When Chuck Norris was the Professional Middleweight Karate champion in 1968 and Bruce Lee was already a bonafide star. Despite their good acquaintance with each other, they had never worked together in a film. It wasn’t until The Way of the Dragon in 1972 that Norris became synonymously attached to Lee for their on-screen fight. However, Norris had already trained with Lee before, and in a rare interview, detailed his observation of Lee and the various intricacies of working out with him.

Chuck Norris has always spoken very fondly about Bruce Lee. The two shared a great bond, as their on-screen chemistry suggested. In the clip, Norris talked about getting to know the man and the various workouts they did together. He also shared what Lee loved the most and what made him so great in martial arts. Let’s dive in.

Chuck Norris shares several details of his time training together with Bruce Lee

In an Instagram video shared by Bruce Lee’s handle, Norris said, “We worked out in his backyard and he had a bag back there. So we did a lot of punching, a lot of kicking, and we did a lot of exercises, lots of push-ups, lots of sit-ups, a LOT of sit-ups”, stressing on their heavy load on sit-ups. He continued, “But the thing is Bruce was a very rare type of individual. Exercise and conditioning was his life”. 

Norris mentioned the one aspect of Lee that has been attested by several others before as well. Bruce Lee loved exercising more than anything, so much so that his activities during daily relaxation time would also be some form of training for him. Such as curling dumbells while watching TV, or doing a balancing act while putting on his pants. Norris’ respect for Lee stems from the fact that he was such a hard-working and tough fighter. As a Karate champion himself, Norris considered it an honor to fight against him.

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They exercised for three hours and besides pull-ups and sit-ups, their regimen also comprised of sparring and kicking the bags. They also formulated an attacking technique for each other. As Norris said, “We call attacking techniques, where I attack him and he defends and then he attacks me and I defend”.

Lee left for Hong Kong but came back with a big offer for Chuck Norris

They trained together for three years until Lee left for Hong Kong to pursue his movie career. Lee had a successful career there with a few blockbuster movies to his name. After he returned to the US, he began work on ‘The Way of the Dragon’ and their fight scene together.

He said, “But I did the movie with him and you know doing that fight scene with him, just seeing how fast he was and what an incredible athlete he was, it was really an honor to be able to fight against him in this film”. Lee offered the role to Norris over a telephone call. When they got to the topic of their fight, Lee was dead set on Norris losing in the end. Norris took it in good stride and knew it would only be a joyous experience for him, as it was.

WATCH THIS STORY – Bruce Lee: Top 5 Moves Of The Legend You Need To Know

Their enduring legacy still stands to this day and their fight scene together is an all-time classic. But their fans can also marvel at these lesser-known training secrets for now.