of peoples eyes. EX Babe Ruth the first great Homerun hitter. George Washington the first president. Life was better int he good ole days. Lee done more to make MA what it is today than anyone before or since. That is his importance and that is why he will ALWAYS be considered the greatest reguardless of skill or talent. (General George S. Patton Jr.) "It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory."
Tombstone Posted February 15, 2003 Posted February 15, 2003 bruce lee was great but i think he was over rated too.
Dustin1978 Posted February 15, 2003 Posted February 15, 2003 He is not over rated at all really. I used to think this too but then I stopped to think about how he was "rated" so to speak. I think his single most notable act was not that of beating people up or even training some of todays greats but it was the act of going against all of his tradition and showing Kung Fu styles to the "enemy" (Americans). I do not know how good he was as a fighter as I never saw him fight myself but I understand that he participated in kung fu fights on roof tops on hong kong with no glits or glamour LONG before he was a star. Was he the best fighter ever? Probably not. Was he VERY good? YES! It all depends on how you are thinking he is over rated. What are you basing this opinion on? And as far as your o so loved Chuck Noris ummm last time I checked he was doing the horrid show known by the name of walker texas ranger. I stopped on it once to see what it was like and he was using some device to focus his "chi" to stop an air plane that was trying to run him over HAHA So in my mind not only was Bruce a better fighter he was a better movie star as well And last time I checked Chuck Norris has not openly defied his government or any secret organizations to teach martial arts to those they did not see fit. On a side note all the championships that Norris has won were POINT bases (NOT REAL) (NOT STREET WORTHY). Bruce fought with no rules and no pads and won much of the time. Just a few thoughts!
Karateka_latino Posted February 15, 2003 Posted February 15, 2003 To me, Bruce Lee popularized the idea of "crosstraining" using his celebrity status... also, he put martial arts on the map with his movies. The fact he died when he was at his peak make him a Legend and an Icon in the martial arts world. Thanks to that, Martial Arts grow, using Bruce Lee as there Idol, and if it wasn't for that, maybe many of us wouldn't be training martial arts on the first place. I don't blame you for question his skills as a fighter, because he was mainly an Actor. He was a great martial artist, but not a tournament champion, that wasn't his goal. To be honest, there are many great martial artist that aren't tournament champions. And yes, i have my doubts he could have beat fighters like Norris or Wallace or Urquidez. Overrated or Not, He deserve a place in the martial arts world.
Kirves Posted February 15, 2003 Posted February 15, 2003 . Chuck Norris also is a true champion who was undefeated in point tournements for I dont know how many years. Bruce Lee was just another over rated movie star. You do realize that, even while an undefeated champion, Chuck studied under Bruce? Do you realize Bruce also studied under Chuck? They were friends and took turns teaching each other. Same with the orther champs who were friends with Bruce, it wasn't that Bruce opened a school and everyone joined it, Chuck, Bob, Gene, Ji Han Jae and the rest all studied with Bruce (some more some less). All learned from each other.Finally, I wonder how many Dan Inasanto's and Chuck Norris's need to say he was great for you to believe it. Yes, he was great. So were other people. He wasn't superior to everyone else. He just had new ideas, a cokky attitude and skill enough to prove his point to those who doubt him.
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