I just saw the movie BIRTH OF THE DRAGON and it's definitely worth seeing if you have any interest in Bruce Lee or martial arts.
It is well known that in order to enhance the drama and make a more complete movie, the producers took many liberties and did not stick strictly to historical facts. But what they have done is a fun movie with excellent gung fu that is being hailed as communicating much of the spirit and themes of Bruce Lee's early career.
I have been studying Jeet Kune Do under famed instructor Sifu Lamar M Davis II since 1999 and have been to various seminars taught by Bruce Lee's original students, including two Bruce Lee Nucleus events, so I feel qualified to comment on the accuracy of the gung fu aspects of it. The short answer is, the Jun Fan Gung Fu aspects of the production are quite good, the student training scenes are realistic, and any practitioner or enthusiast of Jun Fan Gung Fu, Wing Chun, or Jeet Kune Do will find much to like. And will recognize many of the techniques.
Sifu Davis, one of the world's top experts on Bruce Lee's fighting methods, gives the movie his enthusiastic approval and has already seen it multiple times. What does that tell you!
Get out there and see it while it's on the big screen!
//////////// spoiler material ahead - - discontinue reading if you have not seen the movie so you can experience it fresh for yourself //////////
One of the things noted by Sifu Davis is that prior to its release, some people complained that the movie seems to emphasize Bruce Lee's teaching and practice of his own modified version of Wing Chun rather than the Jeet Kune Do kickboxing type elements which many people equate with Bruce Lee. But as Sifu Davis noted, this movie focuses on Bruce Lee's early career. Bruce Lee studied, practiced, and taught Wing Chun material right up to his death. But during the time period of this movie, Bruce Lee had not yet formed his master synthesis of Wing Chun, Fencing, Western Boxing, and other influences which he dubbed "Jeet Kune Do." The movie presents Bruce's fight against Wong Jack Man as the catalyst for his progression into a higher stage of his martial arts evolution.
This is historically correct. Although the movie changes some of the facts around, with even the best research the reasons for the fight are found to be complex. It involved martial pride, territoriality, public relations, tradition and ego. Pretty much like in the movie. The additional motivations of saving the "damsels in distress" can be easily forgiven as a cinematic plot device. But putting aside the complexities, the facts of the fight that most everyone agrees on, and as related by Linda Lee who was present at the fight, are that a) Bruce dominated the fight and b) He was not happy with how long it took him to finish it. Bruce felt that he'd spent more time and energy chasing his opponent than he wanted. It caused him to look deeply within himself and his art, envisioning how he could modify it even more for greater speed, mobility and quick resolution.
His art of Jeet Kune Do was the ultimate result.
In the movie the character of Wong Jack Man is expanded and embellished so that he is able to take on and promote various ideas of martial philosophy which became core aspects of Jeet Kune Do. He provides a symbolic contrast, amplifying the theme that Bruce Lee found in this fight a challenge that he could not ignore. Bruce found that his martial skills, great though they were, had limitations. Limitations which this fight would help him realize and overcome.
If you are not familiar with Jeet Kune Do or Wing Chun but are interested in learning more, I can tell you from personal experience these are awesome arts to study and practice. They have great health, fitness and self defense applications. Check out my website http://www.surfdragongungfu.com for my own training.
You can go to:
http://www.hardcorejkd.com
for a vast amount of free information about the art from Sifu Lamar M Davis II who is the only person to have been certified as a full instructor of Jeet Kune Do by 5 of Bruce Lee's original students.
For Wing Chun information, Sifu Randy Williams is one of the best and you can find dvds and books from him available through the Close Range Combat Academy:
http://crcawingchun.com/portal/welcome/
and elsewhere.
http://www.everythingwingchun.com is a great source for quality Wing Chun training material, mook jongs etc.
Many of Bruce Lee's original students have produced excellent videos and books passing on what they learned from him. Just realize that he taught different things to different people at different time periods so to get the complete picture of how Bruce Lee trained, taught, and fought you will need to keep an open mind and realized that the truth is complex and definitely rooted in Wing Chun!
Back to the movie:
The brief parts where Wong Jack Man and Bruce seem to float down from high positions, presumably due to enlightened martial arts energy or chi, are of course a cinematic exaggeration. But I have to say it hardly seemed hokey. I can excuse it as being symbolic and, as surprised as I am to say it, I think it worked pretty well how they handled this.
BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a cool movie that contains many positive themes and some deep philosophical and martial ones as well. The liberties taken with the historical facts are effective in making an entertaining movie, and the overall character of the film is quite interesting and true to the Bruce Lee legacy and spirit.
Maybe they will make another one like this inspired by the next phase of Bruce's career.
I hope you enjoy BIRTH OF THE DRAGON. My girlfriend liked it too, so I think it would be enjoyed by a fairly wide audience, not just those of us who like gung fu. Yes, I think I will follow the lead of Sifu Davis in seeing it again while it is still in the theatre!
If the movie makes you consider training in - - or amping up your training in - - Jun Fan Gung Fu, Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do then good for you. Train hard and have fun!
If you are more interested in the philosophical and dramatic elements, I think you will enjoy the movie on those levels and maybe even find some insights that you can apply to your own life. The quest of self-discovery fueled Bruce Lee's amazing success. Whether you are a martial artist or not, you can certainly celebrate and enjoy the very human elements dramatized in this interesting and enlightened film.
- Bill