“Should Be Able To Take Advantage of That”: Chuck Norris’ Advice to Bruce Lee Once Helped the Martial Arts Legend Overcome a Major Weakness

Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris are two of the greatest names affiliated with Martial Arts. While Bruce Lee was a master of Jeet Kune Do, Norris was a karate genius. The two martial artists have worked in quite a few films together. One might think that the two stars would be at loggerheads and try to outshine the other, but that can’t be farther from the truth.

In reality, the two were close friends and used to help each other perfect their form. During the early days of their friendship, when the two were living in the same city, they used to train together. Chuck Norris once revealed how the two used to share their ideas and philosophies on fighting. It was during one of these discussions when Norris gave brilliant advice to Lee.

Chuck Norris’ advice to Bruce Lee

In one of his interviews, Chuck revealed that once he and Lee shared their contradictory thoughts on the subject of kicking. While Bruce was against the idea of kicking the upper half of the opponent’s body, Norris believed in aiming at every possible defenseless point. So when Lee shared his point of view with Norris, Chuck had a piece of advice for the man.

Advising Lee, Chuck said, “Well that’s good and it’s bad, Bruce. You should be able to have the ability to kick anywhere. And that way, if you only want to go high, that’s fine, but if there’s an opening high then you should be able to take advantage of that.”

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Post the discussion, Bruce looked at the situation from Chuck’s point of view and kept in mind his advice. Later, he began practicing the right moves for kicking above the waist, and soon enough, he was at par with Chuck.

How did Lee and Norris become friends?

Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris first met in the late 1960s. They met at a karate tournament in 1967 where Norris was participating and Lee was demonstrating his Martial Arts skills. At the tournament, each caught the eye of the other. Impressed by each other’s skill set, the two fighting legends hung out as soon as the event concluded. From then began a friendship that lasted till the end of their times.

The two friends started training together and helping each other hone their skills. The two never officially sparred against each other in a tournament. However, they did regularly have sparring duels with each other in Chuck’s backyard. Word has it that one of their sparring matches lasted till 4 in the morning.

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After Lee moved back to Hong Kong, he invited Norris to appear in one of his movies, which the latter gladly accepted. This is how Norris landed the role of Colt, the antagonist in the movie “The Way of the Dragon.”