His ability was unparalelled. He’s impact as the greatest Martial Arts actor is cemented after being in only 4 martial arts movies, 3 of which were originally recorded in mandarin. Martial Artists everywhere from the best of the UFC, to Jackie Chan and other greats regard him as “the best“, period. He died almost 40 years agoand yet he is still changing lives, still shaping the world and making it a better place.
The name Bruce Lee is iconic amongst Martial Artists, Bodybuilders and Athletes alike all over the world. Whenever his name is mentioned, it is surrounded by stories of greatness and inspiration. Bruce Lee’s effect on the world has made him one of the most inspirational and motivating people of our time. To achieve what he did with his physical ability, physique, philosophy and martial arts all within the short 32 years of his life is something that is completely unheard of outside of his name. This constant drive to discover his inner self an become the best he can be has become his message. A message received widely throughout the world to dramatically effect peoples lives forever.
Bruce’s effect can be seen in a number of different areas, not just but martial artists but bodybuilders, actors, comedians, film makers, musicians, or anyone wanting to better themselves. Perhaps his most direct impact would be the martial arts scene. Causing martial artists everywhere to question effectiveness of their style and to evolve beyond it to become more unique, complete fighters. With a heavy emphasis on fitness, he turned the image of the martial artist from a guy wearing a gi throwing punches into the air, to a ripped, built, insanely fit combative expert. These days Martial Arts have evolved beyond the stale traditions, opting to discard what is useless and absorb what is useful, while keeping the few important traditions of respect and honour. This evolution has lead to sports such as MMA. UFC President Dana White explains that “Bruce Lee is the father of mixed martial arts“, as he saw “no limitation as limitation“. Although the UFC is sport that pushes the boundaries of competitive fighting, it’s also a sport of respect, with each fighter usually being graceful in defeat and both sides congratulating the other on their performance.
However, the massive impact Bruce had simply cannot be contained in martial arts alone. People everywhere are being inspired by Bruce seeking to be in shape and use his philosophies in every day life. Free Runners (or Parkour the sport is also known as) was hugely influenced by the teachings of Bruce Lee. Steping outside of limitation, the philosophy of Free Running is to keep moving beyond or around objects in your path, remaining fluid in motion to, as the man says, “be like water“.
The influence doesn’t stop there, moving further into the art of entertainment. Actor LLC Cool J has built not only a impressive physique fromthe inspiration of Bruce, but successful Rap and Acting career. LL Cool J credits Bruce as a major inspiration to his life, stating that “it was the first time it seemed that someone darker than me” was standing up and being a hero, giving him the drive to transcend the useless racism of the world and become someone.
This image of a hero was a something huge for his time. In the late 60′s and 70′s most iconic heroes were causcasian, it was simply to risky to allow a ‘minority’ to be taking charge but Bruce changed that. He exploded onto the scene showing everyone that they were no better or worse than the next guy, to stand up and bo who you want to be, and let anyone tell you that you’re any less. Perhaps the most powerful message, beyond standing up and not allowing your self to be repressed by an otherwise racist and ignorant attitude was that of morality. Everything must be governed by an evolved sense of right and wrong.
This has affected not just the famous but everyday people everywhere. People who have changed their lives by taking a look at themselves and wanting to make an improvement, not accepting that there life must be lived a certain way, but instead the way they want to live it. His ability to sum up a certain wayof thinking was incredible. He was a icon for not only the Chinese, but all Asians, Mexicans, African Americans and anyone who lived on the receiving end of racism, an icon appreciated by average Joes to accomplished philosophers and Shaolin Monks. His message was simple – whoever you are is you, so be proud of who you are. This is best expressed in “The Lost Interview
The number of influenced people out there is countless and I simply cannot cover it all here. If you are looking for more info on Bruce Lee just head on over to google and type his name, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of info and pages out there that’ll keep you reading for hours! If you are directly interested in hearing about his effect on the world as we know it, check out How Bruce Lee Changed the World
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