Imago
Image courtesy – Imago
Imago
Image courtesy – Imago
Bruce Lee is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial artists to ever grace the silver screen. Lee revolutionized how Hollywood portrayed Chinese martial arts. His realistic portrayal of kung fu also changed the perspective of the Western audience. However, the man who bridged the gap between Western and Eastern cinema also had a prejudice of his own. In his book, Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly revealed, the Wing Chun master came to America “wedded to Chinese kung fu, convinced of its superiority.”
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However, the author also mentioned that Lee’s American students gave him the ”greatest gift.” Lee’s students forced their mentor to “evolve as a martial artist“. In fact, Lee even borrowed cues from boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
Bruce Lee fell in love with boxing
As the Wing Chun master established himself in Hollywood and began living in America, he began teaching Americans the art of Chinese kung fu. A student of Ip Man, Lee was convinced of kung fu’s technical superiority over western combats styles. However, the martial arts legend found that was not the case.
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“Techniques that worked in Ip Man?s class were easily thwarted by opponents who were eight inches taller and a hundred pounds heavier,” Matthew Polly revealed in his book. Many of Lee’s students, like Chuck Norris, were experts in other martial arts. They introduced the ‘Little Dragon’ to other styles like judo, grappling, and boxing.
According to the author, Lee fell in love with the footwork and power involved in boxing. The fluidity of “Muhammad Ali?s footwork and timing, Sugar Ray Robinson?s bobs and weaves,” fascinated the Wing Chun master. So he began borrowing from western styles, Polly revealed in his book Bruce Lee: A Life.
The action cinema icon continued to study western styles and soon began incorporating them with kung fu and Wing Chun. Always willing to learn and improve, the martial artist later created a hybrid style, and named it, Jeet Kune Do. However, back then, Lee couldn’t have imagined the impact it would have on the world of martial arts.
The father of mixed martial arts
Today, many experts regard Jeet Kunen Do as the earliest form of mixed martial arts. While MMA rose to prominence in the early 90s, Lee was the first one to incorporate kickboxing with kung fu and grappling. With JKD Lee had laid the blueprint for modern MMA.
Muhammad Ali training underwater in Miami, 1961 pic.twitter.com/bfQmmmMTL5
— History Defined (@historydefined) March 5, 2023
Today, mixed martial artists come from either a striking or grappling background and incorporate other styles to make themselves well-rounded fighters. While certain disciplines have proved more effective than others inside the octagon, the principles remain the same. Every MMA fighter must master a combination of striking and grappling to succeed.
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While Lee initially thought Chinese kung fu to be the superior style of combat, he was open to learning from boxing legends like Muhammad Ali.
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Edited by
Gideon Mathson