What's with Bruce Lee worship in the TCMA community?

[The Xia]

This is something that the more I think about, the more contradictory it sounds. Sure, his movies got legions of people into Kung Fu. Sure, he became a symbol of strength for his ethnicity and transcended that for anyone else looking for it. However, this seems to overshadow what the man said and did in the minds of many TCMA people. Yes, Bruce Lee began his path in Wing Chun, but look at where he ended up. Outside his school, he had a tombstone that read, "in memory of a once fluid man crammed and distorted by the classical mess." I’m not going to post a lot of stuff about where his path took him, but when I hear him speak (and look at how he trained), he seems rabidly against TCMA (or TMA in general) to me. Before I quote Bullshido, let me say that I don’t agree with the analysis on Wing Chun, but there’s a quote about Wing Chun people who hold Bruce Lee on a pedestal that I feel is relevant to this thread. "It'd be like being a fan of Jared from Subway and then taking up competitive eating or liking the comedy of Yakov Smirnov so much you moved to the Soviet Union." I think this can apply to TCMA people in general. Am I the only one who feels this way about Bruce?

[bawang]

I don't like bruce lee, and i never liked his high pitched scream, he inspired the wrong kind people to be interested in kung fu.

[rogue]

Without Bruce Lee CMA would have died decades ago. He arrived when CMA was all about some lousy movies and Bruce gave the CMA credibility.

BTW, WC is the bomb!!!


The Real Original Lucky Louie!

[Lucas]

I in no way worship the guy. But here is my take:


After a fashion Bruce Lee displays the qualities desired of a fighter in his image that was created through his movies and the media.

It isnt so much the training he has, so much was the fact that he was 1, Chinese (this because the culture draws attention and is often associated)trained in kungfu. regardless of style. and 2, because the martial aspects of his life, and what he left behind after he died, display the keen mind at work of someont desperately working on the puzzle of combat.

Which is the essence of TCMA (keen mind at work of someont desperately working on the puzzle of combat)

[yutyeesam]

As an icon, he gets evaluated based more on his personal background than the philosophical concept he was trying to drive into people's heads (that apparently still doesn't get through some TCMA's heads).

His personal background is that he had his foundations in the Chinese arts. So naturally, TCMA people tend to want to zero in on that.

His philosophical concept was to lose ethnocenticism in martial arts and use whatever works for you from whatever style. Obviously, this doesn't jive so well with the TCMA folks...so it conveniently gets brushed aside, ignoring that he essentially called TCMA a Classical Mess.

-123

[Yao Sing]

Plus he smoked pot and banged hot actresses. Got to have priorities in life.

[HOKPAIWES]

The whole Bruce Lee scene kinda reminds me of a religon that annoys me.


A guy gets on to some good stuff, then he dies. Then his fans and followers never having completed their training come along later and screw it all up for the rest of us.

[SaintSage]

The whole Bruce Lee scene kinda reminds me of a religon that annoys me.


A guy gets on to some good stuff, then he dies. Then his fans and followers never having completed their training come along later and screw it all up for the rest of us.

Yeah. It's a good thing, however, that unlike Bruce Lee the other guy came back to finish what he started.

[lkfmdc]

people's response to Bruce is generally irrational.... he's been elevated to a ridiculous level that makes any discussion of him really impossible, if you question the "Church of Bruce" you get mass hysteria and flame wars

[yutyeesam]

people's response to Bruce is generally irrational.... he's been elevated to a ridiculous level that makes any discussion of him really impossible, if you question the "Church of Bruce" you get mass hysteria and flame wars

Even today? I don't know what the current perception is of him...

[lkfmdc]

Even today? I don't know what the current perception is of him...

ah, you must have missed that thread

[yutyeesam]

ah, you must have missed that thread

Uh oh - this sounds like a car wreck...I gotta look!

[rogue]

people's response to Bruce is generally irrational.... he's been elevated to a ridiculous level that makes any discussion of him really impossible, if you question the "Church of Bruce" you get mass hysteria and flame wars

Say what? I doubt any of us would be doing martial arts without Bruce. The Green Hornet, Marlowe and Longstreet put the bug in our ears all the way back in the 60's. I don't think enough good things could be said about Bruce.



The Real Original Lucky Louie!

[Dragonzbane76]

Believe me if Bruce hadn't of done it someone would have came along eventually and done it. World became to small for things to hide. I wouldn't elevate him on a platform that high. He did what eventually would have been done.

[Know Stile]

Bruce has done more for martial arts than everyone on this forum combined.