Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Chinese name	李小龍 (Traditional)
Chinese name	李小龙 (Simplified)
Pinyin	Lǐ Xiǎolóng (Mandarin)
Jyutping	lei5 siu2 lung4 (Cantonese)
Birth name	Lee Jun-Fan (李振藩; pinyin: Lǐ Zhènfān)Dragon
Ancestry	Shunde, Guangdong, China
Born	November 27, 1940(1940-11-27) San Francisco, California, USA
Died	July 20, 1973 (aged 32) Hong Kong
Years active	1941–1973
Spouse(s)	Linda Emery (born 1945)
Children	Brandon Lee (1965–1993) Shannon Lee (born 1969)
Official site	Bruce Lee Foundation

Bruce Jun Fan Lee (李振藩, 李小龍; pinyin: Lǐ Zhènfān, Lǐ Xiăolóng; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Chinese Hong Kong martial artist, philosopher, instructor, martial arts actor, film director, screenwriter, and the founder of the Jeet Kune Do concept. He is considered by many as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century, and a cultural icon.^[1] He was also the father of actor Brandon Lee and of actress Shannon Lee. His younger brother Robert was a musician and member of a popular Hong Kong beat band called The Thunderbirds and was something of a heartthrob in Hong Kong in the 1960s.^[2]

Lee was born in San Francisco, California, and raised in Hong Kong until his late teens. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked the second 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 as well. He is mainly noted for his roles in five feature length films, Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Bruce Lee; Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973), directed by Robert Clouse, and The Game of Death (1978).

Lee became a very iconic figure, particularly among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese national pride and Chinese nationalism in his movies.^[3] He primarily practiced Chinese martial arts (Kung Fu as a popular westernized term, or Gung Fu in Lee's own word, or more phonetically corrected Gong Fu), particularly Wing Chun.

Early life

Bruce Lee was born on November 27, 1940, in the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco’s Chinatown.^[4] His father, Lee Hoi-Chuen (李海泉), was Chinese, and his Catholic mother, Grace Ho (何愛瑜), was of Chinese and German ancestry.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old.^[11][12] There is uncertainty about his citizenship; he definitely had US citizenship as a result of being born in that country, and he may have been a Chinese citizen and a British subject as well (as Hong Kong people were British subjects during his childhood).

Lee Hoi Chuen was one of the leading Cantonese opera and film actors at the time, and he was embarking on a year-long Cantonese opera performing tour, with his family, amongst the US Chinese communities on the eve of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during the Second World War. As touring was an extremely profitable business back then, Lee had been touring the United States for many years. Although a number of his peers decided to stay in the US this time to ride out the storm, Lee decided to go back to Hong Kong after his wife gave birth to their fourth child, due partially to homesickness and partially to a miscalculation on his part. Within months, Hong Kong was invaded (at the same time of the Pearl Harbor attack) and the Lees lived the ensuing 3 years and 8 months under brutal Japanese occupation. The Lee family managed to survive the war and actually had done reasonably well. Lee Hoi Chuen would resume his acting career and become an even bigger star during the ensuing rebuilding years.

Bruce Lee's mother Grace had an even more impressive background. She belonged to one of wealthiest and most powerful clans in Hong Kong, the Ho Tungs, Hong Kong's answer to the Rockefellers and the Kennedys. She was the niece of Sir Robert Ho Tung, patriarch of the clan. As such, the young Bruce Lee grew up in an affluent and privileged environment.

Education and family

After attending Tak Sun School (德信學校) located just a couple of blocks from his home at 218 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Lee entered the primary school division of the prestigious La Salle College (喇沙書院) in 1950 or 1952 (at the age of 12). In around 1956, due to poor academic performance (and/or possibly poor conduct as well), he was transferred to St. Francis Xavier's College (聖芳濟書院) (high school) where he would be mentored by Brother Edward, a Catholic monk (originally from Germany spending his entire adult life in China and then Hong Kong), teacher, and coach of the school boxing team. In the spring of 1959, Lee got into yet another street fight and the police were called.^[13] Confirming the police's fear that Bruce Lee's fighting opponent this time had organized crime background and a possible contract was out for his life, in April 1959 his parents decided to send him to the United States to meet up with his older sister Agnes (李秋鳳) who was already living with family friends in San Francisco.

At the age of 18 and a half, Lee returned to the U.S. as a native-born citizen, with $100 in his pocket and the titles of 1957 High School Boxing Champion and 1958 Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion (or second place) of Hong Kong,^[4] to further his education. After living in San Francisco for several months, he moved to Seattle in the fall of the same year (1959) to continue his high school education and to work for Ruby Chow as a live-in waiter at her restaurant. Ruby's husband was a co-worker and friend of his father. His older brother Peter (李忠琛) would also join Bruce Lee in Seattle for a short stay before moving on to Minnesota to attend college. In December 1960, Lee completed his high school education and received his diploma from Edison Technical School (now Seattle Central Community College, located on Capitol Hill, Seattle). He then enrolled at the University of Washington in March 1961 majoring in drama (according to UW's alumni association information, http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/dec99/j_o.html, not in philosophy as claimed by Bruce Lee himself and many others), and likely also took courses in philosophy, psychology, and various other subjects.^[14][15][16] It was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife Linda Emery, whom he would marry in August 1964.

Bruce Lee abandoned his university education (3 years and never graduated) in the spring of 1964 and moved to Oakland to live with James Yimm Lee (嚴鏡海, no relation to Bruce Lee, and his Chinese surname was actually "Yim", a typical blunder by the immigration officials when James' father was first immigrated to the US). Twenty years senior to Bruce Lee and a well known Chinese martial artist in the Bay area, James Lee would join Bruce Lee to co-found the second Jun Fan martial art studio in Oakland (the first one in Seattle). James Lee was also responsible for introducing Bruce Lee to Ed Parker, royalty of the US martial art world and organizer of the (Long Beach) International Karate Championships at which Bruce Lee was later "discovered" by Hollywood.

Bruce Lee had two children with Linda, Brandon Lee (1965–1993) and Shannon Lee (1969–). Brandon, who also became 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 starting in the mid 1990s, but has since quit acting.

Names

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Bruce Lee's Cantonese given name was Lee Zhen Fan (振藩; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhènfán).^[17] At birth, the English name "Bruce" was thought to be given by the hospital attending physician, Dr. Mary Glover (or some said it was one of the nurses). Though Mrs. Lee did not initially plan on an English name for the child, she deemed it appropriate and would concur with Dr. Glover's addition.^[18] However, his American name was never used within his family until he enrolled in the primary school division of La Salle College (a Hong Kong high school) at the age of 10 or 12,^[17] and later at another high school (St. Francis Xavier's College in Kowloon), where Lee would come to represent the boxing team in inter-school events.

Bruce Lee also had three other Chinese names: Li Yuan-Xin^[3] [李源鑫; Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ yuán-xīn, as a family/clan name (族名)], Li Yuen Kam [李元鑒; Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ yuán-jiàn, as a student name (學名) while attending La Salle College], and of course his Chinese stage name 李小龍 [Cantonese pengyam: Ley⁵ Siu² Long⁴ (or Lee Siu Loong); Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng]. The Jun Fan name was originally written in Chinese as 震藩, however this Jun (震) was identical to part of his grandfather's name 李震彪, which was considered taboo in Chinese tradition. Therefore, Bruce Lee's name was changed to 振 which had the identical pronunciation with 震 and virtually identical meaning. Also of note is that Bruce Lee was given a feminine nickname, Sai Fung (細鳳, literally "small phoenix"), which was used throughout his early childhood in keeping with a Chinese custom, traditionally thought to hide a male child from evil spirits. In Linda Lee's books, she repeatedly cited that Jun Fan meant "return again" (back to the U.S.), but Jun (振) really means "to invigorate" or "to shock", and Fan (藩) is the well known Chinese abbreviation for the city of San Francisco.(三藩市).

Bruce Lee's stage names 李小龍 was first suggested by Yuan Bu Yun (袁步雲) when Lee played the title role of the 1950 Cantonese movie 細路祥 ("Kid Cheung"). By then, Lee was already a 4-year child actor veteran with two feature films to his credit in Hong Kong [he was also used as an uncredited prop baby in a 1940 US-made Cantonese movie "Golden Gate Girl" (金門女)]. Prior to his return to the U.S. in 1959, Bruce Lee would have a respectful child actor career of 18 solid years averaging more than two movies per year during his entire teenager life (age 10 to 18), acting alongside some of the best Cantonese actors and actresses at the time, and playing the central characters in some movies. Yuan was the creator of the popular "Kid Cheung" comic strip, of which the movie was based on, and also acted in the movie playing a son of the character played by Bruce Lee's real life father Lee Hoi Chuen.

It is possible that the name "Lee Little Dragon" was based on his childhood name of "small dragon", as, in Chinese tradition, the dragon and phoenix come in pairs to represent the male and female genders respectively. The more likely explanation is that he came to be called "Little Dragon" because, according to the Chinese zodiac, he was born in the Year of the Dragon. Many, including his wife Linda, also stretched the "dragon" connection, a bit over-enthusiastically, by suggesting that Lee was born during the "hour of dragon" (6–8 AM, as claimed in Linda's books and many others). However, animal zodiac normally does not apply to hours of the day, but when it does, the period from 6 to 8 Am actually straddles between the "hour of rabbit" (5–7 AM) and the "hour of dragon" (7–9 AM). Beside, the Little Dragon name only came about long (10 years) after he was born.

Acting career

Lee's father Hoi-Chuen was a famous Cantonese Opera star. Thus, through his father, Bruce 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 as a baby who was carried onto the stage. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in twenty films.^[4]

While in the United States from 1959–1964, Lee abandoned thoughts of a film career in favor of pursuing martial arts. William Dozier invited Lee for an audition, where Lee 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 also played Kato in three crossover episodes of Batman. This was followed by guest appearances in a host of television series, including Ironside (1967) and Here Come the Brides (1969).

A painting of Bruce Lee as he appeared in film

In 1969, Lee made a brief appearance in his first American film Marlowe where he played a henchman 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).

According to statements made by Bruce Lee and also by Linda Lee Cadwell after Bruce's death, in 1971 Bruce pitched a television series of his own tentatively titled The Warrior. According to Cadwell, Lee's concept was retooled and renamed Kung Fu, but Warner Bros. gave Lee no credit.^[19] Instead the role of the Shaolin monk in the Wild West, was awarded to then non-martial artist David Carradine because of the studio's fears that a Chinese leading man would not be embraced by the public.^[20] Books and documentaries about the show "Kung Fu" dispute Cadwell's version. According to these sources, the show was created by two writers and producers, Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander, and the reason Lee was not cast was in part because of his ethnicity but more so because he had a thick accent.^[21]

In a December 9, 1971 television interview on The Pierre Berton Show, Bruce Lee himself makes reference to both Warner Brothers and Paramount wanting him to do an American TV series. After Pierre Berton comments, "there's a pretty good chance that you'll get a TV series in the States called "The Warrior", in it, where you use what, the Martial Arts in a Western setting?" Lee responds, "that was the original idea, ...both of them (Warner and Paramount), I think, they want me to be in a modernized type of a thing, and they think that "The Western" type of thing is out. Whereas I want to do the Western, because, you see, how else can you justify all of the punching and kicking and violence, except in the period of The West?" Later in the interview, Berton asks Lee about "the problems that you face as a Chinese hero in an American series. Have people come up in the industry and said 'well, we don't know how the audience are going to take a non-American'"?. Lee responds "Well, such question has been raised, in fact, it is being discussed. That is why "The Warrior" is probably not going to be on." Lee adds, "They think that business wise it is a risk. I don't blame them. If the situation were reversed, and an American star were to come to Hong Kong, and I was the man with the money, I would have my own concerns as to whether the acceptance would be there."^[22] Warner Brothers and Bruce Lee have each stated that there were talks in 1971 between them for Lee to star in a new Warner Brothers produced American TV series as a lead character who performs Martial Arts in a Western setting. Lee said he was talking with Warner Brothers about a TV series called "The Warrior". Warner Brothers has said the talks were with Lee about a TV series called Kung Fu. Kung Fu was produced by Warner Brothers in 1972 without any involvement or credit to Lee.

Not happy with his supporting roles in the U.S., Lee returned to Hong Kong. Unaware that The Green Hornet had been played to success in Hong Kong and was unofficially referred to as "The Kato Show", he was surprised to be recognized on the street as the "star" of the show. Lee was then offered a film contract by legendary director Raymond Chow to star in two films produced by his production company Golden Harvest. Lee played his first leading role in The Big Boss (1971) which proved to be an enormous box office success across Asia and catapulted him to stardom. He soon followed up with Fist of Fury (1972) which broke the box office records set previously by The Big Boss. Having finished his initial two-year contract, Lee negotiated a new deal with Golden Harvest. For his third film, Way of the Dragon (1972), he was given complete control of the film's production as the writer, director, star, and 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 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 and one of the most memorable fight scenes in martial arts film history.^[23]

In late 1972, Lee began work on his fourth Golden Harvest Film, Game of Death. He began filming some scenes including his fight sequence with 7'2" American Basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a former student. Production was stopped when Warner Brothers offered Lee the opportunity to star in Enter the Dragon, the first film to be produced jointly by Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. This film would skyrocket Lee to fame in the U.S. and Europe. However, only a few months after the film's completion and 6 days before its July 26, 1973 release^[24], the supremely fit Lee mysteriously died. Enter the Dragon would go on to become one of the year's highest grossing films and cement Lee as a martial arts legend. It was made for US$850,000 in 1973 (equivalent to $4 million adjusted for inflation as of 2007).^[25] To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $200 million worldwide.^[26] The movie sparked a brief fad in the martial-arts, epitomized in such songs as "Kung Fu Fighting" and such TV shows as Kung Fu.

Robert Clouse, the director of Enter the Dragon, and Raymond Chow attempted to finish Lee's incomplete film Game of Death which Lee was also set to write and direct. Lee had shot over 100 minutes of footage, including outtakes, for Game of Death before shooting was stopped to allow him to work on Enter the Dragon. In addition to Abdul-Jabbar, George Lazenby, Hapkido master Ji Han Jae and another Lee student, Dan Inosanto were also to appear in the film, which was to culminate in Lee's character, Hai Tien (clad in the now-famous yellow track suit) taking on a series of different challenge on each floor as they make their way through a five-level pagoda. In a controversial move, Robert Clouse finished the film using a look-alike and archive footage of Lee from his other films with a new storyline and cast, which was released in 1979. However, the cobbled-together film contained only fifteen minutes of actual footage of Lee (he had printed many unsuccessful takes^[27]) while the rest had a Lee look-alike, Tai Chung Kim, and Yuen Biao as stunt double. The unused footage Lee had filmed was recovered 22 years later and included in the documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey.

Hong Kong legacy

Sculpture of Bruce Lee at the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong

There are a number of stories (perhaps apocryphal) surrounding Lee that are still repeated 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.

On January 6, 2009, it was announced that Bruce's Hong Kong home will be preserved and transformed into a tourist site by philanthropist Yu Pang-lin.^[28]

Martial arts training and development

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.^[29] 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 ( his mother was of half German ancestry ) as Chinese were secretive in relation to teaching martial arts techniques especially to foreigners.^[30]

Lee 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.^[31] In addition, Bruce learned western fencing techniques from his brother Peter Lee, who was a champion fencer at the time.^[32]

At 22 Lee also met Professor Wally Jay, and began to receive informal instruction in Jujitsu from him. The two would have long conversations about theories surrounding the martial arts and grew to be longtime friends.^[33]

As seen in his films, Lee shrieked and made high-pitched noises while moving to throw opponents psychically off-center.^[34]

Although there is no record of Lee having achieved any belts, sashes, or certifications in any particular martial art, 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.^[35] 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 fully 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.^[36]

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 developed into a philosophy and martial art he would come to call (after the name was suggested by Dan Inosanto) 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 connote whereas the idea of his martial art was to exist outside of parameters and limitations.^[37]

Lee directly certified only 3 instructors. Taky Kimura, James Yimm Lee (no relation to Bruce Lee), and Dan Inosanto, are the only instructors certified personally by Lee. 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 (now deceased) held a 3rd rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu. Ted Wong holds 2nd rank in Jeet Kune Do certified directly by Dan Inosanto. 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. All other Jeet Kune Do instructors since Lee's death have been certified directly by Dan Inosanto.

James Yimm Lee, a close friend of Lee, died without certifying additional students. Taky Kimura, to date, has certified only one person in Jun Fan Gung Fu: his son and heir Andy Kimura. Dan Inosanto continued to teach and certify select students in Jeet Kune Do for over 30 years, making it possible for thousands of martial arts practitioners to trace their training lineage back to Bruce Lee. 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, under the guideline "keep the numbers low, but the quality high". 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.^[38]

Controversy over Jeet Kune Do

The name "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do" was legally trademarked, and the rights to Bruce Lee's name, likeness, and personal martial arts legacy (including personal photos and countless personal effects and memorabilia) were given solely to the Lee estate for copyrighted commercial use. The name is made up of two parts: 'Jun Fan' (Lee's Chinese given name) and 'Jeet Kune Do' (the Way of the Intercepting Fist).

Jujitsu

At 22 Lee also met Professor Wally Jay, and began to receive informal instruction in Jujitsu from him. The two would have long conversations about theories surrounding the martial arts and grew to be longtime friends.^[39]

Guest at 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships

At the invitation of Ed Parker, Lee appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships^[40] 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"^[41], 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 his partner's inertia soon caused him to fall to 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."^[42]

Guest at 1967 Long Beach International Karate Championships

Lee also appeared at the 1967 Long Beach International Karate Championships^[40] and performed various demonstrations, including the famous "unstoppable punch" against USKA world karate champion Vic Moore. Lee told Moore that he was going to throw a straight punch to the face, and all he had to do was to try and block it. Lee took several steps back and asked if Moore was ready, when Moore nodded in affirmation, Lee glided towards him until he was within striking range. He then threw a straight punch directly at Moore's face, and stopped before impact. In eight attempts, Moore failed to block any of the punches.^[43]

Fights

Lee had boxed in the 1959 Boxing Championships held between twelve Hong Kong schools, a tournament in which he beat the three-time champion, a French boy from another school.^[44]

Lee's eventual celebrity and martial arts prowess often put him on a collision course with a number of street thugs, stunt men and martial arts extras who sought to make a name for themselves. Bob Wall, USPK karate champion and co-star in Enter the Dragon, recalled one 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." 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, strong, and bigger than Bruce.^[45]

"This kid was good. He was strong and fast, and he was really trying to punch Bruce's brains in. But Bruce just methodically took him apart."^[46] "Bruce kept moving so well, this kid couldn't touch him...Then all of a sudden, Bruce got him and rammed his ass with the wall and swept him up, proceeding to drop him and plant his knee into his opponent's chest, locked his arm out straight, and nailed him in the face repeatedly."^[47] -- Bob Wall

After his victory, Lee gave his opponent lessons on how to improve his fighting skills. His opponent would later say to Lee, "You really are a master of the martial arts."^[46]

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."^[48]

Physical fitness and nutrition

Physical fitness

Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon in 1972

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.^[49]

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 80 lbs (about 32 to 36 kg) 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.^[50] 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 (about 72 kg). 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. Bruce forever experimented with his training routines to maximize his physical abilities, and push the human body to its limits. He employed many different routines and exercises including skipping rope, which served his training and bodybuilding purposes effectively.^[51]

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 (about 16 kilometers) in 45 minutes on a stationary bike.^[52]

Lee would sometimes exercise with the jump rope and put 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.^[53]

Nutrition

According to Linda Lee, soon after he moved to the United States, Lee started to take nutrition seriously and developed an interest in health foods, high-protein drinks and vitamin and mineral supplements. He later concluded that in order to achieve a high-performance body, one could not fuel it with a diet of junk food, and with "the wrong fuel" one's body would perform sluggishly or sloppily. Lee also avoided baked goods, describing them as providing 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 (66 to 71 centimeters). "He also drank his own juice concoctions made from vegetables and fruits, apples, celery, carrots and so on, prepared in an electric blender", she said.^[54] He consumed green vegetables, fruits, and fresh milk every day. 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, including:

• Vitamin C
• Lecithin granules
• Bee pollen
• Vitamin E
• Rose hips (liquid form)
• Wheat germ oil
• Natural protein tablets (chocolate flavor)
• Acerola — C
• B-Folia

Physique

Lee's devotion to fitness gave him a body that was admired even by many of the top names in the bodybuilding community. Joe Weider, the founder of Mr. Olympia, described Lee's physique as "the most defined body I've ever seen!" Many top bodybuilding competitors have acknowledged Lee as a major influence in their careers, including Flex Wheeler, Shawn Ray, Rachel McLish, Lou Ferrigno, Lenda Murray, Dorian Yates and eight time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney.^[55] Arnold Schwarzenegger & Jean-Claude Van Damme were also influenced by Lee, and the former 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 unbelievable."^[56]

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.^[57] 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.^[58]

Physical feats

Lee's phenomenal fitness meant he was capable of performing many exceptional physical feats.^{[59][60][61][62]} The following list includes some of the physical feats that are attributed to Bruce Lee although it is difficult to separate myth from fact.

• Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second.^[63]
• Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film for clear slow motion replay using the traditional 24 frames per second of that era, so many scenes were shot in 32 frames per second for better clarity.^[64][65][66]
• 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.^[67]
• Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.^[61]
• Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.^[55]
• Lee could thrust his fingers through unopened cans of Coca-Cola. (This was when soft drinks cans were made of steel much thicker than today's aluminium cans).^[68]
• Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger.^[55][62][69]
• Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.^[70]
• Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.^[71]
• Lee could cause a 200-lb (90.72 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.^[62]
• Lee performed a sidekick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150 lb (68 kg) punching bag.^[61][72]
• 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 horizontal midair.^[73]

Philosophy

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bruce Lee

Although Lee is best known as a martial artist and actor, he majored in philosophy at the University of Washington. He was well-read and had an extensive library. His own books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertions both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His eclectic philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. He believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts.^[74] His influences include Taoism, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhism^[75]. John Little states that Lee was an atheist. When asked in 1972 what his religious affiliation was, he replied "none whatsoever."^[76] Also in 1972, when asked if he believed in God, he responded, "To be perfectly frank, I really do not."^[76]

The following quotations reflect his fighting philosophy.

• "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, or it can crash. Be water, my friend..."
• "All kind of knowledge, eventually becomes self knowledge"
• "Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."^[77]
• "Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there."^[78]
• "A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough."
• "Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it."
• "It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."

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.
• Lee was named among 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]
• On 31 March 2007 Lee was named as one of History's 100 Most Influential people, according to a Japanese national survey that was televised on NTV.^[79]
• In 2001, LMF, a Cantonese hip-hop group in Hong Kong, released a popular song called "1127" as a tribute to Lee.
• In 2004, UFC president Dana White credited Lee as the "father of mixed martial arts".^[80]
• On 26 November 2005 the city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina honored Lee with a statue on the Spanish Square, as a symbol of solidarity. After many years of war and religious splits, Lee's figure was to commend his work: to successfully bridge culture gaps in the world. (One day before the unveiling of the statue in Hong Kong, below).^[81]
• In 2005, Lee was remembered in Hong Kong with a bronze statue to mark his sixty-fifth birthday. The bronze statue, unveiled on 27 November 2005, honored Lee as Chinese film's bright star of the century.^[82]
• 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.^[83]
• As of 2007^[update], he is still considered by many martial arts fans as the greatest martial artist of all time.^[84]
• On 10 April 2007 China's national broadcaster announced it has started filming a 50-part series on 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 acting career. Danny Chan Kwok Kwan, who plays Lee, said he has mixed feelings about playing the role of the icon, Xinhua reported. "I'm nervous and also excited, but I will do my best," Chan was quoted as saying. Chan, best known for appearing in the action comedy "Kung Fu Hustle," says Lee has been his role model since he was a child and that he has practiced kung fu for many years. The TV series, which is due to be aired in 2008, the year Beijing hosts the 2008 Summer Olympics Games, appears to aimed at highlighting Chinese culture in the run up to the event.^[85]
• In 2008, Plans for a Hong Kong museum dedicated to Lee are also in discussion. Lee’s two-story Hong Kong home was to be sold in July for as much as $13 million to benefit victims of the Sichuan earthquake, but its philanthropist owner, responding to pleas from Lee’s fans, decided instead to donate the property to the city so hopefully it can be turned into a museum some day.^[86]

Martial arts lineage

Death

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Bruce Lee is buried next to his son Brandon in Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, U.S.A

A foreshadowing of events to come occurred on May 10, 1973, when Lee collapsed in Golden Harvest studios while doing dubbing work for Enter the Dragon. Suffering from full-body seizures and cerebral edema, he was immediately rushed to Hong Kong Baptist Hospital where doctors were able to reduce the swelling through the administration of mannitol and revive him. These same symptoms that occurred in his first collapse were later repeated on the day of his death.^[88]

On July 20, 1973, Lee was in Hong Kong, due to have dinner with former James Bond star George Lazenby, with whom he intended to make a film. According to Lee's wife Linda, Lee met producer Raymond Chow at 2 p.m. at home to discuss the making of the movie Game of Death. They worked until 4 p.m. and then drove together to the home of Lee's colleague Betty Ting, a Taiwanese actress. The three went over the script at Ting's home, and then Chow left to attend a dinner meeting.^{[citation needed]}

A short time later, Lee complained of a headache, and Ting gave him an analgesic (painkiller), Equagesic, which contained both aspirin and a muscle relaxant. Around 7:30 p.m., he went to lie down for a nap. After Lee did not turn up for dinner, Chow came to the apartment but could not wake Lee up. A doctor was summoned, who spent ten minutes attempting to revive him before sending him by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. However, Lee was dead by the time he reached the hospital. There was no visible external injury; however, his brain had swollen considerably, from 1,400 to 1,575 grams (a 13% increase). Lee was 32 years old. The only two substances found during the autopsy were Equagesic and trace amounts of cannabis. On October 15 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee died from a hypersensitivity to the muscle relaxant in Equagesic, which he described as a common ingredient in painkillers. When the doctors announced Lee's death officially, it was ruled a "death by misadventure."^{[citation needed]}

Dr. Don Langford, who was Lee's personal physician in Hong Kong and had treated Lee during his first collapse stated after his death that "There's not a question in my mind that cannabis should have been named as the presumptive cause of death."^[89] He also believed that "Equagesic was not at all involved in Bruce's first collapse."^[90] Professor R.D. Teare, who had overseen over 1000 autopsies, was the top expert assigned to the Lee case. Dr. Teare declared that the presence of cannabis was mere coincidence, and added that it would be "irresponsible and irrational" to say that it might have triggered Lee's death. His conclusion was that the death was caused by an acute cerebral edema due to a reaction to compounds present in the prescription pain killing drug Equagesic.^[91] The preliminary opinion of the neurosurgeon who saved Lee's life in May, Peter Wu, was that the cause of death should have been attributed to either a reaction to cannabis OR Equagesic. However, Dr. Wu later backed off from this position:

"Professor Teare was a forensic scientist recommended by Scotland Yard; he was brought in as an expert on cannabis and we can't contradict his testimony. The dosage of cannabis is neither precise nor predictable, but I've never known of anyone dying simply from taking it."^[90]

The exact details of Lee's death are a subject of controversy.

His wife Linda returned to her home town of Seattle, and had him buried at lot 276 of Lakeview Cemetery. Pallbearers at his funeral on July 31, 1973 included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Chuck Norris, George Lazenby, Dan Inosanto, Taky Kimura, Peter Chin, and his brother, Robert Lee.

His iconic status and untimely demise fed many theories about his death, including murder involving the Triad society^[92] and a supposed curse on him and his family.

The curse theory was extended to his son Brandon Lee, also an actor, who died, 20 years after his father, in a bizarre accident while filming The Crow at the age of 28. It was released after his death and gained cult status, as had his father's last film. (The Crow was completed with the use of computer-generated imagery and a stunt double in the few but critical scenes that remained to be filmed.) Brandon Lee was buried beside his father.

Media

Biographical films

In 1976, the Hong Kong film industry released Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth, a largely fictional bio-film starring a Lee "look-a-like," Ho Chung Tao, billed under the name Bruce Li.

In 1993 a biopic of Lee's life titled Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was released in which Lee was portrayed by Jason Scott Lee (no relation).

In April, 2007, Chinese state media announced that its national broadcaster had started filming a 50-part TV series on Lee titled The Legend of Bruce Lee to promote Chinese culture for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.^[93]

On August 22 2007, Fruit Chan announced that he will make a film on Bruce Lee's early years, in Chinese, entitled Kowloon City, produced by John Woo's producer Terence Chang, and set in 1950s Hong Kong.

April 2009 The History Channel produced a documentary called "How Bruce Lee Changed The World"

Stanley Kwan stated that he was talking with Lee's family to make a biographical film on Lee. Kwan says that his film will look at how Bruce Lee was affected by the absence of his father and how he brought up his own son, Brandon Lee.^[94]

Books authored

• Chinese Gung-Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense (Bruce Lee's first book) – 1963
• Tao of Jeet Kune Do (Published posthumously) – 1973
• Bruce Lee's Fighting Method (Published posthumously) – 1978

Books about Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do or both

• Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew – written by his widow Linda Lee Cadwell. This book served as the basis for the movie about his life, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.
• Bruce Lee: Words of the Dragon : Interviews 1958-1973 – written by John Little
• Bruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human Body – written by John Little
• The Dragon and the Tiger: The Birth of Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, the Oakland Years. by Sid Campbell
• Bruce Lee Between Wing Chun and JKD – written by Jesse Glover
• Bruce Lee: Dynamic Becoming – a book about Bruce Lee's philosophy
• Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit – a biography by Bruce Thomas
• Striking Thoughts – thoughts and quotes of Bruce Lee
• The Tao of Jeet Kune Do – a book assembled posthumously that expresses Bruce Lee's notes on martial arts and philosophy.
• "On the Warrior's Path" by Daniele Bolelli (2003). The longest chapter of this book about martial arts philosophy is on Bruce Lee's philosophical legacy.
• Unsettled Matters: The Life & Death of Bruce Lee – written by Tom Bleecker.
• Be Water, My Friend: The Early Years of Bruce Lee – a picture book for children, written by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee, featuring an account of Bruce Lee's childhood and early manhood, which the author says is basically factual.^[95]

Bruce Lee documentaries

• How Bruce Lee Changed the World (2009)
• The Intercepting Fist (2001)
• The Unbeatable Bruce Lee (2001)
• Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000)
• Bruce Lee: The Path of the Dragon (1998)
• The Immortal Dragon (A&E) (1996)
• Curse of the Dragon (1993)
• Death by Misadventure (1993)
• Martial Arts Master (1993)
• Bruce Lee, the Legend (1977)
• Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend aka Life and Legend of Bruce Lee (1973)

Selected filmography

For a complete list of Bruce Lee's filmography see

• The Big Boss (1971) (US title:Fists of Fury)
• Fist of Fury (1972) (US title:The Chinese Connection)
• Way of the Dragon (1972) (US titles:Return of the Dragon, Revenge of the Dragon)
• Enter the Dragon (1973)
• Game of Death (1979)
• Game of Death 2 (1981) (Stock footage)

Television appearances

• The Green Hornet (26 episodes, 1966–1967) .... Kato
• Batman (Episodes: "The Spell of Tut" 28 September 1966, "A Piece of the Action" 1 March 1967, "Batman's Satisfaction" 2 March 1967) .... Kato
• Ironside (Episode: "Tagged for Murder" 26 October 1967) .... Leon Soo
• Blondie (Episode: "Pick on Someone Your Own Size", 1968)
• Here Come the Brides (Episode: "Marriage Chinese Style" 9 April 1969) .... Lin
• Longstreet (4 episodes, 1971) .... Li Tsung
• The Pierre Berton Show (1971) .... Himself

Other media

• Bruce Lee – a video game published by Datasoft Inc under license in 1984.
• Kim Dragon, from the World Heroes video game series is based on Bruce Lee.
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story – a video game published by Acclaim Entertainment in 1993.
• Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon – a video game published by Universal Interactive Inc. in 2002.
• Be Like Water – a play by Dan Kwong, produced at East West Players in 2008, featuring the character, Ghost of Bruce Lee.
• Marshall Law and Forest Law, from the Tekken video games, are based on Bruce Lee.
• Fei-Long, from the Street Fighter video game series is based on Bruce Lee.^{[citation needed]}
• Jann Lee, a Jeet Kun Do adherent from Dead or Alive is based heavily on Bruce Lee, adopting his battle cries, wardrobe choices, and fighting style. A cut scene shows Jann Lee watching what appears to be a Bruce Lee film as a boy.
• Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat is based on Bruce Lee.
• Lee Bailong from Shaman King is greatly modeled after Bruce Lee. He not only resembles Bruce Lee in appearance, but also shares many of his historical attributes as well as references, such as the movie adaptation of "Fists of Fury" being placed in the Shaman King storyline in manga format.
• Rock Lee from Naruto is based on Bruce Lee.

See also

• Statue of Bruce Lee in Mostar
• Bruce Lee statue in Hong Kong
• Bruceploitation
• Bruce Lee Library
• John Little

Notes

References

• Bishop, James (2004), Bruce Lee: Dynamic Becoming, Dallas: Promethean Press, ISBN 0-9734054-0-6 .
• Lee, Linda; Bleecker, Tom (1989), The Bruce Lee Story, United States: Ohara Publications .
• Little, John (2001), Bruce Lee: Artist of Life, Tuttle Publishing .
• Little, John (1998), Bruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human Body, Tuttle Publishing .
• Little, John (1997), Words of the Dragon : Interviews 1958–1973 (Bruce Lee) .
• Thomas, Bruce (1994), Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit : a Biography, Berkeley, California: Frog, Ltd. .
• Vaughn, Jack (1986), The Legendary Bruce Lee, Ohara .
• Dorgan, Michael. Bruce Lee's Toughest Fight [1]. 1980 July. Official Karate

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bruce Lee

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bruce Lee

• Bruce Lee at the Internet Movie Database
• Bruce Lee Foundation
• Sijo Bruce Lee
• Bruce Lee Interview