Classic Bruce Lee

[mudwhistle]

I never met Bruce, but I've trained, studied and worked with people who knew him as a martial artist and actor. Bruce wanted to become the "biggest" star on the planet, and he didn't miss by much.

He and one of his students created the character and concept for a hit television show of the 1970s
View attachment 382143
Bruce was rejected for this lead; however, had he been cast and then followed up with "Enter the Dragon" two years later, he would have become the most recognizable movie star on the planet.

I remember when I was studying martial arts.....everyone liked to say that they studied under Bruce Lee or one of his students.
So when a buddy of mine going thru the "Q" course at Bragg with me told me that Jerry Poteet was one of his former students....I blew it off.
I still didn't believe it, really, until years later.
I never got any hands-on instruction from Jerry, because the way they teach in Wing Chung, the Sifu watches you...and he decides that you have mastered a technique....then he tells one of his students to go over and show you a new move and you have to practice it till the Sifu feels you've mastered it. This is a very different way of teaching. What Bruce did to get personal knowledge from his Sifu was show up early and tell everyone the school was closed. That way he got personal instruction from Ip Man.

I studied Shodokan and Taekwando Karate....and a bit of
Aikido..which taught me how to put someone on the ground without hitting them.

One of the reasons I preferred Kung Fu over Karate is because I hated having to take my shoes off to fight. I don't see the point of kicking someone with a bare foot when that will never happen in a fight. I would have twice the power I had with something on my foot than I did barefooted.

 

[Unkotare]

Certainly one of the toughest men to ever live....

"Certainly"? Based on what?

 

[elektra]

"Certainly"? Based on what?

Surviving the streets and gangs in China

 

[Unkotare]

"Certainly"? Based on what?

Surviving the streets and gangs in China

???

Wouldn’t that make about 1 billion other people also the toughest person in the world? And, he attended a private school in British administered Hong Kong. Not exactly a living hell. He won a “Cha-Cha” competition in Hong Kong. Super tough.

 

[mudwhistle]

"Certainly"? Based on what?

Surviving the streets and gangs in China

???

Wouldn’t that make about 1 billion other people also the toughest person in the world? And, he attended a private school in British administered Hong Kong. Not exactly a living hell. He won a “Cha-Cha” competition in Hong Kong. Super tough.

No doubt he was the best at what he did.
Very few ever came close.
Whether or not he was the toughest....who knows.
Alot of tough guys that won alot of championships considered him their master.

 

[elektra]

Wouldn’t that make about 1 billion other people also the toughest person in the world? And, he attended a private school in British administered Hong Kong. Not exactly a living hell. He won a “Cha-Cha” competition in Hong Kong. Super tough.

No, the population of China was only about 635 million, then. Half being women hence at best you are talking 320 million. If we consider the percentage that was rural vs urban during that time then at the most you have 50 million men. Of those men, how many fought in gangs? How many were children or too old too fight.

 

[Unkotare]

"Certainly"? Based on what?

Surviving the streets and gangs in China

???

Wouldn’t that make about 1 billion other people also the toughest person in the world? And, he attended a private school in British administered Hong Kong. Not exactly a living hell. He won a “Cha-Cha” competition in Hong Kong. Super tough.

No doubt he was the best at what he did.
....

Making martial arts movies and popularizing the martial arts all over the world? Agreed.

 

[Unkotare]

Wouldn’t that make about 1 billion other people also the toughest person in the world? And, he attended a private school in British administered Hong Kong. Not exactly a living hell. He won a “Cha-Cha” competition in Hong Kong. Super tough.

No, the population of China was only about 635 million, then. Half being women hence at best you are talking 320 million. If we consider the percentage that was rural vs urban during that time then at the most you have 50 million men. Of those men, how many fought in gangs? How many were children or too old too fight.

So no one since him has been tough? Women can't be tough?

 

[Sunni Man]

I am still amazed watching Bruce Lee playing ping pong with nunchucks instead of a paddle. He has cat like reflexes and super human abilities. ...

 

[georgephillip]

I never met Bruce, but I've trained, studied and worked with people who knew him as a martial artist and actor. Bruce wanted to become the "biggest" star on the planet, and he didn't miss by much.

He and one of his students created the character and concept for a hit television show of the 1970s
View attachment 382143
Bruce was rejected for this lead; however, had he been cast and then followed up with "Enter the Dragon" two years later, he would have become the most recognizable movie star on the planet.

I remember when I was studying martial arts.....everyone liked to say that they studied under Bruce Lee or one of his students.
So when a buddy of mine going thru the "Q" course at Bragg with me told me that Jerry Poteet was one of his former students....I blew it off.
I still didn't believe it, really, until years later.
I never got any hands-on instruction from Jerry, because the way they teach in Wing Chung, the Sifu watches you...and he decides that you have mastered a technique....then he tells one of his students to go over and show you a new move and you have to practice it till the Sifu feels you've mastered it. This is a very different way of teaching. What Bruce did to get personal knowledge from his Sifu was show up early and tell everyone the school was closed. That way he got personal instruction from Ip Man.

I studied Shodokan and Taekwando Karate....and a bit of
Aikido..which taught me how to put someone on the ground without hitting them.

One of the reasons I preferred Kung Fu over Karate is because I hated having to take my shoes off to fight. I don't see the point of kicking someone with a bare foot when that will never happen in a fight. I would have twice the power I had with something on my foot than I did barefooted.

Bruce was a legend before he got to Hollywood. He may have missed his Big Chance at US big screen stardom when he passed on leading role in this 1975 period piece:

Hard Times (1975 film) - Wikipedia

"Hard Times[a] is a 1975 crime neo noir sport film marking the directorial debut of Walter Hill. It stars Charles Bronson as Chaney, a drifter freighthopping through Louisiana during the Great Depression, who competes in illegal bare-knuckled boxing matches after forming a partnership with the garrulous hustler Speed, played by James Coburn."

Bruce was offered the part played by Bronson, but he
was back in China when the offer was made and said he didn't want to "carry" Coburn.

I've always thought the Coburn part would have been a natural for Elvis.

Muhammad Ali had a lot of time of his hands when this was filmed. He would've made an awesome Fu Manchu villain with a shaved head.

Jill Ireland played the female lead in the Bronson/Coburn version, but I suspect there would have been an even better choice in a Lee/Presley/Ali edition:

 

[georgephillip]

I studied Shodokan and Taekwando Karate....and a bit of
Aikido..which taught me how to put someone on the ground without hitting them.

I stated training in martial arts in my late 30s, way to late to become proficient; however, I trained at a Taekwando studio in a small market where it wasn't necessary to provide best tests to the entire class every three months in order to prevent the "invisible hand" from smacking the owner of the business into the middle of Chapter 11.

The owner of the studio I trained in had been an all-state wrestler in high school who was drafted during Vietnam. He spent most of his two years in Korea where he got his first black belt from a ROK Tiger stationed at the same base.

There were 300 Tigers stationed there and every year there was a single elimination tournament to decide who would teach the other 299 black belts. My teacher's teacher was the only man to win that tournament two years in a row.

At that time, my teacher was the only westerner to have obtained a black belt from the Tigers.

When I met him, he had been in business 20 years and awarded fewer than 30 black belts.

 

[mudwhistle]

I never met Bruce, but I've trained, studied and worked with people who knew him as a martial artist and actor. Bruce wanted to become the "biggest" star on the planet, and he didn't miss by much.

He and one of his students created the character and concept for a hit television show of the 1970s
View attachment 382143
Bruce was rejected for this lead; however, had he been cast and then followed up with "Enter the Dragon" two years later, he would have become the most recognizable movie star on the planet.

I remember when I was studying martial arts.....everyone liked to say that they studied under Bruce Lee or one of his students.
So when a buddy of mine going thru the "Q" course at Bragg with me told me that Jerry Poteet was one of his former students....I blew it off.
I still didn't believe it, really, until years later.
I never got any hands-on instruction from Jerry, because the way they teach in Wing Chung, the Sifu watches you...and he decides that you have mastered a technique....then he tells one of his students to go over and show you a new move and you have to practice it till the Sifu feels you've mastered it. This is a very different way of teaching. What Bruce did to get personal knowledge from his Sifu was show up early and tell everyone the school was closed. That way he got personal instruction from Ip Man.

I studied Shodokan and Taekwando Karate....and a bit of
Aikido..which taught me how to put someone on the ground without hitting them.

One of the reasons I preferred Kung Fu over Karate is because I hated having to take my shoes off to fight. I don't see the point of kicking someone with a bare foot when that will never happen in a fight. I would have twice the power I had with something on my foot than I did barefooted.

Bruce was a legend before he got to Hollywood. He may have missed his Big Chance at US big screen stardom when he passed on leading role in this 1975 period piece:

Hard Times (1975 film) - Wikipedia

"Hard Times[a] is a 1975 crime neo noir sport film marking the directorial debut of Walter Hill. It stars Charles Bronson as Chaney, a drifter freighthopping through Louisiana during the Great Depression, who competes in illegal bare-knuckled boxing matches after forming a partnership with the garrulous hustler Speed, played by James Coburn."

Bruce was offered the part played by Bronson, but he
was back in China when the offer was made and said he didn't want to "carry" Coburn.

I've always thought the Coburn part would have been a natural for Elvis.

Muhammad Ali had a lot of time of his hands when this was filmed. He would've made an awesome Fu Manchu villain with a shaved head.

Jill Ireland played the female lead in the Bronson/Coburn version, but I suspect there would have been an even better choice in a Lee/Presley/Ali edition:

Bruce died in July of 73'

 

[georgephillip]

Bruce died in July of 73'

"Hard Times" went into development long before that; although, I see your point about another example of posthumous credit:

Hard Times (1975 film) - Wikipedia

"In the early 1970s Walter Hill had developed a strong reputation as a screenwriter, particularly of action films such as The Getaway.

"He was approached by Larry Gordon when the latter was head of production at AIP, who offered Hill the chance to direct one of his scripts. (AIP had recently done this with John Milius on Dillinger (1973).)"

 

[mudwhistle]

Bruce died in July of 73'

"Hard Times" went into development long before that; although, I see your point about another example of posthumous credit:

Hard Times (1975 film) - Wikipedia

"In the early 1970s Walter Hill had developed a strong reputation as a screenwriter, particularly of action films such as The Getaway.

"He was approached by Larry Gordon when the latter was head of production at AIP, who offered Hill the chance to direct one of his scripts. (AIP had recently done this with John Milius on Dillinger (1973).)"

Even if they had used Bruce he probably would have been dead before principle photography.
I don't think it would have worked the same either.
I think Bruce was the inspiration, but being Asian would have totally changed the plot.
As it is, hard times is one of my favorite fight films.
James Coburn was a bit of a drag on the film however.

 

[esalla]

I've been a Bruce Lee fan since I first started practicing martial arts in 72'.

To this day...he is still the number one guy, some say the greatest martial arts practitioner known.

I just wanted to share a few of his videos:

Chuck Norris could kick his dead ass twice quite easily

 

[mudwhistle]

 

[mudwhistle]

 

[mudwhistle]

I learned Shodokan first for a year....and then stopped going to classes for about 6 months....and just practiced on my own. When I came back my Sensei had me spar with his students who were all at the same belt level I was. I found out that learning the art on my own taught me more real moves than the dance moves they were teaching in the class. I was more a freelance street-fighter, and while his students were just dancing I was going for knockouts. I beat everyone pretty easily. I didn't stick to the style he taught me...but started incorporating moves that maximized my natural abilities. They were taught to pull their punches while I was actually following thru. I didn't hit them hard....just made sure they knew I scored on them. Fight over.

 

[georgephillip]

Even if they had used Bruce he probably would have been dead before principle photography.
I don't think it would have worked the same either.

As one more example of the tricks memory plays as I get older, I completely forgot when Hard Times was released. I thought it was in the theaters in 1970 instead of '75. I don't think Bruce would have been available, but I'm still convinced he and Elvis would have sold a lot of tickets in the early 70s.

 

[mudwhistle]