Remembering Master Bruce Lee, 41 Years...

[SteyrAUG]

November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973

Your absence is noticeable and felt all these years later.



Bruce and Brandon Lee circa 1968.



Lee's widow had originally reserved the plot next to Bruce for herself, sadly it became the resting place of their son Brandon who also departed far too soon.

[Failure2Stop]

Agreed.

[Bolt_Overide]

I wonder what sort of effect he would have had on cinema, martial arts, and combatives if he had not been taken so soon.

[Chameleox]

Gone too soon.

"The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" is still a very relevant resource for combatives students and shooters.

That photo of Lee with Brandon is great; last week, I put my old gloves on my son and daughter for the first time (big smiles immediately). I suspect that the feeling I had was the same as what Bruce must have been feeling in that picture.

Rest in Peace.

[Campbell]

A true innovator...just imagine what he would have brought to the table over a normal life span. Sad indeed.

[SeriousStudent]

.....

"The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" is still a very relevant resource for combatives students and shooters.

.......

Much agree, a copy belongs on the bookshelf.

My respects to the Lee family.

[6933]

I have much respect for Bruce Lee. He is the reason I became involved in martial arts.

Would have loved to see him match up with Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie, or Helio Gracie when each was in their prime.

After the fight, I bet there would have been a lot of camaraderie and discussion of technique. Oh, to be a fly on the wall.

[SteyrAUG]

I have much respect for Bruce Lee. He is the reason I became involved in martial arts.

To think there are probably 50 decades of martial artists who would say the same. Some of my teachers got involved because of the Green Hornet TV show in 1966. "Enter the Dragon" (1973) is probably responsible for more martial journeys than any other single influence.

The film is still such a pleasure to watch. No "wire work" as was sometimes common in Hong Kong productions of the time. No camera speed tricks which were very common at the time. And thank god no CGI because it didn't exist.

Just one man showing the possibilities of what can actually be done. Even if the rest of us never quite attained that level of ability despite our best efforts. The speed, timing and validity of Lee's technique in the scene with Bob Wall (who commented that it was more application than choreography and that he didn't have to fake many reactions to strikes) has yet to be surpassed IMO.

[Cincinnatus]

I like the scene in Return of the Dragon where he and Norris fight as well or better than the Bob Wall scene.

[SteyrAUG]

I like the scene in Return of the Dragon where he and Norris fight as well or better than the Bob Wall scene.

Really like it, and we have to remember he was able to build on that for the Enter the Dragon scene, but I'd still rank that one third behind the Bruce Lee / Dan Inosanto scene from "Game of Death." But certainly at the time Return of the Dragon (aka "Way of the Dragon") was released, the Lee / Norris fights scene was probably the best thing on film at the time.

That was the first film where Lee had almost total creative control as both writer and director as well as choreographer and co producer and it really shows. It was a dramatic leap from his two previous films which were somewhat hampered by the writing and direction of Lo Wei.