Bruce Lee - was the world's greatest fighter, ever?

[Younggrease]

I think Fedor is the greatest fighter ever, with his mix of Ju Jitsu and standup fighting he can take out anyone.

guarantee you there are just random dudes that will beat the hell out of Fedor...

[Kensta]

Ok,that answers my question .... sooo he is strictly a movie fighter..i always thought that he was at least a trained fighter that just did movies..guess not...I heard the same about JCVD and Steven segal as well..strictly actors and not real fighters

Jet Li is legit. He's a trained fighter who became an actor.

[SCREWstonRockets]

Bruce was not just an actor. He was a real martial artist. Created his own style and everything. A boxing historian once said that if Bruce went into pro boxing, he would have ranked in the top 3 of lightweights. He actually won some boxing title in a tournament in 1958. Knocking out all his opponents.

[RainierBeachPoet]

bruce was a martial artist first and a film star second

the worlds greatest fighter is only about speculation but some of the comments regarding size are a factor-- bruce only weighed 135 lbs. pound for pound, there is no doubt in my mind that bruce would whip any lightweight

when bruce was young, he was a streetfighter so he could fight with a no holds barred mentality. it was noted by many that on the set of his movies, there would be guys who played bit parts who wanted to make a name for themselves and picked fights with bruce-- and they always went away whipped

i believe chuck norris said that bruce would beat him in a real fight

the one thing that is missing here is that bruce used his "chi" as the source of his power. this is demonstrated in his "one inch" punch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx9iPFMriz0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS6aMdskKSo

i am not exactly sure how chi would translate into a street fight, but there is incredible power involved with people who have developed this inner force that can do some serious internal damage to a person

[Brunch@Five]

Jackie Chan is a dancer, that's why. If they believe that Jackie is better than Bruce in the realm of actual martial arts, then they must have gotten their Tae-kwon-do black belts from a box of Cracker Jacks.

And you know how? Where did you get your knowledge from, other than youtube and Bruce Lee fan-sites?
Just asking, because thus far I have no reason to disbelieve non-biased people that actually know what they're talking about.
Also, my friend got his black belt from a korean master who has 6 dans. Not Cracker Jacks.

[RedBlackAttack]

guarantee you there are just random dudes that will beat the hell out of Fedor...

Ahhh... Where are these supposed 'random dudes'? Fedor fights 'random' professional fighters on a regular basis and he has never been beaten. Are you inferring that there is some cat sitting on a stoop in Philly that would beat Fedor?

[n00bie]

And you know how? Where did you get your knowledge from, other than youtube and Bruce Lee fan-sites?
Just asking, because thus far I have no reason to disbelieve non-biased people that actually know what they're talking about.
Also, my friend got his black belt from a korean master who has 6 dans. Not Cracker Jacks.

Jackie Chan is KNOWN to be a stunt artist. Have you seen Jackie Chans chinese movies, or are your friends basing this on rush hour? Jackie Chan and a famous fat actor use to "train" together back in the day. Your friends saying Jackie Chan is a great fighter is like calling that other fat actor a great fighter too.

[Dasher]

Don't bring the great Sammo Hung into this. Jackie Chan is just not a real martial artist. He is closer to Fred Astaire than he is to Fedor.

[Younggrease]

Ahhh... Where are these supposed 'random dudes'? Fedor fights 'random' professional fighters on a regular basis and he has never been beaten. Are you inferring that there is some cat sitting on a stoop in Philly that would beat Fedor?

No im inferring that there are people we dont know about that dont fight professionally that would beat his ass in a real fight without rules. Special Forces dudes or guys like that. Maybe someone who practices that krav maga. This guy fights with rules and there are some people who just dont do that.

[Brunch@Five]

Jackie Chan is KNOWN to be a stunt artist. Have you seen Jackie Chans chinese movies, or are your friends basing this on rush hour? Jackie Chan and a famous fat actor use to "train" together back in the day. Your friends saying Jackie Chan is a great fighter is like calling that other fat actor a great fighter too.

It certainly is not based on Rush Hour or the likes. You think he became a stuntman before he was a martial artist? He's obviously martial artist turned actor who does his own stunts. Calling him a stuntman doesn't do him justice.

Just saying it again: I couldn't tell who is a more skilled martial artist. I'm just telling you what friends of mine told me, and they certainly know what they're talking about, cause they have knowlege of martial arts other than youtube videos and chinese movies. Which, I'd guess, is all the knowledge you and me have.

[DwadeOverLebron]

ABSURD!!!

BRUCE LEE WOULDA KILLED FEDOR, SILVA, LESNAR, NORRIS, anybody! not at the same time of course but he would have killed any of those guys one on one, he was 5'4 135 shredded! he was documented bench pressing 315 pounds 10 reps in under 8 seconds, and did 88 pullups in a minute, he was a FREAK!!! this was all documented so its total complete fact! and he did beat a karate champion in less than a minute, and beat a mui thai champion in under 2 mins, and the most miraculous he knocked out a sumo wrestler in 3 secs with a jumping roundhouse kick, chuck norris did say he didn't stand a chance vs. bruce in real life, he is the real deal ladies and gentlemen, one time i saw him destroy like 20 kung fu dudes altho it was a movie scene i heard they were fighting for real cuz they wanted it to look as real as possible on screen but then bruce admitted he was only going 50% cuz he didn't want to kill anyone... he is the MJ of MARTIAL ARTS 4SHO!!!!!!!!!

[bdreason]

It's not important who the 'greatest is. It's about what a fighter brings to the table.


Bruce Lee had the right idea in his fighting techniques. He was focused on simply using what was effective, instead of falling for the confined structure of organized martial arts.

If you read some of his work, he states that you can take a man, train him in Boxing and Wrestling for 1 year, and he would defeat a Blackbelt in a traditional martial art.

It wasn't until YEARS later that Bruce's ideas were implimented by fighters around the world. Nowadays, fighters know that you have to be well-rounded, and be prepared to respond to ANY action with a reaction.

[bdreason]

No im inferring that there are people we dont know about that dont fight professionally that would beat his ass in a real fight without rules. Special Forces dudes or guys like that. Maybe someone who practices that krav maga. This guy fights with rules and there are some people who just dont do that.

This is nonsense. Fedor could train to use eye-pokes, throat chops, nut-shots, or any other "real fight" techinque you are referring to in days (hours). I train in Muy Thai, BJJ, and MMA 3-5 days a week (in a MMA gym). I've been to the local Krav Maga studio, and even know a trainer there. There is no technique they teach there that is superior to Sambo, Judo, BJJ, Boxing, Wrestling, or Kickboxing techniques.

A "special forces dude" would get destroyed by Fedor in a hand to hand combat fight with no weapons. Fedor would throw the dude on his back like a ragdoll, then submit him in seconds. No amount of eye-gouging or throat chops are going to change the outcome of the fight, especially if Fedor has prepared for them.

[wTFaMonkey]

Im probably the biggest Jackie Chan fan in this board. And I would have to say. He is not on the level of Bruce. Jackie went to a chinese opera school and became a stunt man FOR BRUCE LEE. Jackie then later got involved with martial arts and filming after Bruce died. If it wasnt for bruce lees death. there wouldnt be a jackie chan of today. He would probably still be doing stunts for bruce.

[Brunch@Five]

It's not important who the 'greatest is. It's about what a fighter brings to the table.


Bruce Lee had the right idea in his fighting techniques. He was focused on simply using what was effective, instead of falling for the confined structure of organized martial arts.

If you read some of his work, he states that you can take a man, train him in Boxing and Wrestling for 1 year, and he would defeat a Blackbelt in a traditional martial art.

It wasn't until YEARS later that Bruce's ideas were implimented by fighters around the world. Nowadays, fighters know that you have to be well-rounded, and be prepared to respond to ANY action with a reaction.

This could be why my friends referred to Bruce as "not that skilled"