Bruce Lee

   

Martial artist and movie star Bruce Lee's sculpture in the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong

Early life

Bruce Lee was an American Born Chinese (ABC) born at the Chinese Hospital^[2] in San Francisco in 1940 to his Chinese father Lee Hoi-Chuen and Chinese-German^[3] mother Grace Lee, where Bruce's parents were on a one-year U.S. tour with the Cantonese Opera Company. Bruce's maternal grandmother was Chinese and his maternal grandfather was German.

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Names

Screenshot from Thunderstorm, one of a few movies Lee Siu Lung starred in as a teenager.

Bruce's Cantonese given name, 振藩 (Jun Fan Cantonese: Janfàan Pinyin: Zhènfán), literally means "invigorate San Francisco."^[4] At birth, he was given the English name "Bruce" by Dr. Mary Glover. Mrs. Lee had not initially planned on an American name but deemed it appropriate and concurred with Dr. Glover.^[5] Interestingly the name "Bruce" was never used within his family until he enrolled in La Salle College, a Hong Kong high school, at 12 years of age, ^[4] and then again at another Catholic boys' school, St Francis Xavier's College. There he represented their boxing team in inter-school events.

In addition, Lee initially had a birth name 李炫金 ^[1] (Cantonese: Léi Yùngām Pinyin: Lǐ Xuànjīn) given by his mother, as at the time Lee's father was away on a Chinese opera tour. After several months, when Lee's father returned, the name was abandoned because of a conflict with the name of Lee's grandfather. Lee was then renamed Jun Fan. Finally, Lee was also given a feminine name, 李細鳳 (Cantonese: Léi Saifung Pinyin: Lǐ Xìfèng), literally "small phoenix". It was used throughout his early childhood in keeping with a Chinese custom traditionally thought to hide the child from evil spirits.

Bruce Lee's screen name was 李小龍 (Cantonese: Léi Síulùng Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng) which literally means "Lee Little Dragon", he was commonly known by this name in Asia. These were first used by the directors of the 1950 Cantonese movies in which Lee performed. It is possible that the name "little dragon" was chosen based on his childhood name "small phoenix". In Chinese tradition, the Chinese dragon and phoenix come in pairs to represent the male and female genders. However, it is more likely that he was called Little Dragon because he was born in the Year of the Dragon in the Hour of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac.

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Education and family

At age 14, Bruce Lee entered La Salle College, a high school, under the wing of Brother Henry. Then, he attended St Francis Xavier's College from 1957-1959.

In 1959, Bruce got into a fight with a feared Triad gang member's son. His father became concerned about his safety and Bruce was sent to the United States to live with an old friend of his father's. All he had was $100 and the title of 1958 Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong. 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 philosophy major. There he met his future wife Linda Emery.

Bruce and Linda married in 1964 and had two children together, Brandon Lee (born 1965) and Shannon Lee (born 1969). Brandon, an actor like his father, died on a movie set while filming The Crow on March 31, 1993.

Brandon Lee was killed by a piece of shrapnel from a faulty blank bullet. Bruce's character (Billy Lo) was almost killed in a similar way in the movie 'Game Of Death' this is often confused with 'Fist Of Fury' as the movie used previous footage from "fist" to complete the scene after Lee's death.

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Acting career

At the age of six, Bruce started to appear in numerous Chinese films. his first film was called "A beginning of a boy". In 1958 Bruce became the Hong Kong Cha Cha champion. He then made 2 more films "The Orphan" and "Thunderstorm".

A few credits short of graduation, Lee headed to San Francisco and then to Hollywood.

In 1964 at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee met karate champion Chuck Norris. In 1972, Lee later induced Norris to portray one of his opponents in Return of the Dragon, also known as Way of the Dragon, in a famous Colosseum fight scene.

Lee went on to star as Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet, which ran from 1966 to 1967, and afterward opened up his own Jeet Kune Do school. Later, Lee used filmmaking to demonstrate his martial arts fighting techniques and theories.

He also appeared in the film Marlowe in 1969 and a few episodes of the TV series Longstreet in 1971 

 

 

 

 

Filmography 

 

Released	Chinese and English title of original release	U.S. title	Note
1941	Golden Gate Girl		Plays an infant
1946	The Birth of Mankind
1948	Fu gui fu yun, aka Wealth is Like a Dream
1949	Meng li xi shi, aka Sai See in the Dream		Plays "Yam Lee"
1950	Xi lu xiang, aka The Kid	My Son, Ah Chung	Plays "Lee Siu Lung"
1951	Ren zhi cue aka Infancy		Plays "Ngau".
1953	Qian wan ren jia
1953	Fu zhi guo aka Blame it on Father	Father's Fault
1953	Ku hai ming deng aka The Guiding Light
1953	Ci mu lei aka A Mother's Tears
1953	Wei lou chun xiao aka In the Face of Demolition
1955	Gu xing xue lei
1955	Gu er xing
1955	Ai aka Love
1955	Ai xia ji aka Love Part 2
1955	Er nu zhai aka We Owe It to Our Children
1956	Zhia dian na fu
1957	Lei yu aka The Thunderstorm
1960	Ren hai gu hong aka The Orphan		Plays "Ah San".
1971	The Big Boss	Fists of Fury	Plays "Cheng Chao-an". Fights against a drug lord in Thailand.
1972	Fist of Fury	The Chinese Connection	Plays "Chen Zhen" 陳真. Fights against Japanese tyrants to revenge his master in Shanghai.
1972	Way of the Dragon	Return of the Dragon	Plays "Tang Long". Fights crime in Rome, Italy. Released after 'Enter the Dragon' in the U.S.; hence the title.
1973	Enter the Dragon	same	Plays Shaolin martial arts master "Mr. Lee". Sent as a spy into a tournament hosted by a rogue monk turned drug lord.
1979	Game of Death	same	Plays "Billy Lo". Bruce Lee acts only in the last third of the movie, due to it being pieced together after his death

 

Martial arts lineage

Lineage in Wing Chun/ Jeet Kun Do
Sifu in Wing Chun	Yip Man (葉問)
Other instructors	Sihing Wong Shun Leung(黃惇樑) Sihing William Cheung (張卓興)
Notable Sparring partner	Toa Dai Hawkinds Cheung Note: He was Bruce Lee's friend at the time.
Bruce Lee (李小龍) Creator of Jeet Kune Do
Known students in Jun Fan Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do	Jesse Glover Steve Golden Dan insanto Taky Kimura Jerry Poteet Ted Wong James Yimm Lee Numerous others...
Famous students taught Jun Fan/Jeet Kune Do	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar James Coburn Joe Lewis Roman Polanski Lee Marvin Steve Mcqueen Chuch Norris Numerous others...

 

Books authored

• Bruce Lee's fighting method 1-4
• Chinnesse Gung-fu: the phisosophical art of self defense
• The Tao of Jeet Kun Do

 

 

 

 

Physical fitness and nutrition

Lee flexing (1972), front

Bruce Lee felt that many martial artists of his day did not spend enough time on physical conditioning. He did not resort to traditional bodybuilding techniques to build mass; he was more interested in speed and power.

The weight training program that Lee used during a stay in Hong Kong in 1965 indicated biceps curls of 36kg and eight repetitions^[8] for endurance. This translates to an estimated one repetition maximum of 50kg, ^[9] placing Lee in approximately the 100th percentile for the 55 to 64 kilogram weight class.^[10]

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. Bruce Lee's washboard abs did not come from mere abdominal training; he was also a proponent of cardiovascular conditioning and would regularly run, jump rope, and ride a stationary bicycle. A typical exercise for Lee would be running two to six miles in fifteen to forty-five minutes.

Another element in Bruce Lee's quest for abdominal definition was nutrition. According to Linda Lee, soon after he moved to the United States, Bruce started to take nutrition seriously and developed an interest in health foods and high-protein drinks. He ate lean meat sparingly and consumed large amounts of fruits and vegetables.

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Bruce Lee's feats

Bruce Lee's two finger push ups

• Bruce Lee's striking speed from 60cm away was five hundredths of a second. (Glover^[11])
• Bruce did one-hand push ups using only 2 fingers.
• Bruce was able to break a 70 kg bag with a sidekick. (Coburn^[11])
• Bruce would ride for 45 minutes (16 Kilometres) on a stationary bike, sweating profusely afterwards. (Uhera ^[11])
• Bruce's famous "One Inch Punch" was able to knock back and off balance a 200lb man into a chair, using only 1 inch of striking distance. The target stands with their feet squared and is unable to turn to a sideways stance because of the chair being in the way, thus being knocked off balance.
• Bruce's last movie Enter the Dragon was made for US$850,000 in 1973 ($3.74 million in 2005 currency. BLS^[12]). To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $100,000,000. (IMDB.com^[13])
• Bruce was able to hold a 57 kg barbell at arms length in front of him (with elbows locked) for several seconds. (Little^[14])
• Bruce allegedly worked out on a daily basis. He was rumored to work up quite a sweat from both his axilla and brow.

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 both 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, Buddhism and Krishnamurti.

The following are some of Bruce Lee's quotes that reflect his fighting philosophy like Jiddu Krishnamurti teachings.

• "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."
• "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 water, my friend..."
• "Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."
• "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 Kung 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."
• "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."
• "Use no way as way; use no limitation as limitation."
• "The Most powerful fighter, is an ordinary man with laser precision focus."

Jeet Kune Do

The match with Wong 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. 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.

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 movement and change of the universe.

Lee emphasized what he called "the style of no style". This consisted of utilizing a non-formalized approach which Lee claimed was not indicative of traditional styles. Because Lee felt the system he 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, a term he would later regret because Jeet Kune Do implied specific parameters that styles connotate whereas the whole point of the system was to exist outside of parameters and limitations. Some confuse the Jeet Kune Do system with the personal version that Bruce Lee practised. Jeet Kune Do can be seen as both a process and a product, the latter deriving from the former.

Bruce Lee certified three instructors: Dan Inosanto, Taky Kimura, and James Yimm Lee (no relation to Bruce Lee). 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. All other instructors are certified under Dan Inosanto. 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.

As a result of a lawsuit between the estate of Bruce Lee (also known as Concord Moon) 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). The development of Bruce Lee's art from 1961 until the end of his life was one smooth and indivisible path. In the beginning, he referred to his teachings simply as Jun Fan Gung Fu. Later he further refined his art as a unique Gung fu all its own - Jeet Kune Do" (from the Bruce Lee Foundation Web site).

Some martial arts instructors, in an effort to promote themselves or their martial arts schools, make dubious claims about learning from or teaching Bruce Lee. There are only a few living people who can trace their lineage directly to Bruce Lee.

Famous 1 inch Punch

Death by "misadventure"

Bruce Lee's death was officially attributed to cerebral edema.

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, Bruce 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 Betty Ting Pei, a Taiwanese actress (claimed by some to be Lee's mistress) who was to have a leading role in the film. The three went over the script at her home, and then Chow left to attend a dinner meeting.

A short time later, Lee complained of a headache, and Ting Pei gave him a prescription analgesic known as Equagesic. At around 7:30 P.M., he lay down for a nap. After Lee didn't turn up for the 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 (13%). Lee was thirty-two years old. The medical staff examining him concluded that the immediate cause of death was a cerebral edema. Dr. R. R. Lycette of Queen Elizabeth Hospital determined that the swelling in the brain, and Lee's untimely death, was the result of an adverse reaction to one of the compounds in the prescription Equagesic tablet. The autopsy also revealed traces of cannabis in his body although doctors were certain it did not contribute to his death.^{[15] [16]} On October 15, 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee was allergic to Equagesic. When the doctors announced Bruce Lee's death officially, it was pronounced Death by Misadventure.

However, the exact details of Lee's death were controversial from the moment it was announced. Bruce Lee's iconic status and unusual death at a young age led to several conspiracy theories about Lee's death, such as a murder involving Triads seeking protection money, vengeful rival martial artists, or other enemies like Chinese and American directors and producers — but none of these are supported by any evidence. His sudden death has since passed into the realm of legend, with one legend claiming that Lee faked his death, and will return when he has perfected his martial arts.