Bruce Lee vs. Wong Jack Man fight

[GeneChing]

...but I just can't resist posting it again here now.

Believe it or not, there are people who know about BL but are not aware that he died.

"What? U mean Bruce Lee is dead??"

My 16 year old cousin actually saw part of a documentary about Bruce Lee and was surprised to hear that he was dead. When I explained that he died in the 1970s and told him how he died he looked shocked.

[mickey]

Greetings,

Does anyone know where Bruce learned his Shaolin from. It has been said on this forum that he went looking for instruction after his match.

mickey

[boxerbilly]

Greetings,

Does anyone know where Bruce learned his Shaolin from. It has been said on this forum that he went looking for instruction after his match.

mickey

Willem Reeders ?

Leo Fong ?

Who knows where he was barred because learning direct is no possibility. He would have to go to a student like Fong or a Master like Reeders who did not give a f--- about sharing and ****ing people off.

[mickey]

Greetings Billy,

I was referring to the Northern Styles of Shaolin. I should have been more specific. I do believe, as others have shared, that he did pursue such instruction.

mickey

[Jimbo]

mickey,

I heard that BL learned some forms, including some N. Shaolin, in Hong Kong. He traded with some teachers (and/or advanced students) for cha-cha lessons.

[boxerbilly]

mickey,

I heard that BL learned some forms, including some N. Shaolin, in Hong Kong. He traded with some teachers (and/or advanced students) for cha-cha lessons.

Willem Reeders was Northern Shaolin . It is said he trained there 100 days out of every year from 12-21. Beijing area. His mother was Chinese. I forget if born in China or not but there was family there.

Reeders is a funny history in the states. He taught many different systems depending on where he was. Here in NY it was Kuntao and karate. He was friends with Sam Wong of Mu Dong but had a falling out over something. This was while he lived in Canada I believe. Funny both Reeders Kuntao and Wongs Mu Dong have been here in the Roch area for maybe 40+ years. Canada being only an hour away.

Side note Rudy Terlinden used to teach Kung Fu San Soo for Jimmy Woo. He was Silat.

Leo Fong also had studied Northern systems. Not sure which. One could email him and just ask I guess.

[Jimbo]

Willem Reeders was Northern Shaolin . It is said he trained there 100 days out of every year from 12-21. Beijing area. His mother was Chinese. I forget if born in China or not but there was family there.

Leo Fong also had studied Northern systems. Not sure which. One could email him and just ask I guess.

I do know that Leo Fong studied some CLF and maybe some Fut Gar. He wrote books on them; I believe he referred to the Fut Gar (or whichever other style it was) as 'Sil Lum'. I wasn't aware that he studied any northern styles. Must have been later, because in the 1960s into the '70s, instruction in northern styles was less common in the States. WJM was a novelty when he arrived with his N. Shaolin.

[boxerbilly]

I do know that Leo Fong studied some CLF and maybe some Fut Gar. He wrote books on them; I believe he referred to the Fut Gar (or whichever other style it was) as 'Sil Lum'. I wasn't aware that he studied any northern styles. Must have been later, because in the 1960s into the '70s, instruction in northern styles was less common in the States. WJM was a novelty when he arrived with his N. Shaolin.

Okay I emailed Leo. Hopefully he will bring me up to speed and tell me what he remembers. Or not ? LOL some don't write back.

[mickey]

Greetings Jimbo and Billy.

Jimbo, I remember reading about Bruce learning some northern forms before coming to the USA.

Billy, during the '90's, I was told about the existence of a Beijing Shaolin existing during the time frame you gave. I have not seen nor heard anything about it and it was definitely on my mind last week. Your mentioning it was a real shock for me.

Thank you both for your help.


mickey

[boxerbilly]

I do know that Leo Fong studied some CLF and maybe some Fut Gar. He wrote books on them; I believe he referred to the Fut Gar (or whichever other style it was) as 'Sil Lum'. I wasn't aware that he studied any northern styles. Must have been later, because in the 1960s into the '70s, instruction in northern styles was less common in the States. WJM was a novelty when he arrived with his N. Shaolin.

Perhaps Mr. Jamieson could weigh in on the history of Northern Shaolin in Canada ? Bruce used to roll in that area. BC area and such.

They may not have been Shaolin monks but systems like 7 Star may have already been in the BC area late 50's early 60's.

[-N-]

mickey,

I heard that BL learned some forms, including some N. Shaolin, in Hong Kong. He traded with some teachers (and/or advanced students) for cha-cha lessons.

This IKF interview with Hawkins Cheung talks a little about BL learning some northern kf from Shiu Hon Sang while in HK.

http://hawkinscheung.com/wp/about/

[mickey]

This IKF interview with Hawkins Cheung talks a little about BL learning some northern kf from Shiu Hon Sang while in HK.

http://hawkinscheung.com/wp/about/

Greetings -N-,

I knew about Shiu Hon Sang and I thank you for the link. I found something that lines up with what people were saying as a result of the match between BL and WJM; i.e., Bruce looking for instruction in Northern Shaolin. It seems that Bruce was more than just disappointed with his performance in the fight. He may have been very impressed but would never admit it. The following story shared by Hawkins Cheung about his interaction between himself and Bruce with regard to dance establishes a modus operandi for Bruce:

"Our competitive spirit was not only in martial arts, but extended in daily life. Everyone knew that Bruce was good at dancing the cha-cha. At school, I knew some Filipino friends who were pretty good too, so I would pick up steps to show up Bruce. The next time I saw Bruce, he had a bunch of new steps! I questioned my friend to see if he had taught Bruce those new steps, but he denied any knowledge. I later found out that he went to my Filipino friend’s dance instructor to learn more steps! That was our character—to always look for a new source. I later went to the same dance instructor and tried to persuade him not to teach Bruce."

This is something that people on both sides of the BL/WJM fight completely overlooked.


mickey

[mickey]

more.....

What I am getting from all that has been shared from this thread is the composite of a person, Bruce Lee, who was very confident in his abilities found himself in a fighting situation where he really could not handle and subdue his opponent the way that he thought he could; and, despite his best efforts to kill/seriously harm his opponent, Wong Jack Man was still standing. Bruce's top mount to end the fight was one of desperation. I think this was the catalyst for change in Bruce's training and sparked interest in learning/understanding the style of his opponent, Wong Jack Man.

WHY COULDN'T THOSE AUTHORS WHO ARE CASHING IN SEE THIS?


mickey

[-N-]

This is something that people on both sides of the BL/WJM fight completely overlooked.

WHY COULDN'T THOSE AUTHORS WHO ARE CASHING IN SEE THIS?

Yes. Very good insights from that interview.

Though maybe not what some people want to hear.

[boxerbilly]

more.....

Bruce's top mount to end the fight was one of desperation.




mickey

Seems in todays world the top mount is often a very good place to be.