Bruce Lee Fitness and Exercise Forum

One thing to be clear is Bruce Lee was training specifically for power and speed to support his martial arts, not to improve his max bench or deadlift.

For example one story that I am studying is several people said he could take a 75lb. barbell and while standing press it straight from his chest and hold it for several seconds. Indicates how strong his abs, shoulders and arms were. He basically was pressing straight out more than 50% of his weight.

Since I am also interested in functional training like that I am going to experiment with that but with a lot less weight!
 
El OchoCinco said:
Bruce's speed was actually too fast for cameras at the time. Here is a video he did at an audition just before The Green Hornet. he had to be told to adjust his fight scenes because the camera could not catch it well.


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Yeah, you have also the video below, the dude who edited it is ecstatic and claims it is Game over if Bruce Lee connects his kick, like kick/thai boxers don´t get hit with heavier kicks several times per fights and still keep on fighting. I´d bet Bruce would have been butchered by a top thai boxer his weight let alone a bigger one but obviously we can´t be sure now, and he doesn´t seem to have accepted any similar challenge. Challenge from stuntmen with a major in dancing don´t tell us much.
Besides I´ve been following Tkdo more and more over the last few years, the fighters there have to bevery fast, as points are awarded on touch rather than power, but that doesn`t make them particularly dangerous in a ring (or a street fight imo)
Seen a few kun fu classes in China, where coaches were very fit (2 I know appear to have been doing either kun fu or circus acts full time since their young childhood ) well, what they teach is closer to acrobatics than fighting sports.
Worth looking up Xu Xiadong, a chinese kick boxer without any standing internationally but who has made waves in China destroying (not so fresh) kun fu masters, he was deemed a western pawn and offensive to Chinese culture, had to deal with serious threats, and last I checked his fight videos were removed from youku, the chinese youtube, as it is a country where we encourage discussion, but only if it is one sided. Still, some of his fights are on youtube.
Chinese are no weak asses though, I don´t know the timeline but some chinese martial arts evolved into competitive Sanda which is close to kickboxing, and kickboxing is getting big there.
Zhang Weili winning the UFC belt hints they are also coming strong into mma.

 
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Bruce Lee looks very fit obviously, not my kind of sports nor look, so can´t comment much on the training but this kind of look seems rather common in gyms among slim guys training seriously. To his credit he exhibited that body long before there were Physique competitions.
 
luisHK said:
Yeah, you have also the video below, the dude who edited it is ecstatic and claims it is Game over if Bruce Lee connects his kick, like kick/thai boxers don´t get hit with heavier kicks several times per fights and still keep on fighting. I´d bet Bruce would have been butchered by a top thai boxer his weight let alone a bigger one but obviously we can´t be sure now, and he doesn´t seem to have accepted any similar challenge. Challenge from stuntmen with a major in dancing don´t tell us much.
Besides I´ve been following Tkdo more and more over the last few years, the fighters there have to bevery fast, as points are awarded on touch rather than power, but that doesn`t make them particularly dangerous in a ring (or a street fight imo)
Seen a few kun fu classes in China, where coaches were very fit (2 I know appear to have been doing either kun fu or circus acts full time since their young childhood ) well, what they teach is closer to acrobatics than fighting sports.
Worth looking up Xu Xiadong, a chinese kick boxer without any standing internationally but who has made waves in China destroying (not so fresh) kun fu masters, he was deemed a western pawn and offensive to Chinese culture, had to deal with serious threats, and last I checked his fight videos were removed from youku, the chinese youtube, as it is a country where we encourage discussion, but only if it is one sided. Still, some of his fights are on youtube.
Chinese are no weak asses though, I don´t know the timeline but some chinese martial arts evolved into competitive Sanda which is close to kickboxing, and kickboxing is getting big there.
Zhang Weili winning the UFC belt hints they are also coming strong into mma.

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Why you so sure Lee would have lost to a thai boxer? Sounds kind of random dis for no reason . Bruce Lee only cared about real fighting, not bullshit point fighting where if you stopped your kick short in someone's face you win a point. Bruce learned to fight on the streets before he started studying Wing Chun.

Whenever anyone challenged him at his school he took up the challenge. Cannot help it if no thai fighter ever came over and fought him. Bruce was philosophical about martial arts, he was not trying to become a fake trophy winner but learn the essence of his art and improve it. That drive carried over into his workouts and his film career.

As for his physique you are comparing him to what you see in the gym now versus what he achieved in 1970. Pound for pound he was among the strongest there was at his size for martial arts. He kicked a heavy bag up to the ceiling. He did one finger pushups. He was not trying to max a bench press or deadlift 3x his weight but strength relative to size he is way up there.

I am not asking you to like him but dont just make stuff up ( he would have never beaten a ----) or posts off topic shit.
 
Also with respect to that video..were you expecting Bruce to really kick that guy in the face and fracture his jaw and hurt him?

Look up the fight where Lee took down a Japanese black belt in 11 seconds....
 
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Look i am not here for a pissing contest on if he was the greatest so let's stay out of that. This is to focus on his physical fitness and routines.
 
Again, Bruce did not spend enough time at Ip Man's school to learn the entire system which typically took 6-7 years. While Ip was very fond of young Bruce and Bruce always spoke with deep respect for the master, Ip was deep in the opium bowl and suffering from cancer when Bruce was immersed at the school. Bruce's main instructor was Wong Shun Leung. Wong along with Hawkins Cheung, William Chung and others were known as roof top (street fighters) in Hong Kong and while all were highly skilled none had close to the skill (Kung fu) of IP.

Yes, Wing Chun, a Southern style is a close in art with a central tenet, Sil Lum Dai Dar-simultaneous block and strike.

Bruce%2BLee.jpg
 
El OchoCinco said:
Also with respect to that video..were you expecting Bruce to really kick that guy in the face and fracture his jaw and hurt him?
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Uh yeah, if they wanted to show who was better at fighting I would expect them to use real shots, the video I posted is thought the advent of mma made it clear Kun Fu variations had little interest when it came to fighting but apparently not. Besides don t read too much in a black belt , depending on the school and sports it doesn't mean much at all.
 
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luisHK said:
Uh yeah, if they wanted to show who was better at fighting I would expect them to use real shots, the video I posted is thought the advent of mma made it clear Kun Fu variations had little interest when it came to fighting but apparently not. Besides don t read too much in a black belt , depending on the school and sports it doesn't mean much at all.
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some parts are missing in the post above, it should basically read :

Uh yeah, if they wanted to show who was better at fighting I would expect them to use real shots, the video I posted is quite typical of the BS surrounding Kun Fu : "he would kill his opponent if he really fought, so he doesn´t fight " Many kun fu coaches when trying their skills on a ring appeared totally clueless in fighting, if the sport doesn`t have full contact sparring, it is most likely of little efficacy imo, and of little interest as his proponents would be lacking athleticism (check a Krav Maga class for a good instance, obviously Bruce Lee doesn´t fit that description, although that´s also quite typical of some Wing Chun classes, dunno about Jeet Kun Do).
Besides I thought the advent of mma made it clear Kun Fu variations had little interest when it came to fighting but apparently not. Besides don t read too much in a black belt , depending on the school and sports it doesn't mean much at all.

Below is possibly the latest fight involving Xu xiadong (one of his friends actually) and yet another Bruce Lee wanabee who gets light outs in a few seconds, there are a bunch more videos like this, some more serious, but hardly any making good impression for Kun fu :

 
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luisHK said:
some parts are missing in the post above, it should basically read :

Uh yeah, if they wanted to show who was better at fighting I would expect them to use real shots, the video I posted is quite typical of the BS surrounding Kun Fu : "he would kill his opponent if he really fought, so he doesn´t fight " Many kun fu coaches when trying their skills on a ring appeared totally clueless in fighting, if the sport doesn`t have full contact sparring, it is most likely of little efficacy imo, and of little interest as his proponents would be lacking athleticism (check a Krav Maga class for a good instance).
Besides I thought the advent of mma made it clear Kun Fu variations had little interest when it came to fighting but apparently not. Besides don t read too much in a black belt , depending on the school and sports it doesn't mean much at all
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Yeah, actually he was in a number of fights in Hong Kong and California. Many results are largely a matter of he said/she said but there is no doubt of his talent and skills....the man was a machine. The fanboy stuff gets out of hand as evidenced by the arguments that arise that he could have beaten Mohammed Ali which is absurd. You don't give up 80 pounds of muscle to one of the greatest fighters and athletes who ever lived. Pound for pound however, Bruce would have been a formidable opponent for anyone. True on the black belts, they are largely merit badges for those who stick out a program at the local dojo's. There are no such designations for traditional wushu (Chinese martial arts).

There is also the tiresome questions of whether this or that "works" in the street/octagon, what "works" is being the better fighter. Training in BJJ or wresting is very effective for ground fighting where many professional UFC types of bouts end up. Boxing and kicking disciplines need to be trained for upright phases. Conditioning, strength and flexibility are vital for any pro to have success.
 
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