?Does Anyone Think He Can Block One of My Punches??: Bruce Lee Knocked Down Big Football Player-Type Volunteers Once

A sensation like Bruce Lee cannot be forgotten! From developing his style of martial art (Jeet Kune Do) to becoming a 20th-century pop culture icon, he achieved it all. Known for his simplicity and directness, Lee?s path toward success was not a cakewalk. But one of his trips to Oakland where he had set up a franchise of the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute turned out to be quite interesting.

Bruce Lee left the University of Washington after completing his junior year, in the hope of building his Kung Fu empire. Leaving the management of the Seattle branch of the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute to Taky Kimura, Lee shifted to Oakland during Wally Jy?s summer luau. And it was here Bruce Lee first displayed his martial art skills to a crowd of over a thousand.

Challenging the crowd at a Hawaiian party in Oakland

An interesting episode of Lee?s courage was penned by the author Matthew Polly in the legend?s biography, Bruce Lee: A life. Bruce Lee along with his friend James had visited the Hawaiian party at Colombo Hall in Oakland. The party was crowded by over a thousand ticket buyers for its singing, music, and martial art performances. And Lee couldn?t find a better opportunity to display his skill on a raised platform to the crowd.

He started initially with traditional Kung Fu making the crowd dour. Sensing the mood of the crowd, he stated, ?How could you expect to fight like that?? making traditionalists resentful. He quickly added ?My approach is scientific street fighting? and started a swirl of Wing Chu punches. According to him, these techniques were short, extremely fast, and smooth to meet their essential motive without lagging in time.

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He immediately challenged the crowd, ?Does anyone think he can block one of my punches?? And within no time two big football player-type men took stage and took up the challenge. And what Bruce Lee did next left the crowd in disbelief.

Combination of applause and hard stares from the crowd for the Little Phoenix

Bruce Lee instructed the first volunteer that he would start seven feet away, close the gap between them, and tap him on the forehead without letting the volunteer block his hand. And it didn’t take much time for Lee to thump on his opponent?s forehead without allowing him to block his hand.

The second volunteer met with similar fate minutes later. The crowd reacted to the one-inch punch master?s techniques in an amalgam of applause and hard stares. The traditionalists felt insulted by his words yet couldn’t forgo Lee’s talent and techniques without appreciating them!

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Even though Lee’s on-field fights have been fierce, his philosophies ran deep. In an iconic clip from Enter the Dragon, when a Shaolin master asks Lee about his thoughts about his opponent. To his, he responded that there is no opponent because “There is no ‘I.'”?Such were Bruce Lee?s philosophies!?