View Full Version : Did Oyama O Sensei, Ashihara O Sensei meet Shifu Bruce Lee
Dobbersky
08-01-2007, 12:10 PM
Senpai's and Sensei's
I been wondering did Oyama O Sensei, Ashihara O Sensei meet Shifu Bruce Lee, I watched the Bruce Lee Story on the Network and wondered if he ever did step into a Kyokushin Dojo and meet Oyama O Sensei
If you know please tell us all
OSU-EN2
eamoncramb
08-01-2007, 12:14 PM
sorry i dont no but would be very interested to find out
osu
Kurisu
08-01-2007, 04:24 PM
I had heard a rumor about Bruce Lee going to Hawaii to fight against Kyokushin karateka but I've never got a firm confirmation that this event actually took place.
Shura
08-01-2007, 07:38 PM
Well, Bruce Lee met Ed Parker, who was also acquainted with Hawaiian Kyokushin karateka Bobby Lowe, so there may have been a reference about Kyokushin to Bruce Lee.
kyokushinkevin ®
08-01-2007, 08:32 PM
well, this threas was 1 year ago, someone knows something?.. im so interesting in this thread...
osu!
schuyler
08-01-2007, 08:33 PM
Bruce Lee couldn't hack Kyokushin....Okay, maybe that was just a rumor I made up.
orisha66
08-02-2007, 12:39 AM
Bruce is what got me training in karate, so yes i am big Bruce Lee head, especially back in the day. I dont think Buce met them because he would have had another idea of what karate really is. if you look at any of his books on theories, he spent alot of time telling what he thought karate was, nothing about karate attacking centerline, hesays karate punching is at your shoulder, it was like he thought karate training was very basic and had no real application. he thought that the karate tournaments of the 60's (Ed Parker's LB tourney) that the kumite didnt touch eachother, instead they would stop the fight and judge the severity of the waza.......WHAT??
anyhoo...Oyama takinging on challenges left & right, same with the kyokushin devil and there was never a match between bruce and the GodHand, it would have been told. old dojo fights and in the shiai's in japan the fights were pretty hard core in the 60's & 70's and thats not only the kyokushinkai.
I do have an article with Bruce and baby Brandon sitting ringside at a karate tournament watching Shihan Oshima fighting.
Even after all that... i still get ready to train after watching Enter the dragon and Return of the dragon.
Woohah!.. oops. I mean Osu!!:D
Iwaks
08-02-2007, 07:12 AM
Someone apparently asked Oyama sosai if he was stronger than Bruce Lee... He laughed and replied "Bruce needs to gain some weight"...
The other story I've heard is what was in Japanese manga "Karate Bakaichidai", which could be complete fiction from Kajiwara Ikki
Kyokugen
08-02-2007, 02:40 PM
I never know about that but it is very interesting and nice info
Shura
08-02-2007, 04:25 PM
I do have a healthy respect to Bruce Lee and the concepts behind his Tao of Jeet Kune Do. Some people would dismiss him as not being ring-tested or in real-life fights as opposed to his celebrity career that helped foster in public interest into the martial arts. However, I do feel that Bruce Lee and Kyokushin should have encountered one another. In Lee's writings, he paints a critical view on the karate that he encountered in the United States. Aforementioned by orisha66, the karate Lee had experienced was primarily the non-contact tournaments of the '50s and early '60's. Had Bruce Lee witnessed the first Kyokushin tournaments, his perception towards karate in general would have been reassessed, and who knows? Maybe there would have been an exchange of ideas and instructors to examine and compare one another's inherent strengths and weaknesses as well as to promote inter-style cooperation.
Dobbersky
08-03-2007, 01:51 PM
Excellent responses to this thread, I am still wondering did Shifu Bruce respectfully use some of the Kyokushin techniques and Did Ashihara O Sensei respectfully use some of Jeet Kung Do techiniques I wonder?
Osu
powerof0ne
08-03-2007, 02:02 PM
It's funny because I have trained in Karate with some of Bruce's former students. One of my father's old friends used to work at the old Ivar's resteraunt in Seattle and would give Bruce free clam chowder. He told me once about a story of a Karateka that Bruce was friends with, and they were both afraid of eachother. I never could get this karateka's name but it was someone local to Seattle.
However, I don't think Bruce never went to a Kyokushin dojo in Japan, that would have been documented by at least a few sources considering the fact he would have had to go to Japan to do so.
orisha66
08-03-2007, 04:21 PM
Bruce once said that Steve Anderson of BKF kenpo karate had the fastest hands on earth, so that may have been a small look into karate, not for sure.
I do know that before he died, he was interested in incorperating muay thai with his JKD theory but he didnt get the chance. As far as Bruce being afraid of anyone is a little hard to swallow, not saying that that its not true, but him growing up in HK, he use to have street fights on the rooftops and there are a few accounts that he had challenges here in the US with different stylist as well as brawlers. Bruce was too hard on himself to actually backdown from a fight...after all, when he was younger and would loose a fight he would starve himself until he beat the guy who beat him
Dobbersky
01-13-2011, 02:36 PM
Wow, Just re-read this post. There are some really good posts and loads of information. I wondered if any of the new members or existing members had any more information with regards to the topic
OSU!!!
genosuke
01-13-2011, 03:32 PM
i asked shihan quinn about this and he said that once sosai did say that he like bruce lee's philosophy towards fighting,but he felt against a good tough fighter bruce wouldnt win
FredInChina
01-13-2011, 03:35 PM
Sure, they were all three here Monday night, we had a good talk and a few drinks! :D
Osu!
powerof0ne
01-13-2011, 03:46 PM
Bruce once said that Steve Anderson of BKF kenpo karate had the fastest hands on earth, so that may have been a small look into karate, not for sure.
I do know that before he died, he was interested in incorperating muay thai with his JKD theory but he didnt get the chance. As far as Bruce being afraid of anyone is a little hard to swallow, not saying that that its not true, but him growing up in HK, he use to have street fights on the rooftops and there are a few accounts that he had challenges here in the US with different stylist as well as brawlers. Bruce was too hard on himself to actually backdown from a fight...after all, when he was younger and would loose a fight he would starve himself until he beat the guy who beat him
I know for a fact through people I know that knew Bruce that there were certain people he wasn't necessarily "scared of" buthe wouldn't act cocky around.
When Bruce first became famous he would walk around very cocky around most martial artists. I know a Wing Chun black sash that has no reason to lie (guy is a successful psychiatrist) that told me every time he was around Bruce in California he acted very egotistical. I know some interesting stories I heard through him and a former student of Bruce's but I don't have video footage or anything, or a notarized statement so I'll just take it to my grave or tell very few in private that I trust. With all of that being said when I was younger I read and watched every video tape that had Bruce in it but started talking to people that actually knew the man to get a better picture of him.
Joe Lewis (famous American kickboxer/Joe Lewis fighting systems) has had interesting things to say about Bruce as well. I'm sure anybody that's in Joe's inner circle could find out some interesting things about Bruce as well.
Bruce was human just like anybody else, nobody is perfect. Bruce was a pioneer of many things and for the short time he was alive he accomplished a lot. It's just too bad most JKD has gone the direction it has.
Osu!
knuckleheader
01-13-2011, 05:27 PM
Joe Lewis (famous American kickboxer/Joe Lewis fighting systems) has had interesting things to say about Bruce as well. I'm sure anybody that's in Joe's inner circle could find out some interesting things about Bruce as well.
Bruce was human just like anybody else, nobody is perfect. Bruce was a pioneer of many things and for the short time he was alive he accomplished a lot. It's just too bad most JKD has gone the direction it has.
Osu!
I heard from (on TV) Linda Lee recount how Joe Lewis came over to their house. Lewis, angry at Bruce. Said he'd heard Bruce was saying he could beat Joe. Bruce diffused the situation, the exact recount by Linda I forget. So, thats the story regarding that.
Bruce and Sosei were my inspirations. As a small(Lee) man, it wouldn't have been to his advantage to engage in frequent fights. Unless his personal abilities were better(ala Benny "Te Jet":)) than his teaching, philosophy or acting.
Of course, who wouldn't want to watch Bruce fight in a kyokushin style match?:D
kakatootoshi
01-13-2011, 05:29 PM
In "Karate Baka Ichidai", Bruce Lee met with Bobby Lowe Shihan.
I remember a story told by another member in a different thread about Bruce Lee and a karateka who ran schools in the same city, told again from a barrista (?) who knew them both. Long story short, they were both secretly scared of eachother. :p I can't remember the details, but I think it was a curious story, if true. I know some interesting stories I heard through him and a former student of Bruce's but I don't have video footage or anything, or a notarized statement so I'll just take it to my grave or tell very few in private that I trust.1^n, you tease!
powerof0ne
01-13-2011, 08:57 PM
I remember a story told by another member in a different thread about Bruce Lee and a karateka who ran schools in the same city, told again from a barrista (?) who knew them both. Long story short, they were both secretly scared of eachother. :p I can't remember the details, but I think it was a curious story, if true. 1^n, you tease!
That's interesting because the man I heard this from wasn't a martial artist and just happened to work at a seafood restaurant at the time. He was my Dad's next door neighbor for a few years and that was the only time he ever told us anything martial art related so his story seemed credible.
I also brought this story up on at least one other forum a few years back (e-budo) so I hope I haven't started an "urban legend" that changes from restaurant worker to barista :(.
Osu!
Nono, as I said, my memory is vague. I read it here on K4L, and I just remembered it. Thank you for clarifying.
I would never change restaurant workers to baristas.
powerof0ne
01-21-2011, 02:38 AM
Sorry I "teased" Nix, I'd like to say more but it's all second hand stories I've been told by people I at least can verify trained and knew Bruce but that's all I can verify.
I don't want to be the online jerk that brings some dishonor to a man that accomplished such greatness in such a short time. As far as I know Bruce never made any kind of claims of doing a 100 man kumite, some underground "blood sport" kumite, etc that I do highly question others of doing. He instead was a pioneer of martial arts in cinema, created a great martial art philosophy, and was one of the first successful instructors to really promote "cross training" in martial arts when back in his day most instructors were against cross training.
Besides all of that Bruce Lee has inspired so many people long after his death which IMHO is his greatest accomplishment.
Osu-EN1
MilkManX
01-21-2011, 04:32 PM
As far as I know Bruce never made any kind of claims of doing a 100 man kumite, some underground "blood sport" kumite, etc that I do highly question others of doing. He instead was a pioneer of martial arts in cinema, created a great martial art philosophy, and was one of the first successful instructors to really promote "cross training" in martial arts when back in his day most instructors were against cross training.
Besides all of that Bruce Lee has inspired so many people long after his death which IMHO is his greatest accomplishment.
Osu-EN1
I have to agree!
Osu-EN1
wullie
01-21-2011, 06:53 PM
Sorry I "teased" Nix, I'd like to say more but it's all second hand stories I've been told by people I at least can verify trained and knew Bruce but that's all I can verify.
I don't want to be the online jerk that brings some dishonor to a man that accomplished such greatness in such a short time. As far as I know Bruce never made any kind of claims of doing a 100 man kumite, some underground "blood sport" kumite, etc that I do highly question others of doing. He instead was a pioneer of martial arts in cinema, created a great martial art philosophy, and was one of the first successful instructors to really promote "cross training" in martial arts when back in his day most instructors were against cross training.
Besides all of that Bruce Lee has inspired so many people long after his death which IMHO is his greatest accomplishment.
Osu-EN1
I have to agree!
Osu-EN1
Me too!
OSU!