From: ninjam@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Marty)
Subject: re: Bruce flame
Originator: ninjam@csd4.csd.uwm.edu
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 04:59:05 GMT

Dakin Burdick <burdickd@copper.ucs.indiana.edu> says:

>Just to start a flame war...

>Bruce Lee was in marvelous shape, and had a very good self-defense
>system (when he wasn't posing for the cameras) and even had a good
>side kick, but his roundhouse kick was not that good and he really
>could not do any "advanced" kicks. 

On the contrary I could give you plenty of accounts of people who
knew Bruce and could back up that all his kicks were powerfull.
I'd be interested in where your getting your info.
As for "advanced" kicks that's rediculous too.  For it was a known
fact that he studied and learned MANY advanced kicks.  He did many
of them in exhibitions in Hong Kong and other places.  Whether he
felt the need to use them was up to him.  But his two most used
and powerful kicks were the side and hook/roundhouse.
I can also suply photograhs of the many "advanced" kicks.
The reason he didn't do many of them is because he felt they were
for show and felt you should stick to the basics in fighting.
Again I can back the above up too with interviews and such.

>The chinese stylist they got
>to stand in for him on the Game of Death fight scenes that had 
>not been filmed is a much better kicker (although he does not
>have Bruce's charisma; but then, who does?).  

I believe that was Bruce Li.  As for who was a better kicker, I think
that's kind of hard to tell from a movie, and since you've never met
either of them in person or see either of them fight.........
The only thing you can do is go by written accounts of people who knew
him.  I or anyone else that never personally knew Bruce will never be
able to say "He really wasn't good at this" or "He was great at this",
without basing it on other peoples experiences with him.  We have no personal
knowlege.  That's why I think it's kind of rediculous with all of this
Bruce Lee bashing and praising (of the individual, not his style) going
on when there's not even a slim chance anyone here actually knew him.
You want to base it on accounts by other people then fine.  But state that
at least.  If I make a statement about him it's because I have documented
evidence of what I'm backing up.  If I'm talking about Jeet Kune Do, that's
a totally different story all together and is something that just happens
to deal with him as a side line and not neccisarily his personal skills.

But to start bashing a man that isn't even here to defend himself or his
views, is no different than all of the American Kenpo people that have
been coming out of the woodwork now since Ed Parker died, claiming he
was wrong with this and that and that their approach is better.  20 years
down the line it will get even worse, and I'm sure much about Ed will either
be elevated to myth or tossed in the garbage as has been done with
other people long gone.  Only those who knew Ed, or Bruce, or Morihei
Ueshiba, or any other departed great martial artists can truly say
they were this or that.  And unless we were lucky enough to have actually
known these people, all we can do is go by what other these other people
tell us.


Marty
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts