Bruce Lee is surely one of the greatest martial artists who ever lived. Made famous by Hollywood movies and by his tragic death at a young age, his legacy lives on. Many people talk about his martial art style but I believe Bruce Lee was the ultimate street fighter.
When Bruce Lee began to develop his own fighting style it was not liked by many of his fellow martial artists. The fact is it was a street fighting style of King Fu. Lee’s personal fighting style, popularly known as Jeet Kune Do, has also been called “scientific or sophisticated street-fighting”. If we watch films like Enter The Dragon we see many flourishes and moves which were of course created to add to the mystery of Kung Fu and create a sense of awe. The fact is Jeet Kune Do is a highly effective combat system and a skilled user would do very well in competitions like MMA.
Many people ask the question what is Bruce Lee’s fighting secret? The answer is a complex one and one many people don’t want to hear! He was of course incredibly fit and incredibly disciplined. His daily training regime would put most people off how ever a skilled fighter it would lead them to become. Lee also used a very practical, direct method of facing an attacker. This is why I argue Bruce Lee was a street fighter. Lee had a very tough background and he literally grew up in the streets. He came from a gang background where street gangs carried chains, pen-knives and razor blades. Although he had an interest in traditional forms of King Fu this environment meant he needed a practical fighting style to survive real attacks and violent encounters.
One of the fundamental approaches in street self defence is that of attacking your opponent at his weakest points and this is something Lee understood well. He also understood the value of the basic aikido principles of throwing an opponent off balance and applying leverage principles so that his body, and the limbs of his body, are used toward his own defeat.
If you would like to learn Jeet Kune Do it can be difficult to find a teacher or class in most towns and cities. I would recommend looking at other Kung Fu classes but ultimately you may wish to follow some of Lee’s core principles of an effective combat system by looking at street self defence.
