The Truth About Bruce Lee's Dancing Skills
Craig Barritt/Getty Images
By Pauli Poisuo/March 23, 2020 10:29 am EST
It's probably fair to say that Bruce Lee is a legend. He starred in some of the most beloved martial arts movies out there, and the speed of his hands and feet was truly legendary. He was both faster and stronger than a man his size and stature should have any right to be. And when it came to the relationship between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, Lee was known to spar for-realsies with the karate champion, both in front of the camera and in his personal life. Lee's physical prowess was so out of this world, and his control over his movements so precise, that he could spin and dazzle whoever he was up against. His unique composure and rhythm were genuine championship material.
Truly, there have been very few people who can even think of attempting to do what Bruce Lee did in his specialized art of ... cha-cha dancing. Wait, hold on. What?
Dance of the Dragon
Yes, you read that right — cha-cha dancing. As Linda Lee and Mike Lee explained in their book, The Bruce Lee Story, Lee was a very, very good dancer, to the point that he won the Hong Kong cha-cha dancing championship in 1958. Though he was already a capable fighter at the time, he was passionate enough about the dance to keep a card with 108 different steps in his wallet.
According to Matthew Polly's book, Bruce Lee: A Life, Lee developed quite an obsession on cha-cha, and even kept a personal notebook labeled "Cha-Cha Fancy Steps." He actively studied and developed new moves, and even ended up incorporating some of his kung fu skills, thus creating a fresh and original cha-cha style. He also liked to show off his talent by competing against other cha-cha-savvy kids at his school, and they were all constantly learning new moves to see who was the best dancer. Yes, that's right: Young Bruce Lee used to have dance battles with his opponents, like some strange cha-cha-themed version of You Got Served.
That's a new thing you learned today, and doesn't the image just make the world a little bit brighter?