Wong Jack Man and Bruce Lee’s Private Match

Tony Dismukes

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While I don't really care who "won" a fight with Bruce Lee 48 years ago, I am amused at the amount of spin contained in every version of the story. I had always thought that Lee's account had elements that didn't make sense as presented, but I have to say that this article is even sillier and more spin-doctored.

Maybe Wong's palm strike killed Bruce Lee with a delayed death touch! (After all, Lee died only eight years later.)
Maybe Bruce Lee died young because JKD is unhealthy and lacks the wisdom of the ancients! (Never mind that his top student, Dan Inosanto, is still going strong and a total badass at age 75.)

I do have to say that the differing accounts seem somewhat typical of the aftermath of an inconclusive street fight between a couple of egotistical hotheads. "Did you see that? I was tearing him apart! He's just lucky I decided to take it easy on him." "Yeah, I would have used my kicks, but they're so deadly I might have decapitated him."
 

Manseau

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"Who he is" would be better answered by the likes of Jesse Glover(RIP), James Yimm Lee(RIP), Taky Kimura, and the thousands of other people directly influenced by his life on this earth. Good or bad, he has left a huge legacy that has touched many people. Regards, David

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." Gerald Ford 1974. Looks like Gerald could read the future.
 

Tames D

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"Who he is" would be better answered by the likes of Jesse Glover(RIP), James Yimm Lee(RIP), Taky Kimura, and the thousands of other people directly influenced by his life on this earth. Good or bad, he has left a huge legacy that has touched many people. Regards, David

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." Gerald Ford 1974. Looks like Gerald could read the future.

An early death has a way of doing that. James Dean?
 

James Kovacich

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While I don't really care who "won" a fight with Bruce Lee 48 years ago, I am amused at the amount of spin contained in every version of the story. I had always thought that Lee's account had elements that didn't make sense as presented, but I have to say that this article is even sillier and more spin-doctored.

Maybe Wong's palm strike killed Bruce Lee with a delayed death touch! (After all, Lee died only eight years later.)
Maybe Bruce Lee died young because JKD is unhealthy and lacks the wisdom of the ancients! (Never mind that his top student, Dan Inosanto, is still going strong and a total badass at age 75.)

I do have to say that the differing accounts seem somewhat typical of the aftermath of an inconclusive street fight between a couple of egotistical hotheads. "Did you see that? I was tearing him apart! He's just lucky I decided to take it easy on him." "Yeah, I would have used my kicks, but they're so deadly I might have decapitated him."

Bruce died July 20th 1973. The infamous match in question must of happened in the early to mid sixties while he had his Oakland Jun Fan Gung Fu Institue open and oclosed it's doors in 1967.

EDIT: Haha, I though you wrote he died 8 months later. :)
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2
 

Manseau

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With all due respect, I know who James Dean was and he weren't no Bruce Lee. He wasn't even close to Jimmy Dean whose name is still buoyed by "Big John" and pure pork sausage. :) You should have picked Buddy Holly. Or am I full of crap?
Kind regards,

David
 

blindsage

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With all due respect, I know who James Dean was and he weren't no Bruce Lee. He wasn't even close to Jimmy Dean whose name is still buoyed by "Big John" and pure pork sausage. :) You should have picked Buddy Holly. Or am I full of crap?
Kind regards,

David
Ummm....what?
 

Xue Sheng

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With all due respect, I know who James Dean was and he weren't no Bruce Lee. He wasn't even close to Jimmy Dean whose name is still buoyed by "Big John" and pure pork sausage. :) You should have picked Buddy Holly. Or am I full of crap?
Kind regards,

David

I don't know but at what the thread is about and then noticing that your post appears to have no relation to it what-so-ever you tell me
 
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Tames D

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With all due respect, I know who James Dean was and he weren't no Bruce Lee. He wasn't even close to Jimmy Dean whose name is still buoyed by "Big John" and pure pork sausage. :) You should have picked Buddy Holly. Or am I full of crap?
Kind regards,

David

You're full of crap. Hey, you asked :)
 

Manseau

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An early death has a way of doing that. James Dean?
Sorry every body. I should have originally linked this to the post for the sake of continuity. One more time.

With all due respect, I know who James Dean was and he weren't no Bruce Lee. He wasn't even close to Jimmy Dean whose name is still buoyed by "Big John" and pure pork sausage. :) You should have picked Buddy Holly. Or am I full of crap?

BTW, I got the answer to the last question, no need to revisit that:)

Kind regards,

David
 

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It is useful to reconsider what has been said before.
Generally, people only know the Lee account of what happened.
Not so much, who won, because no one wins a fight, in the long run.
But what happened and what the people were actually like, what state of awareness were they in at the time.
It is true that wong jack man was typically seen as a villian, defending the chinese communities dogmatic demand that no non-chinese should be shown chinese martial arts.
In the movie Dragon, the Bruce Lee story, He is really shown as dishonest and vicious.
Where during the fight, even after he lost he did a cheap shot and kicked Lee's back out, when in reality, his back injury came from lifting weights.
I can imagine if I was wong jack man, as they used his name in the movie, and I saw that, knowing how I really was, and what happened, and knowing people would see that and just believe that is how it was.
The director did say, he did those changes for dramatic purposes, but if the fight was just in response to Bruce Lee's challenge, then the whole premise is fiction.
It just would likely be so surreal to be misrepresented for decades, if things didn't happen exactly as Bruce and Linda Lee said.
 

Xue Sheng

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What I find amazing about the Bruce Lee, Wong Jack Man fight is that it happened in 1964 and Bruce Lee died 9 years later and 40 years after Bruce's death and 49 years after the fight....we are still discussing/talking/arguing about it.

As for the movie Dragon..it was just that a movie.. and not reality
 

Napitenkah

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What I find amazing about the Bruce Lee, Wong Jack Man fight is that it happened in 1964 and Bruce Lee died 9 years later and 40 years after Bruce's death and 49 years after the fight....we are still discussing/talking/arguing about it.

As for the movie Dragon..it was just that a movie.. and not reality

Oh, thanks, I thought it was a documentary filming on things really happening.
 

Napitenkah

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Tiger beat actually has extensive tiger form instruction and applications, but you need special glasses to read it, otherwise it looks like a bunch of teenage pinups.
 

clfsean

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It is useful to reconsider what has been said before.
Generally, people only know the Lee account of what happened.
Not so much, who won, because no one wins a fight, in the long run.
But what happened and what the people were actually like, what state of awareness were they in at the time.
It is true that wong jack man was typically seen as a villian, defending the chinese communities dogmatic demand that no non-chinese should be shown chinese martial arts.
In the movie Dragon, the Bruce Lee story, He is really shown as dishonest and vicious.
Where during the fight, even after he lost he did a cheap shot and kicked Lee's back out, when in reality, his back injury came from lifting weights.
I can imagine if I was wong jack man, as they used his name in the movie, and I saw that, knowing how I really was, and what happened, and knowing people would see that and just believe that is how it was.
The director did say, he did those changes for dramatic purposes, but if the fight was just in response to Bruce Lee's challenge, then the whole premise is fiction.
It just would likely be so surreal to be misrepresented for decades, if things didn't happen exactly as Bruce and Linda Lee said.

Or... Wong Sifu just didn't care enough to mention it after the fact.

And you are???
 

EddieCyrax

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As with all things based on one's faith, actual events are left to interpretation.

History is filled with inconsistancies, based on individual beliefs and perspectives...

As I see it, two young early 20's, cocky, skilled martial artists fought each other to a draw. Each side interpreted the outcome to reconsile their ego.

You can see this on the streets or in the dojo everyday. Only difference is the current group of 20 somethings have not been made famous as the MA's are widely known today.
 

Xue Sheng

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Oh, thanks, I thought it was a documentary filming on things really happening.

Sarcasm...good start...(and yes, that too was sacasm)

The point was movies should not be taken to seriously and by your statement

In the movie Dragon, the Bruce Lee story, He is really shown as dishonest and vicious.
Where during the fight, even after he lost he did a cheap shot and kicked Lee's back out

Sounded as if it was upsetting to you, sorry if I misinterpreted your meaning

And this just brings me back too

What I find amazing about the Bruce Lee, Wong Jack Man fight is that it happened in 1964 and Bruce Lee died 9 years later and 40 years after Bruce's death and 49 years after the fight....we are still discussing/talking/arguing about it.
 

clfsean

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What I find amazing about the Bruce Lee, Wong Jack Man fight is that it happened in 1964 and Bruce Lee died 9 years later and 40 years after Bruce's death and 49 years after the fight....we are still discussing/talking/arguing about it.

Dude... people still get all in a lather about Elvis, John Lennon & Jimi Hendrix. Why should this be any different to those of fan ilk. Said it before, say it again... Never liked or cared for Bruce Lee. I've talked with seniors in SF that were party to the incident.

Hey look... isn't that a pink elephant over there??
 

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