Originally posted by spetznaz
Both are good exponents. Both have strong martial backgrounds (although it should be noted that Bruce had a background in Wing Chun, a rather practical martial art, while Jet Li had a background in Wushu, a more performance oriented art that is a showy distillation of Gung Fu).
The reason why I think Bruce would win is that while he made a very good transition into movies, the practical applications of his original style (Wing Chun) are quite robust, and the extension of that (plus other styles, including Western Boxing, Filipino martial applications, grappling before it was 'cool' to cross train in ground work, even the cadence and footwork of fencing) into the style that he created (Jeet Kune Do) formed a very practical martial art.
Furthermore, Bruce put a lot of thought into the concept and dynamics of fighting. He did not necessarily just take what Sifus (masters/teachers) from the past had said (he had a joke where he would say that maybe the reason a particular Gung Fu style has a weird stance is maybe because its creator was a cripple, thus it is silly for modern students to use the same stance), but what he would do is take the very best from many styles and create something that was personalized for him.
Jeet Kune Do is (or should be) personalized for each exponent, creating a very open and dynamic style (calling it a style is actually a misnomer, because it is more like a concept that can be applied depending on the particular person).
Jet Li's wushu (a loose collection of styles that are more performance oriented, but very visually appealing) is not bad. It is just that it is better at winning competitions than being applicable in the street. A lot of the moves (which are very flashy and very hot) would not work outside a performance dojo/dojang/exhibition hall, or outside the carefully constructed sets of a movie shoot.
Now, that is not to say Jet Li cannot fight. He can probably beat up half the members of this board at the same time ......it is just that the effort to get that good is more than most people can put together (note that Jet Li, like another movie persona .....Jackie Chang , were actually given to 'theater schools' as kids where they were taught Wushu and similar).
A style like JKD, or say Krav Maga or even Muay Thai, can have you practically capable of SOME measure of self-defence years faster than Wushu would (sure, in Wushu you might be able to do some cool moves in a month or two, but a Krav Maga or JKD practioner who only took serious lessons for 6 months will beat you up to your 6th year in Wushu).
Anyways, I'd say that (in MY OPINION) Bruce would win in a real fight. After all, the guy was in several real fights against some good Gung Fu fighters (the first i know of was when he had to fight for the right to teach non-Chinese, and the second was when he was filming in Hong Kong and some guy decided that he wanted to see what Bruce could 'teach').
It is mostly speculation, but based on the amount of time that Bruce spent on the practical applications of fighting (his books are filled with that), and the fact that Wushu is mostly flash, I'd say Bruce wins.
If Jeet Kune Do is an ugly 9mm Glock pistol that has been fired a lot in practice and is known to work, Wushu is an ornately designed, gold-inlaid, highly polished blunderbuss gun from the 17th century that has a single-shot flintlock action.
The blunderbuss will definitely look better on display, but if MS-13 gang members break into your house you will definitely be grabbing for the old ugly Glock and not even think of the gorgeous ornate flintlock gun.
Bruce Lee packs a Glock ....Jet Li packs a blunderbuss.
I couldn't agree with you more, Bruce lee was also in much better condition physically than Jet Li. There are of course two forms of Wushu, but you nailed it nearly dead on, Jet Li's form is a little more deadly that the gymnastic type forms that you can see performed on stage however, but they are both quite similar.
