Wrath of the Dragon: The Real Fights of Bruce Lee

4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars | 90 ratings

Price: 15.04

Last update: 09-10-2024


About this item

NO RULES. NO PROBLEM.

Bruce Lee remains the gold standard that all martial artists are compared to. But could he actually fight? World Champions in karate competition have gone on record to point out that he never once competed in tournaments. Were his martial abilities merely a trick of the camera?

For the first time ever, Bruce Lee authority and bestselling author John Little takes a hard look at Bruce Lee's real-life fights to definitively answer these questions with over thirty years of research that took him thousands of miles. Little has tracked down over thirty witnesses to the real fights of Bruce Lee as well as those who were present at his many sparring sessions (in which he was never defeated) against the very best martial artists in the world.

From the mean streets of Hong Kong, to challenge matches in Seattle and Oakland, to the sets of his iconic films where he was challenged repeatedly, this is the incredible real-life fighting record of the man known as the "Little Dragon," who may well have been the greatest fighter of the twentieth century.


Top reviews from the United States

An NY Buyer
5.0 out of 5 stars I dont ever want to hear about this man not being "a real fighter" ever again
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
Yeah I'm talking to you, guy who swears Bruce Lee was all flash and never fought anybody, never challenged anyone of substance, never defended himself against formidable opponents, "only made movies", etc.

John Little went and talked to everybody who fought this man or saw someone fight this man. John Little went and did your homework for you, again.

The infamous battle with Wong Jack Man is recounted here. The lead up to it, the fight itself, how things played out after. Multiple sources, some of which had expected Wong to win(he did not).

Joe Lewis, a well known champion back then, couldn't touch Bruce, who would occasionally humble Joe just to show him he didn't have all the answers. You'll hear the story.

Bruce Lee dealt with challenges on the set of Enter the Dragon. Multiple times. You'll hear about them all.

You'll even hear about Bruce Lee's very last fight from the man he fought himself.

...and much more.

Do yourself a favor and never make your ridiculous claims about Bruce Lee not being a fighter, ever again. You may not like him, he may not be your favorite, but he was the real deal. You've seen and probably ignored other evidence prior to this. Don't make that mistake again. Either read this book or listen to it in audio form. You know what? Do BOTH you fool, hahaha
RW
5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind!
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024
Who called Bruce Lee the "Best Fighter I've Ever Seen!" The many serious practitioners who tested him out. When you make controversial statements in the martial arts, you better be able to back up what you say. Bruce did just that!
The top karate tournament competitors of that era, established martial artists, who were quite capable in tournaments or in the street. Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, Mike Stone, Louis Delgado, to name a few; took lessons from Bruce to elevate their skills to a higher level.
Does anybody believe they were afraid to, or not interested in engaging in a full contact sparring session with Bruce? Of course not. They were all fast, strong, skillful, and had the size advantage. They definitely tested him out, and found out he was on a level by himself.
Sam Shamoun
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, the Truth Comes out!
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2023
I have dozens of books and magazines on Bruce Lee, but this is in my estimation is the best one thus far. John Little has done Bruce Lee fans and the martial arts community a great service by setting the record straight on Bruce Lee's fighting abilities and correct a lot of the lies and misinformation which martial artists have spread against Lee's skills due to jealous and envy.

Little cites actual eyewitness testimony detailing all the fights and sparring matches Lee had with world class, boxers, martial artists from various systems, and street fighters, showing how Lee won them all and outclassed all his opponents.

For me, the most important chapters of the book were the ones on Joe Lewis and Wong Shun Leung since Little corrects the lies spread by these two individuals by quoting the very men who were there to witness Lee outclass and outshine Lewis and Leung. It refutes Lewis' lies about never sparring Lee or that Lee wasn't a real fighter, even though Lewis spent over two years studying from a non-fighter! The readers will learn the real facts and see that Lewis wasn't anywhere near Lee's level and couldn't even touch Lee, whereas Lee would just play with him like cat does with a puny mouse.

This is a MUST for all serious Lee fans and martial artists since they will discover that Bruce Lee was indeed way tougher than he appeared on screen and was indeed a world class fighter, being one of the greatest martial artists that ever lived.

Thank you John Little for honoring Bruce Lee's legacy and for setting the record straight, silencing the haters and nay-sayers by showing that none of those loudmouths who talked trash after Lee's death could touch him and were nowhere near his level.
Paul Polpiboon
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Fact: Mike Tyson is actually in more movies than Bruce Lee
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2023
Thankfully, Lee was able to actually sneak in a few movies at the last 1.5 year of his life. Prior to that...there are zero movies, he was simply a veteran at live combat.
In live situations he had fought; Black Belts, Pro Fighters, Ex military, Champions, 3rd degree Masters, Rival Martial Artists, and opponents that outweighed him by 100 pounds. His battle experience started as a young boy and lead all through out his teens + adulthood. During his teenhood he was the leader of the Hong Kong gang, called The Tigers of Junction Street, and it became clear on the street he was invincible, and that violence bled onto the rest of his adult life.
The few movies he DID make were LITERALLY only at the last 1.5 years of his life which was a brief opportunity for him to report his entire life experiences and give insight into live combat. He only made 3 little movies plus One singular Hollywood film, a very small body of films but we're lucky he at least made them just before he died to show us his insights on his life of hard combat.
Sports Illustrated has ranked Bruce Lee in the Top 50 Greatest Athletes of All Time, as he was able to raise unbelievable weights that pro weight lifters could not.
rudy v rodriguez
5.0 out of 5 stars world grestest martial arts??
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024
I GUESS JOHN LITTLE FORGOT ABOUT THE FOUNDER OF KYOKUSHIN KARATE,SOSAI MAS OYAMA.READ "OYAMA" THE LEGEND,THE LEGACY.BY MICHAEL J. LORDEN.IN THE YEAR 1950 OYAMA FOUGHT AND DEFEATED HIS FIRST BULL.IN 1952 OYAMA TRAVELED TO THE UNITED STATES,GIVING EXHIBITIONS AND ACCEPTING CHALLENGES FOR NEARLY A YEAR.HE WAS UNDEFEATED.AND YES I LOVE AND RESPECT BRUCE LEE.I HAVE A LIBRARY OF MOST OF HIS BOOKS.
Juan Almonte
5.0 out of 5 stars The Book that Bruce Lee fans have been waiting for.
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2023
I've been a Bruce Lee fan for over 40years. This is the book that I was hoping someone would write and was surprised that it was not written earlier. But I don't think anybody else could have done the job that Mr Little has done. Hit it out of the ball park. If I could give this book a million stars I would. In behalf of all the Bruce lee fans out there. Thank you John Little. Not only for this book but for all your work with the Bruce Lee estate.

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