Since we talked briefly about Bruce yesterday, it seemed only fitting to include ol’ Chuck Norris and show off this fight from Way of the Dragon. This is a fight with both of these guys probably at or near their physical peak.
This film was made in 1972, when Norris was in the middle of his SIX YEAR reign as the USA Karate Champion. In fact, it was while winning the All-American Karate Championship title in 1968 (he retired as champion, undefeated, by the way) that he first met Bruce Lee and became friends. Lee later recommended him to play his opponent in Way of the Dragon, which is what led Norris into acting.
This fight doesn’t have all of the more modern sensibilities we see in martial arts movies, and is a bit slower paced, but it still holds up very well. Both fighters look great here, and the action is very, very clearly showcased. No shaky cam, no tight angles to hide the fact that the actors aren’t good fighters. These are two guys who truly know what they’re doing, and we get to see it cleanly displayed for us.
This is an absolutely iconic fight, from pulling on Norris’s chest hair to push him back, to the Norris no-no finger wag, to Norris attempting to fight no matter what despite clearly being defeated. It’s just a classic scene that even paints the villain in an almost sympathetic light, because he never gives up, even when it’s clear he has lost.