Your Bruce Lee Phase

There’s something remarkable that happens to most martial artists  – they go through a Bruce Lee phase. It may happen right away (an inspiration to get into training), or not for decades. But sooner or later, they catch a glimpse of Bruce’s flashing techniques and nunchaku, and the addiction sets in.

A lot of sports and pastimes have enduring figures, but there is something about Bruce Lee that inspires deep study. It’s common to hear of martial artists catching “Enter the Dragon” on TV, only to quickly go on a hunt for all the other Bruce Lee movies ever made. They quickly stumble across dozens of fake cash-ins, with actors like Bruce Li and titles like “Bruce Lee the Invincible”. New Bruce fans will eventually encounter the perplexing “Game of Death”, in which Bruce Lee appears but is augmented with fake actors and cut-and-paste photos of his face. What an intriguing set of circumstances!

Movie fakes, philosophical books, death under unusual circumstances…all of this combined with a skill set never before seen on film. Bruce had raw charisma and martial abilities that required no fancy camera work or sped up film-making to look impressive. Rumors of Bruce’s street fights and nasty temper juxtaposed his deeply introspective nature. All in all, he had (and still has) a nearly irresistible combination of mystique and tangible skill.