Who's the toughest martial arts star?

[coma]

I saw this dcumentary about the Chinese Opera and Jackie Chan was trained at it. It starts as a very young boy and all the flexability exercises etc are very extreme and seemed like pure torture. That seemed way beyond most martial arts training. Anybody else know anything about that? Evil Ned, Join the crowd

[Chakobsa]

I really don't know but my vote would have to be for Lee; go back to "Way of the Dragon" And watch the scene where the waiters are practising at the rear of the restaurant and invite Lee's character to join in. If I'm remembering it right, Lee blasts one of the guys across the set with a side kick to a kick shield and it didn't look fake to me, it looked like an explosive delivery of power, ok, it was a set piece for the camera but bloody impressive nevertheless. also go back and read the informed opinions of the guys that co-starred in his films. Look at the scene in "Enter The Dragon" where Lee fights Bob Wall's character; There's no cgi there or any other trickery, The speed and precision is real.

[deadwrtr]

Bruce Lee was an athlete, not a particulary great fighter. Wrong. Bruce Lee was a fighter, trained as a fighter, not an athlete. Read "Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do" if you have any questions, or ask Dan Inosanto, former student and tough guy in his own right. Jet Li is an acrobat, not a particulary great fighter. Wrong. Jet Li is an accomplished martial artist, tournament competitor and actor last... acrobat? Where do you get your information? From watching movies? Jet Li built his reputation on the Chinese tournament circuit. Jackie Chan is a stuntman/athlete. And I dare say he's the "toughest" of them all, and in a match I think he'd win. What? You must be joking. Jackie Chan never claimed to be a fighter, and to include him here is silly. I saw this dcumentary about the Chinese Opera and Jackie Chan was trained at it. It starts as a very young boy and all the flexability exercises etc are very extreme and seemed like pure torture. That seemed way beyond most martial arts training. Anybody else know anything about that? Evil Ned, Join the crowd There is a great book called "I am Jackie Chan: My life in Action" wherein he details the rigorous training regimen he underwent in a training school. In I Am Jackie Chan, Chan tells the fascinating, harrowing ultimately triumphant story of his life; How the rebellious son of refugee's in tumultuous 1950's Hong Kong became the disciplined disciple of a Chinese Opera Master. How the paradise that young Jackie so eagerly embraced proved to be, in reality, a ruthlessly competitive place whose fierce master wielded the legal authority to train his students even to death...

[capncnut]

I think it's plain to see that Tony Jaa could take out all three in a row. Not only that but he can do EVERYTHING they can do and more... in one damn movie!!!

[Maitreya]

Tony Jaa is good, I'm not denying that, but he could NOT beat Bruce Lee. I'm sorry to break this news to you

[EvilNed]

Martial Art = An art that is lethal, deadly and can be used to fight with. Jet Li is not a martial artist in that sense. He's trained in Wushu, and he admits himself that he can't fight. So he's first and foremost a really flexible little chinaman. A acrobat! Bruce Lee? Athlete. The guy focused most of his time to train his body to the extreme. I commend him for that. But just because he invented a fighting style that is, basicly, no fighting style at all, doesn't make him a great fighter. I believe he'd kick my ass fairly easily. But I don't think he'd have a chance against someone who actually had severe experience in fighting. Like Muhammed Ali (or MMA fighters). Put it this way: You can train all your life. But you're still a rookie until the day you actually start fighting. That's when your REAL training begins. Jackie Chan is just tough all around. He never claimed to be a fighter, but he's definetly the toughest of them all. And since they're all non-fighters, that's who I'd put my money on.

[capncnut]

Tony Jaa is good, I'm not denying that, but he could NOT beat Bruce Lee. I'm sorry to break this news to you Personally I think Tony Jaa would wipe the floor with Bruce. Even Jackie Chan said Jaa was the the most accomplished martial artist he has EVER seen and Jackie worked alongside Bruce in Fist Of Fury (when Bruce was at his peak). I'm not saying this to take away from Bruce as he will always be my favourite martial artist but it's plain to see who possesses more fighting skill. I have every Bruce movie, dvd, interview, book etc and there's nothing I can see in them (apart from philosophy) that could even remotely challenge Jaa. I remember once, an asian film historian was asked the question "who would defeat who in a fight, Lee or Jaa?" The guy closed his eyes, took a drag of his cigarette and said "I know the answer to that question, but I'm not going to say because a lot of people wont like it." That answer speaks volumes. Bruce Lee? Athlete. The guy focused most of his time to train his body to the extreme. I commend him for that. But just because he invented a fighting style that is, basicly, no fighting style at all, doesn't make him a great fighter. I believe he'd kick my ass fairly easily. But I don't think he'd have a chance against someone who actually had severe experience in fighting. Because of Bruce's status, he was often challenged on the sets of his movies by gangs and solo martial artists wanting a piece of his crown. Bruce never lost one of those fights. Believe me, he had experience in fighting but was way too consumed by the philosophy behind it. Just read one his books, he was obsessed!

[Graebel]

I got lucky enough to train with one of Dan Inosanto's students and through him I met one of the Gracie brothers. He said something that seems relevant to this discussion. "No matter how good you are, there will always be someone better. So you train to fight that person, everyone else just gets in the way." That being said, I voted Bruce Lee because I think he had that mindsight. You train everyday to fight the person who is better than you. Whether or not they are, is irrelevant.