Bruce Lee or Budo? Is the Mess Really that Classical?

This paper aims to examine the influence of Bruce Lee in terms of cultural practices within arts where participants self-identify as either traditional or non-traditional.
This paper suggests that it is possible to classify contemporary martial arts practitioners within two distinct categories; those who self-identify as traditional and those who in direct contrast follow the teachings and philosophy of non-conformism as outlined by Bruce Lee.
The aim of this paper is therefore to critically examine the factors that each of the factions identify as important to them with the philosophy of Bruce Lee used as point of reference.
Discussion will focus on issues such as; the practice environment, uniforms, grading structure and pedagogical approaches.
This will be realised through the presentation of themes derived from contemporary case studies.