Hong Kong martial arts cinema: Bruce Lee’s quotes on karate – ‘These guys never fight’
- Bruce Lee was scathing about karate, and its reliance on breaking boards and lack of fighting
- Lee also didn’t pull his punches when he spoke about Hong Kong film directors
Although Bruce Lee’s personal philosophy emphasised humility, he was adept at promoting himself, his films, and kung fu – especially if it gave him a chance to criticise karate, which was then the most well-known martial arts form in the West.
Below is a selection of Lee’s notable quotes, sourced from John Little’s book Words of the Dragon and other interviews.
"We’re more concerned with having it affect our whole way of thinking and behaving.” Seattle Times, early 1960s.
“It’s not like karate, where they grunt and yip and, and where they miss, and chop the table in two with their hand. Kung fu is simplicity.” Newspaper interview, 1966. To prove his point, Lee defeats an entire karate school in his second martial arts film, 1972’s Fist of Fury.