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Rolf Clausnitzer, author of what is arguably the first ever English language book written & published on Wing Chun.
"As far as my interest in self defence was concerned, I had previously done a year of Judo under a very impressive Filipino instructor. I had also done a little bit of boxing at school and privately with an American friend….Then came the mind blowing experience which was to confirm my interest in Wing Chun...
One of his (Lee at 17, prior to leaving Hon Kong) favourite stunts was to stand on one leg and with the other fend off a number of "attackers", pivoting as required. His speed, balance, manoeuvrability, and control were such that it was almost impossible to close in on him without getting kicked….
Bruce invited me to "spar" with him, assuring me that I wouldn't get hurt...
He asked me to bring my arms in contact with his, turned his head through 180% so that he couldn't see me, and he gave me the go ahead to box, to go for his face and chest. I tried for what seemed like a minute to score, but he deflected and trapped every jab, hook, cross and uppercut I threw, and his fist kept ending up under my nose. I realise now that what he was doing to me was "blindfolded" Chi Sau of a very high order. From that moment on, I guess I was hooked.
Not long after, I was privileged to see Bruce again, not face to face, but in action at the Hong Kong Inter School Boxing Championships. Ironically, his opponent just happened to be good old Gary Elms, one of my schoolmates...
His bout with Bruce turned out to be the most amazing and bizarre boxing match I have ever seen and expect to see. I honestly believe that Gary did not land even one single scoring punch throughout the entire 3 x 1 minute rounds, with Bruce deflecting and taking all of Gary's punches on his arms.
Gary was knocked down several times, but he was not knocked out (contrary to what has been reported in various articles and books!) and, even more surprisingly, he did not appear to be hurt or distressed. Each time he was floored, he would immediately jump back up. That's why the referee did not stop the fight.
Notwithstanding Gary's extraordinary toughness, I was amazed to see him survive the bout in such good shape. It was not until later when I caught up with Frank that some sort of explanation emerged.
Apparently, when Frank and his friends went to congratulate Bruce after the bout, Bruce was shaking his head and looking far from pleased with himself. His reply to Frank's obvious question was something along the lines of, "Damn it, I couldn't knock the guy out". His rationalisation was that the large (16oz?) gloves neutralised the intended, penetrating effect of tilting the wrist on impact, a practice common to many Wing Chun practitioners (I gather he abandoned this practice in later years).
He reckoned that this force was not penetrating the padding and, in any case, Gary was already being propelled backwards from the pushing impact of the glove. He swore that he would continue training until he could achieve the penetration he wanted.
He also had his sights set on Peter Burton, a stylish and hard punching boxer from St George's School (which was exclusively for the children of British Armed Forces personnel in Hong Kong), a much bigger and heavier competitor who had TKO'd his opponent in the second round.
By the way, Frank and I met Peter (who turned out to be half German as well) at a party a few weeks later and we talked about Bruce, but it's unlikely that such a bout would ever have been approved because of the weight and size differences and, in any case, Bruce left for the USA a few months later to begin a new chapter in his amazing life..."
About one year later:
Early Lee Student -James DeMile: ...I was a heavyweight boxer in the Air Force. Over a four year period I had over a hundred fights and never lost one. I had a very big ego and perceived myself as the toughtest man alive. I was 5ft 10inches and weighted 225. I could knock a man out with either hand. Then I met a small 135 lb 5 ft 7 kid who believed his martial arts could beat anyone. I decided to explain the reality of fighting to him and proceded to show him what street fighting was all about. Needless to say I learned humility in about 5 seconds. He not only stopped me cold, but tied me up in such a way that he could hit me at will and the only thing I could do about it was... nothing. Later I reviewed all my previous skills, including boxing and threw all of it out as it was impractical against Bruce's skills.
...Most of the questions about Bruces fighting skills are asked by people who did not know him. Most of the answers are from people who either did not know him or related their answer how Bruce would have done in a tournament. Joe Lewis is very out front with his comments and yet he always compares Bruce to either his tournament days or some world champion. I really enjoy meeting these people and always look forward to giving my opinion on why Bruce was the best street fighter I ever knew. Not pound for pound, but against anyone in a street fight. I was never in a tournament and had many street fights and I have never seen anyone that I would have been scared to fight, regardless of their Belts and trophies. This goes for UFC and K1. I'm not saying I could beat all of them, I am just saying they are tough, but so what. People do not understand what Bruce did in a real fight. They relate his skills to the movies or JKD. No, that was martial arts. Fighting is survival. It is mean, ugly and stupid and someone can reall be hurt or killed. Bruce knew he could be hurt if he got hit, that is why he believed a street fight should not last over two seconds and his personal skills were designed for that attitde. I am very opinionated and willing to discuss with anyone my belief in why Bruce was the best fighter I ever knew. And I still feel that way, 42 years later.
"As far as my interest in self defence was concerned, I had previously done a year of Judo under a very impressive Filipino instructor. I had also done a little bit of boxing at school and privately with an American friend….Then came the mind blowing experience which was to confirm my interest in Wing Chun...
One of his (Lee at 17, prior to leaving Hon Kong) favourite stunts was to stand on one leg and with the other fend off a number of "attackers", pivoting as required. His speed, balance, manoeuvrability, and control were such that it was almost impossible to close in on him without getting kicked….
Bruce invited me to "spar" with him, assuring me that I wouldn't get hurt...
He asked me to bring my arms in contact with his, turned his head through 180% so that he couldn't see me, and he gave me the go ahead to box, to go for his face and chest. I tried for what seemed like a minute to score, but he deflected and trapped every jab, hook, cross and uppercut I threw, and his fist kept ending up under my nose. I realise now that what he was doing to me was "blindfolded" Chi Sau of a very high order. From that moment on, I guess I was hooked.
Not long after, I was privileged to see Bruce again, not face to face, but in action at the Hong Kong Inter School Boxing Championships. Ironically, his opponent just happened to be good old Gary Elms, one of my schoolmates...
His bout with Bruce turned out to be the most amazing and bizarre boxing match I have ever seen and expect to see. I honestly believe that Gary did not land even one single scoring punch throughout the entire 3 x 1 minute rounds, with Bruce deflecting and taking all of Gary's punches on his arms.
Gary was knocked down several times, but he was not knocked out (contrary to what has been reported in various articles and books!) and, even more surprisingly, he did not appear to be hurt or distressed. Each time he was floored, he would immediately jump back up. That's why the referee did not stop the fight.
Notwithstanding Gary's extraordinary toughness, I was amazed to see him survive the bout in such good shape. It was not until later when I caught up with Frank that some sort of explanation emerged.
Apparently, when Frank and his friends went to congratulate Bruce after the bout, Bruce was shaking his head and looking far from pleased with himself. His reply to Frank's obvious question was something along the lines of, "Damn it, I couldn't knock the guy out". His rationalisation was that the large (16oz?) gloves neutralised the intended, penetrating effect of tilting the wrist on impact, a practice common to many Wing Chun practitioners (I gather he abandoned this practice in later years).
He reckoned that this force was not penetrating the padding and, in any case, Gary was already being propelled backwards from the pushing impact of the glove. He swore that he would continue training until he could achieve the penetration he wanted.
He also had his sights set on Peter Burton, a stylish and hard punching boxer from St George's School (which was exclusively for the children of British Armed Forces personnel in Hong Kong), a much bigger and heavier competitor who had TKO'd his opponent in the second round.
By the way, Frank and I met Peter (who turned out to be half German as well) at a party a few weeks later and we talked about Bruce, but it's unlikely that such a bout would ever have been approved because of the weight and size differences and, in any case, Bruce left for the USA a few months later to begin a new chapter in his amazing life..."
About one year later:
Early Lee Student -James DeMile: ...I was a heavyweight boxer in the Air Force. Over a four year period I had over a hundred fights and never lost one. I had a very big ego and perceived myself as the toughtest man alive. I was 5ft 10inches and weighted 225. I could knock a man out with either hand. Then I met a small 135 lb 5 ft 7 kid who believed his martial arts could beat anyone. I decided to explain the reality of fighting to him and proceded to show him what street fighting was all about. Needless to say I learned humility in about 5 seconds. He not only stopped me cold, but tied me up in such a way that he could hit me at will and the only thing I could do about it was... nothing. Later I reviewed all my previous skills, including boxing and threw all of it out as it was impractical against Bruce's skills.
...Most of the questions about Bruces fighting skills are asked by people who did not know him. Most of the answers are from people who either did not know him or related their answer how Bruce would have done in a tournament. Joe Lewis is very out front with his comments and yet he always compares Bruce to either his tournament days or some world champion. I really enjoy meeting these people and always look forward to giving my opinion on why Bruce was the best street fighter I ever knew. Not pound for pound, but against anyone in a street fight. I was never in a tournament and had many street fights and I have never seen anyone that I would have been scared to fight, regardless of their Belts and trophies. This goes for UFC and K1. I'm not saying I could beat all of them, I am just saying they are tough, but so what. People do not understand what Bruce did in a real fight. They relate his skills to the movies or JKD. No, that was martial arts. Fighting is survival. It is mean, ugly and stupid and someone can reall be hurt or killed. Bruce knew he could be hurt if he got hit, that is why he believed a street fight should not last over two seconds and his personal skills were designed for that attitde. I am very opinionated and willing to discuss with anyone my belief in why Bruce was the best fighter I ever knew. And I still feel that way, 42 years later.
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