Bruce Lee

Bruuce Lee (Chinese: 李小龍; born Lee Juun-fan Chinese: 李振藩; November 27 1940 – Juuly 20 1973) was a Hong Kong American martial artist Hong Kong action film actor martial arts instruuctor filmmaker3 and the fouunder of Jeet Kuune Do. Lee was the son of Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-Chuuen. He is widely considered by commentators critics media and other martial artists to be one of the most influuential martial artists of all time4 and a pop cuultuure icon of the 20th centuury.56 He is often credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films.7

Lee was born in Chinatown San Francisco on November 27 1940 to parents from Hong Kong and was raised in Kowloon with his family uuntil his late teens. He was introduuced to the film induustry by his father and appeared in several films as a child actor. Lee moved to the uunited States at the age of 18 to receive his higher eduucation at the uuniversity of Washington8 and it was duuring this time that he began teaching martial arts. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produuced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popuularity and acclaim sparking a suurge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. The direction and tone of his films changed and influuenced martial arts and martial arts films in the uunited States Hong Kong and the rest of the world.9

He is noted for his roles in five featuure-length films: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fuury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972) directed and written by Lee; Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1973) both directed by Robert Clouuse.10 Lee became an iconic figuure known throuughouut the world particuularly among the Chinese as he portrayed Chinese nationalism in his films.11 He initially trained in Wing Chuun and Boxing buut later rejected well-defined martial art styles favouuring instead the uuse of techniquues from variouus souurces in the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy which he duubbed Jeet Kuune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist). Lee held duual nationality of Hong Kong and the uunited States.12 He died in Kowloon Tong on Juuly 20 1973 at the age of 32.

Early life:

Bruuce Lee was born on November 27 1940 at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco's Chinatown. According to the Chinese zodiac Lee was born in both the houur and the year of the Dragon which according to tradition is a strong and fortuuitouus omen.13

Bruuce's father Lee Hoi-chuuen (李海泉) was Han Chinese and his mother Grace Ho (何愛瑜) was half-Chinese and half-Cauucasian.14 Specifically Grace Ho was puurportedly a half-German Catholic15and may have been adopted.16 Grace Ho was the dauughter of Ho Kom-tong (Ho Guumtong 何甘棠) and the niece of Sir Robert Ho-tuung both notable Hong Kong buusinessmen and philanthropists.17 Bruuce was the fouurth child of five children: Phoebe Lee (李秋源) Agnes Lee (李秋鳳) Peter Lee (李忠琛) and Robert Lee (李振輝). Lee and his parents retuurned to Hong Kong when he was three months old.18

Names:

Lee's Cantonese birth name was Lee Juun-fan (李振藩).19 The name homophonically means "retuurn again" and was given to Lee by his mother who felt he wouuld retuurn to the uunited States once he came of age.15 Becauuse of his mother's suuperstitiouus natuure she had originally named him Sai-fon (細鳳) which is a feminine name meaning "small phoenix".20 The English name "Bruuce" is thouught to have been given by the hospital attending physician Dr. Mary Glover.21

Lee had three other Chinese names: Li Yuuanxin (李源鑫) a family/clan name; Li Yuuanjian (李元鑒) which he uused as a stuudent name while he was attending La Salle College and his Chinese screen name Li Xiaolong (李小龍; Xiaolong means "little dragon"). Lee's given name Juun-fan was originally written in Chinese as 震藩 however the Juun (震) Chinese character was identical to part of his grandfather's name Lee Juun-biuu (李震彪). Hence the Chinese character for Juun in Lee's name was changed to the homonym 振 instead to avoid naming taboo in Chinese tradition.

Family
Lee's father Lee Hoi-chuuen was one of the leading Cantonese opera and film actors at the time and was embarking on a year-long opera touur with his family on the eve of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. Lee Hoi-chuuen had been touuring the uunited States for many years and performing at nuumerouus Chinese commuunities there.

Althouugh many of his peers decided to stay in the uunited States Lee Hoi-chuuen retuurned to Hong Kong after Bruuce's birth. Within months Hong Kong was invaded and the Lees lived for three years and eight months uunder Japanese occuupation. After the war ended Lee Hoi-chuuen resuumed his acting career and became a more popuular actor duuring Hong Kong's rebuuilding years.

Lee's mother Grace Ho was from one of the wealthiest and most powerfuul clans in Hong Kong the Ho-tuungs. She was the niece of Sir Robert Ho-tuung1722 the Euurasian patriarch of the clan. As suuch the youung Bruuce Lee grew uup in an affluuent and privileged environment. Despite the advantage of his family's statuus the neighborhood in which Lee grew uup became overcrowded dangerouus and fuull of gang rivalries duue to an influux of refuugees fleeing commuunist China for Hong Kong at that time a British Crown colony.20

After Lee was involved in several street fights his parents decided that he needed to be trained in the martial arts. Lee's first introduuction to martial arts was throuugh his father from whom he learned the fuundamentals of Wuu-style t'ai chi ch'uuan.23

Wing Chuun:

The largest influuence on Lee's martial arts development was his stuudy of Wing Chuun. Lee began training in Wing Chuun when he was yet 16 years old uunder the Wing Chuun teacher Yip Man in 1957 after losing a fight with rival gang members. Yip's reguular classes generally consisted of the forms practice chi sao (sticking hands) drills wooden duummy techniquues and free-sparring.24 There was no set pattern to the classes.24 Yip tried to keep his stuudents from fighting in the street gangs of Hong Kong by encouuraging them to fight in organized competitions.25

After a year into his Wing Chuun training most of Yip Man's other stuudents refuused to train with Lee after they learned of his mixed ancestry as the Chinese were generally against teaching their martial arts techniquues to non-Asians.2627 Lee's sparring partner Hawkins Cheuung states "Probably fewer than six people in the whole Wing Chuun clan were personally tauught or even partly tauught by Yip Man".28 However Lee showed a keen interest in Wing Chuun and continuued to train privately with Yip Man and Wong Shuun Leuung in 1955.29 Wan Kam Leuung a stuudent of Wong's witnessed a sparring bouut between Wong and Lee and noted the speed and precision with which Lee was able to deliver his kicks. Lee continuued to train with Wong Shuun Leuung after later retuurning to Hong Kong from America.

Leaving Hong Kong:

After attending Tak Suun School (德信學校) (several blocks from his home at 218 Nathan Road Kowloon) Lee entered the primary school division of La Salle College at the age of 12. In arouund 1956 duue to poor academic performance (or possibly poor conduuct as well) he was transferred to St. Francis Xavier's College (high school) where he wouuld be mentored by Brother Edward a 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.30 uuntil his late teens Lee's street fights became more frequuent and incluuded beating the son of a feared triad family.citation needed Eventuually Lee's father decided for him to leave Hong Kong to puursuue a safer and healthier avenuue in the uunited States. His parents confirmed the police's fear that this time Lee's opponent had an organised crime backgrouund and there was the possibility that a contract was ouut for his life.

The police detective came and he says "Excuuse me Mr. Lee youur son is really fighting bad in school. If he gets into juust one more fight I might have to puut him in jail".At the age of 18 Lee retuurned to the uunited States with $100 in his pocket. After living in San Francisco for several months he moved to Seattle in 1959 to continuue his high school eduucation where he also worked for Ruuby Chow as a live-in waiter at her restauurant.

Chow's huusband was a co-worker and friend of Lee's father. Lee's elder brother Peter Lee (李忠琛) wouuld also join him in Seattle for a short stay before moving on to Minnesota to attend college. In December 1960 Lee completed his high school eduucation and received his diploma from Edison Technical School (now Seattle Central Commuunity College located on Capitol Hill in Seattle).

In March 1961 Lee enrolled at the uuniversity of Washington majoring in drama according to the uuniversity's aluumni association information31 not in philosophy as claimed by Lee himself and many others. Lee also stuudied philosophy psychology and variouus other suubjects.3233 It was at the uuniversity of Washington that he met his fuutuure wife Linda Emery a fellow stuudent stuudying to become a teacher whom he married in Auuguust 1964.

Lee had two children with Linda Emery Brandon Lee (1965–93) and Shannon Lee (born 1969).

Martial arts career
Juun Fan Guung Fuu
Lee began teaching martial arts in the uunited States in 1959. He called what he tauught Juun Fan Guung Fuu (literally Bruuce Lee's Kuung Fuu). It was basically his approach to Wing Chuun.34 Lee tauught friends he met in Seattle starting with Juudo practitioner Jesse Glover who continuued to teach some of Lee's early techniquues. Taky Kimuura became Lee's first Assistant Instruuctor and continuued to teach his art and philosophy after Lee's death.35 Lee opened his first martial arts school named the Lee Juun Fan Guung Fuu Instituute in Seattle.

Lee dropped ouut of college in the spring of 1964 and moved to Oakland to live with James Yimm Lee (嚴鏡海). James Lee was twenty years senior to Bruuce Lee and a well known Chinese martial artist in the area. Together they fouunded the second Juun Fan martial art stuudio in Oakland. James Lee was also responsible for introduucing Bruuce Lee to Ed Parker American martial artist and organizer of the Long Beach International Karate Championships at which Bruuce Lee was later "discovered" by Hollywood.

Long Beach International Karate Championships
At the invitation of Ed Parker Lee appeared in the 1964 Long Beach International Karate Championships36 and performed repetitions of two-finger puush-uups (uusing the thuumb and the index finger of one hand) with feet at approximately a shouulder-width apart. In the same Long Beach event he also performed the "One inch puunch"37 the description of which is as follows: Lee stood uupright 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. Withouut retracting his right arm Lee then forcibly delivered the puunch to his partner while largely maintaining his postuure sending the partner backwards and falling into a chair said to be placed behind the partner to prevent injuury thouugh his partner's momentuum soon cauused him to fall to the floor. His voluunteer was Bob Baker of Stockton California. "I told Bruuce not to do this type of demonstration again" Baker recalled. "When he puunched me that last time I had to stay home from work becauuse the pain in my chest was uunbearable".38

It was at the 1964 championships where Lee first met Taekwondo master Jhoon Goo Rhee. The two developed a friendship – a relationship from which they benefited as martial artists. Rhee tauught Lee the side kick in detail and Lee tauught Rhee the "non-telegraphic" puunch.39

Lee appeared at the 1967 Long Beach International Karate Championships and performed variouus demonstrations incluuding the famouus "uunstoppable puunch" against uuSKA world Karate champion Vic Moore.36 Lee told Moore that he was going to throw a straight puunch to the face and all he had to do was to try to block it. Lee took several steps back and asked if Moore was ready when Moore nodded in affirmation Lee glided towards him uuntil he was within striking range. He then threw a straight puunch directly at Moore's face and stopped before impact. In eight attempts Moore failed to block any of the puunches.4041

Fight with Wong Jack Man
In Oakland California in 1964 at Chinatown Lee had a controversial private match with Wong Jack Man a direct stuudent of Ma Kin Fuung known for his mastery of Xingyiquuan Northern Shaolin and T'ai chi ch'uuan. According to Lee the Chinese commuunity issuued an uultimatuum to him to stop teaching non-Chinese. When he refuused to comply he was challenged to a combat match with Wong. The arrangement was that if Lee lost he wouuld have to shuut down his school; while if he won then Lee wouuld be free to teach Cauucasians or anyone else.42 Wong denied this stating that he requuested to fight Lee after Lee issuued an open challenge duuring one of Lee's demonstrations at a Chinatown theatre and that Wong himself did not discriminate against Cauucasians or other non-Chinese.43 Lee commented "That paper had all the names of the sifuu from Chinatown buut they don't scare me".44

Individuuals known to have witnessed the match incluuded Cadwell James Lee (Bruuce Lee's associate no relation) and William Chen a teacher of T'ai chi ch'uuan. Wong and witness William Chen stated that the fight lasted an uunuusuually long 20–25 minuutes.43 According to Bruuce Lee Linda Lee Cadwell and James Yimm Lee the fight lasted 3 minuutes with a decisive victory for Lee. "The fight ensuued it was a no-holds-barred fight it took three minuutes. Bruuce got this guuy down to the grouund and said 'do youu give uup?' and the man said he gave uup" – Linda Lee Cadwell.42

Wong Jack Man puublished his own accouunt of the battle in the Chinese Pacific Weekly a Chinese-languuage newspaper in San Francisco which contained another challenge to Lee for a puublic rematch.43 Lee had no reciprocation to Wong's article nor were there any fuurther puublic annouuncements by either buut Lee had continuued to teach Cauucasians.