What Actually took place? Bruce Lee and the WC stance.

[PaulH]

I read sometimes ago that Bruce came back to HK to visit Yip Man. While there at YM's kwool, the old man had his students tested Bruce's JKD. Bruce seemed to think that he totally confused and devastated his stationary WC brethrens with his rapid moving footworks and attacks. A WC person living in HK at that time told me that was not possible as Bruce was still a young student of WSL and that his skills were not that advanced yet to defeat his WC opponents (stillness overcomes motion). Was Bruce deluded? And on a side note, why do you favor being stationary or moving in a fight? Just looking for interesting feedbacks and perspectives.

Regards,

[chen zhen]

I don't think that story has taken place. but that is not the point.
maybe this article could help answer your questions:
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ray.d8/article13.html

[hunt1]

Delusion is all to common in martial arts. Many do not understand when someone is being polite and not taking their head off. Look at Chi Sao how often is a polite stop of the fist a couple of inches away from the face rewarded with a cheap shot hit . This leads to instant delusion he didnt hit me but i hit him mentality that is all to common. Bruce was young and human. Would be surprised if he didnt take this attitude a little.

[PaulH]

Chen Zhen, I read the articles before, but they are still refreshing to read now. Thank You.

Hunt1, I think you may have underestimated Bruce. Bruce had somethings new and quite unexpected to most WC people. You can see from the articles above that he mentioned about different kicking and punching angles that most WCers are not familiar with. He also knew the WC mindset well and can manipulate it to his advantages very skillfully. It is plausible that Bruce may have actually fooled Yip Man's students at the time of his visit considering his fantastic speed that even Wong acknowledged as well as his other powerful attributes and skills. The only reason that he could not do so well against Wong was perhaps Wong knew his game before and thus can expect his unexpected attacks and counters. I'm not sure about the others who don't know Bruce as well as Wong.

Regards,

[russellsherry]

hi guys, that story came, from mito , uheharas book on bruce lee by ohara , i dont think its true, as , in honk kong they dont spar like we would , i mean in the western, way of doing things, also regarding footwork, if you , dont move in a streetfight , you will get your head, knocked off. Footwork is one of the keys, to make your wing chun work. peace and regards russellsherry

[Alpha Dog]

Originally posted by hunt1
Look at Chi Sao how often is a polite stop of the fist a couple of inches away from the face rewarded with a cheap shot hit . This leads to instant delusion he didnt hit me but i hit him mentality that is all to common.

This should be printed and handed to every new WC student at the door, before s/he gets a chance to change into uniform for the first time.

As for Bruce Lee, he was a marketer of his own image. I'm surprised there isn't a copywrite symbol beside his name.

[Frank Exchange]

>> Look at Chi Sao how often is a polite stop of the fist a couple of inches away from the face rewarded with a cheap shot hit . This leads to instant delusion he didnt hit me but i hit him mentality that is all to common. <<

Why stop a couple of inches away from the face? Why not just tap them on the chin as a matter of course? Then, if they still dont appreciate that theyve been hit, tap harder. Or explain that you are letting them off lightly.

[S.Teebas]

Hunt1, I think you may have underestimated Bruce. Bruce had somethings new and quite unexpected to most WC people.

hi paul,

Thats the biggest load of garbage ive ever heard in my life! Whats so new about Bruse?? OK so i can agree he was great at what he did. But to say no-one ever did anything like that is totatlly an opinion and NOT based on factual evidence. Who's to say some guy practicing in the forest in china didnt think of that before????????????

He's good, and he's REAL good...but he's not GREAT in the way IP man was. IP Man DEDICATED his life to a system and BECAME WING CHUN! He aint no gap filler with what he saw fit. Let face it, generations of analytical study really are somthing we need to treasure and find those hidden gems, they exist if we have the patience and fortitude to discover them.

[Ernie]

s.teebas
IP Man DEDICATED his life to a system and BECAME WING CHUN
he was also very dedicated to opium so are you going to praise that as well,

they were both just men that feel into the right place and right time in history to have an impact ,
in the grand scheme one would not have shined with out the other , at least not to the level that they are seen now ,

i never stood infront of bruce but by why of watching his body , speed ,power timing and skill were of a very high degree , he simply worked harder and smarter then most ,

all we have from yip are stories ,

either way there realationship inspired millions and that is what counts .

i would be equally blessed to spend time chatting and training with either

[TenTigers]

The only reason we all think Bruce Lee was so great is because the techniques and concepts he showed were completely unknown to gwailo at that time, but were common knowledge to Gung-Fu practitioners of all styles-not just Wing Chun. Things like simultaneous block/strike, chi-sao, inch power,intercepting intention (jeet), etc. Nothing new. Bruce was definately gifted with physical speed, which coupled with perceptual speed and reactive speed gave the impression that he was superhuman to most kick/punch martial artists, but in Hong Kong, with his Si-Hings, he was just Bruce. Of course he was the real deal, and his movies were groundbreaking in terms of choreography, content, intensity, and camera angles. But as far as real Gung-Fu is concerned, he was certainly no innovator. (That isn't to say he still doesn't inspire me, he will always be a hero)

[PaulH]

Hi S. Teebas,

Thank you for your feedback. I like to clarify a point on my quote. If Bruce is alive today, I think Bruce would agree with me that while his stuffs are influenced by WC concepts in their beginning, they have been evolved into some strange mutated JKDish species. Ha! Ha! It is precisely his weird twist on the familiar WC concepts or skills that most WC people are not familiar with. Would you say that Bruce fight like a WC person?

"No great advance has ever been made in science, politics, or religion, without controversy. - Lyman Beecher"

Regards,

[yuanfen]

Paul H. sez:

"No great advance has ever been made in science, politics, or religion, without controversy. - Lyman Beecher"
---------------------------------------------------------------------

"many a controversy has produced much heat but little light"-
joy chaudhuri

[yuanfen]

Paul H. sez:

"No great advance has ever been made in science, politics, or religion, without controversy. - Lyman Beecher"
---------------------------------------------------------------------

"many a controversy has produced much heat but little light"-
joy chaudhuri

[yuanfen]

In response to a reference to Ip Man- someone says:

he was also very dedicated to opium so are you going to praise that as well,


all we have from yip are stories ,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poor form to bring up his personal life... a non sequitur.
Without Ip Man- the poster's or his sifu's exposure to wing chun
would not be.

[PaulH]

True enough what you said,
"many a controversy has produced much heat but little light"-
joy chaudhuri

But don't discount the grumbles that you hear. Ha! Ha!
Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.
- Thomas Alva Edison

Regards,