Bruce Lee claimed that Kung Fu was better than Karate, was he right?

In several of his movies, Bruce Lee stated that Chinese Kung Fu was better than Japanese Karate? Do you agree or do you think that his opinion was biased in favor of the native martial art of his country?|||I don't remember hims saying that, even in a movie.


In "Return of the Dragon" he encouraged other Chinese to take karate despite its origins if it helped them defend themselves.


In "Enter the Dragon", he never mentioned karate. Ditto for "Fists of Fury".





In "Chinese Connection" he did beat up a bunch of Japanese stylists, though they looked more like Aikidoka than Karateka. His message was one of anti bigotry. Why was he not there when his teacher died? He was in another country studying.





He was only fighting in "The Game of Death", and the outtakes did not involve him criticizing karate in particular, though he did have something to say about aliveness.





He did say in his screen test that karate developed from kung fu, which is historically accurate. In the lost interview he said he did not teach karate, and that he did not believe in "style".





Bruce did say he especially liked the Japanese approach to martial arts - the discipline and following direction in particular. He said in China it was very different - always arguing about having to practice the same thing over and over.|||Biased - In the movies, Yes


Could personally back it up by showing his technique was better - more than likely


Was actually convinced in his own mind of the validity of Jeet Kune Do - Yes





Bruce Lee was very open minded, "Use what is useful, discard what is not." He incorporated many martial arts theories into Jeet Kune Do. He did use what was useful no matter where it came from.





Bruce Lee was a non style oriented martial artist, He felt that styles were limiting. However, If you look at his Wing Chun it was remarkable.





In actuality - it depends on the individual practitioner. Most Japanese arts find their roots in Okinawa which had a direct relation to China and Chinese martial arts. The martial arts changed drastically once it got to mainland Japan. For many reasons. There was a lot that was lost. But when it really boils down to it, it depends on the practitioner.|||Like most MA's Bruce was partial to his initial Art. I don't recall him ever saying outright that Kung Fu was better than Karate. Bruce was probably the first mixed martial artist. He became familiar with as many different techniques, and philosophies of self defense as he could. Looking at the names of people he trained, and was taught from is indication of his willingness to set aside any pre - conceived notions he might have had. He always seemed to learn something from everyone he trained with. Whether as teacher, or student he always wanted to get better.|||Of course he did.





Bruce Lee was Chinese, so he hated the Japanese with a passion.





In case you don't know why Chinese hate Japanese, read a bit of history, WWII for instance. Japan invaded China, and killed about 15 million Chinese.





That's why in all his movies the Japanese were shown to be the bad guys, and Karate was put down.|||Frank is right with the history lesson. One MA is not better than another MA. Some MAs might be more complex than others but when it comes down to it, its all about the individual martial artists skills. Older Chinese dont like Japanese people because of the war crimes they committed during WWII.|||He basically proved that you shouldn't have a style. You need to adapt to your surroundings, flow, like water. That is why you see him finish off opponents with chokes, like Kareem in Game of Death and Chuck Norris in Return of the Dragon.|||It worked for him, may not work for someone else. Also, different cultures praise different fighting styles.|||YEAH, WHERE EVER YOU COME FROM THAT IS THE BEST AS FAR AS MOST FIGHTERS ARE CONCERNED - HE WOULD NOT OF SAID KUNG FU SUCKS - BRUCE WAS SO GOOD AT MARTIAL ARTS HE PROBABLY BEAT EVERY KARATE OPPONENT HE EVER FACED|||How many world champion karetaka did Bruce Lee defeat, again? Of course his opinion was biased.|||yes, yes he was, cause hes bruce lee what he says goes, then again it just depends who practices it.