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Who2 Biography:

Bruce Lee

, Actor / Martial Artist
Bruce Lee
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  • Born: 27 November 1940
  • Birthplace: San Francisco, California
  • Died: 20 July 1973 (brain edema)
  • Best Known As: Star of Enter the Dragon

Bruce Lee is the granddaddy of high-kicking, fist-fighting movie martial artists. He got his start in America as Kato, the sidekick in the jokey 1960's TV series The Green Hornet. Later he went to Hong Kong and more or less founded the institution of kung fu movies. Wiry and charismatic, Lee reached a pinnacle in 1973 with Enter The Dragon. His untimely death before the film's release helped make him an enduring cult figure. Other films include Way of the Dragon (1972), The Big Boss (1971) and Marlowe (1969, with James Garner).

The coroner ruled that Lee died of a brain edema (accumulation of fluid and swelling) caused by an abnormal reaction to painkillers he had been prescribed for back pain... His son, Brandon Lee, was killed by a bullet accidentally fired from a prop gun while making the movie The Crow in 1993.

 
 
Actor:

Bruce Lee

  • Born: Nov 27, 1940 in San Francisco, California
  • Died: Jul 20, 1973 in Hong Kong
  • Occupation: Actor, Writer, Director
  • Active: '60s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Action, Film, TV & Radio
  • Career Highlights: Enter the Dragon, The Game of Death, The Chinese Connection
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Wrecking Crew (1968)

Biography

Born in San Francisco to Eurasian parents, Bruce Lee moved to Hong Kong when he was three. There, the young actor played tough juvenile roles in several films, using the professional name Li Siu-Lung (Little Dragon). As scrappy offscreen as on, Lee learned to channel his pugnaciousness into the rigidly disciplined field of martial arts while attending St. Francis Xavier College. Returning to the U.S., Lee majored in Philosophy at the University of Washington and supported himself as a kung fu instructor. While participating in a martial arts competition in Long Beach, CA, Lee was selected to play the role of faithful valet Kato on the 1966 TV series The Green Hornet. (After his death, several episodes of the series were cobbled together into a "feature film," with Lee afforded top billing over nominal Green Hornet star Van Williams.) He received his first American film role in Marlowe (1969) on the recommendation of screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, who attended Lee's kung fu classes.

Having lost the leading role in the TV series Kung Fu to David Carradine, Lee decided to prove his box-office value by starring in several low-budget martial arts efforts financed by Hong Kong producer Raymond Chow. On the strength of these efforts, Warner Bros. signed Lee to star in his signature film, Enter the Dragon (1973), which made money by the truckload. He made his directorial debut in what many consider his best film, 1973's Return of the Dragon. It would be the last film that the actor would complete. While in Hong Kong filming The Game of Death, Lee collapsed on the set, apparently suffering an epileptic seizure. After taking a pain killer, he fell asleep -- and never woke up. Rumors still persist that Lee was killed by a group of kung fu experts who resented the actor for exposing their "trade secrets" to the world. Whatever the circumstances of his death, Lee's legend did not die with him. For several years thereafter, "new" films appeared composed of outtakes and stock footage from previous Lee films; in addition, audiences were subjected to scores of imitators, most of them with soundalike names (Bruce Li, Bruce Le, et al.) In a grimly ironic twist, Bruce Lee's son, actor Brandon Lee, also died under mysterious circumstances while making a film in 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

 
Biography: Bruce Lee

At the time of his sudden and mysterious death in 1973, actor and martial arts expert Bruce Lee (1940-1973) was on the verge of international super-stardom. Rooted strongly in both Oriental and Western cultures, Lee brought to the ancient Chinese fighting art of kung fu the grace of a ballet dancer. He was an actor as well, and infused his performances with humor and a dramatic sensibility that assured a place for king fu films as a new form of cinematic art.

Raised in San Francisco, California, Hong Kong, and Seattle, Washington, Lee had gained his first American audience with a groundbreaking role on the 1966-67 television series The Green Hornet. Eager to challenge Hollywood's stereotypical images of Asian Americans, he returned to Hong Kong and ultimately developed his own style of kung fu. On the strength of his film, Enter the Dragon (1973), Lee returned to the attention of American audiences and posthumously ushered in a new era of cinematic art. Stars such as David Carradine, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, and fellow Hong Kong martial artist Jackie Chan would follow his example, making Lee the father of an enduring style of action hero.

The "Strong One"

In 1939 Lee's father, a popular Chinese opera star, brought his wife and three children with him from Hong Kong to San Francisco while he toured the United States as a performer. At the end of the following year, on November 27, 1940, another son was born to the Lees. In accordance with Chinese tradition, they had not named him, as his father was away in New York; therefore the mother took the advice of her physician and called the boy Bruce because it meant "strong one" in Gaelic. Lee reportedly had a number of Chinese names, but it would be by the name of Bruce that he would become famous.

Stardom began early, with his first film appearance at age three months in a movie called Golden Gate Girl. By then it was 1941, and though their native Hong Kong was occupied by Japanese troops, the Lees decided to return home. According to Chinese superstition, demons sometimes try to steal male children. Out of fear for the young boy's safety, they dressed him as a girl, and even made him attend a girl's school for a while. Meanwhile Lee grew up around the cinema, and appeared in a Hong Kong movie when he was four. Two years later, a director recognized his star quality and put him in another film. By the time he graduated from high school, Lee had appeared in some twenty films.

As a teenager, he became involved in two seemingly contradictory activities: gang warfare and dance. As a dancer he won a cha-cha championship, and as a gang member he risked death on the streets of Hong Kong. Out of fear that he might be caught at some point without his gang, helpless before a group of rivals, Lee began to study the Chinese martial arts of kung fu. The style that attracted his attention was called wing chun, which according to legend was developed by a woman named Yim Wing Chun, who improved on the techniques of a Shaolin Buddhist nun. Lee absorbed the style, and began adding his own improvements. This proved too much for the wing chun masters, who excommunicated him from the school.

Lee's film career continued, and he was becoming a popular actor in the Hong Kong film scene. Producer Run Run Shaw offered the high schooler a lucrative contract, and Lee wanted to take it. But when he got into trouble with the police for fighting, his mother sent him to the United States to live with friends of the family.

Teacher and Actor

Lee finished high school in Edison, Washington, near Seattle. He then enrolled as a philosophy major at the University of Washington, where he supported himself by giving dance lessons and waiting tables at a Chinese restaurant. As a kung fu teacher instructing fellow university students, he met Linda Emery, whom he married in 1964.

The newlyweds moved to California, and Lee-who had begun developing a new fighting style called jeet kune do-ultimately opened three schools in Los Angeles, Oakland, California, and Seattle. He also began to pursue his acting more seriously, and landed a part in the TV series The Green Hornet. The show was based on a 1930s radio program, and Lee played the role of the Hornet's Asian assistant, Kato. He virtually created the role, imbuing Kato with a theatrical fighting style quite unlike that which Lee taught in his schools. The show would be cancelled after one season, but fans would long remember Lee's role.

After the end of The Green Hornet, Lee made guest appearances on TV shows such as Longstreet and Ironside. His most notable role during this time was in the film Marlowe (1969) with James Garner, when he played a memorable part as a high-kicking villain. Clearly Lee had the qualities of a star; but it was just as clear that an Asian American faced limitations within the Hollywood system, which tended to cast Oriental actors in stereotypical roles. Therefore in 1971, the Lees, including son Brandon (born 1965), and daughter Shannon (born 1967) moved to Hong Kong.

Dramatic Rise, Tragic End

Back in Hong Kong, Lee soon signed a two-film contract, and released the movie known to U.S. audiences as Fists of Fury late in 1971. The story, which featured Lee as a fighter seeking revenge on those who had killed his kung fu master, was not original in itself; but the presentation of it was, and the crucial element was Lee. He combined the smooth, flowing style of jeet kune do that he taught in his schools with the loud, aggressive, and highly theatrical methods he had employed as Kato. With the graceful, choreographic qualities of his movements; his good looks and charm; his sense of humor and his acting ability, Lee was one of a kind-a star in the making.

Fists of Fury set box-office records in Hong Kong which were broken only by his next picture, The Chinese Connection, in 1972. Lee established his own film company, Concord Pictures, and began directing movies. The first of these would appear in the U.S. as Way of the Dragon. Lee was enthusiastic about his future, not merely as a performer, but as an artist: "With any luck, " he told a journalist shortly before his death, "I hope to make … the kind of movie where you can just watch the surface story, if you like, or can look deeper into it." Unfortunately, Lee would not live to explore his full potential as a filmmaker: on July 20, 1973, three weeks before his fourth film, Enter the Dragon, was released in the United States, he died suddenly.

Lee's death became a source of controversy. Officially the cause of death was brain swelling as a reaction to aspirin he had taken for a back injury. But the suddenness of his passing, combined with his youth, his good health, and the bizarre timing on the verge of his explosion as an international superstar, spawned rumors that he had been killed by hit men. Some speculated he had run afoul of the Chinese mafia and other powerful interests in the Hong Kong film industry, and had been poisoned. Throughout his life, Lee had been obsessed by fears of his early death, and some believed that the brilliant young star had some sort of bizarre "curse" on him.

According to legend and rumor, when Lee bought a house in Hong Kong shortly before his death, he incurred the wrath of the neighborhood's resident demons. The curse is said to last for three generation. Tragically, the notion of a curse gained eerie credence on June 18, 1993-a month and two days before the 20th anniversary of Lee's death-when Brandon Lee died under equally strange circumstances. While filming a scene for the movie The Crow, he was shot by a gun that supposedly contained blanks but in fact had a live round lodged in its chamber. Like his father, Brandon Lee was on the verge of stardom.

Lee gave the world an enormous artistic legacy, in the process virtually creating a new cinematic art form. By the 1990s, Enter the Dragon alone had grossed more than $100 million, and Lee's influence could be found in the work of numerous Hollywood action heroes. In 1993, Jason Scott Lee (no relation) appeared in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, directed by Rob Cohen. Actress Lauren Holly played Lee's wife Linda, and Holly became friends with Lee's daughter Shannon.

Shannon Lee once told People that she had not inherited any of her father's or brother's fighting abilities. Although she became host of a TV show featuring martial arts competitions, she has said in most respects she was quite unlike her father.

Further Reading

Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television, Volume 15, Gale, 1996.

Hoffman, Charles, Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee, and the Dragon's Curse, Random House, 1995.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, Volume 3: Actors and Actresses, St. James Press, 1992.

Jahn, Michael, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Jove Books, 1993.

Lee, Linda, The Life and Tragic Death of Bruce Lee, Star Books, 1975.

Notable Asian Americans, Gale, 1995.

Uyehara, M., Bruce Lee: The Incomparable Fighter, Ohara Publications, 1988.

Maclean's, May 10, 1993.

People, October 23, 1995.

Time, May 17, 1993.

 

(born Nov. 27, 1940, San Francisco, Calif., U.S. — died July 20, 1973, Hong Kong) U.S. film actor. The son of a touring Chinese opera star, he spent his childhood in Hong Kong, where he acted in several movies. He returned to the U.S., and in 1966 he landed a role in the television series The Green Hornet. In the early 1970s he became a popular star of martial-arts action films, including Fist of Fury (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973), which gained an international cult following. His career was cut short by his sudden death at 33 from a brain edema suffered after taking a pain killer. Nevertheless, his films remained popular and became widely imitated. His son Brandon Lee (1965 – 93) was emerging as an action-movie star when he died in a shooting accident on a movie set.

For more information on Bruce Lee, visit Britannica.com.

 
Games:

Bruce Lee

  • Platform: Commodore 64/128
  • Release Date: 1983

Game Description

Bruce Lee puts you in the role of the title character on a quest for riches and immortality. To accomplish this goal Bruce attempts to infiltrate the fortress of a mystic wizard who can grant him all he wishes. Each room of the temple is a puzzle requiring the user to capture lanterns in order to open the exits to the next room.

Each chamber is a platform environment that requires running and jumping in attempts to capture all of the lanterns which are placed in accessible positions around the screen. Bruce will be required to scale or descend vines and ride waves of particles that can reverse direction without notice. While attempting to secure all of the lanterns Bruce will be attacked by ninjas and the Yamo who will attack with swords and flying kicks. Bruce, as he was in real life, is equipped with martial arts moves of his own and the player must utilize his flying kicks, punches and chops to defeat the enemies that attack him.

There are numerous hazards and traps that can foil your attempts at defeating the wizard. Such dangerous items include electrical charges, exploding bushes, and Pan lights, which stream along the floors.

There are two different player options. In single player mode Bruce travels through the fortress and can take five hits before it is game over. In two player mode, one user plays until Bruce takes a hit, then it is the others player turn to control Bruce. The computer will keep track of who does what and how many lives are left for each player. Controls for the game are primarily joystick based but can be controlled using the keyboard.

Points are scored for successfully destroying lanterns, enemies and for passing levels. The high score is saved and shown at the top of the screen along with the number of lives remaining for the player and the current player's current score. ~ Ryan Glover, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Programming by: Richard Mirsky

Concept by: Ron J. Fortier, Kelly Day

Computer Graphics by: Kelly Day

Documentation by: Ingrid Holcomb ~ Ryan Glover, All Game Guide

 
Quotes By: Bruce Lee

Quotes:

"Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against."

"I'm not in this world to live up to your expectations and you're not in this world to live up to mine."

"The future looks extremely bright indeed, with lots of possibilities ahead -- big possibilities. Like the song says, We've just begun."

"You just wait. I'm going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world."

"Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential."

"I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged. I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation. Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude."

See more famous quotes by Bruce Lee

 
Wikipedia: Bruce Lee


Bruce Lee
BruceLeecard.jpg
Birth name Lee Jun-Fan (李振藩)
Born September 13 1940(1940--)
San Francisco, California, United States
Died July 20 1973 (aged 32)
Hong Kong
Spouse(s) Linda Lee Cadwell
Official site Bruce Lee Foundation

Bruce Junfan Lee (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng; Cantonese Yale: Léih Síulùhng; November 27, 1940July 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
Enlarge
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

Main article: 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]
Enlarge
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]
Main article: Jeet Kune Do

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

Main article: 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

Bruce Lee's "One inch punch"
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Bruce Lee's "One inch punch"

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
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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 in Way of the Dragon in 1972
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Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon in 1972

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