Bruce Jun Fan Lee 李振藩
Born November 27, 1940 in San Francisco - died July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong. Lee was an American-born Chinese martial artist, instructor actor, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts system. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and famous martial artists of all time. He is also widely known as the greatest icon of martial arts cinema and a key figure of modern popular culture. In the martial arts folklore, he is considered by many to be the greatest martial artist of all time, including karate legend Joe Lewis and Davis Miller.
Lee's films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level and sparked a greater interest in Chinese martial arts in the West. Lee also became iconic to Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese national pride and Chinese nationalism in his movies. His pioneering efforts paved the way for future martial artists and martial arts actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chuck Norris, bringing martial arts films and actors to the mainstream.
Many see Lee as a model blueprint for acquiring a strong and efficient body as well as developing a mastery of martial arts and hand to hand combat skills. Lee began the process of creating his own fighting system known as Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee's evaluation of traditional martial arts doctrines is nowadays seen as one of the first steps into popularising the modern style of mixed martial arts.
Early life
Bruce Lee was an American Born Chinese (ABC) born at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco in 1940 to his Chinese father Lee Hoi-Chuen and Chinese-German mother Grace Lee. Lee's parents were on a one-year U.S. tour with the Cantonese Opera Company.
Bruce's Cantonese given name, 振藩 (Jun Fan Cantonese: Janfàan Pinyin: Zhènfán), literally means "invigorate San Francisco." 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. 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, and then again at another Catholic boys' school, St Francis Xavier's College.
In addition, Lee initially had a birth name 李炫金 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 , 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 which literally means "Lee Little Dragon", he was commonly known by this name in Asia. These were first used by the directors of the early 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.
Education and family
At age 14, Bruce Lee entered La Salle College in Hong Kong, 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 Academic 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.
Acting career
Lee's father was a famous opera star. Through his father he was introduced into films very young.
In 1964 at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee met Karate champion Chuck Norris. In 1972, Lee introduced Norris to the big screen, as an opponent in Return of the Dragon (aka Way of the Dragon).
Lee went on to star as Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet, which ran from 1966 to 1967. Lee often used film cameras to teach and 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
Lee starred in a number of films that were released in the U.S., three of which (Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death) premiered after his death.
Note: The title The Chinese Connection (a play on the then-recently-released The French Connection) was originally intended for The Big Boss due to the drugs theme of the story.
Yuen Lo Known later as Jackie Chan, was a member of the Seven Little Fortunes. He also was a stunt double for the villain Mr. Suzuki in Lee's Fist of Fury. In the film Enter the Dragon, Chan was one of the henchmen disposed of in the underground lair.
Yuen Wah, also a member of the Seven Little Fortunes, and later to become a well known actor in his own right (notably starring in 2005's Kung Fu Hustle), was Lee's stunt double in Lee's last few films.
Martial arts training and development
Tai Chi Chuan
Young Bruce learned the fundamentals of Wu style Tai Chi Chuan from his father, Lee Hoi Cheun. He always held that the principles of Tai Chi Chuan influenced his view of martial arts all through his life as an actor and a martial artist. While it is obvious that the style studied by his father was the Wu style, Lee was seen on at least one occasion demonstrating the 108 Basic Movements of the Yang form.
Hung Gar
In between the learning of Tai Chi and Wing Chun, Lee also learned bits and pieces of the Kung fu style Hung Gar from a friend of his father. While it is unknown how much he learned of this particular martial art, there are photographs of Bruce demonstrating animal stances and forms found within its teachings.
Wing Chun
Bruce Lee began his formal martial arts training as a teenager in Wing Chun under Hong Kong Wing Chun master Yip Man. Bruce was introduced to Sifu Yip Man by William Cheung though there is some confusion as to the exact year [6]. Like most 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 of Lee's training was Wong Shun-leung (with whom he maintained a close relationship in later years and is understood to be the most influential). Lee would leave before learning the entire Wing Chun curriculum, but Wing Chun formed a base for his later explorations of martial arts and development of Jeet Kune Do.
Bruce Lee's first formal, organized bout came as a teenager at his high school in Hong Kong. He was to fight a young British boxer, a reigning two-time boxing champion. Bruce knocked his opponent out with repeated strikes, using the Wing Chun technique jik chung chuy.
Jun Fan Gung Fu
Lee began the process of creating his own martial arts system after his arrival in the United States in 1959. Lee called his martial arts Jun Fan Gung Fu (literally Bruce's Gung Fu), which consisted mostly of Wing Chun, with elements of Western Boxing and Fencing. 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 appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships and performed repetitions of two-finger pushups (using the thumb and the index finger) with feet approximately shoulder-width apart. At the same Long Beach event he also performed the "One inch punch". 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 placed behind the partner (to prevent injury), though the force of the impact caused his partner to soon after fall onto the floor.
In 1964, Lee was challenged by Wong Jack Man, a practitioner of Northern Shaolin. Lee claimed that, after arriving in San Francisco, his theories about martial arts and his teaching of "secret" Chinese martial arts to non-Asian students gave him enemies in the martial arts community. In contrast, Wong stated that he requested a bout with Lee as a result of Lee's open challenge during a demonstration at a Chinatown theater; Lee had claimed to be able to defeat any martial artist in San Francisco, according to Wong. The two fought in December, 1964, at a kung fu school in Oakland, California. Lee and Wong provided significantly different accounts of the private bout, which was not filmed. Afterwards, Lee stated in an interview, without naming Wong as the loser, that he had defeated an unnamed challenger. In response, Wong wrote his description of the fight as well as an invitation to Lee for a public match, which was printed on the front page of Chinese Pacific Weekly, a Chinese-language newspaper in San Francisco. Lee did not fight Wong again.
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.
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: Taky Kimura, James Yimm Lee (no relation to Bruce Lee)and Dan Inosanto, . James Yimm Lee, a close friend of Bruce Lee, died without certifying additional students. Dan Inosanto wrote that although Lee defeated Wong in three minutes, Lee was disappointed that the fight was not resolved in seconds. 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.
Physical fitness and nutrition
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 (79 lbs) and eight repetitions[9] for endurance. This translates to an estimated one repetition maximum of 50kg, (110 lbs) placing Lee in approximately the 100th percentile for the 55 to 64 kilogram weight class (121-141 Lbs).
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
Bruce Lee's feats
Bruce Lee's two finger push upsBruce Lee's striking speed from 60cm (24 inches) away was five hundredths of a second.
Bruce did one-hand push ups using only 2 fingers.
Bruce was able to break a 70 kg (154 lbs) bag with a sidekick.
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. To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $100,000,000.
Bruce was able to hold a 57 kg (125 lb) barbell at arms length in front of him (with elbows locked) for several seconds.
Quotes
These are some quotes from Bruce Lee's students and people who trained with him, about his feats of strength:
Chuck Norris
"Lee, pound for pound, might well have been one of the strongest men in the world, and certainly one of the quickest."
Doug Palmer
"Bruce was like the Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali in his prime, somebody who stood above everyone else. It's not that the other martial artists weren't good. It's just that this guy was great."
Herb Jackson
"The biggest problem in designing equipment for Bruce was that he'd go through it so damn fast. I had to reinforce his wooden dummy with automobile parts so he could train on it without breaking it. I had started to build him a mobile dummy that could actually attack and retreat to better simulate "live" combat, sadly Bruce died before the machine was built. It would have been strung up by big high-tension cables that I was going to connect between two posts, one on either side of his backyard. The reason for the machine was simply because no one could stand up to his full force punches and kicks, Bruce's strength and skill had evolved to a point where he had to fight machines."
"He never trained in a gym, he thought he could concentrate better at home, so he worked out on his patio. He had a small weight set, something like a standard 100 lb cast-iron set. In addition, he had a 310 lb Olympic barbell set, a bench press and some dumbbells, both solid and adjustable."
"Bruce used to beat all other comers at this type of wrist wrestling and even joked that he wanted to be world champion at it."
James Coburn
"Bruce and I were training out on my patio one day, we were using this giant bag for side kicks, I guess it weighed about 150 lb. Bruce looked at it and just went Bang, it shot up out into the lawn about 15 ft in the air, it then busted in the middle. It was filled with little bits and pieces of rag, we were picking up bits of rag for months."
Jesse Glover
"When he could do push ups on his thumbs and push ups with 250 lb on his back, he moved on to other exercises."
"The power that Lee was capable of instantly generating was absolutely frightening to his fellow martial artists, especially his sparring partners, and his speed was equally intimidating. We timed him with an electric timer once, and Bruce's quickest movements were around five hundredths of a second (.05sec), his slowest were around eight hundredths (.08sec). This was punching from a relaxed position with his hands down at his sides from a distance between 18-24 inches. Not only was he amazingly quick, but he could read you too. He could pick up on small subtle things that you were getting ready to do and then he'd just shut you down."
"Bruce was gravitating more and more toward weight training as he would use the weighted wall pulleys and do series upon series with them. He'd also grab one of the old rusty barbells that littered the floor at the YMCA and would roll it up and down his forearms, which is no small feat when you consider that the barbell weighed 70 lb."
Jim Kelly
"Bruce, well I can basically say this. I have been around a lot of great martial arts fighters. Worked out with them. Fought them in tournaments. In my opinion, Bruce Lee was the greatest martial artist who ever lived. To me, that's my opinion. I think Bruce Lee is the greatest martial artist ever. I don't think anybody is in his class."
Joe Lewis
"Bruce was incredibly strong for his size. He could take a 75 lb barbell and from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest, he could slowly stick his arms out, lock them and hold the barbell there for 20 seconds, that's pretty damn tough for a guy who at the time only weighed 138 lb. I know 200 lb weight lifters who can't do that."
" I never stood in front of another human who was as quick as him. He not only had the quickness, but he had the inner confidence to muster the conviction to do so. I've seen others who had the speed, but lack conviction or vice versa. He was like Ali, he had both. I stood before both of these men, so I know."
"If Bruce Lee wasn´t the greatest martial artist of all time, then certainly he is the number one candidate."
Leo Fong
"Yes, I was on the receiving end of his side kick. It was like getting hit with a truck."
Mito Uhera
"Bruce always felt that if your stomach wasn't developed, then you had no business doing any hard sparring."
James Rage
"I think its important for people to realize that he was not only one of history's greatest martial artists, but also one of the finest athletes period. His devotion to physical exercise and healthy lifestyle was mind-boggling."
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 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. On October 15, 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee was allergic to Equagesic. When the physicians 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.
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 philosophies 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.
"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..."
"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."
Awards and honours
With his ancestral roots coming from Gwan'on in Seundak, Guangdong province of China (广东顺德均安, 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 and as one of the greatest heroes & icons and among the influential martial artists of the 20th century.
The 1993 film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a fictionalized biographical film about Bruce Lee.
On July 21, 2003, to his 30th year of death, "Things Asian" published an article: Lee´s Legend remains strong 30 years after his death and in the process establish his place in martial arts as "the greatest martial artist of all-time".
In 2004, UFC president Dana White credited Bruce Lee as the "father of mixed martial arts".
In September 2004, a a BBC story stated that the Bosnian 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).
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.
Lee has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category Motion Picture, at 6933 Hollywood Blvd.
Known students in Jun Fan
Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do Jesse Glover
Steve Golden
Dan Inosanto
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
Chuck Norris
Numerous others...
Bruce Lee documentaries
Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey - Documentary by John Little based on his book by the same name.
Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon - Includes interviews with Bruce Lee students, and cast and crew members.
Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon - Documentary from the Biography Channel
Bruce Lee: The Man, the Myth - Biographical film.
Jeet Kune Do - Documentary by Wah Chan. More about JKD but contains much Bruce Lee footage.
Born November 27, 1940 in San Francisco - died July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong. Lee was an American-born Chinese martial artist, instructor actor, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts system. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and famous martial artists of all time. He is also widely known as the greatest icon of martial arts cinema and a key figure of modern popular culture. In the martial arts folklore, he is considered by many to be the greatest martial artist of all time, including karate legend Joe Lewis and Davis Miller.
Lee's films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level and sparked a greater interest in Chinese martial arts in the West. Lee also became iconic to Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese national pride and Chinese nationalism in his movies. His pioneering efforts paved the way for future martial artists and martial arts actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Chuck Norris, bringing martial arts films and actors to the mainstream.
Many see Lee as a model blueprint for acquiring a strong and efficient body as well as developing a mastery of martial arts and hand to hand combat skills. Lee began the process of creating his own fighting system known as Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee's evaluation of traditional martial arts doctrines is nowadays seen as one of the first steps into popularising the modern style of mixed martial arts.
Early life
Bruce Lee was an American Born Chinese (ABC) born at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco in 1940 to his Chinese father Lee Hoi-Chuen and Chinese-German mother Grace Lee. Lee's parents were on a one-year U.S. tour with the Cantonese Opera Company.
Bruce's Cantonese given name, 振藩 (Jun Fan Cantonese: Janfàan Pinyin: Zhènfán), literally means "invigorate San Francisco." 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. 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, and then again at another Catholic boys' school, St Francis Xavier's College.
In addition, Lee initially had a birth name 李炫金 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 , 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 which literally means "Lee Little Dragon", he was commonly known by this name in Asia. These were first used by the directors of the early 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.
Education and family
At age 14, Bruce Lee entered La Salle College in Hong Kong, 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 Academic 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.
Acting career
Lee's father was a famous opera star. Through his father he was introduced into films very young.
In 1964 at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee met Karate champion Chuck Norris. In 1972, Lee introduced Norris to the big screen, as an opponent in Return of the Dragon (aka Way of the Dragon).
Lee went on to star as Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet, which ran from 1966 to 1967. Lee often used film cameras to teach and 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
Lee starred in a number of films that were released in the U.S., three of which (Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death) premiered after his death.
Note: The title The Chinese Connection (a play on the then-recently-released The French Connection) was originally intended for The Big Boss due to the drugs theme of the story.
Yuen Lo Known later as Jackie Chan, was a member of the Seven Little Fortunes. He also was a stunt double for the villain Mr. Suzuki in Lee's Fist of Fury. In the film Enter the Dragon, Chan was one of the henchmen disposed of in the underground lair.
Yuen Wah, also a member of the Seven Little Fortunes, and later to become a well known actor in his own right (notably starring in 2005's Kung Fu Hustle), was Lee's stunt double in Lee's last few films.
Martial arts training and development
Tai Chi Chuan
Young Bruce learned the fundamentals of Wu style Tai Chi Chuan from his father, Lee Hoi Cheun. He always held that the principles of Tai Chi Chuan influenced his view of martial arts all through his life as an actor and a martial artist. While it is obvious that the style studied by his father was the Wu style, Lee was seen on at least one occasion demonstrating the 108 Basic Movements of the Yang form.
Hung Gar
In between the learning of Tai Chi and Wing Chun, Lee also learned bits and pieces of the Kung fu style Hung Gar from a friend of his father. While it is unknown how much he learned of this particular martial art, there are photographs of Bruce demonstrating animal stances and forms found within its teachings.
Wing Chun
Bruce Lee began his formal martial arts training as a teenager in Wing Chun under Hong Kong Wing Chun master Yip Man. Bruce was introduced to Sifu Yip Man by William Cheung though there is some confusion as to the exact year [6]. Like most 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 of Lee's training was Wong Shun-leung (with whom he maintained a close relationship in later years and is understood to be the most influential). Lee would leave before learning the entire Wing Chun curriculum, but Wing Chun formed a base for his later explorations of martial arts and development of Jeet Kune Do.
Bruce Lee's first formal, organized bout came as a teenager at his high school in Hong Kong. He was to fight a young British boxer, a reigning two-time boxing champion. Bruce knocked his opponent out with repeated strikes, using the Wing Chun technique jik chung chuy.
Jun Fan Gung Fu
Lee began the process of creating his own martial arts system after his arrival in the United States in 1959. Lee called his martial arts Jun Fan Gung Fu (literally Bruce's Gung Fu), which consisted mostly of Wing Chun, with elements of Western Boxing and Fencing. 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 appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships and performed repetitions of two-finger pushups (using the thumb and the index finger) with feet approximately shoulder-width apart. At the same Long Beach event he also performed the "One inch punch". 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 placed behind the partner (to prevent injury), though the force of the impact caused his partner to soon after fall onto the floor.
In 1964, Lee was challenged by Wong Jack Man, a practitioner of Northern Shaolin. Lee claimed that, after arriving in San Francisco, his theories about martial arts and his teaching of "secret" Chinese martial arts to non-Asian students gave him enemies in the martial arts community. In contrast, Wong stated that he requested a bout with Lee as a result of Lee's open challenge during a demonstration at a Chinatown theater; Lee had claimed to be able to defeat any martial artist in San Francisco, according to Wong. The two fought in December, 1964, at a kung fu school in Oakland, California. Lee and Wong provided significantly different accounts of the private bout, which was not filmed. Afterwards, Lee stated in an interview, without naming Wong as the loser, that he had defeated an unnamed challenger. In response, Wong wrote his description of the fight as well as an invitation to Lee for a public match, which was printed on the front page of Chinese Pacific Weekly, a Chinese-language newspaper in San Francisco. Lee did not fight Wong again.
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.
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: Taky Kimura, James Yimm Lee (no relation to Bruce Lee)and Dan Inosanto, . James Yimm Lee, a close friend of Bruce Lee, died without certifying additional students. Dan Inosanto wrote that although Lee defeated Wong in three minutes, Lee was disappointed that the fight was not resolved in seconds. 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.
Physical fitness and nutrition
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 (79 lbs) and eight repetitions[9] for endurance. This translates to an estimated one repetition maximum of 50kg, (110 lbs) placing Lee in approximately the 100th percentile for the 55 to 64 kilogram weight class (121-141 Lbs).
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
Bruce Lee's feats
Bruce Lee's two finger push upsBruce Lee's striking speed from 60cm (24 inches) away was five hundredths of a second.
Bruce did one-hand push ups using only 2 fingers.
Bruce was able to break a 70 kg (154 lbs) bag with a sidekick.
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. To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $100,000,000.
Bruce was able to hold a 57 kg (125 lb) barbell at arms length in front of him (with elbows locked) for several seconds.
Quotes
These are some quotes from Bruce Lee's students and people who trained with him, about his feats of strength:
Chuck Norris
"Lee, pound for pound, might well have been one of the strongest men in the world, and certainly one of the quickest."
Doug Palmer
"Bruce was like the Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali in his prime, somebody who stood above everyone else. It's not that the other martial artists weren't good. It's just that this guy was great."
Herb Jackson
"The biggest problem in designing equipment for Bruce was that he'd go through it so damn fast. I had to reinforce his wooden dummy with automobile parts so he could train on it without breaking it. I had started to build him a mobile dummy that could actually attack and retreat to better simulate "live" combat, sadly Bruce died before the machine was built. It would have been strung up by big high-tension cables that I was going to connect between two posts, one on either side of his backyard. The reason for the machine was simply because no one could stand up to his full force punches and kicks, Bruce's strength and skill had evolved to a point where he had to fight machines."
"He never trained in a gym, he thought he could concentrate better at home, so he worked out on his patio. He had a small weight set, something like a standard 100 lb cast-iron set. In addition, he had a 310 lb Olympic barbell set, a bench press and some dumbbells, both solid and adjustable."
"Bruce used to beat all other comers at this type of wrist wrestling and even joked that he wanted to be world champion at it."
James Coburn
"Bruce and I were training out on my patio one day, we were using this giant bag for side kicks, I guess it weighed about 150 lb. Bruce looked at it and just went Bang, it shot up out into the lawn about 15 ft in the air, it then busted in the middle. It was filled with little bits and pieces of rag, we were picking up bits of rag for months."
Jesse Glover
"When he could do push ups on his thumbs and push ups with 250 lb on his back, he moved on to other exercises."
"The power that Lee was capable of instantly generating was absolutely frightening to his fellow martial artists, especially his sparring partners, and his speed was equally intimidating. We timed him with an electric timer once, and Bruce's quickest movements were around five hundredths of a second (.05sec), his slowest were around eight hundredths (.08sec). This was punching from a relaxed position with his hands down at his sides from a distance between 18-24 inches. Not only was he amazingly quick, but he could read you too. He could pick up on small subtle things that you were getting ready to do and then he'd just shut you down."
"Bruce was gravitating more and more toward weight training as he would use the weighted wall pulleys and do series upon series with them. He'd also grab one of the old rusty barbells that littered the floor at the YMCA and would roll it up and down his forearms, which is no small feat when you consider that the barbell weighed 70 lb."
Jim Kelly
"Bruce, well I can basically say this. I have been around a lot of great martial arts fighters. Worked out with them. Fought them in tournaments. In my opinion, Bruce Lee was the greatest martial artist who ever lived. To me, that's my opinion. I think Bruce Lee is the greatest martial artist ever. I don't think anybody is in his class."
Joe Lewis
"Bruce was incredibly strong for his size. He could take a 75 lb barbell and from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest, he could slowly stick his arms out, lock them and hold the barbell there for 20 seconds, that's pretty damn tough for a guy who at the time only weighed 138 lb. I know 200 lb weight lifters who can't do that."
" I never stood in front of another human who was as quick as him. He not only had the quickness, but he had the inner confidence to muster the conviction to do so. I've seen others who had the speed, but lack conviction or vice versa. He was like Ali, he had both. I stood before both of these men, so I know."
"If Bruce Lee wasn´t the greatest martial artist of all time, then certainly he is the number one candidate."
Leo Fong
"Yes, I was on the receiving end of his side kick. It was like getting hit with a truck."
Mito Uhera
"Bruce always felt that if your stomach wasn't developed, then you had no business doing any hard sparring."
James Rage
"I think its important for people to realize that he was not only one of history's greatest martial artists, but also one of the finest athletes period. His devotion to physical exercise and healthy lifestyle was mind-boggling."
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 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. On October 15, 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee was allergic to Equagesic. When the physicians 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.
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 philosophies 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.
"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..."
"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."
Awards and honours
With his ancestral roots coming from Gwan'on in Seundak, Guangdong province of China (广东顺德均安, 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 and as one of the greatest heroes & icons and among the influential martial artists of the 20th century.
The 1993 film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a fictionalized biographical film about Bruce Lee.
On July 21, 2003, to his 30th year of death, "Things Asian" published an article: Lee´s Legend remains strong 30 years after his death and in the process establish his place in martial arts as "the greatest martial artist of all-time".
In 2004, UFC president Dana White credited Bruce Lee as the "father of mixed martial arts".
In September 2004, a a BBC story stated that the Bosnian 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).
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.
Lee has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category Motion Picture, at 6933 Hollywood Blvd.
Known students in Jun Fan
Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do Jesse Glover
Steve Golden
Dan Inosanto
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
Chuck Norris
Numerous others...
Bruce Lee documentaries
Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey - Documentary by John Little based on his book by the same name.
Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon - Includes interviews with Bruce Lee students, and cast and crew members.
Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon - Documentary from the Biography Channel
Bruce Lee: The Man, the Myth - Biographical film.
Jeet Kune Do - Documentary by Wah Chan. More about JKD but contains much Bruce Lee footage.
