(Fighting, film, and Movember pioneer Bruce Lee)
Today would have been the birthday of martial artist and television and movie star Bruce Lee. Lee died tragically young, but still made an indelible mark on the world during his short life by demonstrating his unique abilities as a fighter, instructor and showman.
Part philosopher, part fighter and part entertainer, Lee did much to draw attention to martial arts in a more practical way as well as blow up stereotypes of Asian people around the world. As a practitioner and teacher, Bruce did not limit training to one set of dogmatic forms or a single style. Rather, he studied any and every style he could, from wing chun to western boxing to Judo and Jiu Jitsu. He took what worked from each and jettisoned what did not. He also was a pioneer in his emphasis on strength and conditioning.
To commemorate the man Dana White calls “the father of mixed martial arts,” we’re going to get out of the way and let you enjoy some videos of him tonight. One is a collection of grainy films showing Lee during demonstrations, a couple others are clips from films of his where he’s kicking butt in style and we’ve also included a couple full-length documentaries that we enjoy on the life and careers of Lee.
Enjoy and then get out there and train, like Bruce would have you do!
Beating up that no good O’Hara in Enter the Dragon:
Lee vs. Entire Japanese Dojo in The Chinese Connection:
Demonstrations:
Tale of The Dragon Documentary:
Path of The Dragon Documentary: