Video of B. Lee's Closing Skills

[Liberty]

Ran accross this rare Lee 1968 JKD fencing close demo clip while researching something else.enjoy:

YouTube Video

[Bjjexpertise@be]

Very cool! What was he demonstrating/talking about in the video?

[Liberty]

Originally Posted by Bjjexpertise@be

Very cool! What was he demonstrating/talking about in the video?

Haven't a clue. I just posted that title for lack of a better one.

[Bjjexpertise@be]

Looked it up on Wikipedia :-/. According to Wiki, Bruce was doing a seminar and told the person in that video that if he could block his punch then he would win. And supposedly they tried it 18 or so times and Bruce was too quick for him every time.

[Liberty]

BJ what's your take on this - in all honesty, while I am always intrigued when I come accross a rare Lee demo, this type of Lee demo here, however, where someone is just standing there, is as bad as all those youtube clips today of so called Wing Chun, JKD, or what have you, masters - where the supposedly opposing side just stands there all nice and polite. I mean, it leaves out the reality, the beauty of live, unpreditable combat JKD's founder was supposedly so comfortable with.

[Mike Brewer]

Liberty,
First of all, awesome video. Second, I have talked with several people "in the know" about those demonstrations (such as the one at the Long Beach Internationals where Bruce and Dan met). Bruce was a big fan, apparently, of calling on random folks to be demo partners because it allowed him to show that his stuff worked on anybody. However, he also understood that the sublties of the art had to be demonstrated against someone who could bring them out. As a result, he used his own students who were familiar with how to best help present things when it came to more complicated things like trapping. Bruce Lee was an awesome martial artist, to be sure, but he was an equally accomplished showman. He knew that to make any point about combative reality, you had to first grab people's attention in ways they were already accustomed to. Hence the board breaks and all that nonsense.

The video here shows Bruce covering what looks to be about eight feet in no time flat. That's an incredible penetration step from long range! But in a sense, it's for show, because you see him staying close, leaning in, and neglecting the recovery he was equally known for. Why? Because it emphasized the point, I think. He knew that in a demo setting, people would be more impressed with the ability to get in than to get out. He was at a point-sparring tournament if I recall, right? So the demo was perfectly tailored to the audience! Just another example of Bruce's ability to send the right message to the right crowd. It's also another reason to respect his ability as a teacher as much as his ability as a fighter.

[Ghost]

I dont like demonstrations like these.

In fact, i dont like martial arts demonstrations at all.

Im such a miserable git arent i lol.

EDIT: the kind of demonstration id like to watch would be if bruce lee had turned up to a place like that and just done his usually daily training routine. Id love to watch that, far more interesting than this stuff.

[Mike Brewer]

You're just jealous.

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by Mike Brewer

You're just jealous.

HA!

*runs*

[Liberty]

Originally Posted by Ghost

I dont like demonstrations like these.

In fact, i dont like martial arts demonstrations at all.

Im such a miserable git arent i lol.

EDIT: the kind of demonstration id like to watch would be if bruce lee had turned up to a place like that and just done his usually daily training routine. Id love to watch that, far more interesting than this stuff.

Alright already - I'll keep looking! Geez! LOL!

[Liberty]

Originally Posted by Mike Brewer

Liberty,
First of all, awesome video. Second, I have talked with several people "in the know" about those demonstrations (such as the one at the Long Beach Internationals where Bruce and Dan met). Bruce was a big fan, apparently, of calling on random folks to be demo partners because it allowed him to show that his stuff worked on anybody. However, he also understood that the sublties of the art had to be demonstrated against someone who could bring them out. As a result, he used his own students who were familiar with how to best help present things when it came to more complicated things like trapping. Bruce Lee was an awesome martial artist, to be sure, but he was an equally accomplished showman. He knew that to make any point about combative reality, you had to first grab people's attention in ways they were already accustomed to. Hence the board breaks and all that nonsense.

The video here shows Bruce covering what looks to be about eight feet in no time flat. That's an incredible penetration step from long range! But in a sense, it's for show, because you see him staying close, leaning in, and neglecting the recovery he was equally known for. Why? Because it emphasized the point, I think. He knew that in a demo setting, people would be more impressed with the ability to get in than to get out. He was at a point-sparring tournament if I recall, right? So the demo was perfectly tailored to the audience! Just another example of Bruce's ability to send the right message to the right crowd. It's also another reason to respect his ability as a teacher as much as his ability as a fighter.

See what I meant, Wright - free IQ on Bruce Lee - LOl!

Just kidding. Good points Mike, great post. Thanks for resetting my perspective straight. I forget the times Lee was dealing with back then.

By the way, I found this clip while searching for a clip of Jhoon Rhee executing a Dan Gun form (the form someone on the TKD forum was asking help with good clips on). Just goes to show the sometimes unexpected benefits of helping out a fellow martial artist - this Lee clip is an awesome one for it's study of his movement - guy was an artist in every sense of that word...

[Bjjexpertise@be]

Originally Posted by Liberty

BJ what's your take on this - in all honesty, while I am always intrigued when I come accross a rare Lee demo, this type of Lee demo here, however, where someone is just standing there, is as bad as all those youtube clips today of so called Wing Chun, JKD, or what have you, masters - where the supposedly opposing side just stands there all nice and polite. I mean, it leaves out the reality, the beauty of live, unpreditable combat JKD's founder was supposedly so comfortable with.

Mike pretty much hit all the points. If anything this demo seems to be geared towards displaying Bruce's incredible speed more than a display of his philosophy (the leaning in after the strike to show how close he was to his opponent's face is definitely the give-away). Perhaps he was trying to catch the crowd's attention and have them think that this is what they could achieve if they followed the philosophy of taking what is useful and disregarding things that aren't.

I've just got to say that as a fellow short person with short reach that that is an incredible step-in, if I could step-in that quick I wouldn't have to block punches with my face all the time!