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1973 - Lee's first cerebral edema gives him enough cause for concern that he reevaluates many of his drug and nutrition choices -- especially the use of painkillers. His second (fatal) cerebral edema in July of 1973 is avoided.

July 1973 - Enter the Dragon is released, intensifying an already burgeoning martial arts boom. Lee continues work on Game of Death, a magnum opus slated to include everyone from George Lazenby to Chuck Norris to Muhammad Ali.



1974 - America's first "world" full-contact karate championships are held in the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Joe Lewis, an acquaintance and training partner of Lee's and the #1-ranked American tournament karateka, wins the inaugural PKA heavyweight championship. He will vacate the title soon afterward thanks to disputes with the management.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BqEtqWhW_c
PKA style full-contact karate


November 1974 - A Hawaiian martial artist named Tommy Lee organizes the so-called "World Series of Martial Arts Championships" (WSMAC) in Honolulu, Hawaii. He originally intends to be a no-rules competition. Ultimately, he has to scale back these ambitions, but the final product still has a very permissive ruleset, including takedowns and limited groundfighting. There are no weight divisions. The tournament winner, a karate (and later kickboxing) prodigy named Benny Urquidez, weighs only 145 pounds. Lee hears about the tournament from Joe Lewis, and is understandably intrigued.

[Editor's note: Yes, this actually happened. Some of the fights are still on Youtube.]



February 1975 - The Gracie family, known in Brazil for winning challenge matches using its proprietary style of jiu-jitsu against other styles, tries to capitalize on the success of Enter the Dragon by issuing a public challenge to Bruce Lee. The challenge is not unusual; the Gracies pulled a similar stunt in the 1940s (directed against the world heavyweight boxing champion), in the 1950s (where they challenged Japanese judo champion Masahiko Kimura, going so far as to parade a coffin around, before Kimura accepted the challenge and snapped the Gracie champion's arm), and in the 1980s OTL against Benny Urquidez. Lee hears about the challenge secondhand. While he isn't terribly interested in fighting "nobodies" from Brazil, the idea of a no-rules contest intrigues him. It's an old obsession; his own style of Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do is a product of cross-style experimentation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gErppdxesiw
The Gracies' challenge match against Japanese judo champion Masahiko Kimura, 1951. The commentary is outrageously biased. Ignore most of it.

mid-1975 - Two further WSMAC competitions follow, in Los Angeles and Honolulu (again). Joe Lewis fights in one of them. The competitions crystallize Lee's determination to create a real-life "Game of Death" -- a no-holds-barred tournament where all styles will be able to compete.



Urquidez competing in the third WSMAC. Note the "safety-kick" foam equipment, recently invented by Jhoon Rhee

Late 1975 - Although Lee still has to work on Game of Death, he starts discussions with other individuals who might help him make his no rules competition happen. Lee is uniquely situated to organize such a tournament. His contacts in the entertainment industry and martial arts community on both sides of the Pacific are head and shoulders above any other potential promoters, he has a lot of disposable income, and he's experienced in organizing large scale productions. Lee gets to work...
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