chuck norris vs bruce lee vs jackie chan film

“A lot of them called me the toughest man alive. “I traveled around with all the tough guys and worked out with them,” he said. LeBell fought as many men as he could and made sure word got out that he was no slouch in the ring. He took up judo and studied how to fend off an attack with a knife or a club. At the age of 7, he began training under Ed “Strangler” Lewis, learning martial arts at a time few had ever heard of them.Īs he got older, he learned how to knock a man to the ground, grab hold and manipulate his body until the opponent gave up. He was, he recalls, a bit of a pain in the butt, so she sent him off to the Los Angeles Athletic Club. LeBell grew up as a proud jock, son of Aileen Eaton, the promoter at the Olympic Auditorium. “Now I’m a little blind, so I’ve got to go on sound these days,” he said, gesturing to show the proper way to crank a man’s head around. The Godfather of Grappling has not slowed down. He has ears lumpy from years of brawling and flaming red hair that has thinned a bit. His hands are as big as canned hams, his arms still thick and powerful. LeBell wanders around in his signature pink uniform, a flamboyant touch that almost dares opponents to make rude remarks. Bodies fly through the air and slam into the mat. All around the room, kids no taller than a man’s waist are tackling each other as intimidating men with tattoos stretch their legs. Inside, it’s kind of like those James Bond movies where the super-spy wanders through the training center and all the wannabe agents are beating on each other. At the Hayastan Mixed Martial Arts Academy, they teach the meek to grow strong and the tough to get tougher. Not far from his home, in an old bakery on Burbank Boulevard, LeBell and his prot g Gokor “The Armenian Assassin” hold court on how to twist arms and pop knees. After years of training the flashiest guys in Hollywood, he recently relocated his dojo to the San Fernando Valley, making it a mecca for iron-jawed stuntmen and regular dudes off the street alike. Here sits Gene LeBell, judo champion, stuntman, animal lover, sensei, welder, artist, actor and grandfather. Up the stairs, past the movie posters, down the hall, is his headquarters. He pulled a gun on Jackie Chan and didn’t suffer a thing. He showed Bruce Lee how to choke a man unconscious.

This man reputedly once fought a death match with his good friend Chuck Norris. But although plain on the exterior, within the brown stucco building lurks a 74-year-old man who cracks necks for a living, jumps off waterfalls, crashes motorcycles and beats people up.

LeBell’s Sherman Oaks townhouse does not. This evokes a shadowy, covert meeting at the stronghold of an underworld mastermind, mad scientist or some sort of superhero.

“I’m calling on behalf of Gene LeBell,” the voice growls. The phone rings and a mysterious voice rasps through the receiver.

Chuck norris vs bruce lee vs jackie chan film