# Controversial Reports About Bruce Lee



## PhotonGuy (Jan 16, 2021)

So some people here have even posted that there have been some reports about Bruce Lee that are controversial and that make Bruce Lee himself a more controversial person. Apparently he was not always the calm and patient zen master that he's made out to be.


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## frank raud (Jan 17, 2021)

PhotonGuy said:


> So some people here have even posted that there have been some reports about Bruce Lee that are controversial and that make Bruce Lee himself a more controversial person. Apparently he was not always the calm and patient zen master that he's made out to be.


  No, wait, you mean he was....human?


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## Buka (Jan 17, 2021)

frank raud said:


> No, wait, you mean he was....human?



Say it ain't so!


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## dvcochran (Jan 17, 2021)

PhotonGuy said:


> So some people here have even posted that there have been some reports about Bruce Lee that are controversial and that make Bruce Lee himself a more controversial person. Apparently he was not always the calm and patient zen master that he's made out to be.


Can you elaborate?


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## isshinryuronin (Jan 17, 2021)

Bruce Lee was a serious student of martial arts.  He was fast.  He was driven to succeed.  He was a little cocky.  He innovated and popularized martial art movies and TV.  He was tough.  He was a fighter.  He was a thinker.  He ventured outside the box of his original art.  He was famous (and thus attracted controversy.)  And he's been dead for a long time.


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## paitingman (Jan 17, 2021)

Is this really that hot of a take?
Who holds him up as some serene man of peace and tranquility?
He was a passionate martial artist who was very interested in Western and Eastern philosophy, but he admitted in his writings and interviews that he had an intense personality and a hot temper. 

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


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## Xue Sheng (Jan 17, 2021)

PhotonGuy said:


> So some people here have even posted that there have been some reports about Bruce Lee that are controversial and that make Bruce Lee himself a more controversial person. Apparently he was not always the calm and patient zen master that he's made out to be.









This is news....and controversial....how?


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## punisher73 (Jan 18, 2021)

Not controversial unless you have BL on a pedestal or listen to the "hero worship" that many have for him.

If you want to read a book at the other end of the extreme of the hero worship, read "Unsettled Matters".  Tom Bleecker wrote it and was married to Linda Lee for a time.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 24, 2021)

dvcochran said:


> Can you elaborate?


I dunno


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 24, 2021)

paitingman said:


> Is this really that hot of a take?
> Who holds him up as some serene man of peace and tranquility?
> He was a passionate martial artist who was very interested in Western and Eastern philosophy, but he admitted in his writings and interviews that he had an intense personality and a hot temper.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


I see, well a hot temper is contradictory with the patience that is emphasized so much in the martial arts.


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## Gerry Seymour (Jan 24, 2021)

PhotonGuy said:


> I see, well a hot temper is contradictory with the patience that is emphasized so much in the martial arts.


Consider that the reason that ideal shows so often in MA philosophy is perhaps because hotheads are often drawn to someplace where they get to express that physically (contact sports, MA, etc.).


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## Steve (Jan 26, 2021)

I heard from a friend who knew someone who actually trained with Bruce Lee that he wore a toupee.


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## Xue Sheng (Jan 26, 2021)

Steve said:


> I heard from a friend who knew someone who actually trained with Bruce Lee that he wore a toupee.



I know a guy, who knew a guy who over heard some folks talking who claimed to hear from a student of a student of Bruce Lee......it appears.....he might have been Chinese and his real name was not Bruce


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Jan 26, 2021)

Xue Sheng said:


> I know a guy, who knew a guy who over heard some folks talking who claimed to hear from a student of a student of Bruce Lee......it appears.....he might have been Chinese and his real name was not Bruce


But was he Bruce's Father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate? If not, I'm not sure his claim is valid...


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## Steve (Jan 26, 2021)

Xue Sheng said:


> I know a guy, who knew a guy who over heard some folks talking who claimed to hear from a student of a student of Bruce Lee......it appears.....he might have been Chinese and his real name was not Bruce


Actually, I heard his last name was Bruce.  His first name was Robert.  And he was from Mexico.... Mexico, New York, that is.


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## Xue Sheng (Jan 26, 2021)

Monkey Turned Wolf said:


> But was he Bruce's Father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate? If not, I'm not sure his claim is valid...



Oh it was Bruce Lee's father's, brother's son's former roommate


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Jan 26, 2021)

Xue Sheng said:


> Oh it was Bruce Lee's father's, brother's son's former roommate


That might actually be the same person.


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## Steve (Jan 27, 2021)

Monkey Turned Wolf said:


> That might actually be the same person.


I think it was the same guy.  And I heard that guy actually had the complete Yip Man Wing Chun... including the secret stuff he only taught to three people.


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## _Simon_ (Jan 27, 2021)




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## PhotonGuy (Feb 14, 2021)

So Bruce Lee was really the patient zen master that he was popularly believed to be?


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## Cynik75 (Feb 14, 2021)

Nervous zen master.


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## Buka (Feb 14, 2021)

I don't recall the coverage of him including patient Zen master.


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## Buka (Feb 14, 2021)

_Simon_ said:


>



Classic. That would make a fun t-shirt.


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## jks9199 (Feb 15, 2021)

Folks, this thread is running kind of all over the place... maybe we can steer ourselves out of the sillies and back on topic?


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## MFC__2020 (Feb 26, 2021)

PhotonGuy said:


> So some people here have even posted that there have been some reports about Bruce Lee that are controversial and that make Bruce Lee himself a more controversial person. Apparently he was not always the calm and patient zen master that he's made out to be.



I don't think I've ever met anyone with your opinion on Bruce Lee.  Ignoring his movie characters and focusing on the interviews I always kind of viewed him as mischevious, confident, and direct.


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## Steve (Feb 26, 2021)

jks9199 said:


> Folks, this thread is running kind of all over the place... maybe we can steer ourselves out of the sillies and back on topic?


You don't find these allegations about Bruce Lee controversial?  Huh. Oookay.


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## PhotonGuy (Feb 27, 2021)

MFC__2020 said:


> I don't think I've ever met anyone with your opinion on Bruce Lee.  Ignoring his movie characters and focusing on the interviews I always kind of viewed him as mischevious, confident, and direct.


Confident and direct definitely but I never saw Bruce Lee as mischievous.


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 4, 2021)

PhotonGuy said:


> So Bruce Lee was really the patient zen master that he was popularly believed to be?


I had no idea he was into Zen Buddhism. I had thought him a Taoist, who knew? Loved the movies. Great actor.


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 4, 2021)

Steve said:


> You don't find these allegations about Bruce Lee controversial?  Huh. Oookay.


Not that controversial, the poor guy has been dead a really long time. Let him Rest In Peace.


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## seasoned (Oct 5, 2021)

He did a lot for MA as far as interest, everyone wanted to be BL.


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## Dirty Dog (Oct 5, 2021)

seasoned said:


> He did a lot for MA as far as interest, everyone wanted to be BL.


Except Chuck Norris. Bruce Lee wanted to be Chuck Norris.


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## seasoned (Oct 5, 2021)

Dirty Dog said:


> Except Chuck Norris. Bruce Lee wanted to be Chuck Norris.


Sorry CN my bad.....


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## Steve (Oct 5, 2021)

Wing Woo Gar said:


> Not that controversial, the poor guy has been dead a really long time. Let him Rest In Peace.


I’ve paid my respects at his grave. It’s pretty close to where I went to high school, after all.    

This thread is just a little fun. To say the inside part out loud, the idea is that no one really knows the truth so a lot of these stories are as unreliable as any of the outlandish things we made up in this thread.  May have been too subtle a point.


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## Oily Dragon (Oct 5, 2021)

Dirty Dog said:


> Except Chuck Norris. Bruce Lee wanted to be Chuck Norris.



Maybe even more than that.


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 5, 2021)

Oily Dragon said:


> Maybe even more than that.


That was absolutely hilarious!


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 5, 2021)

Jackie Chan says Bruce Lee once helped him get paid more on set in unearthed 1997 interview​


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## Petey Nunchakus (Oct 6, 2021)

Nora Miao😎


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## Urban Trekker (Oct 6, 2021)

frank raud said:


> No, wait, you mean he was....human?


Personally, I'm not going to try and make anyone feel bad for recently finding out that Bruce Lee was a flawed human being like the rest of us, or even still believing that he's not.  There's far too many external factors that has everyone believing this stuff.

Bruce Lee isn't the only one.  Look at some of our favorite celebrities that have gotten caught up, such as Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby.  Plenty of die hard fans believe these two to be incapable of the acts that they were tried for.  If I was a betting man, I'd say that there are some right here on MT.

Do I think any of the people who are in disbelief of the flawed humanity of these celebrities are stupid?  Certainly not.  These are celebrities that many of us have idolized since we were children.  Celebrities that practically raised us through the TV screen and on the radio.  Someone telling us that Bruce Lee did _x_ bad thing in _y_ situation is like telling us that one of our parents did it.

Take a celebrity whose target audience does not include children and commands far less star power, and we're less likely to be in denial.  For example, R Kelly.


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 6, 2021)

Oily Dragon said:


> Maybe even more than that.



That is so very wrong.....and yet so very funny too


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 6, 2021)

Urban Trekker said:


> Personally, I'm not going to try and make anyone feel bad for recently finding out that Bruce Lee was a flawed human being like the rest of us, or even still believing that he's not.  There's far too many external factors that has everyone believing this stuff.
> 
> Bruce Lee isn't the only one.  Look at some of our favorite celebrities that have gotten caught up, such as Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby.  Plenty of die hard fans believe these two to be incapable of the acts that they were tried for.  If I was a betting man, I'd say that there are some right here on MT.
> 
> ...


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 6, 2021)

Im ok with this mostly.  I’m not a rabid fan, but comparing him to Cosby or R Kelly isn’t even close to being fair. I do get your point, but R. Kelly? Yikes.


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## Urban Trekker (Oct 6, 2021)

Wing Woo Gar said:


> Im ok with this mostly.  I’m not a rabid fan, but comparing him to Cosby or R Kelly isn’t even close to being fair. I do get your point, but R. Kelly? Yikes.



I'm guessing you're a Michael Jackson fan, since you didn't express any objections there?

At any rate, I separated R Kelly from Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson to make a point.  His level of celebrity isn't enough for people to be in denial about his flaws as a human being.

I'm not comparing Bruce Lee's flaws to theirs.  I'm just saying that he had the level of celebrity for people to be shocked upon learning of them.

I'm fairly certain that were it not for Sugar Ray Leonard publicly admitting to beating his wife during their entire marriage, the public would have equally been shocked and there'd be some cognitive dissonance there too.

Humans suck.  Every last one of us is capable of committing an act that would make us fall short of being a respectable person.  Some people aren't ready to give up that reverence so quickly.


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## punisher73 (Oct 6, 2021)

The newest Bruce Lee "scandal"...


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## isshinryuronin (Oct 6, 2021)

Urban Trekker said:


> Every last one of us is capable of committing an act that would make us fall short of being a respectable person.


Not only capable, but culpable - who hasn't done such a thing?  The main things are:  Did we feel remorse or shame?  Did we endeavor not to repeat it?  Did we learn from it? Did we try to make amends?  These post act things are just as, or more, defining of our humanity than the act itself.


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 6, 2021)

Urban Trekker said:


> I'm guessing you're a Michael Jackson fan, since you didn't express any objections there?
> 
> At any rate, I separated R Kelly from Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson to make a point.  His level of celebrity isn't enough for people to be in denial about his flaws as a human being.
> 
> ...


Fair enough. I’m no Michael Jackson fan, not including him was purely accidental.


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 7, 2021)

Just as a note. 
The show Histories Mysteries did a sow on the death of Bruce Lee and it was pretty good and came up with what I feel is responsible. And it was done based on medical reports and science

Histories Mysteries: The Death of Bruce Lee


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## dvcochran (Oct 7, 2021)

Xue Sheng said:


> Just as a note.
> The show Histories Mysteries did a sow on the death of Bruce Lee and it was pretty good and came up with what I feel is responsible. And it was done based on medical reports and science
> 
> Histories Mysteries: The Death of Bruce Lee


Good documentary.


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 8, 2021)

Xue Sheng said:


> Just as a note.
> The show Histories Mysteries did a sow on the death of Bruce Lee and it was pretty good and came up with what I feel is responsible. And it was done based on medical reports and science
> 
> Histories Mysteries: The Death of Bruce Lee


What was their cause of death finding? I have heard a host of stories. Hashish, exhaustion, family curses, mak dim, etc etc.


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## Dirty Dog (Oct 8, 2021)

Wing Woo Gar said:


> What was their cause of death finding? I have heard a host of stories. Hashish, exhaustion, family curses, mak dim, etc etc.


Mak dim? The Reversed Dim Mak? You strike someone just *so*, and 5 hours later they're fine but you die?


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## Urban Trekker (Oct 8, 2021)

Dirty Dog said:


> Mak dim? The Reversed Dim Mak? You strike someone just *so*, and 5 hours later they're fine but you die?



Among all those funny memes going around about how badass Chuck Norris is, there's one about him that says something about this being how Bruce Lee died.  So "mak dim" is what it's called...


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 8, 2021)

Dirty Dog said:


> Mak dim? The Reversed Dim Mak? You strike someone just *so*, and 5 hours later they're fine but you die?


That’s hilarious! I wish I could say I meant to do that. I have to say that this thread has been a real hoot!


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 8, 2021)

Urban Trekker said:


> Among all those funny memes going around about how badass Chuck Norris is, there's one about him that says something about this being how Bruce Lee died.  So "mak dim" is what it's called...


Most of us can write our name in the snow by peeing, but Chuck Norris writes his in cement.


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 8, 2021)

Now look what I started…


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 8, 2021)

Wing Woo Gar said:


> Now look what I started…


Here is my favorite, in most men one testicle is larger than the other, in the case of Chuck Norris each of his testicles is larger than the other.


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 9, 2021)

Wing Woo Gar said:


> What was their cause of death finding? I have heard a host of stories. Hashish, exhaustion, family curses, mak dim, etc etc.



Watch the video, and it will tell you. That is the full episode

However if you do not want to watch


Spoiler: Cause



Meprobamate


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## Wing Woo Gar (Oct 9, 2021)

Xue Sheng said:


> Watch the video, and it will tell you. That is the full episode
> 
> However if you do not want to watch
> 
> ...


Oh that actually is plausible. That’s a story I haven’t heard before. Thanks for that referral.


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 9, 2021)

Wing Woo Gar said:


> Oh that actually is plausible. That’s a story I haven’t heard before. Thanks for that referral.


You should watch the show, they go through a lot of the theories and use medical science to get thier conclusion.


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## punisher73 (Oct 11, 2021)

Wing Woo Gar said:


> Here is my favorite, in most men one testicle is larger than the other, in the case of Chuck Norris each of his testicles is larger than the other.


Fun fact:  Bruce Lee had an undescended testicle and was ineligible for US military service.








						The little-known reason Bruce Lee was rejected by the military | History 101
					

Bruce Lee became a legend that transcended his own time and still persists today as the model for many in…




					www.history101.com


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## Buka (Oct 11, 2021)

Oily Dragon said:


> Maybe even more than that.


Oh....my....God, that was funny!


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## Oily Dragon (Oct 11, 2021)

Buka said:


> Oh....my....God, that was funny!


Lee Jun Fan, the gift that keeps on giving from beyond the grave.

If I ever had a seance with Bruce Lee, I'd ask him how he kept all that muscle mass while trying to one up Steve McQueen to see who was the bigger coke fiend.






Based on his actual cause of death (a swollen brain), I'm gonna guess Bruce won and lost at the same time.


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## isshinryuronin (Oct 11, 2021)

Regardless of what drugs (if any) really had a part to play in Lee's death, their use was just a symptom of his core problem.  His main problem was himself.  He was so driven and obsessive with accomplishment and excellence, I think he simply pushed himself beyond his considerable limits.

Look at some of his accomplishments:
   child actor, ballroom dance champion, kung fu expert, boxing champion,                philosophy major, Hong Kong movie star, USA TV and movie star, JKD founder.

He trained in conditioning and MA to an extreme level, seldom ate, and engaged in some experimental methods of physical development.  Taking all the above into consideration  (three lifetimes worth of achievements), is it no wonder he burned up like a meteor streaking to earth?  Short lived, but burning so brightly.


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## Oily Dragon (Oct 11, 2021)

isshinryuronin said:


> Regardless of what drugs (if any) really had a part to play in Lee's death, their use was just a symptom of his core problem.  His main problem was himself.  He was so driven and obsessive with accomplishment and excellence, I think he simply pushed himself beyond his considerable limits.
> 
> Look at some of his accomplishments:
> child actor, ballroom dance champion, kung fu expert, boxing champion,                philosophy major, Hong Kong movie star, USA TV and movie star, JKD founder.
> ...



Whichever medical report you choose to trust most, they all involve drugs.  But back then, cocaine wasn't a big deal.  Now we know it's direct relation to cerebral edema, "coke brain".  And we know Bruce was a regular user of many drugs.

And to think some tried to blame that on him eating cannabis, because it was in his stomach when they sliced it open.  Nobody ever died from that unless they were allergic to it, which he was clearly not.  But cocaine?  Ouch.

What do you think of Quentin Tarantino's parody?  I think it was about as accurate as his parody of Hitler.  Not very grounded in the real world.


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## NYFIGHTSOURCE (Oct 22, 2021)

isshinryuronin said:


> Regardless of what drugs (if any) really had a part to play in Lee's death, their use was just a symptom of his core problem.  His main problem was himself.  He was so driven and obsessive with accomplishment and excellence, I think he simply pushed himself beyond his considerable limits.
> 
> Look at some of his accomplishments:
> child actor, ballroom dance champion, kung fu expert, boxing champion,                philosophy major, Hong Kong movie star, USA TV and movie star, JKD founder.
> ...


So agree.   The drive he had to achieve these things is what also killed him.     I have heard many stories from his friends and students that he was a multi tasked all the time and could never settle down.   Hence why he used some of the drugs to calm himself.


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