Bruce Lee Strength

8/12/2019 Bruce Lee Strength

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"Be aware that a halo has to fall only a few inches to be a noose."

--Dan McKinnon

Introduction

Bruce Lee is the personality most associated with the martial arts. Both

martial art enthusiasts and non-practioners consider the deceased actor as the

ultimate martial artist. Although he did not compete in tournaments or submit

to any empirical conentions wherein his ability could be ob!ectiely

assessed he is fre#uently referred to as a superior athlete and the strongest

fighter "pound for pound." A close e$amination of his e$ercise regime and

personal character reeal a committed athlete and martial artist but not to

the mythic proportions usually ascribed to him. %his article will reiew

Lee&s physical strength aerobic capacity and indiidual character to assesswhether he should be considered the "best of the best".

I. 'hysical strength. (umerous persons hae stated that Bruce Lee possessed

an incredible amount of strength. Based on his e$ercise program it appears

he was of below-aerage lower body strength. According to the strength

training program Lee used during )*+, Lee )**/ he performed s#uats using

*, pounds with )0 repetitions. %his would e#uate to an estimated ) repetition

ma$imum )1M/ of )20 pounds 3athen )**4/ which would place him below the

5,th percentile for the )5)-)40 pound weight class among adult males

6atfield )**2/.

%his type of estimation for the ) repetition ma$imum is standard among

athletic trainers to assess the strength leel of a wide range of athletes

both professional and amateur. 3hile some chart estimates may ary slightly

from one to another most are within appro$imately )07 of one another.

8ome readers who are accustomed to iewing Lee as possessing epic strength

may assert that Lee probably was not using his ma$imum ability at that time.

It is therefore noted that this regime occurred prior to Lee&s well-9nown bac9

in!ury. :urthermore if Lee was capable of performing the s#uat e$ercise with

more than *, pounds for )0 repetitions one must #uestion why this was part ofhis established routine or alternatiely why he would be committing himself

to a method of underachieement by using too low an amount of weight to

stimulate the greatest strength gains possible.

%o further demonstrate this below-aerage lower body strength the estimated

)20 pound ma$imum estimate would mean Lee was not prepared for plyometric

training a type of e$plosieness e$ercise/ which re#uires the ability to

s#uat a minimum of )., times the body weight Allerheiligen )**4/.In other

words at an appro$imate body weight of )40 pounds Lee would need to hae

s#uatted 5)0 pounds to engage in plyometric training based on recogni;ed

standards for training of athletes by today&s standards.


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Lee&s upper body strength is another matter altogether and when understood

from a sport science perspectie partially e$plains his on-screen appeal.


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In contrast to Lee&s estimated aerobic capacity a >anadian research study

published in )**, demonstrates that elite 9ic9bo$ers possess a @urrent elite 9ic9bo$ing competitors register higher aerobic capacity than did

Bruce Lee.

III. 'ersonal >haracter. %he great 9arate master Fichin :una9oshi stated that

martial artists should show great concern for family and relationships. "%he

mind of the true 9arate9a should be imbued with family/ concern before he

turns his attention to his body and the refinement of his techni#ue"

:una9oshi )*,/.

In contrast Lee is reported to hae been inoled in seeral e$tramarital

affairs and in fact died in the apartment of a woman with whom he hasintimately inoled Beec9ler )**+/.

Lee also died without a will intestate/ which left his widow with almost a

decade of legal battles to settle the matter of his estate. 3hile some may

argue that his early unanticipated death would hae precluded finali;ing a

will Lee was conscious enough of his own mortality that he purchased

significant amounts of life insurance !ust months prior to his death.

And while :una9oshi admonishes martial artists to render honor to their

families before refining themseles when Bruce Lee did refine himself

physically it was not in a wholly honorable fashion. In addition to the

prescription medications >ortisone and Dilantin he is also reported to hae

used anabolic steroids and diuretics to achiee his physi#ue Beec9ler )**+/.

It is also documented that he was a user of mari!uana during the final three

years of his life and it was discoered in his body during the autopsy.

3hy the Best of the BestG

Bruce Lee did not compete in any sanctioned martial art eents. 6e compiled

no tournament record to demonstrate his ability as did other superstars of

his generation such as Bill 3allace >huc9 (orris Bob 3all or Mi9e 8tone.@arious anecdotes are reported regarding his superiority in street fights but

is that a basis of considering anyone the best of the best in their respectie

sport or physical actiityG 3ould the American public accept this reasoning

if 'ete 8ampras said he was the best tennis player but refused to compete in

3imbledonG


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%oday&s martial athletes can demonstrate their abilities in an empirical

manner. :or e$ample the IM'AH instrument records the total of punches and

9ic9s deliered in a certain period of time and the total force of a stri9e or

9ic9. %he elite 9ic9 bo$ers sureyed in the earlier referenced study were

ob!ectiely assessed regarding their aerobic and anaerobic capacity as well as

ma$imum 9nee tor#ue. In other words the tools e$ist today to determine whois the best of the best among martial artists. :or better or worse Lee

escaped ob!ectie ealuation.

It&s tremendously sub!ectie but Bruce Lee is arguably considered the most

noteworthy martial artist due to his magnetism on film. 1egardless of any

opinion about his actual martial art talent or lac9 of empirical

demonstration regarding his ability he e$pressed himself on the screen in a

manner that no martial artist has e#ualed. And by combining his upper body

strength and light body weight he possessed uncanny speed that isually made

belieers of anyone who saw him in action.

1eassessing the sefulness of the Bruce Lee Myth

In one sense Lee is foreer a tremendous asset to the martial art community

as his image and myth draws people to the arts. %hese fledgling martial

artists may then be retained for more noble and enduring reasons than a

desire to emulate someone whose e$ample is #uestionable upon closer

e$amination.

alifornia. 0/

3athen Dan )**4/. Load Assignment. In =ssentials of 8trength %raining and

>onditioning. 6uman Kinetics Illinois. 42+/

6atfield :redric9 >. 'h. D. )**2/. :itnessE %he >omplete Fuide.

International 8port 8ciences Association >alifornia. ))*/ .

Allerheiligen 3illiam B. )**4/. 8peed Deelopment and 'lyometric %raining.

In =ssentials of 8trength %raining and >onditioning. 6uman Kinetics

Illinois. 25)/

Lee Bruce )*,/. %ao of ?eet Kune Do. alifornia. /


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Bruce Lee Strength