Everything Chuck Norris said about Bruce Lee’s death | UK News

Chuck Norris never stopped speaking about Bruce Lee — even a long time after the martial arts legend’s sudden death. Now, following Norris’s own death yesterday (March 19), his phrases about his pal, rival and co-star have resurfaced in power. The two males educated together for years and famously fought on screen in Way of the Dragon, but Norris always insisted Lee was in a class of his own. When Lee died out of the blue in 1973, aged just 32, Norris said the news left him reeling. Speaking on the Beerdy – Bruce Lee Central YouTube channel, he recalled being told Lee had collapsed after complaining of complications and dizziness — symptoms that had apprehensive him months earlier.

Norris said Bruce had visited a doctor in Los Angeles because he had been “getting dizzy and passing out,” but was told he was in distinctive condition. Shortly afterwards, Lee returned to Hong Kong and died. Norris said he was “shocked” and struggled to settle for that somebody so strong may die so out of the blue and that Lee had truly been reassured about his condition:

“I was shocked… nobody expected it. The doctor told him he was in the physical condition of an 18-year-old.”

He later rejected conspiracy theories surrounding the death, insisting the trigger was a medical response. According to Norris, Lee had suffered extreme back pain after rupturing a disc while weightlifting and was taking medication. When given further drugs for a headache, the medicine interacted.

“He ruptured a disc in his back… they didn’t know if he’d ever walk again,” he said. “The medication he took for his back and the medication for his headache reacted together. It made his brain swell up… that’s actually what happened.”

He explained that the mix brought on Lee’s mind to swell, main to a deadly aneurysm.

Norris constantly dismissed rumours of assassination plots, secret martial arts techniques or prison involvement.

Norris described Lee as “one of the greatest martial artists that ever lived” and said his pace and energy have been in contrast to something he had encountered before or since.

He often spoke about their friendship as effectively as their rivalry. The pair first met in 1968 after Norris received a world championship title.

“He said, ‘Don’t you live in LA?’ I said yes. He said, ‘I do too — why don’t we start training together?’”

Norris recalled how they would work out for hours at a time, exchanging techniques — Lee sharing close-range Chinese methods while Norris demonstrated high kicks and spinning strikes.

Their collaboration eventually led to Lee inviting Norris to Hong Kong to film their famous Coliseum fight scene in Rome. Norris joked he asked who would win, to which Lee replied: “I win — I’m the star of this movie.”

After Lee’s death, Norris remained close to his family. He said Lee’s widow, Linda, moved back to California and lived near him, allowing him to spend time with their son, Brandon.

Norris described telling Brandon stories about his father and watching him grow into a star himself — before Brandon’s own tragic death in 1993 reopened old wounds.

“Linda moved back to California… I spent time with Brandon telling him about his dad,” he said.

He incessantly credited Lee with remodeling martial arts worldwide, saying his affect reshaped the game and the movie industry.