Bruce Lee uses a number of different martial arts weapons in Enter the Dragon. Directed by Robert Clouse, Enter the Dragon stands as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time, and was the international breakout for Bruce Lee as a leading man. In Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee plays Shaolin monk Lee, who is recruited to infiltrate an island-based martial arts tournament hosted by his former fellow monk Han (Shih Kien). With the tournament suspected to be a front for Han's secret criminal empire, Lee is also on a personal vendetta to avenge the death of his sister by Han's bodyguard O'Hara (Bob Wall).
Although Bruce Lee tragically died at the age of 32 just a few weeks before Enter the Dragon's release, the impact of the movie and his performance in it cannot be overstated. Not only would Bruce Lee achieve legendary status as the star of Enter the Dragon's cast, but the movie helped popularize martial arts into the mainstream of the Western world. This also includes Enter the Dragon's inclusion of a variety of martial arts weapons in the movie's famed cave fight. Here are the three martial arts weapons Bruce Lee uses in Enter the Dragon's cave fight.
3 Bo Staff
One of the oldest and most traditional martial arts weapons in existence, the bo staff is a simple but very effective tool of offense and defense. A fighter wielding a bo staff will typically use circular spins to hold opponents at bay, and will use both lateral and thrusting strikes with either end of the bo staff as offensive attacks. Bo staffs are used in a variety of different martial arts from China, Japan, Korea, and many other Asian cultures.
Bruce Lee uses a bo staff against Han's guards in Enter the Dragon's cave fight, disarming a bo staff from one guard and using it to hold off a group of opponents. This would even lead to a real on-set injury when Lee accidentally struck a stuntman in the face with his bo staff. In subsequent years, the world would later come to know the stuntman in question by the name of Jackie Chan, who had also previously been a stuntman on the Bruce Lee movie Fist of Fury.
2 Kali Sticks
The Filipino martial art of Kali teaches practitioners to wield not one, but two short sticks in unison. Like the bo staff, Kali sticks as a used for both offensive and defensive purposes, with the two sticks used in tandem with one another and generally for closer range combat than a bo staff would be. Kali sticks can also be used for a variety of disarming techniques in close combat, in order to counter an opponent's armed attack.
In Enter the Dragon's cave fight, Lee transitions from a bo staff to a pair of Kali sticks, holding off many opponents with very harsh strikes. Indeed, one opponent in particular is also on the receiving end of a series of crippling strikes near the end of the fight, as well. The Kali sticks also lead right into the third martial arts weapon used by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.
1 Nunchaku
One of the most famous weapons in all of martial arts, the nunchaku originate from Okinawa, and were made famous by Bruce Lee himself throughout his career. Essentially, a pair of nunchaku are two sticks connected with a chain, with the spinning them to hold off opponents and land strikes. A nunchaku wielder will also swiftly alternate between holding one stick and striking with the other, making them a formidable double-sided weapon. The chain section of the nunchaku can also be used to ensare and opponent's limbs to disarm and even trip them up, as seen in Keanu Reeves's use of the weapon in John Wick: Chapter 4.
In Enter the Dragon's cave fight, Bruce Lee disarms an opponent's attack with a pair of nunchaku. Lee then proceeds to wield them himself in one of the most memorable moments in the film. Lee then takes out a trio of opponents with the nunchaku, though he unfortunately finds himself captured behind a trap door in Han's cave soon after.
Additionally, Bruce Lee also uses the nunchaku in Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death. The nunchaku are so closely associated with Bruce Lee that his use of them in a fight scene is seen as a major turning point where his opponents are at even more of a disadvantage. In all, Lee's use of the nunchaku along with the bo staff and Kali sticks help make the cave fight of Enter the Dragon the enduring martial arts movie battle that it is.
