Lee was a competent martial artist by the time he was an adult and migrated to the U.S., but that didn’t fool him into thinking he could take on any challenger.

Bruce’s exposure to multiple combat arts early on in life gave him a unique perspective on combat as he merged them and improved on some of their techniques. He also received boxing and fencing instruction from his brother, Peter Lee. How Bruce Lee Became One Of MMA’s First Superstarsīruce Lee started training in Wing Chun at 13 in Hong Kong and kept it up for the rest of his childhood. Spectators instinctively know MMA is the closest thing to actual combat. That reality has a lot to do with the current popularity mixed martial arts currently enjoys. It was never about scoring points or setting restrictive rules like only allowing punches. At the time many of these ancient arts were developed, losing a fight could be the difference between life and death. That’s what martial arts have always been about: winning the fight. If Mayweather and McGregor got into a street fight, the odds would clearly be in McGregor’s favor. He wanted martial artists to be able to defend themselves in self-defense situations effectively. Bruce Lee wanted martial arts tournaments to mimic real-life fights. Lee understood this, and he was one of the first famous martial artists to encourage that type of thinking. Still, anyone who wants to be the best fighter they can be would be wise to train in multiple combat styles. No one was surprised when Mayweather emerged victorious. McGregor came to the contest as a mixed martial artist with well-rounded fighting skills, while Mayweather had focused only on boxing since his childhood. The prime example of this in real life would be the Floyd Mayweather vs. People who focus on only one martial art tend to develop a mastery that people who dabble in various martial arts never reach. The old saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” remains popular for a reason. Lee’s curious mind and humility allowed him to embrace various martial arts at a time when most only focused on one style.ĭon’t blame the martial arts old heads for their stubbornness. He was one of the world’s first mixed martial artists before MMA even became a sport. Bruce is arguably the most famous martial artist of the 20th century, and for many good reasons.

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