We heard about the fight Bruce Lee had with an extra on the set of Enter the Dragon many times. This story has been told again and again. It was told by the director of the 1973 Enter the Dragon, Robert Clouse, right after the movie was released on July 26, 1973. Many people are surprised with this story when they find out an Enter The Dragon extra challenged Bruce lee on the set.
On the other hand, while many people buy this story, some do not believe it actually happened. Therefore, Bruce Lee’s wife, Linda Lee Cadwell, who happened to be there during the filming of Enter The Dragon, tell this story to a media during an interview. According to Linda, the extra were laughing at Bruce Lee’s martial arts, he insulted Bruce. Bruce normally would laugh these off but this time he thought he has to give this young man a lesson. Then, Bruce called the extra down from where he sat, and accepted the challenged.
There are multiple accounts of this incident. Other than the one told by Robert Clouse and Linda Lee, Bolo Yeung also told another one. We believe all these stories are reliable because they are the people who happened to be at the set during the filming. Bolo Yeung was one of the bad man who played the role as Han’s soldier in the movie. Considering that he worked on the film, if he said he saw the entire fight, it’s definitely reliable. According to Linda, Bruce Lee did not fire the extra after the fight. He simply sent him back to work on the film.
Having challengers all the time is one big problem Bruce Lee faced for years. Some say that Lee fought not just one but at least three extras on the set of Enter the Dragon as well. The main reason made Bruce Lee the main target is his martial art skills. We had no doubt to his skills when it comes to a real fight, what do you think then? Check this video out to listen what Bruce Lee’s wife said about the fight Bruce Lee had with an extra on the set of Enter The Dragon in 1973.