Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee
File:BruceLee-ImmortalDragon.jpg Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon
Birth name:	Jun Fan Lee
Date of birth:	November 27, 1940
Birth location:	San Francisco, California, USA
Date of death:	July 20, 1973 aged 32
Death location:	Hong Kong
Height:	5 ft 7½ in (1.71 m)
Official site:	www.bruceleefoundation.com
Notable role(s):	Lee in Enter the Dragon
Spouse:	Linda Lee Cadwell

Bruce Jun Fan Lee; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Chinese-American martial artist, instructor, and martial-arts actor widely regarded as one of the most influential martial artists of the twentieth century.

Bruce Lee's films sparked the first major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial-arts films in Hong Kong, China, and the rest of the world. Lee became an iconic, heroic figure particularly to Chinese people, as he portrayed Chinese national pride and Chinese nationalism in his movies. His performance in the Hollywood-produced Enter the Dragon, elevated the traditional Hong Kong, martial-arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim.

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 martial-arts, fighting system based on his philosophy known as Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee's evaluation of traditional, martial-arts doctrines is nowadays seen as the first step into the modern style of mixed martial arts.

Early life

Bruce Lee was born at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco, California to a Chinese father, Lee Hoi-Chuen, and Chinese-German mother, Grace Lee. At the time Lee was born, his parents were on a tour with an opera company in the United States. At the age of three months, he and his parents returned to Hong Kong where he would be raised until the age of 18.

Names

File:BrceLee-Kick.jpg

Bruce Lee high kick.

Bruce Lee's Cantonese given name was Jun Fan (振藩); Mandarin. Literally it means "invigorate San Francisco" (三藩市). At birth, he was given the English name "Bruce" by Dr. Mary Glover. Mrs. Lee had not initially planned on an English name but deemed it appropriate and concurred with Dr. Glover. Interestingly the name "Bruce" was never used within his family until he enrolled in high school.

Bruce Lee's screen name was Lee Siu Lung in Cantonese and Li Xiao Long in Mandarin (李小龍; Cantonese pengyam: Ley⁵ Siw² Long⁴; Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng) which literally means "Lee Little Dragon." These were first used by a director of a 1950 Cantonese movie in which Lee performed. It is possible that 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, respectively. 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, a Hong Kong high school, under the wing of brother Henry. Later he attended another high school, St Francis Xavier's College, Kowloon, where he represented their boxing team in inter-school events.

In 1959, Bruce got into a fight with a feared Triad gang member's son. His father became concerned about young Bruce's safety, and as a result, he and his wife decided to send Bruce to the United States to live with an old friend of his father's. All he had was $100 in his pocket 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 Seattle Community College District|Edison Technical School. He enrolled at the University of Washington as a philosophy major. It was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife, Linda Emery, whom he would marry in 1964.

Lee had two children with Linda, Brandon Lee (born 1965) and Shannon Lee (born 1969). Brandon, who would also become an actor like his father, died in an accident during the filming of The Crow in 1993.

Martial arts training

File:BruceLee-FlyingKick.jpg

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, both 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.

Lee started training in Wing Chun at the age of 14 under Hong Kong Wing Chun master Yip Man. Lee was introduced to his sifu, Yip Man in early 1954 by William Cheung, then a live-in student of Yip Man. Like most martial arts schools at that time, Yip Man's classes were often taught by the highest-ranking students, one of whom at the time of Lee's training was Wong Shun-leung, who is understood to have had the largest influence. Yip Man trained Lee privately after some students refused to train with Lee due to his ancestry. Lee would leave before learning the entire Wing Chun curriculum, but Wing Chun formed a base for his later explorations of martial arts.

In between the learning of Tai Chi and Wing Chun, Lee also learned bits and pieces of the Hung Gar style from a friend of his father. There are photographs of Lee demonstrating animal stances and forms found within its teachings.

Fighting Styles

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 art 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.

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 created 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 Chinese Pacific Weekly, a Chinese-language newspaper in San Francisco.

Jeet Kune Do

File:JKD.jpg

The Jeet Kune Do Emblem. The Chinese characters around the Taijitu symbol indicate: "Using no way as way" & "Having no limitation as limitation" The arrows represent the endless movement and change of the universe.

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 he 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. This was a term he would later regret because it implied specific parameters that styles connotate, whereas the idea of the martial art was to exist outside of parameters and limitations. Some confuse the Jeet Kune Do system with the personal version that Bruce Lee practiced. 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. Taky Kimura, to date, has certified one person in Jun Fan Gung Fu: his son and heir Andy Kimura. Dan Inosanto continues to teach and certify select students. Prior to his death, Lee told his then only two living instructors Inosanto and Kimura (James Yimm Lee had died in 1972) to dismantle his schools. Both Taky Kimura and Dan Inosanto were allowed to teach small classes thereafter without using the name Jeet Kune Do.

As a result of a lawsuit between the estate of Bruce Lee and the Inosanto Academy, the name "Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do" was legally trademarked, and the rights were given solely to the Lee estate. "The name is made up of two parts: 'Jun Fan' (Bruce's given Chinese name) and 'Jeet Kune Do' (the Way of the Intercepting Fist). 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.

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. Yet, only three were certified by Lee.

1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships

At the invitation of Ed Parker, 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 at approximately a shoulder-width apart. In 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.

Acting career

Lee's father was a famous Beijing Opera star. Through his father he was introduced into films at a very young age and appeared in several black-and-white films as a child.

In the 1960s Lee attempted to start his acting career in America. Lee became famous for playing Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet which lasted for only one season.

In 1967 he played a martial arts instructor in an episode of the television series Ironside . In 1969 he appeared in the film Marlowe (1969)|Marlowe]] where he played a thug who smashed up James Garner's office with karate chops and kicks. In 1971 he appeared in four episodes of the TV series Longstreet playing a martial arts instructor to James Franciscus.

Not happy with the roles that he was being offered in America, Lee then returned to Hong Kong and was offered a film contract by Raymond Chow for his production company Golden Harvest. He starred in three films which shot him to stardom all over Asia, The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972) and Way of the Dragon (1972) which he also wrote and directed. In 1964 at a demonstration in Long Beach, California, Lee met Karate champion Chuck Norris. In Way of the Dragon Lee introduced Chuck Norris as his opponent in the famous final fight scene at the colloseum in Rome.

His last completed film Enter the Dragon (1973) was the first to be produced jointly by a Chinese and American studio and released two weeks after his untimely death cementing his status as a martial arts legend.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a student of Bruce Lee, co-starred in Game of Death, Lee's incomplete film which he also directed. In the film, Lee, wearing the now famous yellow track suit, took on the 7 foot 2 giant basketball player in a climactic fight scene. Unfortunately, Lee died before the film was finished. Lee had shot over 40 minutes of footage for Game of Death prior to starting shooting for Enter the Dragon. After his death, Robert Clouse who directed Enter the Dragon finished the film using a Bruce Lee look-alike and footage of Lee from his other films and released it in 1978.

Philosophy

Although Bruce Lee is best known as a martial artist and actor, Lee majored in philosophy at the University of Washington. Lee's books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are well-known both for their philosophical assertions both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. His influences include Taoism and Buddhism. Lee was a contemporary of the Hindu Philosopher and teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti, whose philosophy influenced Lee's.[2] Lee referred to Krishnamurti in the book The Tao Of Jeet Kune Do.

File:BruceLee-Philosophy.jpg

The Warrior Within

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

• "If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying."
• "Be formless... shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, and it can crash. Be water, my friend..."
• "Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."
• "The more relaxed the muscles are, the more energy can flow through the body. Using muscular tensions to try to 'do' the punch or attempting to use brute force to knock someone over will only work to the 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."

See also Wikiquotes for more quotes by Bruce Lee.

Physical fitness

Exercise

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

The weight-training program that Lee used during a stay in Hong Kong in 1965 indicated biceps curls of 80 pounds and eight repetitions for endurance. This translates to an estimated one repetition maximum of 110 pounds, placing Lee in approximately the 100th percentile for the 121 to 140-pound weight class.

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 to run a distance of two to six miles in fifteen to forty-five minutes.

Nutrition

Another element in Lee's quest for abdominal definition was nutrition. According to Linda Lee, soon after he moved to the United States, Bruce Lee started to take nutrition seriously and developed an interest in health foods and high-protein drinks. "Several times a day, he took a high-protein drink made up of powdered milk, ice water, eggs, eggshells, bananas, vegetable oil, peanut flour, and chocolate ice cream," and she claims Bruce's waist fluctuated between 26 and 28 inches. "He also drank his own juice concoctions made from vegetables and fruits, apples, celery, carrots and so on, prepared in an electric blender."

Bruce Lee ate lean meat sparingly and consumed large amounts of fruits and vegetables. In later years, he became very knowledgeable about vitamin supplements, and each day apportioned himself exactly the right quota of vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.

Bruce Lee's feats

• Bruce Lee's striking speed from three feet away was five hundredths of a second. (Glover)
• Lee did one-hand push ups using only two fingers.
• Bruce was able to break a 150-pound bag with a sidekick. (Coburn)
• Bruce would ride the equivalent of ten miles in 45 minutes on a stationary bike, sweating profusely afterwards. (Uhera )
• Bruce's last movie Enter the Dragon was made for $850,000 in 1973 ($3.74 million in 2005 currency. BLS). To date, Enter the Dragon has grossed over $90,000,000. (IMDB.com)
• Bruce was able to hold a 125-pound barbell at arms length in front of him (with elbows locked) for 20 seconds.

Wally Jay - "I last saw Bruce after he moved from Culver City to Bel Air. He had a big heavy bag hanging out on his patio. It weighed 300 pounds. I could hardly move it at all. Bruce said to me "Hey, Wally, watch this" and he jumped back and kicked it and this monster of a heavy bag went up to the ceiling, Thump!!! And came back down. I still can't believe the power that guy had". Danny Inosanto - "Bruce would always shadow box with small weights in his hands and he'd do a drill in which he'd punch for 12 series in a row; 100 punches per series, using a pyramid system of 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10-pound dumbbells and then he'd reverse the pyramid and go 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1 and finally zero weight. He had me do this drill with him and man what a burn you'd get in your delts and arms."

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, Lee met producer Raymond Chow at 2:00 p.m. at home to discuss the making of the movie Game of Death. They worked until 4:00 p.m. and then drove together to the home of Lee's mistress Betty Ting Pei, a Taiwanese actress 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 an analgesic. At around 7:30 P.M., he laid down for a nap. After Lee did not 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 in Hong. 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 percent). Lee was thirty-two years old. On October 15, 2005, Chow stated in an interview that Lee was allergic to Equagesic. When the doctors announced Bruce Lee's death officially, it was coined as "Death by Misadventure."

Another theory is he died from allergic reaction to marijuana, which he was consuming at the time in hashish form.[3]. This is controversial, but it is confirmed that they did find traces of the substance during his autopsy.[4] [5]

However, the exact details of Lee's death are controversial. Bruce Lee's iconic status and unusual death at a young age led many people to develop many theories about Lee's death. Such theories about his death included murder involving the triads, a curse on Lee and his family, etc. The theory of the curse carried over to Lee's son Brandon Lee, also an actor, who died nearly 20 years after his father in a bizarre accident while filming The Crow.

Regardless of the curse, three of Lee's films (Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death) sucessfully premiered after his death, catapulting him into the status of international film star.

The grave site of Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon

Upon his death his wife, Linda, returned to her home town of Seattle and had Bruce buried at lot 276 of Lake View Cemetery. His son Brandon is buried beside him. Pallbearers at his funeral on July 31, 1973 included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Dan Inosanto, Taky Kimura, Peter Chin, and his brother, Robert Lee. To this day, over 30 years after his death, fresh flowers are found on his gravestone every day.

Books authored

• Bruce Lee's Fighting Method 1-5
• Chinese Gung-Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense
• The Tao of Jeet Kune Do

Books about Bruce Lee and/or JKD

• Absorb What Is Useful - written by Dan Inosanto mostly about JKD training practices.
• Bruce Lee Between Wing Chun and JKD - written by Jesse Glover
• Bruce Lee: Dynamic Becoming - a book about Bruce Lee's philosophy
• Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit - a biography by Bruce Thomas
• Striking Thoughts - thoughts and quotes of Bruce Lee
• The Tao of Bruce Lee - written by Davis Miller mostly about Bruce Lee.
• "Jeet Kune Do: The Principles of a Complete Fighter" by Ron Balicki, Steve Gold ISBN 9-531766-3-0

Bruce Lee documentaries

• Little, John R., 2002, A Warrior's Journey, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0809297221 Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey DVD.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Bruce Lee  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Bruce Lee"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.