OK, so a friend of mine recently asked me who would win in this rumble: Jean Claude Van Damme V Bruce Lee V Chuck Norris V Steven SeagalV Jackie Chan.

Good question. I'm not sure how three geriatrics, a dead man and a Belgium narcissist would find themselves in a situation where they were all involved in a bout of fisticuffs, but I digress. To ask that is to miss the point.

Now, apart from the fact that they are all terrible actors, I quickly and without hesitation responded, "Bruce Lee, of course." And I stand by this, even after the argument that followed. Considering he is a Van Damme fan (maybe the only one in Australia?) my friend said "Why?"

Easy. Bruce Lee was a legend, whilst the others aren't. There was so much more to Bruce Lee than the ability to kick butt. It was always about more than that with Bruce Lee.

My friend replied, "There was more to Bruce Lee than kicking butt?"

How can people not know this? At first glance, his fights in movies may appear to be nothing more than showy feats of acrobatics and violent takedowns, but Bruce Lee himself was about so much more. Not decent plotlines or award-winning scriptwriting or direction, granted, but something that defies explanation.

Everyone knows who Bruce Lee was. Everyone knows he died young. Everyone knows he made some of the best chop-socky gung-fu films. What fewer people know is that he completed only three Hong Kong films and just one American film while he was alive. Now, how can a guy who is only about kicking butt make such an impact over such a small output? Is it because he was the first to take it to Western audiences? Is it because he had incredible double-Nunchaku skills? No, it's because of one thing: that high pitched, almost girly "Waa-aahh!" noise he made when he kicked someone.

Nobody knows where it came from. Everyone makes a fool of themselves trying to mimic it, but no-one understands it. It's silly, and it shouldn't have to make sense. It was a primal scream from somewhere deep inside the man; an animal growl that signified the coming of the end for his adversary.

I decided to go back through my Bruce Lee DVD collection to decipher what the appeal of Bruce Lee was, and is. Across his five surviving movies (The Big Boss, Fist Of Fury, Way Of The Dragon, Enter The Dragon, Game Of Death) one theme is constant: Revenge. In a few of these films he has sworn off violence (naturally) only to discover that the best way to combat violence is to engage in some violent combat. He had skills to be admired and envied by any martial artist, yes, but what did the general audience see? Sheer power, and sheer passion. And that "Waa-aahh" noise.

Jackie Chan (whose neck is snapped by Lee in Enter The Dragon) came along later as the Hong Kong antidote to Bruce Lee. He was less intense (though his finely choreographed fight scenes are somewhat more polished than any of Lee's were) more comedic and decidedly more charismatic. In fact, Bruce Lee wasn't really charismatic at all. But there was something about him that got across and continues to get across to the audience. I'm still not sure what it is, but his audience definitely sees more than Bruce kicking butt in his movies.

I don't think any of the four other dudes in that rumble would seriously believe they would stand a chance against Bruce Lee. Except for Van Damme, of course.