After 35 years, Was Bruce Lee ahead of his time with mixed martial arts?

Question

Although Bruce Lee was not involved in competitive martial arts, was Bruce Lee ahead of his time? Was there another martial artist before him who ever mixed martial arts, boxing, and wrestling? Of course, UFC was probably not on his mind, but he broke rules to combine all the arts into one.

Answer 1

Very much so, I firmly believe that Bruce could be considered the father on modern mma.

Answer 2

Yes ..

The best of all time !!!

Answer 3

Bruce was wayy ahead of his time, and if he were in UFC he would just rock everyone cus he wwas soo quick and powerful

Answer 4

no and yes. i think because he was a film star as well as a martial artist this gave a massive publicity boost to his passions. i know several guys dabbling in cross training before Bruce Lee ever showed up.the problem in the early days was , prejudice, yes it was prevalent.i had great difficulty in finding other styles systems to train in back in the early 1960,s.only judo and karate then,in my area,in fact within 100 miles. now almost any system/style is available,not necessarily of quality

Answer 5

Yes most definitely a true genius for his time.

Still a Bruce Lee fan after all these years

Best wishes :)***

Answer 6

without a doubt

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

Bruce did not always do well early in his career when it came to tournament style matches. I have two of his books. He was ahead of his time because he was a product of cross of cultures. He brought martial arts to the west and started much of what we now see. He crossed styles more than anyone I have known, particularly during that time period. Legendary fighter!

Answer 9

all martial arts are mixed....ALL of them. period.

over time they became "fixed" styles, largely due to respect for ones teacher...they didnt want to change or dilute anything. even some of bruce's students are this way...they think that unless you teach just exactly what bruce taught, you arent teaching real jeet kune do.

look back in history, not so long ago in okinawa...there were no "styles" ..karate was not stylized as it is today...everyone trained with everyone else....karate is karate. jujutsu is jujutsu.

karate as an  example....okinawa had an art called "te" or "ti" ....later chinese settlers came there and taught what the okinawans called "kempo" (kempo is the japanese translation of the chinese term chuan fa...or "fist law" "fist method"...and kempo was used to denote chinese arts or arts with chinese influence originaly i think)....when the okinawans combined the chinese "kempo" with their own "te"...they had what they called "tode or tote"..sometimes "tote jutsu"...which means "china hand" or "chinese hand art" ....later the kanji (japanese character used to write the word) for "to" was changed to one that is pronounced "kara"..which also meant "china/chinese" ...thus...."kara" and "te" equals karate. later still when karate was introduced to japan, the kanji for "kara" was changed again. still pronounced kara...but now meaning "empty hand" rather than "china hand"

even on the karate front...take an art like shito ryu...it is a blend of naha-te, and shuri-te. (naha, shuri, and tomari were villages on okinawa) ....look at "traditional" isshinryu karate....a blend of shorin ryu and goju ryu karate. ...now ask yourself ...hmm....exactly what makes these arts traditional then? if it isnt sticking with one teacher...or keeping an art "pure"...what is it? .....could it be the way its taught? yep. the way its practiced? yep....to me "traditional karate" means karate the way it's practiced in japan or okinawa.

in ancient japan different styles were called "ryu" (yoshin ryu, takeda ryu, takeuchi ryu, kukishin ryu..etc)...ryu means school/style. ...some styles of martial arts were named after family or clan names...takeda ryu, uechi ryu for example.

others were named after the school (building) itsself...shotokan karate, kodokan judo for example.

some were named to describe something about the art....goju ryu for example meand "hard/soft style" ...yoshin ryu means "willow spirit style" because you should give way to force like a willow tree, rather than a cherry tree who opposes force.

but there is now, and there has always been alot of cross pollenization between martial arts. jujutsu is a generic term. kempo, karate, kung fu, chuan fa, kali...they are all generic terms for hundreds of different systems and styles. infact if it wasnt for cross training and multi cultural influences...half of the worlds martial arts would never have existed!

but jujutsu is jujutsu...karate is karate...etc.  ..jujutsu is an art....and each "style" is someones interpretation of that art. which is why we have different "styles" of jujutsu. they are largely the same in actuality. ...the jujutsu of takeda ryu, was the jujutsu that they taught. the "takeda school" of jujutsu.

so yes and no...bruce was ahead of his time....but at the same time he wasnt doing anything that hadnt been done before either.

he didnt bring martial arts to the west...the first school in the united states for example was owned and operated by Robert A. Trias...who taught Shuri Ryu Karate in Phoenix, AZ.

i think Bruce reminded the world that its ok to cross train, and do your own thing. but he didn't create the idea.

it was always supposed to be that way...look up "shu ha ri" sometime and read about it....you arent supposed to be bound by tradition!

Answer 10

If Bruce was still here now, he would beat the SH** out of these fighters Today!!!!!!!