Black Belt – August-September 2019

VOLUME 57, NO. 5 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Robert W. Young

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Kinzy Palumbo

COPY CHIEF

Jeannine Santiago

A/R MANAGER

Jennifer Rozon

ART DIRECTOR

Paul Duarte

DIGITAL MARKETING DIRECTOR

Patrick Sternkopf

VIDEO EDITOR

Alec Sprinkle

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Floyd Burk, Mark Cheng, Antonio

Graceffo, Mark Hatmaker, Mark

Jacobs, Dave Lowry, Kelly McCann,

Dr. Craig D. Reid, Keith Vargo

CONTRIBUTORS

Dasha Libin Anderson, Ernest Cadorin,

Michael Connor, Emil Farkas, Harinder

Singh Sabharwal, David Tadman,

Tony Torre, Bill Viola Jr.

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PRESIDENT & CEO

Michael A. Dillard

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

David Wahl

VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS

Robert W. Young

VICE PRESIDENT OF DISTRIBUTION

Darren Chesnut

VICE PRESIDENT OF TECHNOLOGY

Mike Maloney

DIRECTOR OF SALES & ADVERTISING

Kinzy Palumbo

WHY THERE

WILL NEVER

BE ANOTHER

BRUCE LEE

A

side from the fundamental philosophical argument that every human being
is unique and, therefore, cannot be duplicated, there are at least three
reasons why there will never be another Bruce Lee.
When Lee skyrocketed to fame in the late 1960s and early ’70s, film
was the vehicle that carried him. Back then, hit movies, if you recall, would stay in
theaters for a very long time. I remember the first Star Wars episode, released in
1977, playing in our local mall for more than one year straight! Much of Lee’s initial
popularity, both in Asia and in the West, stemmed from his work in classic movies
that stayed in theaters far longer than films do in 2019, when some are on the
marquee for just a few days.
In Lee’s era, after a popular movie’s theatrical run, it almost always would play
on television, where it would be promoted as a major event, yielding even more
exposure for the star. Furthermore, TV viewership then was a lot greater than it is
now. Compare the 76 million who watched the Seinfeld finale in 1998 with the 52
million who watched the final Friends in 2004 and the 18 million who watched the
last episode of The Big Bang Theory in 2019.
Why the history lesson on the entertainment world? Because it means that a TV/
movie star during Bruce Lee’s time received far more exposure than a TV/movie
star does today. Without that exposure, it would be difficult for a hypothetical “next
Bruce Lee” to ascend to the level of the real Lee.
The second reason is the UFC has changed the game in martial arts, which is
obviously the other component of Lee’s phenomenal fame. Nowadays, the biggest
names in martial arts are fighters. It follows that the next Bruce Lee likely would
need to compete. The problem there is that in the MMA world, no one stays on top
for long — certainly not long enough to build a reputation such as the one Lee had.
Yes, we remember the likes of Royce Gracie and Ronda Rousey. But we don’t
talk about them like we used to, when they were regarded as unbeatable. We still
respect them, but we don’t see them as the baddest of the bad like we used to.
So even if the next Bruce Lee were to climb the ladder of MMA, chances are he
wouldn’t stay at No. 1 for very long. Furthermore, it’s unlikely movie-production
companies would be knocking on his door with scripts in hand. It’s even more
doubtful that said star would be able to go to a production company with his own
script in hand.
Finally, and perhaps most important, is this: Any champion/actor who did manage
to generate the fame that Lee enjoyed almost certainly wouldn’t have the intellect
Lee possessed. And he’d be unlikely to be considered “decades ahead of his time
in the martial arts” the way Lee was.
In short, Bruce Lee was a complete package with the physique, the technique,
the charisma and the intellect. What are the chances another human being will own
those attributes and come along at the right time — and stay there long enough —
for his or her message to be accepted? Rather slim, I’d say.

— Robert W. Young,

Editor-in-Chief

8 BLACKBELTMAG.COM § AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019