Bruce
Lee, the Greatest Martial Arts Action Hero
Before
Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme, there was
Bruce Lee. In a way, it is a real shame that many of today’s generation
of action film fans have never been exposed to Bruce Lee because he was
perhaps the greatest martial arts action hero of all time. His martial
arts on film may not have been as fancy as say Jackie Chan’s or Jet
Li’s but his on screen ferocity and charisma are unequalled. Even more
important was the impact on martial arts that Bruce Lee had which still
endures today even over 30 years since his passing.
Bruce
Lee always
considered himself a martial artist first and an actor second. As a
martial artist, he was way ahead of his time in developing his own
style of martial arts he called jeet
kune do. His martial arts
incorporated the most practical techniques from various combative
disciplines as he moved away from the traditional and classical
techniques. His martial arts abilities were real and respected by other
prominent martial artists like Jhoon Rhee, Chuck Norris, Ed Parker and
Joe Lewis. His name was inducted into the prestigious Black Belt Hall
of Fame twice, once while he was alive and the other after his death.
These are honors that no other martial arts action hero has ever come
close to. Martial arts
schools in North America enjoyed a huge growth
in enrollment because of Bruce Lee.
Click
Below To See The Annual Bruce Lee Calendar
North
America got an early glimpse of Bruce Lee when he played Kato in the
Green Hornet television series and a bit role in the movie Marlowe. He
went to Hong Kong and made a few films like Fists of Fury (called the
Big Boss in the Asia market) and the Chinese Connection which made him
a huge star in Asia. Bruce Lee also wrote, directed and starred in his
own movie production called the Way of the Dragon which featured
perhaps one of the greatest martial arts fight scenes ever. This scene
took place in the Roman Coliseum and was with Chuck Norris which gave
Norris his first film start. It was Enter the Dragon that broke him to
North America.
Unfortunately,
he died tragically at the age of 32 in 1973 before he was able to
witness the success of that movie. At the time of Lee’s death, he had
completed the fight scenes for another movie called Game of Death which
featured basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabar, who was actually one of
his martial arts students. Other students of Bruce Lee included actors
Steve McQueen and James Coburn. Game of Death was completed with
look-alike actors later on.
One
of the most significant contributions Bruce Lee made is that he opened
the door for other Asians in the entertainment industry worldwide. He
was the first Asian to achieve any significant success in the North
American entertainment scene. He became a star in North America and the
rest of the world by playing heroes rather than past stereotype roles
for Asians such as like servants, gangsters, laundry workers or other
‘pigtail coolie’ characters. On an even greater scale, Bruce Lee gave
Asians, particularly the Chinese people worldwide, a reason to be
proud. Bruce Lee influenced them to be confident in pushing forward to
achieve their goals no matter what field they were in.
Bruce Lee in "Enter The Dragon"
Bruce
Lee had influenced many people to take up martial arts. In fact,
motivational
speaker Clint Cora claims that Bruce Lee was his biggest
influence.
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