Bruce Lee and His Influence in Martial Arts and Taekwondo

Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; 27 November 1940 - 20 July 1973) was a Chinese American and Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do.
His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked a major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world as well.
He is undoubtedly one of, if not, the most famous martial artists in history. His elegance, commitment and daring approach through his personal philosophy Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist) are all his trademarks.
I myself was like many others greatly influenced and motivated by Bruce Lee through his films. The first time I saw a Bruce Lee film was in 1977 and I remember how excited I was after the movie and how inspired I was to continue with my training in Karate. Later I realized that it wasn't a real Bruce Lee movie, it was collection 3 or 4 episodes from his TV-series, but that didn't change a thing!
Today many years after his death there are many debates about his real skills and influence to martial arts. Personally I believe that his influence cannot be doubted, even if we where only to take into account the fact that he inspired countless thousands of people to start training in martial arts.
Some people who do not really understand what they are talking about might say he was just an actor but I think that there is sufficient proof that he was a very good martial artist and always took it seriously. On the other hand I cannot doubt that he was truly the first oriental super star.
But did he influence how we train in martial arts? I don't think so. The fact is that many instructors and organizations were/are very traditional and won't change their ways very easily. Also his image is obviously hyped by the movie industry because they always need to make more profit. Now what can the Taekwondo world learn from him? The answer is a lot: his philosophy is centered on the conviction that in order to improve, one should try new things and although tradition is a pillar of martial arts, people shouldn't be stuck in tradition instead they should embrace innovation as well.
Markku Parviainen
Taekwondo & Fitness coach
MP-Taekwondo akademi Göteborg SWEDEN
[http://www.taekwondocompetition.com/]
Markku Parviainen has studied Taekwondo (WTF) over 30 years and was member of Finnish national team for 10 years. He has a Coaching degree from the Finnish sport institute and has coached the Finnish junior national team. His students have received medals in World championships and European championship games. Currently he lives with his family in Sweden.