# can anyone surpass bruce lee in jkd?



## mjw1 (Jan 11, 2015)

I'm not trying to be disrespectful but it seems like in jkd nobody can ever surpass bruce Lee?


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## drop bear (Jan 11, 2015)

Why?


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## Tames D (Jan 11, 2015)

_I can if I put my mind to it._


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## drop bear (Jan 12, 2015)

Wasn't jkd an evolving system? I mean if nobody ever surpasses its creator then it has kind of failed.


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## Blindside (Jan 12, 2015)

He died 42 years ago, at this point the only thing you are competing with is the memories of some really senior instructors and what people see in the movies.  Good luck with that.


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## Buka (Jan 12, 2015)

My guess is, many already have. So much more is known today than was known in 1973. Knowledge, training methods, availability, training partners. 

And such a large part of JKD was designed for/on adaptability.

My guess is Bruce is smiling.


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## Mephisto (Jan 12, 2015)

Well first you'll have to give some measurable benchmarks and evaluate if anyone has surpassed them. Seeing as how a lot of what Bruce did was entertainment and demos, individual characteristics like charisma were a big part of his success. I'm sure we have information on his workouts and physical achievements so that is one way to compare. We could look at his net worth and compare him as a martial arts actor and entrepreneur. But his fighting ability is what most people assume made him great, that is more difficult to measure and compare. For that we must rely on anecdotal evidence so i don't see a way to compare that.


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## Touch Of Death (Jan 13, 2015)

No. But, create your own style that no one can ever surpass, star in a few movies, and oh, one more thing, die young and tragically, and you might just surpass Bruce Lee.


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## tshadowchaser (Jan 13, 2015)

If it where not for the movies and the bad publicity he got for some of his antics in China on television how much would people even know of him or his "system"?
He had few students, never competed in tournaments, and was known for his demos not for much else till after his death.  OH I forgot he wrote a couple books ( did he write the books or where complied by someone else but his thoughts anyway)
So can anyone surpass him in the system he created? No  he created it so it is impossible to outdo that. Can anyone add more to the system, give new light to how to do techniques or improve the physical training YES.


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## Thunder Foot (Jan 19, 2015)

I think it will be awhile before that happens. Even now 40+yrs after his passing, we are still finding new brilliance in his methods. He was truly remarkable.


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## Deleted member 32980 (Jan 20, 2015)

mjw1 said:


> I'm not trying to be disrespectful but it seems like in jkd nobody can ever surpass bruce Lee?



You can't. It's impossible. He created it. And died with the trueness. BUT he passed it on through his writing and you CAN be great at it. You may never master it. What many people don't realize is that Jkd is a STEPPING STONE. Remember that. You can't surpass him cause he created it.


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## Cirdan (Jan 20, 2015)

Nate the foreverman said:


> You can't. It's impossible. He created it. And died with the trueness. BUT he passed it on through his writing and you CAN be great at it. You may never master it. What many people don't realize is that Jkd is a STEPPING STONE. Remember that. You can't surpass him cause he created it.



How come we can surpass Ug the caveman who was the first one to punch someone?


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## Deleted member 32980 (Jan 20, 2015)

That had no style, form or anything to do with or close to, Jkd. That was more of a mechanical moment, not much more.


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## Cirdan (Jan 20, 2015)

Nate the foreverman said:


> That had no style, form or anything to do with or close to, Jkd. That was more of a mechanical moment, not much more.



Ug created the punch, don`t try to discredit him that is disrespectful you know


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## Deleted member 32980 (Jan 20, 2015)

Cirdan said:


> Ug created the punch, don`t try to discredit him that is disrespectful you know


Lol I don't think that's possible. Since he wouldn't be able to read. Anyways, you get my point?


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## Cirdan (Jan 20, 2015)

Nate the foreverman said:


> Lol I don't think that's possible. Since he wouldn't be able to read.



Ug being dead and not able to read does not mean you can freely disrespect him, the great creator of the Punch.


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## Deleted member 32980 (Jan 20, 2015)

I feel like we aren't getting anywhere...


Cirdan said:


> Ug being dead and not able to read does not mean you can freely disrespect him, the great creator of the Punch.


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## Cirdan (Jan 20, 2015)

Nate the foreverman said:


> I feel like we aren't getting anywhere...



Maybe because you are wrong?


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## Deleted member 32980 (Jan 20, 2015)

Cirdan said:


> Maybe because you are wrong?



You realize that ug the caveman is a made up story right?


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## Cirdan (Jan 20, 2015)

Nate the foreverman said:


> You realize that ug the caveman is a made up story right?



Well some claim it was actually Thongor who threw the first punch ever. The debate rages but we can still surpass them even tho they invented punching.


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## Transk53 (Jan 20, 2015)

I suppose when the student becomes the instructor and is still a student, then probably not. That would be evolution. Human nature however always finds a way. Nothing is impervious, just adaptable.


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## Transk53 (Jan 20, 2015)

Cirdan said:


> Well some claim it was actually Thongor who threw the first punch ever. The debate rages but we can still surpass them even tho they invented punching.



Actually I beg to differ, it was Captain Kirk in the Nexus.


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## Cirdan (Jan 20, 2015)

Transk53 said:


> Actually I beg to differ, it was Captain Kirk in the Nexus.



That movie never happened, you don`t drop a bridge on _the _Captain Kirk!


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## Transk53 (Jan 20, 2015)

Cirdan said:


> That movie never happened, you don`t drop a bridge on _the _Captain Kirk!



Huh, the Romulans resurrected him don't you know


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## BeeBrian (Jan 26, 2015)

mjw1 said:


> I'm not trying to be disrespectful but it seems like in jkd nobody can ever surpass bruce Lee?


 
I'm probably gonna get some hate for this but...

Anyone can surpass Bruce Lee. In fact, Mike Tyson already did it. Just take a look at a side by side comparison between their bag-work training vids. Mike had way better technique. Royce Gracie and practically any strong Judoka can beat Bruce Lee...

He's a myth, not a legend.

Bruce's greatness lies in the fact that he created a martial art where technically all striking arts fall under it.

Although there's one thing that I will not discredit Bruce Lee for: Talent and ingenuity. For a guy who had no background in strength sports, he intuitively knew the importance of strength in martial arts. For a guy who had no black belt in Karate, he beat Karatekas with ease. I'm sure that if MMA was big in his time, he would've made great money as a competitor and trainer. Champion material, yes. Greatest martial artist of all time with superhuman powers? HELL NO!!!!!!!


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## Dirty Dog (Jan 26, 2015)

BeeBrian said:


> Greatest martial artist of all time with superhuman powers? HELL NO!!!!!!!



Of course not. Everybody knows that's Chuck Norris...


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## Blindside (Jan 26, 2015)

BeeBrian said:


> Bruce's greatness lies in the fact that he created a martial art where technically all striking arts fall under it.
> 
> Although there's one thing that I will not discredit Bruce Lee for: Talent and ingenuity. For a guy who had no background in strength sports, he intuitively knew the importance of strength in martial arts. For a guy who had no black belt in Karate, he beat Karatekas with ease. I'm sure that if MMA was big in his time, he would've made great money as a competitor and trainer. Champion material, yes. Greatest martial artist of all time with superhuman powers? HELL NO!!!!!!!


 
Well he did one other thing that is vital for becoming a legend, he died young at the height of his popularity.


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## Andrew Green (Jan 26, 2015)

Nate the foreverman said:


> You can't. It's impossible. He created it. And died with the trueness. BUT he passed it on through his writing and you CAN be great at it. You may never master it. What many people don't realize is that Jkd is a STEPPING STONE. Remember that. You can't surpass him cause he created it.




Honestly, this is what is wrong with the mindset in a lot of martial arts schools.  By that reasoning the style is essentially dead.  

If Bruce created it so no one can improve on Bruce there is a problem.  Obviously had Bruce lived longer he would have improved, so there is plenty of room for improvement.  But styles need to evolve and live, otherwise they die.  

Lets suppose Bruce Lee's best student could get 90% of Bruce Lees Knowledge.  His best student 90% of his, and that guys best student 90% of that.  With nothing new coming in your style dies.

Instead it should be looked at as a stepping stone, Bruce Lee did all this, so we can build on that.  Then the next generation can build further on that.  

The idea of no one can improve is essentially what created the dark ages in science.  Everything went backwards because knowledge couldn't be challenged and improved upon, only learnt from what was already there.

I understand somewhat when that mentality is applied to things like Koryu systems and such, as an attempt to preserve a piece of history.  But applied to JKD it makes no sense as that is the sort of thinking that Bruce Lee argued against and really lead to him making a name for himself in the martial arts world.


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