The legend of Bruce Lee is a phenomenon that’s grown so much over the years that it’s difficult to convince anyone that he wasn’t the martial arts god that so many want to paint him as. The truth is that he was a very strong and skilled human being and possibly one of the most impressive individuals on the planet in his time, but there are plenty of people that would point out a few errors in thinking that he was untouchable. Even in his movies, it was made clear that he could be wounded, but in real life, it’s been said more than once that he actually enjoyed fighting and was fully capable of incapacitating just about anyone he came up against since he had such mastery over his body that his reflexes were so insanely tuned that he could stop an attack and counter at will. It was believed by many that his one-inch punch could in fact hit with enough force to send a person flying back, and there are plenty of people that still believe this due to the dynamics of the punch being explained over the years. It might still sound a little far-fetched since one inch isn’t exactly a great enough distance to build up the kind of force it takes to knock someone backward. But given how Bruce’s mastery over his body gave him a definite edge, the subtle twitches that he executed and the manner in which he punched and then drew back can give some explanation of how this might be possible.
There’s no denying that Bruce is the reason that many people made their way towards martial arts once they saw him in one movie or another, but the fact that he was made to look so good in the movies was a bit misleading at times since between the effects and the acting there were likely a lot of people that believed everything they saw. But while the movies tend to embellish quite a bit, Bruce was said to be one of the most skilled martial artists alive in his time. Even those that knew him and were around him more often than not admitted that it wasn’t really known how he would have fared against other fighters that were bigger, equally skilled in their own discipline, and could possibly match his speed and power. It’s still believed by some people that Chuck Norris might have given Bruce a run for his money had they fought in real life and not just in the movies. Another fact, that Gene LeBell did in fact heave Lee onto his shoulders in a Fireman’s Carry and walked around with him, kind of puts the idea of Bruce being a truly deadly fighter in perspective since LeBell did apparently teach him a few grappling techniques that Lee would incorporate into his movies later on.
It’s perfectly okay to think that Bruce Lee is a legend that earned the right to call himself such, especially considering that he did a lot to promote martial arts in the west and was very unconventional in his style of thinking, which was a huge boon to many. But while his strength was quite impressive and his one-inch punch could clock in at 190km/h, his prowess in a fight is hard to gauge since people have bought into and paid into the legend in a big way by stating that he would gladly fight anyone, even bigger opponents. But one has to wonder how skilled the opponents he was glad to fight really were since he doesn’t really have many if any, formal fights on record, which makes it tough to really assess just good he was outside of a movie. Anecdotal evidence from those that were friends with him and had a great deal of admiration for him is hard to call hard evidence. But many have stated that if Lee were in his prime today and met up with another skilled combatant, such as a boxer or an MMA fighter, he wouldn’t last that long, if at all. Given time to train and adapt to the different styles it’s fair to say that he might do just fine, but there’s still that bit of doubt as to how his strength would fare in an actual, sanctioned fight against someone his size or bigger, and with equal or at least similar skill. The martial arts have evolved over the years and are slightly different than they were in Lee’s time, and it’s fair to say that as strong as he was back then, the skill he possessed was great for his time and made him one of the most impressive human beings in the world. But in today’s world, his legend might not be quite as impressive, if only because the landscape has changed, with his help no less.
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