Stand in front of a group of martial artists and bring up the notion of biting during self-defense, and you’ll get bombarded with a wide range of opinions — and probably spawn some arguments and maybe a few altercations. What you won’t get is a consensus on the tactic’s reliability or proper methodology. For that reason, I figured it was time to chew on this topic a bit with input from historical sources and current authorities.
“Bite! Are we not animals? Biting is efficient in close quarters.” — Bruce Lee to James Franciscus in the TV series Longstreet
For some fight fans, the idea of biting an opponent brings to mind Mike Tyson nipping Evander Holyfield’s ear in their 1997 boxing match. For older martial artists who like movies, the notion was forever seared into our collective consciousness when Bruce Lee chomped down on Sammo Hung’s leg to escape from an armbar in 1973’s Enter the Dragon. What many don’t know is that biting was a Lee go-to years before that.
Lee’s first foray into cinematic biting came in the 1971 TV series Longstreet, starring James Franciscus as a blind private eye. In the pilot episode “The Way of the Intercepting Fist,” Lee taught Franciscus to bite while he had the star pinned on the ground.
That said, the origins of biting in fighting go much further back than a half a century; they harken back to prehistoric times. UFC President Dana White is fond of saying, “Fighting is in our DNA.” I would argue that to do before we develop our problem-solving skills.
