Bruce Lee (Lee Hsiao Lung), was born in San Fransisco in November 1940 the son of a
famous Chinese opera singer. Bruce moved to Hong Kong when he soon became a child star
in the growing Eastern film industry. His first film was called The birth of Mankind, his last film
which was uncompleted at the time of his death in 1973 was called Game of Death. Bruce was
a loner and was constantly getting himself into fights, with this in mind he looked towards
Kung Fu as a way of disciplining himself. The famous Yip Men taught Bruce his basic skills,
but it was not long before he was mastering the master. Yip Men was acknowledged to be
one of the greatest authorities on the subject of Wing Chun a branch of the Chinese Martial
Arts. Bruce mastered this before progressing to his own style of Jeet Kune Do.
At the age of 19 Bruce left Hong Kong to study for a degree in philosophy at the University of
Washington in America. It was at this time that he took on a waiter's job and also began to
teach some of his skills to students who would pay. Some of the Japanese schools in the
Seattle area tried to force Bruce out, and there was many confrontations and duels fought for
Bruce to remain.
He met his wife Linda at the University he was studying. His Martial Arts school flourished and
he soon graduated. He gained some small roles in Hollywood films - Marlowe- etc, and some
major stars were begging to be students of the Little Dragon. James Coburn, Steve McQueen
and Lee Marvin to name but a few. He regularly gave displays at exhibitions, and it was during
one of these exhibitions that he was spotted by a producer and signed up to do The Green
Hornet series. The series was quite successful in the States - but was a huge hit in Hong
Kong. Bruce visited Hong Kong in 1968 and he was overwhelmed by the attention he
received from the people he had left.
He once said on a radio program if the price was right he would do a movie for the Chinese
audiences. He returned to the States and completed some episodes of Longstreet. He began
writing his book on Jeet Kune Do at roughly the same time.
Back in Hong Kong producers were desperate to sign Bruce for a Martial Arts film, and it was
Raymond Chow the head of Golden Harvest who produced The Big Boss. The rest as they say
is history.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
"Don't think; feel. It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't
concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all the heavenly glory." Bruce
Lee in Enter The Dragon (1974)
Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be
like water. Empty your mind, 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 in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now,
water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.
Birth Name :
Lee Jun Fan
Birth Date :
November 27, 1940
Birth Place :
San Francisco, California, USA
Spouse :
Linda Lee Caldwell (Aug 17, 1964
- July 20, 1973, his death)
Bruce Lee (1940-1973) was born a frail, small
child, he became obsessed with martial arts and
body building at a young age.
His exercise regime included 500 kicks per leg
and up to 2000 punches per day. He made films in
Hong Kong and changed his name before landing
his first U.S. role in 1966 as Kato in the TV series,
The Green Hornet.
As long as I can remember I feel I have had this
great creative and spiritual force within me that is
greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater
than confidence, greater than determination,
greater than vision. It is all these combined.
Bruce Lee
Bruce began studying Wing Chun under Yip Man at the age
of 13. After moving to the United States, Bruce began over
time to form his own fighting style and philosophy for life.
This philosophy and style eventually became known as Jeet
Kune Do. Jeet Kune Do is founded on the principles of
simplicity, effectiveness, economy of motion, directness
and an overall aggressive approach to fighting that seeks
to eliminate most passive or blocking movements.
