Bruce Junfan Lee (traditional Chinese: 李小龍; simplified Chinese: 李小龙; Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born martial artist, philosopher, instructor, and martial arts
actor widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century and
a cultural icon.[1] He was the father of deceased actor Brandon Lee and of
actress Shannon Lee.
Lee was born in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong. His Hong Kong-produced and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional
Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and
sparked the first major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West. The
direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films
in Hong Kong and the rest of the world. Lee became an iconic figure particularly to the
Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese national pride and
Chinese nationalism in his movies.[2] Many see Lee as a model blueprint for acquiring a strong and efficient
body and the highest possible level of physical fitness, as well as developing a mastery of martial arts and hand to hand combat skills.
Early life
Jun Fan Lee was born in the hour of the dragon, 6-8 a.m., in the year of the dragon according
to the Chinese zodiac calendar, November 27, 1940 at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the United
States.[3] His father,
Lee Hoi-Chuen (李海泉), was Chinese, and his
Catholic mother, Grace (何愛瑜), who was of Chinese and German ancestry.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Lee's parents returned
to Hong Kong with the newborn Lee when he was three months old. He was a citizen of the
United States by birth and did not hold any other citizenships.
Education and family
At age 12, Lee entered the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Il. Then, he attended St Francis Xavier's College. In
1959, at the age of 18, Lee got into a fight and had badly beaten a feared Triad gang member's son.[10]His
father became concerned about young Bruce's safety, and as a result, he and his wife decided to send Bruce to the
United States to live with an old friend of his father's. Lee left with $100 in his pocket
and the titles of 1958 Boxing Champion and the Crown Colony
Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong.[3] After living in San Francisco, he moved to Seattle to work for Ruby Chow, another friend of his father's. In
1959, Lee completed his high school education in Seattle and received his diploma from Edison Technical School. He enrolled at
the University of Washington as a drama major and took some philosophy
classes.[11] It was at the University of Washington that he
met his future wife Linda Emery, whom he would marry in 1964. He had two children with
Linda, Brandon Lee (1965-1993)
and Shannon Lee (1969-). Brandon, who would also become an
actor like his father, died in an accident during the filming of The Crow in
1993. Shannon Lee also became an actress and appeared in some low-budget films since the mid 1990s but has since quit acting.
Names
Lee's Cantonese given name was Jun Fan (振藩; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhènfán).[12] At
his birth, he additionally was given the English name of "Bruce" by a Dr. Mary Glover. It is the Chinese custom to bestow a
Western name as well as a Chinese name on a child. Though Mrs. Lee had not initially planned on an English name for the child,
she deemed it appropriate and would concur with Dr. Glover's addition.[13] Interestingly, the name "Bruce" was never used within his family until Bruce Lee enrolled in
La Salle College (a Hong Kong high school) at the
age of 12,[12] and again at another high
school (St. Francis Xavier's College in Kowloon), where Lee would come to represent the
boxing team in inter-school events.
Lee initially had the birth name Li Yuen Kam[2](李炫金); Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ Xuànjīn) given to him by his mother, as at the time Lee's father was
away on a Chinese opera tour. This name would later be abandoned because of a conflict
with the name of Bruce Lee's grandfather, causing him to be renamed Jun Fan upon his father's return. Also of note is that
Bruce Lee was given a feminine name, Sai Fung (細鳳, literally "small phoenix"), which
was used throughout his early childhood in keeping with a Chinese custom that is traditionally thought to hide the child away
from evil spirits.
Lee's screen names were respectively Lee Siu Lung (in Cantonese), and Li Xiao Long (in Mandarin) (李小龍; Cantonese pengyam: Ley5 Siu² Long4; Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ
Xiǎolóng) which literally translate to "Lee the Little Dragon" in English. These names were first used by director 袁步雲 of
the 1950 Cantonese movie 細路祥 in which Lee would perform. It is possible that the name "Lee Little Dragon" was based on his
childhood name of "small dragon", as in Chinese tradition the Chinese dragon and
phoenix come in pairs to represent the male and female genders, respectively. The more likely
explanation however is that he came to be called "Little Dragon" because according to the Chinese zodiac, Bruce Lee was born in the Year of the
Dragon.
Acting career
Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon
Lee's father Lee Hoi-Chuen was a famous Cantonese Opera star. Through his father, he
was introduced into films at a very young age and appeared in several short black-and-white films as a child. Lee had his first
role when he was a mere baby that was carried onto the stage. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in twenty films.[3]
While in the United States from 1958-1964, Lee abandoned thoughts of a film career in favor of the martial arts. Fate would
intervene, however, after Lee's high-profile martial arts demonstration at the 1964 Long Beach Karate Tournament, seen by some of
the nation's most proficient martial artists and, as fate would have it, by the hairdresser of Batman producer William
Dozier.[14] Dozier invited Lee for an audition, where the
martial artist so impressed the producers with his lightning-fast moves that he earned the role of Kato alongside Van Williams in the TV series
The Green Hornet. The show lasted just one season, from 1966 to 1967. Lee would
also play Kato in three episodes of the series Batman, produced by the same
company as The Green Hornet. This was followed by guest appearances in a host of television series, including
Ironside (1967) and Here Come the
Brides (1969).
In 1969 Lee made his first major film appearance in Marlowe which was based on
one of Raymond Chandler's novels. In the film Lee's henchman character is hired to
intimidate private detective Philip Marlowe (played by James Garner) by smashing up his office with leaping kicks and flashing punches, only to later accidentally
jump off a tall building while trying to kick Marlowe off. In 1971 Lee appeared in four episodes of the television series
Longstreet as the martial arts instructor of the title character Mike
Longstreet (played by James Franciscus). Bruce would later pitch a television series of
his own tentatively titled The Warrior. Allegedly, Lee's concept was retooled and renamed Kung Fu, but if true, Warner Bros. gave Lee no credit. The role of the Shaolin monk in the Wild
West, known to have been coveted by Bruce, was awarded to non-martial artist David
Carradine purportedly because of the studio's belief that a Chinese leading man would not be embraced by the American
public.
Not happy with his supporting roles in the U.S., Lee returned to Hong Kong and was offered a film contract by legendary
director Raymond Chow and his production company Golden
Harvest. Lee played his first leading role in The Big Boss (1971) which
proved a smashing box office success across Asia and catapulted him to stardom. He soon followed up his success with two more
huge box office successes: Fist of Fury (1972) and Way of the Dragon (1972). For Way of the Dragon he took complete control over the film's
production as the writer, director, star as well as choreographer of the fight scenes. In 1964 at a demonstration in
Long Beach, California, Lee
had met karate champion Chuck Norris. In Way of the
Dragon Lee introduced Chuck Norris to moviegoers as his opponent in the final death fight at the colosseum in Rome, today considered one of Lee's most legendary fight
scenes.
In 1973 Lee starred in the lead role in Enter the Dragon (1973), his first
film to be produced jointly by Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. This film would shoot Lee to fame in the U.S. and Europe but,
tragically, only a few months after the film's completion and three weeks before its release, the supremely fit Lee mysteriously
died. Enter the Dragon would go on to become one of the year's highest grossing films and cemented Lee as a martial arts
legend. It was made for US$850,000 in 1973 (equivalent to $3.74 million adjusted
for inflation as if 2005).[15] To date, Enter the
Dragon has grossed over $200 million worldwide.[16] The
movie sparked a brief fad in the martial-arts epitomized in songs like Kung Fu Fighting and TV shows like Kung Fu.
Robert Clouse, the director of Enter the Dragon attempted to finish Lee's
incomplete film Game of Death which Lee was to also write and direct. Lee had shot
over forty minutes of footage for Game of Death before shooting was stopped to allow him to work on Enter the
Dragon. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - a student of Bruce Lee - also appeared in the
film, which culminates in Lee's character, Billy Lo (clad in the now-famous yellow track suit) taking on the seven foot two inch
basketball player in a climactic fight scene. Unfortunately, Lee died before he resumed filming Game of Death. In a
controversial move, Robert Clouse finished the film using a Bruce Lee look-alike and
archive footage of Lee from his other films and released it in 1978 with a new storyline
and cast. However the cobbled-together film contained only 15 minutes of actual footage of Lee while the rest had a Lee
lookalike, Tai Chung Kim, and Yuen Biao as stunt
doubles. The unused footage Lee had filmed was recovered 22 years later and included in the Bruce Lee documentary
Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey.
Challengers On The Set
Bruce Lee's celebrity and martial arts prowess often put him on a collision course with a number of street thugs, stunt men
and martial arts extras, all hoping to make a name for themselves. Lee typically defused such challenges without fighting, but
felt forced to respond to several persistent individuals.
Bob Wall, USPK karate champion and co-star in Enter the Dragon, recalled a particularly
serious encounter that transpired after a film extra kept taunting Lee. The extra yelled that Lee was "a movie star, not a
martial artist", that he "wasn't much of a fighter" and said it was "easy to see his martial art wasn't any good." Lee answered
his taunts by asking him to jump down from the wall he was sitting on. Wall described Lee's opponent as "a gang-banger type of
guy from Hong Kong!," a "damned good martial artist," and observed that "He was fast, he was bigger than Bruce, and he was
strong!" [17]
Wall would recall the confrontation in detail:
- "This kid was good. He was no punk. He was strong and fast, and he was really trying to punch Bruce's brains in. But Bruce
just methodically took him apart."[18]
- "I mean Bruce kept moving so well, this kid couldn't touch him...Then all of a sudden, Bruce got him and rammed his ass
into the wall and swept him, he proceeded to drop his knee into his opponent's chest, locked his arm out straight, and nailed him
in the face repeatedly."[19]
After his victory, Lee gave his opponent lessons on how to improve his fighting skills. His opponent, now impressed, would
later say to Lee, "You really are a master of the martial arts."[18]
Bob Wall himself was rumored to have conflicted with Bruce on the set of Enter the
Dragon when Bob accidentally cut Bruce's hand with a broken bottle in a fight sequence. The cut not only halted the
filming of the movie for several days, but supposedly also sent tempers flaring between the two. Days later when resuming the
scene, Bruce was notified that Bob was bragging about how he was a superior martial artist and that he could take any of Bruce's
strikes without budging. The cameras rolled as Bob tried to remain unmovable for an upcoming kick. The kick not only moved Wall,
but it knocked him back several yards into the arms of several extras, one of whose arms were broken from the impact.[citation needed]
Hong Kong legacy
There are a number of legacies surrounding Bruce Lee that still exist in Hong Kong
culture today. One is that his early 70s interview on the TVB show
Enjoy Yourself Tonight cleared the busy streets of Hong Kong as everyone was watching the interview at home.
Another topic is that his moment of birth is often used as a modern cultural proof of the existence of the Four Pillars of Destiny concept, having been born in the year
of the dragon and hour of the dragon along with other astrological
alignment.
Martial Arts Training and Development
Bruce Lee's first introduction to martial arts was through his father, Lee Hoi Cheun. He learned the fundamentals of
Wu style Tai Chi Chuan from his father.[20] Lee's sifu, Wing
Chun master Yip Man, was also a colleague and friend of Hong Kong's Wu style Tai Chi Chuan teacher Wu Ta-ch'i.
Lee trained in Wing Chun Gung Fu from age
13-18 under Hong Kong Wing Chun Sifu Yip Man. Lee was introduced
to Yip Man in early 1954 by William Cheung, then a live-in student of Yip Man. Like most
Chinese martial arts schools at that time, Sifu Yip Man's classes were often taught by the highest ranking students. One of the
highest ranking students under Yip Man at the time was Wong Shun-Leung. Wong is thought
to have had the largest influence on Bruce's training. Yip Man trained Lee privately after some students refused to train with
Lee due to his ancestry.[21]
Bruce was also trained in Western boxing and won the 1958 Boxing Championship match against
3-time champion Gary Elms by knockout in the 3rd round. Before arriving to the finals against Elms, Lee had knocked out 3
straight boxers in the first round.[22] In addition,
Bruce learned western fencing techniques from his brother Peter Lee, who was a champion fencer at the time.[23] This multi-faceted exposure to different fighting arts would later play
an influence in the creation of the eclectic martial art Jeet Kune Do.
Jun Fan Gung Fu
-
Lee began teaching martial arts after his arrival in the United States in 1959. Originally trained in Wing Chun Gung Fu, Lee
called what he taught Jun Fan Gung Fu. Jun Fan Gung Fu (literally Bruce's Gung Fu),
is basically a slightly modified approach to Wing Chun Gung Fu[24]. Lee taught friends he met in Seattle, starting with Judo
practitioner Jesse Glover as his first student and who later became his first assistant
instructor. Before moving to California, Lee opened his first martial arts
school, named the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, in Seattle.
Lee also improvised his own kicking method, involving the directness of Wing Chun and the power of Northern Shaolin kung fu.
Lee's kicks were delivered very quickly to the target, without "chambering" the leg.
Jeet Kune Do
![The Jeet Kune Do Emblem. The Chinese characters around the Taijitu symbol indicate: "Using no way as way" & "Having no limitation as limitation" The arrows represent the endless interaction between yang and yin.[25]](http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/5/58/180px-JKD.jpg)
The
Jeet Kune Do Emblem. The
Chinese characters
around the
Taijitu symbol indicate: "
Using no way as way" & "
Having no
limitation as limitation" The arrows represent the endless interaction between yang and yin.
[25]
-
Jeet Kune Do originated in 1965. A match with Wong Jack Man influenced Lee's
philosophy on fighting. Lee believed that the fight had lasted too long and that he had
failed to live up to his potential using Wing Chun techniques. He took the view that traditional martial arts techniques were too
rigid and formalistic to be practical in scenarios of chaotic street fighting. Lee decided to develop a system with an emphasis
on "practicality, flexibility, speed, and efficiency". He started to use different methods of
training such as weight training for strength, running for endurance, stretching for
flexibility, and many others which he constantly adapted.
Lee emphasized what he called "the style of no style". This consisted of getting rid of a formalized approach which Lee
claimed was indicative of traditional styles. Because Lee felt the system he now called Jun Fan Gung Fu was too restrictive, it
was transformed to what he would come to describe as Jeet Kune Do or the Way of the Intercepting Fist. It is a term
he would later regret because Jeet Kune Do implied specific parameters that styles connotate whereas the idea of his martial art
was to exist outside of parameters and limitations.[26]
Bruce Lee certified 3 instructors. Taky Kimura, James Yimm Lee
(deceased and no relation to Bruce Lee) and Dan Inosanto are the only instructors certified
by Bruce Lee. Dan Inosanto holds the 3rd rank (Instructor) Directly from Bruce Lee in Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu, and Bruce
Lee's Tao of Chinese Gung Fu. Taky Kimura holds a 5th rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu. James Yimm Lee held a 3rd rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu.
Ted Wong was never certified by Bruce Lee, however Dan Inosanto presented Ted with an honorary Intructorship after Bruce Had
died, However Ted Wong holds only a 2nd rank in Jeet Kune Do, directly by Bruce Lee. Dan Inosanto is the only one certified by
Bruce Lee to teach Jeet Kune Do, as he is the only one to be given the 3rd rank diploma. (James Yimm Lee and Taky Kimura hold
ranks in Jun Fan Gung Fu, Not Jeet Kune Do, Taky Received his 5th rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu after the term Jeet Kune Do existed).
Also Bruce gave Dan all three diplomas, on the same day suggesting perhaps that Bruce wanted Dan to be his protege.
James Yimm Lee, a close friend of Bruce Lee, died without certifying additional students. Taky Kimura, to date, has certified
one person in Jun Fan Gung Fu: his son and heir Andy
Kimura. Dan Inosanto continues to teach and certify select students. Prior to his death, Lee told his then only two living
instructors Inosanto and Kimura (James Yimm Lee had died in 1972) to dismantle his schools. Both Taky Kimura and Dan Inosanto
were allowed to teach small classes thereafter without using the name Jeet Kune Do. Bruce also instructed several World Karate
Champions including Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, and Mike Stone. Between all 3 of them, during their training with Bruce they won
every Karate Championship in the United States.[27]
As a result of a lawsuit between the estate of Bruce Lee and the Inosanto Academy, the name "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do" was legally
trademarked, and the rights were given solely to the Lee estate. The name is made up of two parts: 'Jun Fan' (Bruce's given
Chinese name) and 'Jeet Kune Do' (the Way of the Intercepting Fist).
Jujitsu
-
At 22 Bruce also met Professor Wally Jay. From Jay,
Bruce would receive informal instruction in Jujitsu. The two would have long conversations about
theories surrounding the martial arts and grew to be longtime friends[28].
1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships
At the invitation of Ed Parker, Lee appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships[29] and performed repetitions of two-finger pushups (using the thumb and the index
finger) with feet at approximately a shoulder-width apart. In the same Long Beach event he also performed the
"One inch punch".[30] The description of which is as follows: Lee stood upright, his right foot forward with knees bent
slightly, in front of a standing, stationary partner. Lee's right arm was partly extended and his right fist approximately an
inch away from the partner's chest. Without retracting his right arm, Lee then forcibly delivered the punch to his partner while
largely maintaining his posture, sending the partner backwards and falling into a chair said to be placed behind the partner to
prevent injury, though the force of gravity caused his partner to soon after fall onto the floor.
His volunteer was Bob Baker of Stockton, California. "I told Bruce not to do this type of demonstration again", he recalled.
"When he punched me that last time, I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable."[31]
1967 Long Beach International Karate Championships
Vic Moore (left) and Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee also appeared at the 1967 Long Beach International
Karate Championships[32] and performed various
demonstrations, including the famous "unstoppable punch" with USKA world karate champion Vic
Moore. Bruce would announce to Vic Moore that he was going to throw a straight punch to his face, and all he had to do was
block it. He would take several steps back and ask if Moore was ready, when Moore nodded in affirmation, Lee would glide towards
him until he was within striking range. He would then throw a straight punch directly at Moore's face and stop before impact. In
eight attempts, Moore blocked zero punches. [33]
Official Fights
Bruce Lee was not a professional competitor, but he did set his sights upon the goal of being the greatest fighter in the
history of the world, and he went through life earnestly attempting to achieve that. Lee researched many arts in his life and
used what he found was useful and rejected what he did not. He also made subtle changes where he could if what he found did not
fit his specific requirements. He tended to favour techniques where he could best take advantage of his own attributes, be it his
phenomenal speed, strength, elusiveness or power. Bruce Lee did say he could have beaten anybody in the world in a real fight.
Whether he would have we will never know for sure, but the people who encountered Bruce Lee had absolute faith in Bruce Lee's
ability to do what he said he could do.
James Demile a former student of Bruce and a former heavyweight boxing champ of the US Airforce has commented that, "I
wouldn't have put a dime on anyone to beat Bruce Lee in a real confrontation. Bruce Lee was the best fighter I ever saw, even to
this very day, and not just pound for pound - but against anyone in a real fight." (http://www.cityonfire.com/unknown/interviews/demile/index.htm)
Dan Inosanto said, "there's no doubt in my mind that if Bruce Lee had gone into pro boxing, he could easily have ranked in the
top three in the lightweight division or junior-welterweight division." (Birchland, Bob. "The Truth of Boxing: A Critical Look at
Bruce Lee's Hand Skills". Black Belt Magazine. November, 2007. pg. 93)
Lee had boxed in the 1958 Boxing Championships held between twelve Hong Kong schools, a tournament in which he beat the
three-time champion from another school (an English boy). (Thomas, Bruce. Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit. 1994, Frog, Ltd.
page 27)
Physical fitness and nutrition
Physical fitness
Bruce Lee felt that many martial artists of his day did not spend enough time on
physical conditioning. Bruce included all elements of total fitness--muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular
endurance, and flexibility. He tried traditional bodybuilding techniques to build bulky
muscles or mass. However, Lee was careful to admonish that mental and spiritual preparation was fundamental to the success of
physical training in martial arts skills. In his book The Tao of Jeet Kune Do,
he wrote "Training is one of the most neglected phases of athletics. Too much time is given to the development of skill and
too little to the development of the individual for participation." "JKD, ultimately is not a matter of petty techniques but of
highly developed spirituality and physique".[34]
The weight training program that Lee used during a stay in Hong Kong in 1965 at only
24 years old placed heavy emphasis on his arms. At that time he could perform bicep curls at
a weight of 70 to 80lbs for three sets of eight repetitions, along with other forms of exercises, such as squats, push-ups,
reverse curls, concentration curls, French presses, and both wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. [35] The repetitions he performed were 6 to 12 reps (at the time). While this method
of training targeted his fast and slow twitch muscles, it later resulted in weight gain or muscle mass, placing Bruce a little
over 160 lbs. Bruce Lee was documented as having well over 2,500 books in his own personal library, and eventually concluded that
"A stronger muscle, is a bigger muscle", a conclusion he later disputed. However, Bruce forever experimented with his training
routines to maximize his physical abilities. He employed many different routines and exercises including skipping, which effectively served his training and bodybuilding purposes.[36]
Lee believed that the abdominal muscles were one of the most important muscle groups for a martial artist, since virtually
every movement requires some degree of abdominal work. Perhaps more importantly, the "abs" are like a shell, protecting
the ribs and vital organs.
He trained from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., including stomach, flexibility, and running, and from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. he would weight
train and cycle. A typical exercise for Lee would be to run a distance of two to six miles in 15 to 45 minutes, in which he would
vary speed in 3-5 minute intervals. Lee would ride the equivalent of 10 miles in 45 minutes on a stationary bike.[37]
Lee would sometimes exercise with the jumping rope in 800 jumps after cycling. Lee would also do exercises to toughen the skin
on his fists, including thrusting his hands into buckets of harsh rocks and gravel. He would do over 500 repetitions of this on a
given day. [38]
Nutrition
According to Linda Lee, soon after he moved to the United States, Bruce Lee started to take nutrition seriously and developed an interest in health foods,
high-protein drinks and vitamin and mineral supplements. Bruce later realized that in order to achieve a high-performance body,
one could not fuel it with a diet of junk food. With the wrong fuel, the body's performance
would become sluggish or sloppy. Lee also avoided baked goods, as he believed they contained empty calories. He was not
interested in consuming calories which did nothing for his body. Lee's diet included protein drinks; he always tried to consume
one or two daily, but discontinued drinking them later on in his life.
Linda recalls Bruce's waist fluctuated between 26 and 28 inches. "He also drank his own juice concoctions made from
vegetables and fruits, apples, celery, carrots and so on, prepared in an electric blender".[citation needed] He consumed large amounts of green
vegetables, fruits, and fresh milk everyday. Bruce always preferred to eat Chinese or other Asian food because he loved the
variety that it had. Bruce also became a heavy advocate of dietary supplements. Some
of the well known supplements he consumed included:
Physique
Lee's devotion to fitness gave him a body that was admired by many of the top names in bodybuilding community. Joe Weider, the
founder of Mr. Olympia, described Bruce's physique as "the most defined body I've ever seen!" Many top body building competitors
have indicated Bruce as a major influence on their bodybuilding careers including Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray, Rachel McLish, Lou
Ferrigno, Lee Haney, Lenda Murray and 6 time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates.[39] Arnold Schwarznegger was also influenced by Bruce, and said of his body,
- "Bruce Lee had a very--I mean a very defined physique. He had very little body fat. I mean, he probably had one of the lowest
body fat counts of any athlete. And I think that's why he looked so believable."[40]
A doctor who knew Lee once claimed that he was "Muscled as a squirrel, and spirited as a horse" and fitter than anyone he had
ever seen.[41]
Lee was known to have collected over 140 books in his lifetime on bodybuilding, weight training, physiology and kinesiology.
In order to better train specific muscle groups, he also created several original designs of his own training equipment and had
his friend George Lee build them to his specifications.[42]
Physical feats
Lee's phenomenal fitness meant he was capable of performing many exceptional physical feats.[43][44][45][46] The following list are the physical feats that are documented and supported by reliable
sources.
- Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second.[47]
- Lee could spring a 235lb opponent 15 feet away with a 1 inch punch.[46]
- Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film at 24fps, so many scenes were shot in 32fps to put Lee
in slow motion. Normally martial arts films are sped up.[48][49][50]
- In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny
behind.[51]
- Lee could perform push ups using only his thumbs[39][46]
- Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.[45]
- Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.[39]
- Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger[46][52][39][46]
- Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.[53]
- From a standing position, Lee could hold a 125lb barbell straight out. [45][39]
- Lee could break wooden boards six inches thick.[54]
- Lee performed a side kick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150-pound punching bag[45][55]
- Lee could cause a 300-lb bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.[46]
- In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge
of a bench and suspend his legs and torso perfectly horizontal midair. [56]
- Lee could thrust his fingers through unopened steel cans of Coca-Cola, at a time before cans were made of the softer aluminum
metal.[57]
- Lee would use one finger to leave dramatic indentations on pine wood.[57]
Philosophy
Although Bruce Lee is best known as a martial artist and actor, Lee majored in
philosophy at the University of Washington.
Lee's books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are
well-known for their philosophical assertions both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His philosophy often mirrored his
fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. His influences
include Taoism and Buddhism.
The following are some of Bruce Lee's ideas that reflect his fighting philosophy.
- "To tell the truth....I could beat anyone in the world."
- "If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying."
- "Fighting is not something sought after, yet it is something that seeks you."
- "Be formless... shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle; it
becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, and it can crash. Be like water, my
friend..."[58]
- "Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."[59]
- "The more relaxed the muscles are, the more energy can flow through the body. Using muscular tensions to try to 'do' the
punch or attempting to use brute force to knock someone over will only work to opposite effect."
- "Mere technical knowledge is only the beginning of Gung Fu. To master it, one must enter into the spirit of it."
- "There are lots of guys around the world that are lazy. They have big fat guts. They talk about chi power and things they can
do, but don't believe it."
- "I'm not a master. I'm a student-master, meaning that I have the knowledge of a master and the expertise of a master, but I'm
still learning. So I'm a student-master. I don't believe in the word 'master.' I consider the master as such when they close the
casket."
- "Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself
there."[60]
- "Jeet Kune Do: it's just a name; don't fuss over it. There's no such thing as a style if you understand the roots of
combat."
- "Unfortunately, now in boxing people are only allowed to punch. In Judo, people are only allowed to throw. I do not despise
these kinds of martial arts. What I mean is, we now find rigid forms which create differences among clans, and the world of
martial art is shattered as a result."
- "I think the high state of martial art, in application, must have no absolute form. And, to tackle pattern A with pattern B
may not be absolutely correct."
- "True observation begins when one is devoid of set patterns."
- "The other weakness is, when clans are formed, the people of a clan will hold their kind of martial art as the only truth and
do not dare to reform or improve it. Thus they are confined in their own tiny little world. Their students become machines which
imitate martial art forms."
- "Some people are tall; some are short. Some are stout; some are slim. There are various different kinds of people. If all of
them learn the same martial art form, then who does it fit?"
- "Ultimately, martial art means honestly expressing yourself. It is easy for me to put on a show and be cocky so I can show
you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly enough;
that, my friend, is very hard to do."
See also Wikiquotes for more quotes by Bruce
Lee.
Bruce Lee and popular culture
There are a large number of references to Bruce Lee in film, anime, manga, video games and other
popular culture.
Awards and honors
- With his ancestral roots coming from Gwan'on in Seundak, Guangdong province of China (廣東順德均安, Guangdong Shunde Jun'An), a street in the village is named after him
where his ancestral home is situated. The home is open for public access.
- Bruce Lee was named TIME Magazine 's 100 Most Important People of the
Century as one of the greatest heroes & icons, as an example of personal improvement through in part physical
fitness, and among the most influential martial artists of the twentieth century.[1]
- The 1993 film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story claims to be a slightly
fictionalized biographical film about Bruce Lee, few scenes are based on reality, however.
- On March 31, 2007 Bruce Lee was named as one of History's 100 Most Influential people, according to a Japanese
national survey that was televised on NTV.[61]
- In 2001, LMF, a Cantonese hip-hop group in Hong Kong, released a popular song called "1127" as a
tribute to Bruce Lee.
- In 2003, "Things Asian" wrote an article on the thirtieth anniversary of his death.[62]
- In 2004, UFC president Dana White
credited Bruce Lee as the "father of mixed martial arts".[63]
- In September 2004, a BBC story stated that the Herzegovinian city of Mostar was to honor Lee with a statue on the Spanish
Square, as a symbol of solidarity. After many years of war and religious splits, Lee's figure is to commend his
work: to successfully bridge culture gaps in the world. The statue, placed in the city park, was unveiled on November 26, 2005 (One day before the unveiling of the statue in Hong Kong,
below).[64]
- In 2005, Lee was remembered in Hong Kong with a bronze statue to mark his sixty-fifth
birthday. The bronze statue, unveiled on November 27, 2005,
honored Lee as Chinese film's bright star of the century.[65]
- A Bruce Lee theme park with memorial statue and hall has been scheduled to be built in Shunde, China. It is expected to be
complete in 2009.[66]
- As of 2007, he is still considered by many martial artists and fans as the greatest martial
artist of all time.[67]
- On April 10, 2007 China's national broadcaster announced it has started filming a 40-part series on martial arts icon Bruce
Lee. Xinhua News Agency said China Central Television started shooting "The Legend of Bruce Lee" over the weekend in Shunde in
Guangdong province in southern China. Shunde is the ancestral home of Lee, who was born in San Francisco. It said the 50 million
yuan (US$6.4 million; €4.8 million) production will also be filmed in Hong Kong and the United States, where Lee studied and
launched his act
