20 Things You Somehow Missed In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
13. The Kato Fight Homage
Speaking of nods and homages present in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino actually managed to sneak a pretty cool physical detail into Bruce Lee's memorable fight with Cliff Booth.
You see, as Lee and Booth throw down on the set of The Green Hornet, it was actually pointed out the author of Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly (via The Wrap), that actor Mike Moh, who plays Lee in the picture, wasn't actually fighting like Bruce would in real-life: he was unleashing a style created by Lee for the character of Kato in that aforementioned series.
Specifically, the jump side kick Moh throws out in the fight is "a pure Kato move", with Polly also explaining how the first collection of punches and blocks seen in the fight were "more like traditional Hong Kong kung-fu movie choreography."
To summarise, Lee also wearing Kato's black gloves in this brawl made Polly feel as though this whole thing was largely a homage to The Green Hornet's aide. So, now you know.