James responded on Sep-20-2017 at 1:11 PM:
To weigh in here, there are only two records of Lee having fought:
1. John Saxon saw him beat up a local tough in a match fight on a movie set.
2. Lee fought another Gung Fu man to a draw in an American school on the west coast and he was displeased with his own performance, driving him to explore combat more comprehensively.
In short, Lee does not even rank as a fighter and was untested, but had an excellent mind for tactical deductions, psychology and the integration of the fighter's mechanical toolkit. Like most top flight coaches, Lee was not a successful fighter, let alone a dominant one, but a talented fighter who lacked "the goods" [he had a bad back] to dominate open competition and instead took the higher road to enlightenment and pioneered what we now know as MMA. Had he lived he would have been deeply involved with BJJ and FMA and hybrid weaponry and would have made the physical inquires made by the Dog Brothers and Modern Agonistics men such as myself unnecessary.
This recalls a debate I had with Sifu Tom Clark and Sensei Steve Jansen, the former a student of one of Lee's student's, Larry Hartsall.
Being contemporary lightweights of 135 pounds, who would have one in an MMA style fight, Lee or Duran?
Since there are no fights by Lee on tape, I will let the readers compare the choreographed scene sent by an astute reader and a series of fight footage of Duran in actual, if limited, combat. Do note, that Duran did not have a bad back until he survived a car wreck in his 50s. Also, we would be matching the young Duran with Lee, not the welterweight or middleweight.
I call the fight for Duran, by submission due to strikes, on the ground, from the mount. Duran's immense strength would have made this a ground fight and strained Lee's back.
Watch the fiction,
watch the sport,
then try and imagine them fighting at the Filipino cantina.
Being a Bad Man in a Worse World
Fighting Smart: Boxing, Agonistics & Survival
In the Bruce Lee clip, it is hard to determine which martial art is being set up as a strawman for Bruce. A photo of Jigoro Kano is featured on the wall, but none of the dojo denizens seem to have the faintest familiarity with judo. I have no idea what style the two initial aggressors in the black flowing robes are supposed to represent, but they certainly seem a different breed of cat than the rest of the gi-clad mooks.
Speaking of judo, Bruce's shoulder throw and suplex (?) are pitiful. It's a good thing his opponents jump into the air for him, because no actual resisting opponent is going to be taken down by those laughable stunt techniques. And the Limey narrator exclaims about how "strong" Bruce is with these throws ! L O frickin' L!
The comparison of Bruce and Duran is a comparison between a movie stunt coordinator and a true warrior-athlete. It's apples and oranges.
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That first Durán video was great. Thanks.