Was BL's death the best thing that happened for JKD?

[Gojira]

I know that this post will start some flames but,
Anyhow would have JKD be as big as it is today if Mr. Lee lived?
What do you think?

[HuangKaiVun]

Why do you ask?

[Red]

I think that it was Bruce's last film- enter the dragon that got him realised, not his death. Remember he died like 2 weeks before it was brought out in america and everyone was like "whoa! who's this guy!" but sadly it was too late.
I think that JKD would just be stonger and still be evolving faster today if he was still alive.

[This message has been edited by Red (edited 04-30-2000).]

[JKDVIGILANTE]

If Bruce Lee was alive and teaching, I would be there!

------------------

J.L.B.

[rogue]

Just watched Enter the Dragon and the thing that struck me most was how bad the movie was, bad acting, dumb plot and so so martial arts. Pretty good for the early 70's but pretty lame for today. Personally Lees greatest achievment, IMO, was done on his back when he wrote the Tao of JKD, though I don't agree with everything in it.

Did Lees death help JKD? No, though it did make hime a movie legend in the same vain as James Dean. JKD is still around due to the efforts of a few guys who kept it going. So let's give credit where credit is due.

[Highlander]

Explaining the Bruce Lee craze and JKD is like trying to explain Beatlemania or the civil rights movement in the 60's. It all looks pretty crazy on film, but it happened. To understand it you really had to be there.

Shaw brothers films weren't available in most places and video tapes weren't invented yet. Hey, cable wasn't even common. Any exposure to martial arts was through network TV or live if you were fortunate enough to have any in your area. I didn't grow up watching old reruns of the Green Hornet, I saw the originals. And I can tell you that is when the Bruce Lee craze started, not with Enter the Dragon. While Hollywood was saying no eastern stars, the American youth was flocking to their TVs to see what Kato would do next. After the show was cancelled we would watch for anything that had Bruce Lee in it. His guest appearances on Long Street were among the highest rating. So much so that he was offered a recurring role. He played an instructor and used this platform to intoduce some of the concepts of JKD to the american public. Bruce Lee never missed an opportunity to teach. In the James Garner movie "Marlow" he played a bad guy and died when he did a flying side kick off the edge of a building. In an interview about it he said he was trying to show the futility of flying kicks.

Did his death help JKD, no it had finally reached a stage where it would have been available to the public and now it is clouded in confusion, misconceptions, and misinterpretations. Had he lived, this would not be the case.

As far as the book "Tao of Jeet Kune Do", this is Bruce Lees words, but the book was not written by Bruce Lee. If you check the original copy write on the book you will find that it is 1975. Two years after his death. That is why it appears disjointed and confusing. It is a complilation of his notes. The problem is, like all of us, as we learn more our opinions change, but our old notes still remain. It has also been pointed out by other people that some of the things included were not Bruce Lee original thoughts, but things he read and found note worthy. The problem with this book as with the new ones coming out is that Bruce Lee didn't have a say as to what should or should not be included and how it should be organized. These books, even though they are very good, are a reflection of the complilers understanding and not neccesarily the message Bruce Lee was trying to convey. The three book set from O'hara publications was also, copy writed in 1975. The only book authored and compiled by Bruce Lee was "Chinese Gungfu" - 1963.

[GinSueDog]

Highlander,
Nice post.-ED

[nickle]

i think that if BL hadnt died, jkd wouldnt have become what it is today, since it is no longer what he intended

-specialization is for ants-

[origenx]

Actually, I think Bruce Lee was highly underrated as an actor. This was largely due to his limited dialogue - which was probably due to his accent and the fact that his movies were all action flicks. Much like a Schwarzeneggar pic. However, he had what many leading "mainstream" actors never got - screen presence and charisma. When he stepped on screen, all eyes were simply riveted on him.

For example, contrast him and Dan Inosanto (who granted never claimed to be an actor) in Game of Death. They're more or less equal counterparts in their fight scene, using similar weapons, yet Bruce wields his weapons far more dramatically and just knows how to draw attention to himself. It's all too easy to overlook Bruce's acting ability, especially when overshadowed by his fighting ability, until you really start noticing and comparing it to others. But clearly, he was more than just a great martial artist - he had star power too.

[The Iceman]

Yes without death or even fame JKD has much less
of an existence in the martial arts but this is
even true of Wing Chun and also the fame of Yip
Man became a much more famous Wing Chun Sifu becau
se of the fame of his student Bruce Lee.The relat-
ive value of Jeet Kune Do doesn`t matter at this
level.While I would think that a numder of people
would be practicing Jeet Kune Do even with Lee al-
ive I don`t think the numbers would be as great.
Simply because if Lee is alive he would have been
less famous than he was.His death infact created a
large interest in him than did his life.I know that some might find that cruel but it is simply
the truth.People like to blame film producers for
Lee not making it big time in the United States
but the fact is that had fans been more in tune to
Lee the producers would have had no choice but to
put him in projects and they would have willingly
done so because the bottom line question would ha-
ve been answered can I make money off of this guy.

Clear indication is that they did not feel that
they could make the money back off a Lee project
that they put out for it.That is the bottom line
for them not race but how much money can I make
off putting this guy in my movie.Since Lee first
all couldn`t act to save his life without being
able to perform martial arts he was lost.Lee did
have personality on screen but that is not acting.
The is putting on a mask to hide your limitations
which worked for him.Just so that you don`t think
I am just caying this it was James Coburn who said
that Lee couldn`t act.He has an Oscar to back his
statements.

He wouldn`t have been so faamous if he hadn`t di-
ed Bruce Lee on James Dean.This is an interesting
statement by Lee and serves as an irony that the
two would suffer the same fate.The bottom line is
that Lee by now would have been along forgetten
actor.Though it would have been interesting to see
what would have happened to JKD in the years that
followed.Seeing as with Lee a live there would not
have been any schools for Jeet Kune Do since Lee
himself ordered them all closed.Do you really th-
ink that after achieving some measure of fame even
if it was just in Asia that he would come back to
the States and settle for simply teaching JKD.I do
n`t think so since according to Dan Inasanto Lee
did not like to teach any way.

Death for so many has immortalized JKD my questio
n would be if you don`t buy this argument would
you be practicing JKD if it had been created by so
meone you had never heard of only the art.What wo-
uld you think if the person who had created the art had not completed his training in any other
art.Of course you would laugh at him and think he
was fool but Bruce Lee got away with it and then
became a star so naturally people want to be apart
of that.I run into young people all the time who
want to practice Lees`art because Lee did.

But as to wether or not Lees`death was the best
thing that happened to JKD the answer would be yes
and no.Yes because it created along term interest
the art.NO because of what it has done to the art
even Linda Lee Cadwell has admitted in interviews
that Bruce Lee would not be pleased with the state
of Jeet Kune Do today. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

[The Iceman]

Yes without death or even fame JKD has much less
of an existence in the martial arts but this is
even true of Wing Chun and also the fame of Yip
Man became a much more famous Wing Chun Sifu becau
se of the fame of his student Bruce Lee.The relat-
ive value of Jeet Kune Do doesn`t matter at this
level.While I would think that a numder of people
would be practicing Jeet Kune Do even with Lee al-
ive I don`t think the numbers would be as great.
Simply because if Lee is alive he would have been
less famous than he was.His death infact created a
large interest in him than did his life.I know that some might find that cruel but it is simply
the truth.People like to blame film producers for
Lee not making it big time in the United States
but the fact is that had fans been more in tune to
Lee the producers would have had no choice but to
put him in projects and they would have willingly
done so because the bottom line question would ha-
ve been answered can I make money off of this guy.

Clear indication is that they did not feel that
they could make the money back off a Lee project
that they put out for it.That is the bottom line
for them not race but how much money can I make
off putting this guy in my movie.Since Lee first
all couldn`t act to save his life without being
able to perform martial arts he was lost.Lee did
have personality on screen but that is not acting.
The is putting on a mask to hide your limitations
which worked for him.Just so that you don`t think
I am just caying this it was James Coburn who said
that Lee couldn`t act.He has an Oscar to back his
statements.

He wouldn`t have been so faamous if he hadn`t di-
ed Bruce Lee on James Dean.This is an interesting
statement by Lee and serves as an irony that the
two would suffer the same fate.The bottom line is
that Lee by now would have been along forgetten
actor.Though it would have been interesting to see
what would have happened to JKD in the years that
followed.Seeing as with Lee a live there would not
have been any schools for Jeet Kune Do since Lee
himself ordered them all closed.Do you really th-
ink that after achieving some measure of fame even
if it was just in Asia that he would come back to
the States and settle for simply teaching JKD.I do
n`t think so since according to Dan Inasanto Lee
did not like to teach any way.

Death for so many has immortalized JKD my questio
n would be if you don`t buy this argument would
you be practicing JKD if it had been created by so
meone you had never heard of only the art.What wo-
uld you think if the person who had created the art had not completed his training in any other
art.Of course you would laugh at him and think he
was fool but Bruce Lee got away with it and then
became a star so naturally people want to be apart
of that.I run into young people all the time who
want to practice Lees`art because Lee did.

But as to wether or not Lees`death was the best
thing that happened to JKD the answer would be yes
and no.Yes because it created along term interest
the art.NO because of what it has done to the art
even LInda Lee Cadwell has admitted in interviews
that Bruce Lee would not be pleased with the state
of Jeet Kune Do today. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]