Bruce Lee

[Ren Blade]

I heard that Bruce Lee's favorite style was Praying Mantis. Can anyone confirm this?

[SaMantis]

Can't confirm. I've always thought that Bruce Lee's favorite style was Bruce Lee.

er, JKD, that is.

[Ren Blade]

Although Bruce went on in his own way with martial arts and said the things he said, he still liked different styles. Someone told me that his favorite style was Praying Mantis.

Before Bruce Lee died, there were plans of choreographing a fight with a Praying Mantis fighter in Game Of Death. I would have loved to seen that.

Also I wouldn't consider Jeet Kune Do as a style as neither did Bruce. By the things he preached bout Jeet Kune Do, it sound all too similar to the same goals of traditional Chinese styles. Adapting and fitting yourself in the situation and to your opponent. To not take on shape until your opponent is open and vulnerable to your attack, then you take shape and return back to a state of nothingness after your attack so that you are flexible to any change in the fight. So I would say Jeet Kune Do is a state of mind which traditional Chinese styles have this mentality already.

[Crushing Step]

Check out the book "Tao of Gung Fu". It is part of the new 7 volume series by John Little. It details Lee's classical side. In it, it says that one of the styles he cross trained in was northern mantis. However, his favorite form for kung fu demos was southern mantis. This is probably what you heard. Lee has been quoted as saying that had he not been brought up wing chun, southern mantis would be his choice style.

[Golden Arms]

Not a bruce lee fan so much..but I do know that he said Choy Lay Fut was a very powerful style as well, after not being able to defeat a CLF practitioner in a challenge

[mantisben]

I once saw a black and white interview with Bruce Lee demonstrating White Crane. It looked like the White crane with the long-arm strikes.

[mantis108]

I believe he did the openning of Jiequan (Jeet Kune), a Jing Wu form, and added some make of moves then called it White Crane or Crane fist. I think he thought that no one (at least at the time) will ever find out or care to say anything. I suppose he had very little regard for the athenticity of traditional forms. Oh well...

Mantis108

[ursa major]

Originally posted by Ren Blade
I heard that Bruce Lee's favorite style was Praying Mantis. Can anyone confirm this?

My take on it is BL was mostly impressed with himself and his style. I always thought his attitude could be summed up as that of repudiation of traditonal arts and methods. As I remember it he had little or no interest in PM or any other system for that matter, these being stuck in the quagmire of traditionalism. I say this because I can remember watching a TV interview with BL decades ago where he repeatedly used the words 'quagmire' and 'traditional' with reference to Shaolin and kung-fu.

Seemed to me he was a contrarian who did some TV and movies and later died of a drug overdose. I stopped reading articles about BL as the deification of the man increased. I fail to understand this ongoing interest in BL even after all these years.

Personally, I find the lives of men like Wong Hon Fun and Luo Guang Yu be far more interesting and worthy of study.

Just my opinion of course,
UM.

[Crushing Step]

Bruce was traditionally trained in wing chun, and cross trained in a number of styles. Among them were northern and southern mantis, choy lay fut, hung gar, tai chi, and others. You cannot deny the fact that he came from traditional training. Also take a look at the only book he ever published while still alive. It was called Gung Fu, The Philisophical Form Of Self Defense. It is a short book, and in it Lee is wearing a traditional uniform and sash. He had personal photos of Lo Kwan Yu, Chu Chi Man, Chen Man Ching, Yip Man and other. He also had hand drawn sample techniques from traditional styles. Did he get ego? I'm sure of it. He was also only 33 when he died, and by any measure that is young.

[BeiTangLang]

Enough about bruce.
put this stuff in the main forum.
Thanks for understanding.
BTL