Often over shadowed by
Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon, there was one martial artist who like Ali opened
the door for the black community and all races for that matter just as Bruce
Lee did, his name was Jim Kelly.
To me he was Mr 70’s,
his trademark afro and the air of his martial arts was a part of the old skool
era that stood out. He was inspiring and cool, also a little hip like Bruce
from what we can see on screen. Let’s look at some areas of this gentleman and
join me in paying respects.
Attitude – We can only
go by what we have seen and read about his personality as in film he was
acting, while his skill did the talking. In his interviews I observed him as
humble and polite, he always seemed to make time to answer people. This was
either at events or via email; I had a great chat with him about Tennis. (Cross
trainer alert right there.) I’m sure the editor in chief Bob Sykes can recall
some nice conversations on the phone. If there is one quality he will be remembered
for is this, his personality. For it is how we are as a person to ourselves and
others that leaves a heart felt legacy, not what you have. Even today there are
martial artists who will only give you their time if you can bring them a
profit. He was very clever how he would answer a difficult question too, at
times just leaving it hanging...
“That’s a really good
question, I must think about that one.”
The one element that
shone through was his ability to hold supreme self confidence in his ability as
a Karate Champion and striker without sounding cock sure. He had the martial
warrior spirit and was the right type of human for the martial arts.
Ability - As we are
aware Jim studied The Shorin Ryu System of Karate Do, and it is evident that he
remained loyal to his chosen style. It is documented that he and Bruce had the
same ideals regarding their training, and in many ways the use of the lead side
kick and back fist was present in his movies such as Black Belt Jones. Jim
Kelly was one of the few people to block Bruce Lees back fist, and Bruce would
speak highly of Jim’s back fist also. Although they never faced off as enemies
on film, Jim stated when asked about Bruce Lee...
“He would have smashed
me up. It didn’t matter if he was sparring a much bigger guy, at our era nobody
could touch him, he seemed one step ahead of us all.”
I for one feel Jim
Kelly had enough arsenal and class to make any body work hard against him. I
like the fight with the guards in Enter the Dragon, how effortless he blends
what looks to be a side kick into a powerful sweeping hook kick against the
first baddie. He was light on his feet and moved like Bruce in other ways. He
also had his own war cry or Kiai. Not so much like a Cat, but more of
hyperactive Owl. But what about his physique? It looked natural but impressive,
perfect for martial art. He had a low body fat, due to his Tennis and Karate.
Strangly enough when I asked his about his conditioning he said he did
calisthenics, kata, pad, bag work and sparring. He never mentioned weight
lifting. So I’m unsure to whether he used a gym or not. Even so he was quick
and lean and had similar qualities to Bruce Lee, but with Jim Kelly you could
tell he was a Karate man and I feel this was a nice quality as he used it in
the movies just as well as Bruce Lee did with his Jeet Kune Do. I think it’s
safe to assume that Jim enjoyed the dynamic tension kata’s too. Let’s face it
nobodies going to tell him to come inside, not even a human fly.
Fighter – Jim Kelly was
a real fighter. By that I mean he competed in Karate back in the day and become
the Middleweight champ. Now I’m not going to put facts or figures up or peep on
the net so I’ll just add here the competition qualities of an artist. Jim knew
fear, or adrenalin. He faced other Karateka’s in an era where full contact or
not, if you got hit...you got hit. So he was tough, tough in body and mind.
Tough enough to stay in shape, and tough enough to study other arts into his
mature age. Jim Kelly was tough enough not to allow his achievements make him
greedy or mean. I feel all styles of martial arts need someone like him that
stands out, someone who can represent a style well. That’s true respect for
yourself and your fellowman. Competing against other skilled athletes allows
you honest feedback of your own talents low or high, so Jim had become humbled
by the humbled. This must have helped him work some fight scenes with John
Saxon who also had a Karate past and of course his fight with Han. A good
judgement of distance can be king. A big factor with Karate training is the
Kata practice, you have to look in a lot of directions and in Black Belt Jones,
he faces more than one adversary. Evident he could hold his own on film and
off.
Jim Kelly will live
forever on film, he was a great martial artist who captivated the 70’s in his
own charisma. He did well in his films and in his Karate and I like many will
hold him dear as a childhood movie hero. So I’ll close with a quote from the
son of Lee, and feel not sad for his passing as he left us the ultimate goal in
humility... “We will be too busy looking good!”
Because we do not know
when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet
everything happens only a certain number of times and a very small number
really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon, of your
childhood? An afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot
conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more? Perhaps not
even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps
twenty...and yet it all seems limitless.”
-
Brandon Lee.
