Leo Fong's take on the Wong Jack Man / Bruce Lee fight
I just read the article on Leo Fong in the August issue of KF Magazine and, as a former student of Wong Jack Man's, I would like to weigh in on his statements regarding the fight between Bruce Lee and Sifu Wong. I'm usually not one to step on anyone's toes but I just can't allow the misinformation about this match to be perpetuated without a fight.
Bruce was an inspiring figure to Asians and all people around the world and I respect that. But let there be no mistake, as a young man he was a c0cky egomaniac who many people in the traditional martial arts world found difficult to get along with. The real reason the fight happened was not because he was teaching "quilo", but because Bruce was making open challenges to people in the traditional martial arts community. After he landed in San Francisco he went to Grandmaster T.Y. Wong’s school and challenged him. T.Y. Wong knew Bruce Lee’s father and out of respect refused to fight him. Bruce wouldn’t let up though and as he turned to leave he suddenly launched a surprise attack at T.Y. Wong. At that moment T.Y. Wong slapped Bruce in the face and told him to leave. I'm curious as to whether or not Leo Fong has heard of this happening since he supposedly studied under T.Y. Wong in the early 60's. There were witnesses to this event and from what I heard T.Y. Wong’s students were quite angry with Bruce. These were the real reasons why the Chinese martial arts community in San Francisco had it out for him. At that time Bruce was a young upstart with little respect for his elders. It's been said he had issues with his dad so maybe that could have had something to do with it.
Before the challenge match with Wong Jack Man, Bruce had ended up angering David Chin who ran with Wong Jack Man's group which consisted of Brandon Lai, and other extremely skilled kung fu men. This was at Sun Sing Theatre on Grant Street in San Francisco during a demonstration Bruce was putting on. Bruce put out a challenge on stage and said no one could stand up to his fist. This was the kind of immature behavior that constantly got him into trouble and THAT was the reason he was challenged. Not because of this BS concerning racism. That is what Bruce told Linda and it was not the truth. There may have been some of those sentiments within certain circles but it had nothing to do with the challenge letter he received from David Chin. He basically got the letter for being big headed and thinking he could make open challenges in a place with some of the best martial artists in the world. He was a total egomaniac and, according to his ex-girlfriend, Amy Sanbo, he was a "macho pig." She said she felt sorry for Linda when she saw them together in Seattle one time because she knew Bruce was going to be cheating on her left and right (which he did) and Linda would have to put up with all of the "insufferable" things Bruce said.
So why, as Leo states in the article, did Sifu Wong "run" in the initial stages of his match with Bruce? It was because Bruce was acting irrationally and saying no to any rules during the match. He basically said he was going to fight all-out with eye gouges and groin kicks. It was as if he was considering it a death match because he was nervous and his ego was in jeopardy. Traditionally, at the beginning of the fight, opponents are supposed to join hands and jump backwards. With no regard for traditions, Bruce went straight for an eye gouge after he pretended to shake hands. At that moment Wong ducked but not before Bruce nicked him with his finger nail just above his left eye and left a cut. This was seen the next day by Grandmaster Ming Lum himself and it was the only injury that could be seen on all of Wong's face or body. Right after Bruce struck he kept going for the eyes in earnest. Being surprised at this onslaught of potentially lethal strikes, Wong back pedaled to keep his distance. It was for this reason that Wong’s people wanted to jump in and stop the fight initially. Unlike how it was characterized by Bruce, the match continued in earnest between both of them.
Would David Chin have said he felt it “went both ways” in the KF Magazine article he was featured in if Bruce had been chasing Wong around the room and threw him to the ground? Let me ask all of you, who should be considered as having more integrity when it comes to judging the outcome of a challenge match, a grandmaster like David Chin and the Tai Chi master William Chen or Linda Lee Caldwell, who’s NOT a professional martial artist and who’s been trying to capitalize on her former husbands fame as much as she possibly can? And, in my opinion, the only reason it “went both ways” was because Wong was obviously holding back.
That brings me to another inaccuracy in Leo Fong's statements. He said there were 10 of Wong's students there and Bruce told him to tell all of his students that he had been beaten. Where did he get this from? David Chin has never said there were that many and Tai Chi master William Chen, who was also there, said there were 5 of them. I believe it’s been said that they drove over in one car from San Francisco. Whatever the case, it’s yet more inaccurate information that’s been put out there by those profiting off of Bruce Lee’s legacy.
Basically, when it comes to whether or not Wong said, “I give up,” someone is lying. And I know for certain it’s not Sifu Wong. Wong Jack Man was a devout practitioner of martial ethics and wu de. Let me ask you, who is more likely to lie, a grandmaster who had been involved in upholding the traditions of the TCMA community, or an egotistical child actor turned street punk who kept getting kicked out of school for fighting and who had to be deported for being a colossal troublemaker? Really? So we’re going to believe the guy who ran with a street gang and got into all sorts of trouble over the guy who devoted himself to upholding the highest virtues of TCMA culture? And why did certain elements of the story change? Linda Lee said in her book, “Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew,” that Bruce began pounding him into a state of demoralization on the floor, but in an interview Bruce said he got some “kung fu cat" down to the ground and held his fist over him and got him to say, “I give up”. Which one was it? If Wong were beaten the way Linda had it portrayed in that farce of a movie, “Dragon, The Bruce Lee Story,” then why did Ming Lum see no injuries except for a slight scratch? What, was Ming Lum lying now? Let’s face it, Bruce Lee lied to his friends and students in order to save face and look good. They probably would have sought lessons from Wong if they had found out what really happened.
The real reason the match ended was because Bruce was too winded to continue. He always knew he got schooled in that fight and it was the main reason Bruce completely changed up his style. Everyone likes to point out that he was already modifying Yip Man’s Wing Chun (even though he hadn’t even finished the whole curriculum), but he hadn’t gone to an almost complete emphasis on boxing and fencing until immediately after that fight. That’s something Leo Fong himself has confirmed. And has Leo ever thought to ask himself why? Seriously, why would anyone almost completely change their style after winning a fight? Wong was a known grandmaster. It should have been a great victory for Bruce not an epiphany on how much he sucked and needed to change his style.
Last edited by Siu Lum Fighter; 08-25-2012 at 03:10 PM.
The three components of combat are 1) Speed, 2) Guts and 3) Techniques. All three components must go hand in hand. One component cannot survive without the others." (WJM - June 14, 1974)