Trying to find a Bruce Lee quote/interview

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
My uncle Jimmy used to hang out with Bruce in Hong Kong and California. He introduced two other uncles to him in Santa Monica around 1966?

Sklansky's thread on which type of fighter would win in a one on one match had smasharoo meet much ridicule for saying a boxer would win, hands down, specifically over the UFC type fighter.

I teased the thread by hinting that Bruce Lee had an opinion on this which would differ than the consensus on that thread but no one bit (probably because they didn't believe me that my uncles knew Bruce?).

Remember, this is still back in the mid 60s, long before all that UFC/Pride became popular.

Bruce said emphatically that IN A STREET FIGHT, if he could choose one guy to be in his corner (on his side) it would be Muhammad Ali.

I guess it was speed, force, and accuracy.

There were a handful of anecdotes my uncle told me about him, though I don't know how many are circulating in those old Bruce Lee magazines.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why not tell us some of them?

[seemorenuts]

Okay, sure.

He was recovering from an operation in the late*-sixties (undescended testicle(s)) so he was hobbling around when my two other uncles were introduced to him (probably in Santa Monica, not sure).

*The answer to the last item below makes me realize it had to be the late sixties at the earliest--unless one uncle is conveying stories over a period of years--see 1966 mentioned in earlier post.

Even in this compromised state, he showed them some physical demonstrations that were very impressive:

i) standing under a ceiling light bulb about 8 feet up, he could kick it without a running start;

ii) again, from a standing position about 6-8 feet away, he had my two uncles brace themselves with some kicking shield. He'd just jump towards them and send them flying, no surprise there;

iii) he had this big kicking bag, the heavy duty type, maybe filled with sand? (can't remember, I only remember that it left indentations). So again, from a standing position, no run, he jumps up and kicks it five times before landing on his feet, and you could see the five indentations on the bag.

He's probably shorter than all the magazines list him as.

He's indeed very cocksure, I don't think you could meet anyone with more confidence, even when he's relaxing with friends.



He said that if he could choose one athlete as an ideal physical specimen to train to be a supreme fighter, he'd choose...

answer in the next post, so you can think about it! lol

P.S. I imagine his wife, his friends, and others will not admit to his operation (and indeed, he writes about serious back injuries earlier) so I figure you are getting this here first, and probably won't get any confirmation or agreement from other primary sources. Makes you wonder about losing opponents kicking him in the groin without results, lol.

He also went around HK and even Japan looking to see if anyone could beat him in a fight...

[seemorenuts]

The answer to the person whom Bruce would make the greatest fighter if properly instructed is Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

As you know, Kareem appeared in the final incomplete movie.

I imagine his strength, speed, teachability, coordination, athletic talent, stamina, etc. made him astonishing, not to mention his size and reach.

An unsurprising answer, I guess.

So Bruce is down with the brothers... lol.

['Chair]

close your eyes and play this clip and tell me you can't visualize BL kicking some ass.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WI5vkJVj2Ps

[FortunaMaximus]

[ QUOTE ]
Bruce said emphatically that IN A STREET FIGHT, if he could choose one guy to be in his corner (on his side) it would be Muhammad Ali.


I guess it was speed, force, and accuracy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, no. The ability to take punishment.

Esad, awesome. I haven't seen that one in awhile.

[seemorenuts]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Bruce said emphatically that IN A STREET FIGHT, if he could choose one guy to be in his corner (on his side) it would be Muhammad Ali.


I guess it was speed, force, and accuracy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, no. The ability to take punishment.
snip

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, Ali couldn't punch fast and accurately, I stand corrected, Bruce would do all the hitting.