American Karate Champion Once Revealed How Muhammad Ali Inspired Bruce Lee’s Iconic Fight With Chuck Norris
Follow Us
‘Every expert was once a beginner’. People have come across this phrase many times, but there are few examples they could relate to. However, one of the best examples is Bruce Lee, who not only adopted this philosophy but also built a path that quite a few now follow. The eagerness of Bruce Lee didn’t limit himself to martial arts. A few other athletes’ techniques inspired him to do a fight scene with another Hollywood Icon.
Matthew Polly wrote the biography of Bruce Lee, “Bruce Lee: A Life By Matthew Polly”. In the discussion of Lee’s training regimen, Matthew Polly emphasizes how the strategies and abilities used in other sports enable him to improve his martial art abilities.
Bruce Lee used Muhammad Ali’s technique in one of his action sequences
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The famous fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in the ‘Way of the Dragon’ is still one of the best action sequences. However, very few people know that the preparation of sequences had lots of think tanks and improvisation behind them. The stunt was inspired by Muhammad Ali’s boxing style, despite the scenes featuring just martial arts talents.
Trending
Dale Jr Unmasks Teresa Earnhardt’s Refusal to Sell Him His Late Father’s Prized Possession That Forced Relocation Move
April 17, 2024 12:29 PM EDT
Jimmie Johnson “Racing With One Arm Tied Behind His Back,” Claims Dale Jr as He Trashes Chase Elliott’s Sufficient Practice Rant
April 17, 2024 07:02 AM EDT
Shaq Makes Big Claim That Can End LeBron James’ Future With Lakers After Nuggets Series
April 17, 2024 06:48 PM EDT
After Team USA’s Defence for Nike, Sha’Carri Richardson and Athing Mu Flaunting Different Olympic Outfits Resurfaces
April 16, 2024 08:22 PM EDT
Masters Horror Lands Jon Rahm & Co in Deep Trouble as Stubborn Greg Norman Refuses to Compromise
April 15, 2024 07:45 PM EDT
Get instantly notified of the hottest Olympics stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.
Follow Us
The book states that Lee learned some additional techniques from the iconic match between Muhammad Ali and Cleveland Williams in 1966. “Bruce would play the Williams fight over and over on the little-eight millimeter movie projector he had”, said Joe Lewis, Bruce’s student. The champion student added Lee used to observe Ali’s way of punching and moving.
“All My Theory of Gentleness Was Gone”: Bruce Lee Was Once Left ‘Completely Perturbed and Unstable’ After Engaging in Combat
Bruce Lee put a lot of emphasis on the lack of mobility during a karate fight and wanted to improve that. “Karate people were using stationary stances”, wrote Matthew. Lee and Norris worked on learning and polishing the new techniques for three days. The emphasis was to bring a sense of realism by shifting from in-ring sporting techniques to combat martial arts.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The iconic fight scene was illegally shot
Both the stars delivered an exceptional performance in the final scene. But the scene had to be shot illegally. Lee shifted the movie project to Rome so that he could record the last fight in the Colosseum. However, filming inside the Colosseum was illegal then. Thus, the production team had to shoot maximum shots inside the amphitheater.
Despite the chaos and all the last-minute changes, Bruce Lee was confident that the fighting sequences would be the main highlight of the movie. But even he wouldn’t have expected the recognition and love that they received. The fight between Lee-Norris became one of the most iconic action scenes of all time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
WATCH THIS STORY: Real reason why Bruce Lee had his armpits sweat glands removed
Edited by:
Simar Singh Wadhwa