Bruce Lee vs Arnold Schwarzenegger | Jeet Kune Do vs Kickboxing

The transcript below is from the video “Bruce Lee vs Arnold Schwarzenegger | Jeet Kune Do vs Kickboxing” by BRUTAL TV.

BRUTAL TV:

Bruce Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger are two of the most recognizable action stars to have ever graced the screens. We never saw them go up against each other possibly because by the time Schwarzenegger became a movie star, we had since lost Bruce Lee to controversial circumstances. That said, what do you think would happen in a hypothetical match-up between these two strong men? Well, that’s exactly what we are looking to answer in this video. So don’t go anywhere. Before we put these two stars against each other, let’s go over their backgrounds and see what really made them who they are. We’ll begin with Bruce Lee.

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Bruce Lee was more than just a movie star. In the eyes of many, he is considered one of the most influential martial artists of all time. He is credited as being a major influence in bridging the gap between the East and the West and changing the way Asians were represented in American movies. Born as Lee Jun-fan on November 27th, 1940, Bruce Lee was the son of Cantonese Opera star, Lee Hoi-chuen. His parents were from Hong Kong and Lee himself grew up in Kowloon, Hong Kong. At a tender age, Lee’s father introduced him to the film industry in Hong Kong with Lee making several film appearances as a child actor. But still in his early years, Lee began to take a keen interest in martial arts. He began to learn wing chun, tai chi, street fighting and boxing. Lee won the Hong Kong schools boxing tournament while he was still in high school.

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At the age of 18, Lee moved to the United States to pursue higher education at the University of Washington in Seattle. On arriving in the United States, Lee began to teach martial arts. Lee drew lots of attention to himself at The Long Beach International Karate Championships in 1964 and 1968 where he showcased his Jeet Kune Do martial arts skills. Standing at 5’8″ and weighing 64 kg, Lee was known for his physical fitness and vigor. He used a dedicated fitness regimen to become as strong as possible. He also focused his attention on physical conditioning and all the elements of total fitness including muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility.

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In the 1970s, Lee began to star in several martial arts films and his films changed the way martial arts films were made and perceived worldwide. Some of the films Lee acted in in the 1970s include “The Big Boss”, “Fist of Fury”, “Way of the Dragon”, “Enter the Dragon” and “The Game of Death”. Due to his portrayal of Chinese nationalism in his movies, Lee became world famous and a true icon of martial arts. Lee modified his approach to martial arts combining the arts he had already learned into a personal martial arts philosophy which he called Jeet Kune Do, also known as the “Way of the Intercepting Fist”. On July 20th, 1973. Lee died at the age of 32 from a head injury. Since then Lee has remained an iconic figure in modern combat sports including Judo, Karate, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and modern pop culture.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on July 30th, 1947 in Thal, Austria. His father Gustav Schwarzenegger was a local chief of police and a World War II veteran who fought for the Nazi Party. However, Gustav was cleared of any war crimes after an investigation into his wartime record was carried out.

From a young age, Schwarzenegger was engrossed in weightlifting. By the time he was 15, he began doing serious weight lifting. And at the age of 20, Schwarzenegger went on to win the Mr. Universe competition. Following this, he would go on to win the Mr. Olympia contest an incredible 7 times. Today, Schwarzenegger is regarded as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time and the most charismatic ambassador of the sport. He even has a sports event named after him called the Arnold’s Sports Festival which is only second in reputation to the Mr. Olympia competition.

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Following a hugely successful career as a bodybuilder, Schwarzenegger switched to Hollywood where he gained worldwide fame. Schwarzenegger’s breakthrough film was the epic 1982 movie “Conan the Barbarian”. The movie was a box office success that spawned a sequel in 1984. Schwarzenegger’s stardom rose to stratospheric heights when he starred as the title character in the critically acclaimed and hugely commercially successful film “The Terminator”. The film would eventually go on to kick-start a franchise with Schwarzenegger making numerous appearances in the sequels. Schwarzenegger also starred in several successful action films including “Commando”, “The Running Man”, “Predator”, “Total Recall” and “True Lies”. He would also star in some comedy films such as “Twins”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Junior” and “Jingle All the Way”. Already a true Hollywood superstar, Schwarzenegger took a break from the big screen and ventured into politics to become the governor of California in 2003. He remained governor till 2011 when he had reached his term limit.

BRUTAL TV:

Now that we know the backgrounds of these two superstars, let’s get down to business to see who would win in a hypothetical match-up between the two. For this analysis, we won’t be considering their on-screen personas. This particularly applies to Arnold Schwarzenegger. So, no we won’t be taking the fighting skills of Conan the Barbarian or The Terminator into account. Also, we’ll try to imagine what the outcome will be with both fighters in their peak physical form. We’ll be analyzing this hypothetical fight in 4 broad categories; these are fighting pedigree, physique, skill and improvisation. Each fighter will be awarded a maximum of 10 points for each category and the fighter with the highest cumulative points will be declared the winner. So, here we go.

BRUTAL TV:

BRUTAL TV:

Fighting Pedigree

Arnold Schwarzenegger was a professional bodybuilder and is possibly one of the best bodybuilders we have ever seen. But having a chiseled body with 1% body fat does not translate to being a capable fighter. Bruce Lee, on the other hand, is an icon in the world of martial arts. This is a man who practically designed a personal martial arts philosophy for himself and has remained an inspiration for a variety of combat sports worldwide. Lee easily wins this one. It’s 10 full points for the legend and 5 for Schwarzenegger.

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Physique

Looking at Schwarzenegger in his bodybuilding days, it is almost unthinkable that anyone would dare him to a fight. He may not have the martial arts skills that would have made him a formidable fighter but even the most talented martial artists would struggle to bring down a man who stood at 6’2″ with 260 pounds of pure muscle. Standing at 5’8″ and weighing a mere 141 pounds, Bruce Lee would stand no chance in this department. We’ll give 9 points to Arnold Schwarzenegger and 7 to Lee because he was in his prime physical condition for a fighter of his stature.

BRUTAL TV:

Skills

Again, Lee floors Schwarzenegger here. For all his bulk and stature, no one knows how well Schwarzenegger can fight and we know he did not master any fighting sport. Lee was an expert in a variety of martial arts. So, he wins this category easily. 9 points to Lee and 5 to Schwarzenegger.

BRUTAL TV:

Improvisation

Being a big bulky man would be a setback against a smaller athletic and mobile Bruce Lee who was a master of taking advantage of his immediate environment to defeat his opponents. Lee’s Jeet Kune Do philosophy relied on quick thinking and improvisation to down your opponent. So in this category, Lee wins. We’ll give 8 points to Lee and 6 to Schwarzenegger.

Seems like this one isn’t even close. With 34 points for Bruce Lee to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 23, Bruce Lee is the clear winner in this contest. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below..