Bhassler wrote:
The video was presented as proof that Bruce Lee could fight. The only thing it proves is that Bruce was really, really fast, which everyone knew already. Why stand there with your hands down waiting for the really, really fast guy to do something? Why react to a hand feint that was done from out of range? Even if it was moving into range, why try to block a full body lunge by waving one arm in the air with nothing behind it? As I said originally, forward pressure and a decent guard negates a lot of the speed advantage. That is basic stuff. It's easiest to find in MMA, but any real fighting system has means to address it.
There's a reason CMA guys continue to get stomped in any kind of open format, and the propagation of delusional belief systems about the special power of their own shit is a big part of it.
I agree with your points.
The way that Bruce demonstrated his skill does look a little laughable and unrealistic to people who are used to watching MMA nowadays, but back in the 60s and 70s when Karate and Kung-Fu were all the rage, that's actually how practitioners of traditional Asian martial arts used to fight and compare their skills -- in a format very similar to Karate sparring. Just as we have the UFC now, in those days, tough hombres who practiced Korean, Japanese, and Chinese martial arts would fight in full-contact Karate tournaments in order to prove their worth.
Check out some of the footage from the time period and you'll see what I mean. Squaring off at a distance, fighting with hands down, using hand feints in order to score a kick are all trademarks of point karate sparring and fighting; the idea was to be able to score points by landing fast and clean strikes for the judges to see as opposed to simulating realistic fighting.