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Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee

Chinese name 李小龍 (Traditional)

Chinese name 李小龙 (Simplified)

Pinyin Lǐ Xiǎolóng (Mandarin)

Jyutping lei5 siu2 lung4 (Cantonese)

Birth name Lee Jun Fan

李振藩 (Traditional)

李振藩 (Simplified)

Lǐ Zhènfān (Mandarin)

lei5 zan3 faan4 (Cantonese)

Ancestry Shunde, Guangdong, China

Origin Hong Kong

Born27 November 1940

San Francisco, California, USA

Died20 July 1973 (aged 32)

Hong Kong

Resting placeSeattle, Washington, USA

Lakeview Cemetery

Occupation

Actor, martial artist, philosopher, action

director, film director, screenwriter, martial

arts founder

Years active 1941–1973

Spouse(s) Linda Emery (born 1945) (1964-1973)

ChildrenBrandon Lee (1965–1993)

Shannon Lee (born 1969)

ParentsLee Hoi-chuen (1901-1965)

Grace Ho

Influenced

Jackie Chan

Sammo Hung

Jet Li

Donnie Yen

Stephen Chow

Official Website Bruce Lee Foundation

The Official Website of Bruce Lee

[show]Awards

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rendering support, you may see question marks,

boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese

characters.

Part of the series on

Chinese martial arts

List of Chinese martial arts

Terms

Kung fu (功夫)

Wushu (武術)

Historical places

Shaolin Monastery (少林寺)

Wudang Mountains (武當山)

Mount Emei (峨嵋山)

Kunlun Mountains (崑崙山)

Historical people

Five Elders (五祖)

Yim Wing-chun / Yan Yongchun (嚴詠春)

Hung Hei-gun / Hong Xiguan (洪熙官)

Dong Haichuan (董海川)

Yang Luchan (楊露禪)

Wu Quanyou (吳全佑)

Chen Fake (陈发科)

Chan Heung / Chen Xiang (陳享)

Wong Fei-hung / Huang Feihong (黃飛鴻)

Huo Yuanjia (霍元甲)

Yip Man / Ye Wen (葉問)

Bruce Lee / Li Xiaolong (李小龍)

Legendary figures

Eight immortals (八仙)

Bodhidharma / Putidamo / Damo (菩提達摩)

Zhang Sanfeng (張三丰)

Related

Hong Kong action cinema

Wushu (sport)

Wuxia (武俠)

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Bruce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍; pinyin: Lǐ Xiăolóng, born Lee Jun Fan (Chinese: 李振藩; pinyin: Lǐ Zhènfān); 27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) was an actor, martial artist, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do concept. He is considered one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century, and a cultural icon.[2]

Lee was born in San Francisco, California to parents of Hong Kong heritage but raised in Hong Kong until his late teens. Upon reaching the age of 18, Lee emigrated to the USA to claim his US Citizenship[3] and receive his higher education. It was during this time he began teaching martial arts, which soon led to film and television roles.

His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked a major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world as well. He is noted for

his roles in five feature-length films, Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Bruce Lee; Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973), directed by Robert Clouse, and The Game of Death (1978).

Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world and remains very popular among Asian people and in particular among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese nationalism through his films.[4] While Lee initially trained in Wing Chun, he later rejected well-defined martial art styles, favoring instead to utilize useful techniques from various sources in the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy he dubbed Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist).[5]

Contents

[hide] 1 Early life

o 1.1 Names

o 1.2 Family

o 1.3 Wing Chun

o 1.4 Leaving Hong Kong

2 New life in America

o 2.1 Jun Fan Gung Fu

o 2.2 Jeet Kune Do

o 2.3 Long Beach International Karate Championships

3 Fight history

4 Acting career

5 Physical fitness and nutrition

o 5.1 Physical fitness

o 5.2 Nutrition

o 5.3 Physical feats

6 Philosophy

7 Death

8 Legacy

o 8.1 Certified instructors

o 8.2 Hong Kong legacy

9 Awards and honors

10 Recognition

11 Martial arts lineage

12 Media

o 12.1 Books authored

o 12.2 Selected filmography

12.2.1 Film

12.2.2 Television

13 See also

14 Notes

15 References

16 External links

Early life

Bruce Lee was born on 27 November 1940 at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco's Chinatown.[6] His father Lee Hoi-Chuen was Chinese, and his mother Grace Ho (何愛瑜), a Catholic, was the daughter of a German father and Chinese mother.[7][8][9] He was the fourth child of five children: Agnus, Phoebe, Peter, and Robert. Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old.[10][11]

Names

Bruce Lee's Cantonese given name was Lee Jun Fan[12] The name literally means "return again"; it was given Bruce by his mother who felt he would return to the United States once he came of age.[7] Because of his mother's superstitious nature, she originally named him Sai Fon, which is a girls name.[13] The English name "Bruce" was thought to be given by the hospital attending physician, Dr. Mary Glover.[14]

Bruce Lee had three other Chinese names: Li Yuan-Xin 李源鑫 a family/clan name, Li Yuan

Jian 李元鑒 as a student name while attending La Salle College, and of course his Chinese stage

name Li Xiao Long 李小龍 (Xiao Long - meaning small dragon). The Jun Fan name was

originally written in Chinese as 震藩, however this Jun (震) was identical to part of his

grandfather's name 李震彪, which is considered taboo in Chinese tradition. Therefore, Bruce

Lee's name was changed to homonym/synonym 振.

Family

Bruce's father, Lee Hoi Chuen was one of the leading Cantonese opera and film actors at the time, and was embarking on a year-long Cantonese opera tour with his family on the eve of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during the Second World War. Lee Hoi Chuen had been touring the United States for many years performing at numerous Chinese communities.

Although a number of his peers decided to stay in the US, Lee Hoi Chuen decided to go back to Hong Kong after his wife gave birth to Bruce. Within months, Hong Kong was invaded and the Lees lived the ensuing 3 years and 8 months under Japanese occupation. The Lee family survived the war and had actually done reasonably well. After the war ended, Lee Hoi Chuen would resume his acting career and become an even bigger star during Hong Kong's rebuilding years.

Bruce Lee's mother Grace belonged to one of wealthiest and most powerful clans in Hong Kong, the Ho Tungs. She was the niece of Sir Robert Ho Tung, patriarch of the clan. As such, the young Bruce Lee grew up in an affluent and privileged environment. Despite this advantage of his family's status and because of the mass number of people fleeing communist China to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong neighborhood he grew up in became over-crowded, dangerous, and full of gang rivalries:[13]

Post war Hong Kong was a tough place to grow up. Gangs ruled the city streets and Lee was often forced to fight them. But Bruce liked a challenge and faced his adversaries head on. To his parents dismay Bruce's street fighting continued and the violent nature of his confrontations was escalating.

After being involved in several street fights, his parents decided that Bruce Lee needed to be trained in the martial arts. 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.[15]

Wing Chun

The largest influence on Bruce Lee's martial development was his study of the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. Bruce Lee began training in Wing Chun at age 13 under the famous Wing Chun master Yip Man in the summer of 1954. Master Yip Man was also a colleague and friend of Hong Kong's Tai Chi Chuan teacher Wu Ta-ch'i. Yip's regular classes generally consisted of the forms practice, chi sao (trapping hands) drills, wooden dummy techniques, and free-sparring.[16] There was no set pattern to the classes.[16] Yip tried to keep his students from fighting in the street gangs of Hong Kong by encouraging them to fight in organized competitions.[17]

After a year into his Wing Chun training, most of Yip Man's other students refused to train with Lee after they learnt of his ancestry (his mother was of half-German ancestry) as the Chinese in America generally were against teaching their martial arts techniques to non-Asians.[18] Lee's

sparring partner, Toe Dai Hawkins Cheung states, "Probably fewer than six people in the whole wing chun clan were personally taught, or even partly taught, by Yip Man.[19] " However Bruce showed a keen interest in the art, and continued to train privately with William Cheung and Wong Shun Leung in 1955.

Leaving Hong Kong

After attending Tak Sun School (德信學校) (a couple of blocks from his home at 218 Nathan Road, Kowloon) Lee entered the primary school division of La Salle College in 1950 or 1952 (at the age of 12). In around 1956, due to poor academic performance (or possibly poor conduct as well), he was transferred to St. Francis Xavier's College (high school) where he would be mentored by Brother Edward, a Catholic monk (originally from Germany spending his entire adult life in China and then Hong Kong), teacher, and coach of the school boxing team.

In the spring of 1959, Lee got into yet another street fight and the police were called.[20] Reaching all the way to his late teens Lee's street fights became more frequent and included beating up the son of a feared triad family. Finally Lee's father decided for him to leave Hong Kong to pursue a safer and healthier avenue in the U.S. His parents confirmed the police's fear that this time Bruce Lee's opponent had an organized crime background, and there was the possibility that a contract was out for his life.

The police detective came and he says "Excuse me Mr. Lee, your son is really fighting bad in school. If he gets into just one more fight I might have to put him in jail".—Robert Lee[13]

In April 1959 they decided to send him to the United States to meet up with his older sister Agnes Lee (李秋鳳) who was already living with family friends in San Francisco.

New life in America

At the age of 18, Lee returned to the U.S. with $100 in his pocket and the titles of 1957 High School Boxing Champion and 1958 Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong.[6] After living in San Francisco for several months, he moved to Seattle in the fall of 1959, to continue his high school education and worked for Ruby Chow as a live-in waiter at her restaurant.

Ruby's husband was a co-worker and friend of his father. His older brother Peter Lee (李忠琛) would also join Bruce Lee in Seattle for a short stay before moving on to Minnesota to attend college. In December 1960, Lee completed his high school education and received his diploma from Edison Technical School (now Seattle Central Community College, located on Capitol Hill, Seattle).

In March 1961, he enrolled at the University of Washington majoring in drama according to UW's alumni association information,[21] not in philosophy as claimed by Lee himself and many others. He most likely also studied philosophy, psychology, and various other subjects.[22][23][24] It

was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife Linda Emery, a US-American teacher, whom he would marry in August 1964.

Bruce Lee had two children with Linda, Brandon Lee (1965–1993) and Shannon Lee (*1969).

Jun Fan Gung Fu

Main article: Jun Fan Gung Fu

Lee began teaching martial arts in the United States in 1959. He called what he taught Jun Fan Gung Fu (literally Bruce Lee's Kung Fu). It was basically his approach to Wing Chun.[25] Lee taught friends he met in Seattle, starting with Judo practitioner Jesse Glover, who later became his first assistant instructor. Lee opened his first martial arts school, named the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, in Seattle.

Bruce Lee dropped out of college in the spring of 1964 and moved to Oakland to live with James Yim Lee (嚴鏡海, no relation to Bruce Lee). James was twenty years senior to Bruce and a well known Chinese martial artist in the Bay area. Together they co-founded the second Jun Fan martial art studio in Oakland. James Lee was also responsible for introducing Bruce Lee to Ed Parker, royalty of the US martial art world and organizer of the (Long Beach) International Karate Championships at which Bruce Lee was later "discovered" by Hollywood.

Jeet Kune Do

The Jeet Kune Do emblem is a registered trademark held by the Bruce Lee Estate. The Chinese characters around the Taijitu symbol read: "Using no way as way" and "Having no limitation as limitation" The arrows represent the endless interaction between yang and yin.[26]

Main article: Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do originated in 1965. A controversial match with Wong Jack Man heavily influenced Lee's philosophy about martial arts. Lee concluded that the fight had lasted too long and that he had failed to live up to his potential using his 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 the formalized approach which Lee claimed was indicative of traditional styles. Lee felt the system he now called Jun Fan Gung Fu was even too restrictive, and eventually evolved into a philosophy and martial art he would come to call Jeet Kune Do or the Way of the Intercepting Fist. It is a term he would later regret because Jeet Kune Do implied specific parameters that styles connote whereas the idea of his martial art was to exist outside of parameters and limitations.[27]

Long Beach International Karate Championships

At the invitation of Ed Parker, Lee appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships [28] 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",[29] the description of which is as follows: Lee stood upright, his right foot forward with knees bent slightly, in front of a standing, stationary partner. Lee's right arm was partly extended and his right fist approximately an inch away from the partner's chest. Without retracting his right arm, Lee then forcibly delivered the punch to his partner while largely maintaining his posture, sending the partner backwards and falling into a chair said to be placed behind the partner to prevent injury, though his partner's momentum soon caused him to fall to the floor. His volunteer was Bob Baker of Stockton, California. "I told Bruce not to do this type of demonstration again", Baker recalled. "When he punched me that last time, I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable."[30]

It was at the 1964 championships where Lee first met taekwondo master Jhoon Rhee. The two developed a friendship — a relationship from which they both benefited as martial artists. Jhoon Rhee taught Lee the side kick in detail, and Lee taught Rhee the "non-telegraphic" punch. [31]

Lee appeared at the 1967 Long Beach International Karate Championships and performed various demonstrations, including the famous "unstoppable punch" against USKA world karate champion Vic Moore.[28] Lee told Moore that he was going to throw a straight punch to the face, and all he had to do was to try and block it. Lee took several steps back and asked if Moore was ready, when Moore nodded in affirmation, Lee glided towards him until he was within striking range. He then threw a straight punch directly at Moore's face, and stopped before impact. In eight attempts, Moore failed to block any of the punches.[32]

Fight history

Martial artist Bruce Lee was involved in competitive fights. Some by arrangment, some without. Dan Inosanto stated, "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."[33]

Lee defeated three-time champion British boxer Gary Elms by way of knockout in the third round in the 1958 Hong Kong Inter-School amateur Boxing Championships by using Wing Chun traps and high/low-level straight punches.[34] Hawkings Cheung, his fellow Wing Chun street fighter, witnessed the event. Lee knocked-out Pu Chung, a Choy Li Fut fighter, in the roof tops of Hong Kong in a 1958 Full-Contact match. The match was refereed by Sheun-Leung Wong.[35]

[36]

The following year, Lee became a member of the "Tigers of Junction Street," and was involved in numerous gang-related street fights. "In one of his last encounters, while removing his jacket the fellow he was squaring off against sucker punched him and blackened his eye. Bruce flew into a rage and went after him, knocking him out, breaking his opponent's arm. The police were

called as a result."[37] The incident took place on a Hong Kong rooftop at 10 P.M. on Wednesday, April 29, 1959.[38]

In 1960 in Seattle, Lee backfisted and broke a man's nose after Lee saw him harassing a Chinese girl while Lee was taking a walk. This fight was witnessed by James DeMile in 1960.[39]

In 1962 Lee knocked out Uechi,a Japanese black belt, in 11 seconds in a 1962 Full-Contact match in Seattle.[40] It was refereed by Jesse Glover[41]. The incident took place in Seattle at a YMCA handball court.[42] Taki Kamura says the battle lasted 10 seconds in contrary to Harts statement.[43] Ed Hart states "The karate man arrived in his gi (uniform), complete with black belt, while Bruce showed up in his street clothes and simply took off his shoes. The fight lasted exactly 11 seconds--I know because I was the time keeper—and Bruce had hit the guy something like 15 times and kicked him once. I thought he'd killed him."[44] The fight ended by Bruce knocking Uechi the length of the gymnasium[45]

In Oakland, California in 1964 at China Town the Chinese community issued an ultimatum to Bruce's dojo to stop teaching non-Chinese[46]. Refusing to be told what to do or to discriminate who is allowed to learn, Lee had been challenged to a combat match with their top fighter Wong Jack Man [47]. The formidable Wong Jack Man had mastery of Xingyiquan, Northern Shaolin, and Tai Chi Chuan while being a direct student of Grand Master Ma Kin Fung. The arrangement was that if Bruce lost he would have to shut down his school, if he won then Bruce would be free to teach Caucasians or anyone else[48]. Wong stated that he requested to fight Lee after Lee issued an open challenge during one of Lee's demonstrations at a Chinatown theater[49]. However, contrary to this claimed motive is the signed formal letter manifested by Dan Chan with signatures by the martial art community, including Chan and Wong, as a petitioned document by the community does not correspond to the motive of responding to an open challenge. "That paper had all the names of the sifu from Chinatown, but they don't scare me." — Bruce Lee[50]

Wong and witness William Chen stated that the fight lasted an unusually long 20-25 minutes[51]. Individuals known to have witnessed the match included Cadwell, James Lee (Bruce Lee's associate, no relation) and William Chen, a teacher of Tai Chi Chuan. According to Bruce, Linda, and James Lee, the fight lasted 3 minutes with a decisive victory for Bruce. "The fight ensued, it was a no holds barred fight, it took three minutes. Bruce got this guy down to the ground and said 'do you give up?' and the man said he gave up." — Linda Lee Cadwell[52]

Reportedly, Wong Jack Man published his own account of the battle in the Chinese Pacific Weekly, a Chinese-language newspaper in San Francisco, which contained another challenge to Lee for a public rematch[53] Lee had no reciprocation to Wong's article nor were there any further public announcements by either, but Lee had continued to teach Caucasians.

Lee's eventual celebrity put him in the path of a number of men who sought to make a name for themselves by causing a confrontation with Lee. A challenger had invaded Lee's private home in Hong Kong by trespassing into the backyard to incite Lee in combat. Lee finished the challenger violently with a kick, infuriated over the home invasion. Describing the incident, Herb Jackson states,

One time one fellow got over that wall, got into his yard and challenged him and he says 'how good are you?' And Bruce was poppin mad. He [Bruce] says 'he gets the idea, this guy, to come and invade my home, my own private home, invade it and challenge me.' He said he got so mad that he gave the hardest kick he ever gave anyone in his life.[54]

Bob Wall, USPK karate champion and co-star in Enter the Dragon, recalled one encounter that transpired after a film extra kept taunting Lee. The extra yelled that Lee was "a movie star, not a martial artist," that he "wasn't much of a fighter." Lee answered his taunts by asking him to jump down from the wall he was sitting on. Wall described Lee's opponent as "a gang-banger type of guy from Hong Kong," a "damned good martial artist," and observed that he was fast, strong, and bigger than Bruce.[55]

This kid was good. He was strong and fast, and he was really trying to punch Bruce's brains in. But Bruce just methodically took him apart.[56] Bruce kept moving so well, this kid couldn't touch him...then all of a sudden, Bruce got him and rammed his ass with the wall and swept him up, proceeding to drop him and plant his knee into his opponent's chest, locked his arm out straight, and nailed him in the face repeatedly." — Bob Wall[57]

Acting career

Bruce Lee's star at the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong.

Lee's father Hoi-Chuen was a famous Cantonese Opera star; because of this, Bruce was introduced into films at a very young age and appeared in several short black-and-white films as a child. Lee had his first role as a baby who was carried onto the stage. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in twenty films.[6]

While in the United States from 1959–1964, Lee abandoned thoughts of a film career in favor of pursuing martial arts. William Dozier invited Lee for an audition, where Lee so impressed the producers with his lightning-fast moves that he earned the role of Kato alongside Van Williams in the TV series The Green Hornet. The show lasted just one season, from 1966 to 1967. Lee also played Kato in three crossover episodes of Batman. This was followed by guest appearances in a host of television series, including Ironside (1967) and Here Come the Brides (1969). In 1969, Lee made a brief appearance in his first American film Marlowe where he played a henchman hired to intimidate private detective Philip Marlowe (played by James Garner) by smashing up his office with leaping kicks and flashing punches, only to later accidentally jump off a tall building while trying to kick Marlowe off. In 1971, Lee appeared in four episodes of the

television series Longstreet as the martial arts instructor of the title character Mike Longstreet (played by James Franciscus).

According to statements made by Bruce Lee and also by Linda Lee Cadwell after Bruce's death, in 1971 Bruce pitched a television series of his own tentatively titled The Warrior, discussions which were also confirmed by Warner Bros. According to Cadwell, however, Lee's concept was retooled and renamed Kung Fu, but Warner Bros. gave Lee no credit.[58] Instead the role of the Shaolin monk in the Wild West, was awarded to then non-martial artist David Carradine because of the studio's fears that a Chinese leading man would not be embraced by the public.[59] Books and documentaries about the show "Kung Fu" dispute Cadwell's version. According to these sources, the show was created by two writers and producers, Ed Spielman and Howard Friedlander, and the reason Lee was not cast was in part because of his ethnicity but more so because he had a thick accent.[60]

In a 9 December 1971 television interview on The Pierre Berton Show, Bruce Lee himself makes reference to both Warner Brothers and Paramount wanting him to do an American TV series. After Pierre Berton comments, "there's a pretty good chance that you'll get a TV series in the States called "The Warrior", in it, where you use what, the Martial Arts in a Western setting?" Lee responds, "that was the original idea, ...both of them (Warner and Paramount), I think, they want me to be in a modernized type of a thing, and they think that "The Western" type of thing is out. Whereas I want to do the Western, because, you see, how else can you justify all of the punching and kicking and violence, except in the period of The West?" Later in the interview, Berton asks Lee about "the problems that you face as a Chinese hero in an American series. Have people come up in the industry and said 'well, we don't know how the audience are going to take a non-American'"?. Lee responds "Well, such question has been raised, in fact, it is being discussed. That is why "The Warrior" is probably not going to be on." Lee adds, "They think that business wise it is a risk. I don't blame them. If the situation were reversed, and an American star were to come to Hong Kong, and I was the man with the money, I would have my own concerns as to whether the acceptance would be there."[61]

Not happy with his supporting roles in the U.S., Lee returned to Hong Kong. Unaware that The Green Hornet had been played to success in Hong Kong and was unofficially referred to as "The Kato Show", he was surprised to be recognized on the street as the star of the show. Lee was then offered a film contract by legendary director Raymond Chow to star in two films produced by his production company Golden Harvest. Lee played his first leading role in The Big Boss (1971) which proved to be an enormous box office success across Asia and catapulted him to stardom. He soon followed up with Fist of Fury (1972) which broke the box office records set previously by The Big Boss. Having finished his initial two-year contract, Lee negotiated a new deal with Golden Harvest. Lee later formed his own company Concord Productions Inc. (協和公司) with Chow. For his third film, Way of the Dragon (1972), he was given complete control of the film's production as the writer, director, star, and choreographer of the fight scenes. In 1964, at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee had met karate champion Chuck Norris. In Way of the Dragon Lee introduced Norris to moviegoers as his opponent in the final death fight at the Colosseum in Rome, today considered one of Lee's most legendary fight scenes and one of the most memorable fight scenes in martial arts film history.[62]

In late 1972, Lee began work on his fourth Golden Harvest Film, Game of Death. He began filming some scenes including his fight sequence with 7'2" American Basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a former student. Production was stopped when Warner Brothers offered Lee the opportunity to star in Enter the Dragon, the first film to be produced jointly by Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. This film would skyrocket Lee to fame in the U.S. and Europe. However, only a few months after the film's completion and 6 days before its 26 July 1973 release,[63] the supremely fit Lee mysteriously died. Enter the Dragon would go on to become one of the year's highest grossing films and cement Lee as a martial arts legend. It was made for US$850,000 in 1973 (equivalent to $4 million adjusted for inflation as of 2007).[64] To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $200 million worldwide.[65][not in citation given] The movie sparked a brief fad in the martial-arts, epitomized in such songs as "Kung Fu Fighting" and such TV shows as Kung Fu.

Robert Clouse, the director of Enter the Dragon, and Raymond Chow attempted to finish Lee's incomplete film Game of Death which Lee was also set to write and direct. Lee had shot over 100 minutes of footage, including outtakes, for Game of Death before shooting was stopped to allow him to work on Enter the Dragon. In addition to Abdul-Jabbar, George Lazenby, Hapkido master Ji Han Jae and another Lee student, Dan Inosanto were also to appear in the film, which was to culminate in Lee's character, Hai Tien (clad in the now-famous yellow track suit) taking on a series of different challenge on each floor as they make their way through a five-level pagoda. In a controversial move, Robert Clouse finished the film using a look-alike and archive footage of Lee from his other films with a new storyline and cast, which was released in 1979. However, the cobbled-together film contained only fifteen minutes of actual footage of Lee (he had printed many unsuccessful takes[66]) while the rest had a Lee look-alike, Kim Tai Chung, and Yuen Biao as stunt double. The unused footage Lee had filmed was recovered 22 years later and included in the documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey. [67]

Physical fitness and nutrition

Lee in Way of the Dragon in 1972.

Physical fitness

Bruce Lee was renowned for his physical fitness and vigorous, dedicated fitness regime to become as strong as he possibly could.

After his match with Wong Jack Man in 1965, Lee changed his approach toward martial arts training. 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.[68]

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 single bicep curls at a weight of 70 to 80 lb (about 32 to 36 kg) for three sets of eight repetitions, along with other forms of exercises, such as squats, push-ups, reverse curls, concentration curls, French presses, and both wrist curls and reverse wrist curls.[69] 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 lb (about 72 kg). Lee was documented as having well over 2,500 books in his own personal library, and eventually concluded that "A stronger muscle, is a bigger muscle", a conclusion he later disputed.[citation needed] Bruce forever experimented with his training routines to maximize his physical abilities, and push the human body to its limits. He employed many different routines and exercises including skipping rope, which served his training and bodybuilding purposes effectively.[70]

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. Mito Uyehara recalled that "Bruce always felt that if your stomach was not developed, then you had no business doing any hard sparring". According to his wife Linda, even when not training he would frequently perform sit ups and other ab exercises in domestic living throughout the day, such as during watching TV. She said of Lee, "Bruce was a fanatic about ab training. He was always doing sit-ups, crunches, Roman chair movements, leg raises and V-ups".[71]

Lee trained from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., including stomach, flexibility, and running, and from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. he would weight train and cycle. A typical exercise for Lee would be to run a distance of two to six miles in 15 to 45 minutes, in which he would vary speed in 3–5 minute intervals. Lee would ride the equivalent of 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) in 45 minutes on a stationary bike.[72][73]

Lee would sometimes exercise with the jump rope and put in 800 jumps after cycling. Lee would also do exercises to toughen the skin on his fists, including thrusting his hands into buckets of harsh rocks and gravel. He would do over 500 repetitions of this on a given day.[74] An article of the S. China Post writes "When a doctor warned him not to inflict too much violence on his

body, Bruce dismissed his words. 'the human brain can subjugate anything, even real pain' --Bruce Lee.[75]"

Nutrition

According to Linda Lee, soon after he moved to the United States, Lee started to take nutrition seriously and developed an interest in health foods, high-protein drinks and vitamin and mineral supplements. He later concluded that in order to achieve a high-performance body, one could not fuel it with a diet of junk food, and with "the wrong fuel" one's body would perform sluggishly or sloppily [76]. Lee also avoided baked goods and refined flour, describing them as providing calories which did nothing for his body.[77]

He consumed green vegetables and fruits every day. Bruce always preferred to eat Chinese or other Asian food because he loved the variety that it had. Some of his favourite Chinese dishes were beef in oyster sauce, tofu and steak and liver [78]. He also became a heavy advocate of dietary supplements, including Vitamin C, Lecithin granules, Bee pollen, Vitamin E, Rose hips (liquid form), Wheat germ oil, Acerola — C and B-Folia. [79]

Bruce Lee disliked dairy food although he knew that for building muscle he must add milk and consume eggs. As a result he only ate dairy as part of cereals and protein drinks, usually using powdered milk instead of fresh milk. Lee's diet included protein drinks; he always tried to consume one or two daily, but discontinued drinking them later on in his life. They typically included non-instant powdered milk which is reported to have a higher concentration of calcium than other forms of powdered milk, Eggs, wheat germ, peanut butter, banana, Brewers yeast for its B vitamins, and Inositol and Lecithin supplements [80]. Linda recalls Bruce's waist fluctuated between 26 and 28 inches (66 to 71 centimeters). "He also drank his own juice concoctions made from vegetables and fruits, apples, celery, carrots and so on, prepared in an electric blender", she said.[81]

According to Lee, the size of portions and number of meals were just as important. He would usually consume four or five smaller meals a day rather than a couple of large meals, and would boost his metabolism by eating small healthy snacks such as fruits throughout the day.[82] Fruit and vegetables provided him with the richest source of carbohydrates, he was particularly keen on carrots which would make up one half of the contents of the drink, with the remaining being split between the other fruits and vegetables. The reason why Lee was to keen on juicing vegetables and fruits is that he believed it allowed the body to assimilate many nutrients more easily. The enzymes in the juiced vegetables acting as organic catalysts which increase the metabolism and absorption of nutrients. Given that most of these enzymes are destroyed when vegetables are cooked, Lee would try to consume them raw.[83]

Lee often drank a royal jelly and ginseng drink as they contain B-complex vitamins, including a high concentration of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), acetylcholine, hormones, and eighteen amino acids which allow for a quick energy boost.[84] In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ginseng is also said to improve circulation, increase blood supply, allow quicker recovery times after exhaustion and stimulating the body.[85]

Physical feats

Lee's phenomenal fitness meant he was capable of performing many exceptional physical feats.[86][87][88][89] "A man able to perform super human feats that have yet to be equaled."[90] The following list includes some of the physical feats that are attributed to Bruce Lee.

Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached five hundredths of a second.[91]

Lee could take in one arm a 75 lb barbell from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest and slowly stick his arms out locking them, holding the barbell there for 20 seconds.[92]

Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film for clear slow motion replay using the traditional 24 frames per second of that era, so many scenes were shot in 32 frames per second for better clarity.[93][94][95]

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.[96]

Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.[88]

Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks.[97]

Lee could thrust his fingers through unopened cans of Coca-Cola. (This was when soft drinks cans were made of steel much thicker than today's aluminum cans).[95]

Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger.[89][97][98]

Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.[99]

Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.[100]

Lee could cause a 200-lb (90.72 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.[89]

Lee performed a sidekick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150 lb (68 kg) punching bag.[88][101]

In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso horizontal midair.[102]

Philosophy

Although Lee is best known as a martial artist, he also studied drama and philosophy while a student at the University of Washington. He was well-read and had an extensive library. His own books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertions both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His eclectic philosophy often mirrored his fighting

beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. He believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts.[103] His influences include Taoism, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhism.[104] John Little states that Lee was an atheist. When asked in 1972 what his religious affiliation was, he replied "none whatsoever."[105] Also in 1972, when asked if he believed in God, he responded, "To be perfectly frank, I really do not."[105]

The following quotations reflect his fighting philosophy.

"Be formless... shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You pour water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put water into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or creep or drip or crash! Be water, my friend..."[106]

"All types of knowledge, ultimately leads to self knowledge"[107]

"Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."[108]

"Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there."[109]

"Quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough."[110]

"I always learn something, and that is: to always be yourself. And to express yourself, to have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate him."[111]

"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."[112]

Death

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

On 10 May 1973, Lee collapsed in Golden Harvest studios while doing dubbing work for the movie Enter the Dragon. Suffering from seizures and headaches, he was immediately rushed to Hong Kong Baptist Hospital where doctors diagnosed cerebral edema. They were able to reduce the swelling through the administration of mannitol. These same symptoms that occurred in his first collapse were later repeated on the day of his death.[113]

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

Later Lee complained of a headache, and Ting gave him an analgesic (painkiller), Equagesic, which contained both aspirin and a muscle relaxant. Around 7:30 p.m., he went to lie down for a nap. When Lee did not turn up for dinner, Chow came to the apartment but could not wake Lee up. A doctor was summoned, who spent ten minutes attempting to revive him before sending him by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Lee was dead by the time he reached the hospital.[114]

There was no visible external injury; however according to autopsy reports, his brain had swollen considerably, from 1,400 to 1,575 grams (a 13% increase). Lee was 32 years old. The only substance found during the autopsy was Equagesic. On 15 October 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee died from a hypersensitivity to the muscle relaxant in Equagesic, which he described as a common ingredient in painkillers. When the doctors announced Lee's death officially, it was ruled a "death by misadventure."[citation needed]

Controversy occurred when Dr. Don Langford, who was Lee's personal physician in Hong Kong and had treated Lee during his first collapse believed that "Equagesic was not at all involved in Bruce's first collapse."[115]

However Professor R.D. Teare, a forensic scientist recommended by Scotland Yard who had overseen over 1000 autopsies, was the top expert assigned to the Lee case. His conclusion was that the death was caused by an acute cerebral edema due to a reaction to compounds present in the prescription pain killing drug Equagesic.[116]

The preliminary opinion of the neurosurgeon who saved Lee's life during his first seizure, Peter Wu, was that the cause of death should have been attributed to either a reaction to cannabis or Equagesic. However, Dr. Wu later backed off from this position:[115]

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

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

His iconic status and untimely demise fed many theories about his death, including murder involving the Triad society and a supposed curse on him and his family.[117] Black Belt magazine in 1985 carried the speculation that the death of Bruce Lee in 1973 may have been caused by "a

delayed reaction to a Dim Mak strike he received several weeks prior to his collapse". As well other authors have said the death of Bruce Lee may have been due to a "Vibrating Palm technique".[118]

Lee's son, Brandon Lee, also an actor, died 20 years (March 31, 1993) after his father, in a bizarre accident while filming The Crow at the age of 28. The film was released after his death and gained cult status, as had his father's last film. The Crow was completed with the use of computer-generated imagery and a stunt double in the few but critical scenes that remained to be filmed. Brandon Lee was buried beside his father.

Legacy

Certified instructors

Bruce Lee personally certified only 3 instructors. Taky Kimura, James Yimm Lee, and Dan Inosanto. Inosanto holds the 3rd rank (Instructor) directly from Bruce Lee in Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu, and Bruce Lee's Tao of Chinese Gung Fu. Taky Kimura holds a 5th rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu. James Yimm Lee (now deceased) held a 3rd rank in Jun Fan Gung Fu. Ted Wong holds 2nd rank in Jeet Kune Do certified directly by Bruce Lee and was later promoted to Instructor under Dan Inosanto; feeling that Bruce would have wanted to promote him. Other Jeet Kune Do instructors since Lee's death have been certified directly by Dan Inosanto, some with remaining Bruce Lee signed certificates.

James Yimm Lee, a close friend of Lee, died without certifying additional students. The sole exception to this being Gary Dill who studied Jeet Kune Do under James and received permission via a personal letter from him in 1972 to pass on his learning of JKD to others. Taky Kimura, to date, has certified only one person in Jun Fan Gung Fu: his son Andy Kimura. Dan Inosanto continued to teach and certify select students in Jeet Kune Do for over 30 years, making it possible for thousands of martial arts practitioners to trace their training lineage back to Bruce Lee. Prior to his death, Lee told his then only two living instructors Kimura and Inosanto (James Yimm Lee had died in 1972) to dismantle his schools.

Both Taky Kimura and Dan Inosanto were allowed to teach small classes thereafter, under the guideline "keep the numbers low, but the quality high". Bruce also instructed several World Karate Champions including Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, and Mike Stone. Between all 3 of them, during their training with Bruce they won every Karate Championship in the United States.[119]

Hong Kong legacy

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

There are a number of stories (perhaps apocryphal) surrounding Lee that are still repeated in Hong Kong culture today. One is that his early 70s interview on the TVB show Enjoy Yourself Tonight cleared the busy streets of Hong Kong as everyone was watching the interview at home.

On 6 January 2009, it was announced that Bruce's Hong Kong home (41 Cumberland Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong) will be preserved and transformed into a tourist site by philanthropist Yu Pang-lin.[120]

Awards and honors

Main article: The awards and honors of Bruce Lee

Recognition

He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.[2]

Martial arts lineage

Lee's familiarity of the Art of War was infinitely diverse from his studious life-time focus; Lee was trained in Wu Tai Chi Chuan (also known as Ng-ga) and Jing Mo Tam Tui for the twelve sets. Lee also was trained in the martial art Choy Li Fut. Lee's perspectives were wide and never ending still as it included Western Boxing, of the three swords for fencing (epee, sabre and foil) Bruce was trained in Epee, Judo, Praying Mantis, Hsing-I, and Jujitsu.

When Bruce arrived in the U.S he (already) had training in Wu Style Tai Chi, sometimes in Hong Kong called Ng-ga. And he had of course training in western boxing. He had training in fencing from his brother, that's Epee, that goes from toe to head. He had training obviously in Wing Chun. And the other area was the training he had received in Buk Pie, or Tam Toi, he was twelve sets in Tam Toi. And I believe he had traded with a Choy Li Fut man.—Danny Inosanto[121]

Lineage in Wing Chun / Jeet Kune Do

Wing Chun teacher Yip Man (葉問)

Other instructors Wong Shun-leung (黃惇樑)

William Cheung

Sparring partner and friend Toe Dai Hawkins Cheung

 Bruce Lee (李小龍)

Creator of Jeet Kune Do 

Instructors personally certified by Bruce Lee to teach Jeet Kune DoTaky KimuraJames Yimm LeeDan Inosanto

Notable students of Jun Fan/Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do

Brandon Bruce LeeJesse GloverSteve GoldenLarry HartsellDan InosantoYori NakamuraTaky KimuraRichard BustilloJerry PoteetTed WongJames Yimm LeeRusty StevensChuck Norris [122] Kareem Abdul-JabbarJames CoburnJoe LewisRoman PolanskiLee MarvinStirling SilliphantSteve McQueenMike Stone

Media

Main article: Media about Bruce Lee

Books authored

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

Bruce Lee's Fighting Method (Published posthumously) – 1978

Selected filmography

For a complete list of Bruce Lee's filmography see

Main article: Bruce Lee filmography

Film

The Big Boss (1971) (US title: Fists of Fury) Fist of Fury (1972) (US title: The Chinese Connection)

Way of the Dragon (1972) (US titles: Return of the Dragon, Revenge of the Dragon)

Enter the Dragon (1973)

Game of Death (1979)

Game of Death II (1981) (Stock footage)

Television

The Green Hornet (26 episodes, 1966–1967) .... Kato Batman (Episodes: "The Spell of Tut" 28 September 1966, "A Piece of the Action" 1

March 1967, "Batman's Satisfaction" 2 March 1967) .... Kato

Ironside (Episode: "Tagged for Murder" 26 October 1967) .... Leon Soo

Blondie (Episode: "Pick on Someone Your Own Size", 1968)

Here Come the Brides (Episode: "Marriage Chinese Style" 9 April 1969) .... Lin

Longstreet (4 episodes, 1971) .... Li Tsung

The Pierre Berton Show (1971) .... Himself

See also

Bruce Lee Library Bruce Lee statue in Hong Kong

Bruceploitation

Mostar Bruce Lee statue