Bruce Lee

[just2kicku]

I was watching the history channel last night, and they had a show on Bruce Lee.

His forming of the JKD system is amazing. The amount of work and studying that went into it is mind blowing. The man was an innovater and hard worker, and truly before his time.

But, the part that kinda got to me was the comment that Dana White made about him being the "Father of mixed martial arts". Now, maybe I'm a little biased, but wasn't there a group of guys back in '47 starting something called Kajukenbo? I feel that that would be the father of mma.

What do you guys think? Do you think he was what Dana tagged him to be?

I am by no means trying to take anything away from him, like I said, I think the man was awesome.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I think it could be argued that he is the 'father' because of the tremendous impact that he had on both a technical and a cultural level. More people in MMA will credit Lee with being their inspiration than they will figures from Kajukenbo or other mixed systems, such as Hapkido. Original Taekwondo is a mixed system to a lesser extent, but nobody associates General Choi with mixed martial arts or Taekwondo with any hybrid systems.

I am sure that there are many systems, such as Kajukendbo and Hapkido, that are hybrids, but they have been around long enough that we just think of them as a single system, not a hybrid.

Because of Lee's timing, charisma, and innate talent, not to mention his hard work, he generally is credited. But like most things in the martial arts, there is always more than one person who can be theoretically credited.

I suppose that it really depends on who you ask too. Certainly, Dana, and many others, would credit Bruce. Others, such as yourself, will point to others. Neither is wrong, but each has a different perspective.

I see it in the same way as Henry Ford. He is considered the father of the automobile, but really, he simply innovated the production of the automobile, as there were automobiles before the first Ford ever was built. But because of the enormous cultural impact that Ford had, he is most often given that honorific.

Daniel

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I was watching the history channel last night, and they had a show on Bruce Lee.

His forming of the JKD system is amazing. The amount of work and studying that went into it is mind blowing. The man was an innovater and hard worker, and truly before his time.

But, the part that kinda got to me was the comment that Dana White made about him being the "Father of mixed martial arts". Now, maybe I'm a little biased, but wasn't there a group of guys back in '47 starting something called Kajukenbo? I feel that that would be the father of mma.

What do you guys think? Do you think he was what Dana tagged him to be?

I am by no means trying to take anything away from him, like I said, I think the man was awesome.

I am sure you are right, historically. However, consider that the average person on the street knows nothing of Kajukenbo. The average person on the street knows words like 'karate', 'kung fu', and perhaps nowadays, "MMA". As far as personalities, they know David Carradine, Chuck Norris, and Bruce Lee.

And where do the ranks of MMA fighters come from? The general public. In other words, MMA fighters get their exposure from the popular perception. To I'll bet 99% of them, say "Kajukenbo" and they'll say "Gesundheit." Say 'Bruce Lee' and they'll light up.

So from that perspective...

 

[Omar B]

Anybody know if that 50 part series The Legend Of Bruce Lee is ever gonna be on DVD in the real world? Or is China gonna keep it over there for themselves?

 

[elder999]

Anybody know if that 50 part series The Legend Of Bruce Lee is ever gonna be on DVD in the real world? Or is China gonna keep it over there for themselves?

The DVD is on eBay , but it's all Mandarin, with Chinese subtitles only.

 

[Omar B]

Sadly, my Mandarin is not all that. LOL

 

[frank raud]

In 1899, Edward Barton-Wright, who introduced jiu jitsu(or ju jutsu) to England was teaching his own style of Bartitsu, combining jiu jitsu, English boxing, French savate and cane fighting. It was the first documented art combining Eastern and Western approaches, and covering all ranges of combat. Just a few years before Bruce Lee.