Mature Talk: Bruce Lee (great Asian Fighting icon)

[HongKongDr]

NOTE: This is for OldiesLover, since OldiesLover seems to like this person.

Biography for Bruce Lee (I)

Birth name: Lee Jun Fan

Height: 5' 7½" (1.71 m)

Date of birth (location): 27 NOV 1940 - San Francisco, CA, USA

Date of death (details): 20 JUL 1973 - Hong Kong (Cerebral Edema)

Mini biography
The greatest icon of martial arts cinema, and a key figure of modern popular culture. Had it not been for the amazing Bruce Lee and his incredible movies in the early 1970s, it's arguable whether or not the martial arts film genre would have ever penetrated and influenced mainstream western cinema & audiences the way it has over the past three decades.

The influence of Asian martial arts cinema can be seen today in so many other film genres including comedies, action, drama, science fiction, horror and animation.....and they all have their roots in the phenomenon that was Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was born "Lee Juan Fan" in November 1940 in San Francisco, the son of Lee Hoi Chuen, a singer with the Cantonese Opera. Approximately, one year later the family returned to Kowloon in Hong Kong and at the age of 5, a young Bruce begins appearing in children's roles in minor films including The Birth of Mankind (1946) and Fu qui fu yun (1948). At the age of 12, Bruce commenced attending La Salle College, and was later beaten up by a street gang, which inspires him to take up martial arts training under the tuition of "Sifu Yip Man" who schools Bruce in wing chun kung fu for a period of approximately five years (this was the only formalized martial arts training ever undertaken by Lee).

The talented & athletic Bruce also took up cha-cha dancing, and at the age of 18 won a major dance championship in Hong Kong.

However, his temper and quick fists saw him fall foul of the HK police on numerous occasions, and his parents suggested that he head off to the United States. Lee landed in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1959 and worked in a relative's restaurant, however he eventually made his way to Seattle, Washington where he enrolled at university to study philosophy, and found the time to practice his beloved kung fu techniques.

In 1963, Lee met Linda Emery (later his wife) and in addition he opened his first kung fu school at 4750 University Way. During the early half of the 1960s, Lee became associated with many key martial arts identities in the USA including kenpo karate expert Ed Parker and tae kwon do master Jhoon Rhee.

He made guest appearances at notable martial arts events including the Long Beach Nationals. Through one of these tournaments, Bruce met Hollywood hair stylist Jay Sebring who introduced him to TV producer William Dozier. Based on the runaway success of "Batman", Dozier was keen to bring the cartoon character of "The Green Hornet" to TV and was on the lookout for an Oriental actor to play the Green Hornet's sidekick, "Kato".

Around this time, Bruce also opened a second kung fu school in Oakland, California and relocated to Oakland to be closer to Hollywood.

Bruce's screen test was successful, and "The Green Hornet" starring Van Williams went to air in early 1966 to mixed success. However, the show was surprisingly terminated after only one season (30 episodes), but by this time he was receiving more fan mail than the show's star. He then opened a third branch of his kung fu school in Los Angeles, and began providing personalized martial arts training to film stars including Steve McQueen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000537/) and James Coburn (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/).

In addition, he refined his prior knowledge of wing chun, plus incorporating aspects of other fighting styles such as traditional boxing and okinawan karate. He also developed his own unique style "Jeet Kune Do" (Way of the Intercepting Fist). Another film opportunity then comes his way, as he landed the small role of a stand over man named "Winslow Wong" intimidating private eye James Garner (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001258/) in Marlowe (1969).

Wong paid a visit to Garner and proceeded to demolish the investigator's office with his fists and feet, finishing off with a spectacular high kick that shattered the light fitting. With this further exposure of his talents, Bruce then scored several guest appearances as a martial arts instructor to blind private eye James Franciscus on the TV series "Longstreet" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066681/) (1971).

With his minor success in Hollywood and money in his pockets, Bruce returned for a visit to Hong Kong and was approached by film producer Raymond Chow who had recently started "Golden Harvest" productions. Chow was keen to utilize Lee's strong popularity amongst young Chinese fans, and offered him the lead role in _Tang sha da xiong (1971)_ ( aka "Fists of Fury", aka "The Big Boss").

The film was directed by Wei Lo, shot in Thailand, on a very low budget and in terrible living conditions for cast and crew. However when it opened in Hong Kong, the film was an enormous hit! Young Chinese flocked in their thousands to see this ground breaking film starring a tough, athletic Chinese hero who dispensed justice with his fists and feet.

Chow knew he had struck box office gold with Lee, and quickly assembled another script entitled Jing wu men (1972) (aka "The Chinese Connection", aka "Fist of Fury").

The second film (with a slightly improved budget) was again directed by Wei Lo and was set in Shanghai in the year 1900, with Lee returning to his school to find his beloved master has been poisoned by the local Japanese karate school.

Once again, he uncovered the evil doers and set about seeking revenge on those responsible for murdering his teacher. The film featured several superb fight sequences, and at the film's conclusion, Lee refuses to surrender to the Japanese law and seemingly leaps to his death in a hail of police bullets!

Once more, Hong Kong streets were jammed back with thousands of fervent Chinese movie fans who could not get enough of the fearless Bruce Lee, and his second film went on to break the box office records set by the first! Lee then set up his own production company, Concord Productions, and set about guiding his film career personally by writing, directing and acting in his next film, Meng Long quojiang (1972) (aka "Way of the Dragon", aka "Return of The Dragon").

A bigger budget, meant better locations and opponents, with the new film set in Rome, Italy and additionally starring hapkido expert Inq-Sik Whang, karate legend Robert Wall and seven times US karate champion Chuck Norris (who went on to great fame also) (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001569/).

Bruce played a seemingly simple country boy sent to assist at a cousin's restaurant in Rome, and finds his cousins are being bullied by local thugs for protection.

By now, Lee's remarkable success in the Orient had come to the attention of Hollywood film executives and a script was hastily written pitching him as a secret agent penetrating an island fortress. Warner Bros. financed the film, and also insisted on B-movie tough guy John Saxon co-starring alongside Lee to give the film more Western appeal.

The film culminated with another show stopping fight sequence between Lee and the key villain, Han, in a maze of mirrors. Shooting was completed in and around Hong Kong in early 1973 and in the subsequent weeks, Bruce was involved in completing over dubs and looping for the final cut. Various reports from friends and co-workers cite how he was not feeling well during this period.

On July 20th 1973 he lay down at the apartment of actress Betty Ting Pei after taking a headache tablet, and was later unable to be revived. A doctor was called, and he was then taken to hospital by ambulance and pronounced dead that evening. The official finding was death was due to a cerebral edema, caused by a reaction to the headache tablet. In other words, death by misadventure.

Chinese movie fans were absolutely shattered that their virile idol, had passed away at such a young age, and nearly 30,000 fans filed past his coffin in Hong Kong.

A second, much smaller ceremony was held in Seattle, Washington and Bruce was laid to rest at Lake View Cemetary in Seattle with pall bearers including Steve McQueen (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000537/), James Coburn (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000336/) and Dan Inosanto.

Enter the Dragon (1973) was later released in the mainland United States, and was a huge hit with American audiences, which then prompted National General films to actively distribute his three prior movies to US theaters...each of them was a box office smash. Bruce Lee was an international film star after he had died!

Fans worldwide were still hungry for more Bruce Lee films, and thus remaining footage (completed before his death) of Lee fighting several opponents including Dan Inosanto, Hugh O'Brian, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was crafted into another film titled Game of Death (1978). The film used a look alike actor and shadowy camera work to be substituted for the real Lee in numerous scenes.

The film is a poor addition to the line up, and is only saved by the final twenty minutes and the footage of the real Bruce Lee battling his way up the tower. Amazingly, this same shoddy process was used to create Si wanq ta (1981) (aka "Game of Death II"), with more look alike and stunt doubles interwoven with a few brief minutes of footage of the real Bruce Lee.

Tragically, his son Brandon Lee, an actor and martial artist like his father, was killed in a freak accident on the set of "The Crow" (1994).

Bruce Lee was not only an amazing athlete and martial artist, but he possessed genuine superstar charisma and through a handful of films he left behind an indelible impression on the tapestry of modern cinema.

Source Material: www.imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com)

[eviltoon]

Thank you...another wonderful post. Bruce was amazing...I watch his films over and over again, including the Green Hornet TV series!

[OldiesLover]

Yes HongKongDr, you are starting all of these Great Threads, where do we start posting in them. :o

Yes, Bruce Lee is one of my favorites. His story is a tremendous inspiration to us all. I guess I'll have to dig into my files and see what I have on him. ;)

[Darth Demon]

Bruce Lee is quite a legend and his fighting style display true sense of skill. I liked how he would position himself to his opponent. His jumping stomp to the opponent stomach is really cool too. Enter the Dragon is my favorite.

[acedawg]

I actually got my hair cut like him a little over a week ago, haha~

[OldiesLover]

Couple other interesting facts about Bruce Lee.

His Grandfather on his Mother's side, was a German. Yes, Bruce was 1/4th German.

Also, he was a child actor. His very first role was as a baby, he was 6 months old, in the movie: Golden Gate Girl (1940)

At age 6, he was not only in The Birth Of Mankind (1946), but he was also in The Beginning Of A Boy (1946).

His last child acting job was at 17 years old, in the movie: The Orphan (1958)

Most people probably think of him as a Martial Arts Fighter turned Actor. However, he was really a child actor turned Martial Arts Fighter turned adult actor.

[oldies8ladies]

Bruce Lee quotes
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Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.”
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All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.”
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If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
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I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
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Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.”
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As you think, so shall you become.”
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I am learning to understand rather than immediately judge or to be judged.
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I cannot blindly follow the crowd and accept their approach. I will not allow myself to indulge in the usual manipulating game of role creation.
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Fortunately for me, my self-knowledge has transcended that and I have come to understand that life is best to be lived and not to be conceptualized. I am happy because I am growing daily and I am honestly not knowing where the limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery. I treasure the memory of the past misfortunes. It has added more to my bank of fortitude.”
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If you make an ass out of yourself, there will always be someone to ride you”
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implicity is the key to brilliance”
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“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”
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“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.”
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A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer."”
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“Forget about winning and losing, forget about pride and pain”
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Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not you go out and look for a successfull personality an duplicate it.”
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Let an opponent graze your skin and you smash into his flesh; let an opponent smash into your flesh and you fracture his bone; let an opponent fracture your bone and you take his life! Do not be concerned with your escaping safely; lay your life before him!”
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Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now 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.”
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Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”
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A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”
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Real living is living for others.”
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[oldies8ladies]

some more on Bruce Lee.................................

Bruce Lee was truly a philosopher and martial artist. He was the founder of JKD (see note 1).

Bruce was one of the truly FIRST man from Asia to make it big in Hollywood, despite his fame coming after his death.

Contrary to the belief of a few idiots, Bruce was actually a real-life fighter.

However, his actual fighting style was more upright than the movie style he performed.

He also took quite a few hits and wouldn't take on hundreds of people at once.


NOTE 1:
abrv. Short for Jeet Kune Do/Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. JKD is not a martial arts style, but more of a psychology or way of thinking which can be applied to any martial art and most fighting forms.


"teach a man a block and he can perform that block, but teach him the concept behind the block, and he can apply this to a whole range of blocks. That is Jeet Kune Do." -Bruce Lee

[trrmaster]

Bruce Lee quotes
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“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”
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Now I feel really guilty since I spend half my time looking at porn. Thanks Bruce!!

[Blackfox]

Now I feel really guilty since I spend half my time looking at porn. Thanks Bruce!!

Don't feel guilty! Maybe, it's not too late to spend all your time looking at porn! Just don't let others dictate what is worth remembering! ._.

[oldies8ladies]

The History of Bruce Lee................................

On November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, Lee Jun Fan was born in the Year of the Dragon at the Jackson St. Hospital in the Chinatown District of San Francisco. He was later named Bruce Lee. His father, Lee Hoi Chuen, a Cantonese Opera Company performer was in America touring at the time.

In 1941, Bruce and his parents return to their home in Kowloon of Hong Kong.


Bruce begins his professional screen debut in the movie, "Beginning of a Boy". He appears in 20 more films in Southeast Asia during his later years of childhood lastly being in the film, "The Orphan" at age 18.

In 1953, Bruce was involved in many street fights in Hong Kong. Because of this, he becomes a student of Sifu Yip Man, a master of Wing Chun Kungfu.

In 1958, Bruce, an expert dancer, is the victor of the Crown Colony Cha-Cha Championship in Hong Kong.

In 1959, Bruce is involved in more brawls in the streets resulting in police involvement. Bruce's parents decide that since Bruce has American citizenship, he should return to San Francisco.

After arriving in San Francisco in 1959, Bruce stays with an old friend of his father's working jobs around various Chinese Communities. After a while, Bruce moves to Seattle working for Ruby Chow, another friend of his father's. Bruce is living in a room above her restaurant while being a waiter downstairs. Later on, Bruce enrolls at Edison Technical School to earn his high school diploma. He also begins teaching kungfu is backyards and city parks.

In the springtime of 1961, Bruce enrolls at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has a major in Philosophy and continues to teach kungfu to students at school.

Roughly two years later, 1963, Bruce returns to Hong Kong after 4 years since his arrival in the U.S. in the summer. He goes back to Seattle to continue school at the end of summer.

On October 25 of the same year, Bruce takes out Linda Emery for their first date. The couple have dinner at the Space Needle.

In the memorable year of 1963 in the Fall Season, the Seattle based Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute is relocated into a building near the university campus. The address is 4750 University Way.

In the summer of 1964, Bruce moves to Oakland to open a second school. Taky Kimura, his good friend, takes over the Seattle based school as head instructor.

A day to remember, August 17, 1964, Bruce returns to Seattle to ask for Linda Emery's hand in marriage. After, they reside back in Oakland.
In Oakland, 1964, after several months of teaching students, Bruce is challenged by a leading Gung Fu practinioner in the Chinatown Community.

If Bruce were to lose the challenge, he was either to close his school or put an end to his teaching to non-Chinese. At that time, Chinese didn't accept teaching non-Chinese their martial arts. In the 1900's, the Boxer Rebellion were severely beaten by Western Forces. The Boxer Rebellion desired the Westeners to be expelled from China. The Western Forces punished this rebellion and gave beatings to the Chinese Army. Therefore, Chinese are reluctant to teach Westeners their martial arts. Bruce accepts this challenge and wins in only a couple of minutes. But Bruce was upset though on why the fight took longer than usual so he begins to re-evaluate his style. Thus, the early concepts of Jeet Kune Do (JKD) were born.

On August 2, 1964 in Long Beach,California, Ed Parker, the founder of American Kenpo invites Bruce for a demonstration at his first International Karate Championships. It just so happened that in the audience was Jay Sebring, the hair stylist for Batman producer William Dozier who is looking to cast a part in a TV series he was developing. Sebring feels that Bruce has potential in becoming a part of this TV series so a film of Bruce's demonstration was given to Dozier. Dozier is amazed at what Bruce can do so he asks Bruce to fly down to Los Angeles for a screen test.

A memorable date is February 1, 1965 when Brandon Lee is born in Oakland, California.

On February 8, 1965, in Hong Kong, Lee Hoi Chuen, Bruce's father passes away.

In Los Angeles of 1966, Bruce and his family move there where he begins working on a new TV series called "The Green Hornet" playing the role as Kato. Also, Bruce opens the third branch of the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles.

From 1967 to 1971 in Hollywood, Bruce plays bit parts in various films and TV series like Marlowe and Longstreet. He also gave private lessons to well known actors and celebrities at that time like Steve McQueen, James Garner, James Coburn, Roman Polanski, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Lee Marvin for $250 an hour!

On April 19, 1969, Bruce's daughter Shannon Lee is born in Santa Monica, California.

In Los Angeles of 1970, Bruce injured his back while training. While he was injured, he starts to document his training methods and philosophy of Jeet Kune Do meaning, "Way of the intercepting Fist". After his death, "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" was published by his wife Linda Lee.

In 1971, Bruce returns to Hong Kong to arrange for his mother to live in the U.S.. Bruce didn't know though that he had become a superstar in HK since "The Green Hornet" was one of the most popular TV shows there. Raymond Chow, owner of the new production company Golden Harvest Productions offered a leading role to Bruce in the movie "The Big Boss". Bruce accepts while being paid over $100 000.

In July of 1971 in Thailand, the filming of "The Big Boss" begins. In the U.S., it was released as "Fists of Fury". When it premiered in Hong Kong, it broke all Hong Kong box office records proceeding to gross more than #$3.5 million in less than three weeks!

In Hong Kong of 1972, "Fist of Fury", called "The Chinese Connection" in the U.S., is released and once again breaks all the box office records in Hong Kong and grosses more than "The Big Boss". This further established Bruce as an HK superstar.

In 1972, filming begins in Rome, Italy of his third film titled "The Way of the Dragon" and called in the U.S. "Return of the Dragon". Bruce directed, wrote, and starred in this film. Chuck Norris is Bruce's adversary in the final fight scene of the movie. Chuck Norris is a master of Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art. This film once again breaks all box office records.

In Hong Kong of the same year, Bruce begins to work on "Game of Death". Bruce films several of the fight scenes at the end of the movie. First it's just a fighting match with what looked like a TKD master. Next was a nunchaku fight. After was the fight with basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Danny Inosanto was in there too.

In February of 1973, Hong Kong, the filming of "Enter the Dragon" begins. It was the first-ever production between the U.S. and Hong Kong film industries. Before when Bruce made up the idea of a Kungfu TV series, the part was instead given to David Carradine because Westeners were reluctant to have an Asian having the lead role. So Bruce went back to Hong Kong, in a way, disgusted, and then made some pretty big movies so Hollywood came calling back. "Enter the Dragon" was Bruce's masterpiece and I personally think so too! Because of this, "Game of Death" is never finished. Later on though after Bruce's death, they used phony Bruce Lee imitators for the beginning parts. In the movie "Game of Death", everbody would be hollering because of the phony Bruce Lee imitators but at the end when it was the real Bruce, everyone would cheer.

In April of 1973, HK, the filming of "Enter the Dragon" was completed. This was Bruce's final film and his masterpiece.

On July 20, 1973, HK, Bruce Lee dies of an apparent cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) because of an allergic reaction to some headache pills. "Enter the Dragon" premieres a month later to much success.

On July 25, 1973, HK, Bruce's funeral ceremony was held for friends and fans with over 25 000 people attending. Bruce was in the Chinese outfit he wore in "Enter the Dragon". The funeral was filmed at part of the footage was shown as a clip in "Game of Death" when Bruce was Billy Lo and pretending to be dead.


On July 30, 1973, Seattle, a smaller second ceremony is held. Bruce Lee was buried as Lake View Cemetery. Among the pallbearers were his students, friends, and brother: Danny Inosanto, Taky Kimura, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and brother Robert Lee.

Source Material: History of Bruce Lee.

[trrmaster]

Don't feel guilty! Maybe, it's not too late to spend all your time looking at porn! Just don't let others dictate what is worth remembering! ._.

You could be right, Bruce did say...."Real living is living for others.” He lived to inspire millions around the world to be the best they can be and not take crap from anyone. Some have called Bruce a man's man cuz he's reached a higher standard yet still had a big heart to share his superior knowledge with everyone.

Perhaps I can apply some of his philosophy and dedicate myself 24/7 to porn in order to be the best there is so I can live for all those who couldn't. I will....

- set new standards for stamina behind a monitor.

- seek out or design special ergonomic chairs to counter fatigue so viewing enjoyment can be prolong and improved(just like how Bruce modified existing equipment to improve his training)

- weed thru all the worlds porn site and toss out the crap and keep the best.

- I will NOT develop a style or system to hinder anyones growth, but I will find a way to best view and enjoy porn just as Bruce has found a new approach to martial arts with Jeet Kune Do.

All kiddings aside, here are some stuff many may or may not know about Bruce Lee.

- The little Mercedes Benz seen towards the end of "Return of the Dragon" driven by the bad Italian mob boss was Bruce's car.

- Jackie Chan was also in "Enter the Dragon", he was the dude who grab Bruce from the back with both arms and got his neck broken by Bruce in the underground fight scene. Jackie and Sammo Hung were part of a stunt crew at the time.

- Bruce was so obsess with his art that when he's talking to you about it, he will look you straight in the eye to make sure you're paying attention so he isn't wasting his time. Because of this, he's constantly in car crashes(obviously nothing major).

- When couples come to visit Bruce, He likes to greet the male with an extremely precise yet powerful and controlled kick or punch to within an inch of their forehead. For the ladies, he'd let them fondle his muscles and legs to show them how hard he is. This is to ensure that everyone know who the ALPHA male in the room is.

- Bruce has always advocate physical training to keep the body in a state of constant readiness, so overweight is a no-no. He thinks the only reason many martial masters can get away with being overweight is because they'll beat up any student who brings the issue up. This falls under one of those "system or style" that Bruce always says not to get yourself stuck into.

- Bruce was worried that he may not be able to continue coming up with Blockbuster hits.

- After taking drugs, he says being able to think and do all those extraordinary things while under the influence is a state we all should strive to be...but get there naturally.

- Bruce is such a quick learner that if he saw you doing something he likes, the next time you see him, he'll be doing that better than you.

One of the coolest thing I like about Bruce's movie is his application of Timing, speed and distance. You can see a perfect example of this in "Return of the Dragon" where Bob Wall's charactor throws a kick and Bruce responds with an even faster kick that reaches Bob first and knocks him to the ground so Bob's kick never got the chance to reach Bruce. This is something Jet Li has adopted to great effect in his movies. Jet Li is one of the very few who understand Bruce's ability and philosophy becuz Jet is one of the few who could rival Bruce's speed. Unfortunately Jet doesn't have the power or reach cuz Bruce is built like a Black dude, he's got unusually long arm for somebody his size.

[oldies8ladies]

Bruce Lee's Philosophy

When Bruce Lee died in 1973, he did not leave this world without making an impact. Beyond his success as a martial arts actor, which was transforming enough to the movie industry in bringing the martial arts genre to life, he was a teacher. The man who played the role of Kato in The Green Hornet and starred in four and a half films was a martial arts instructor, and more—he was a philosopher. He majored in philosophy at the University of Washington. A man who devoured books on a wide range of subjects, from Eastern philosophy to gung fu to psychotherapy, he yearned for knowledge. As he put it, he wanted to express himself, and to express himself honestly. In order to express himself honestly, he had to know himself well. The idea should remind us of Socrates’ admonition, “Know thyself.”

“All knowledge ultimately means self knowledge,” said Lee in an interview. For Lee, “to be a martial artist means also to be an artist of life.”

In Lee’s pursuit of personal perfection, he walked a life of deep philosophy that urged him to seek answers and improvement. Bruce Lee was perhaps the best martial artist because he made himself that way, because he sought answers and resolutions. What set him apart from other martial artists was his understanding of the human dynamics of change. Most traditional martial artists taught a style of fighting that was set in stone—they gave a fixed set of moves and attitudes that defined their specific form of fighting. It reflects a very old form of thought given in Western philosophy in the words of Plato who believed in another realm of eternally static perfection to which we must mold ourselves. In the traditional view, change is imperfect; perfection is sought by denying change any relationship to the deeper, metaphysical reality.

Denying this paradigm, Lee took an objective look at his life, and his art, and sought to improve himself. His success owed to his philosophy in that his growth was not thwarted by the strict dictates of a fixed list of eternal facts. Other martial artists might improve themselves to the standards of a fixed style, but Lee measured himself to the standards of human potential and creation: “Style concludes. Man grows.” This attitude almost made it impossible for someone as dedicated as Lee to not become such a revolutionary master of his art.

Lee wrote, “In the long history of martial arts, the instinct to follow and imitate seems to be inherent in most martial artists, instructors and students alike.”

“Each man,” wrote Lee, “belongs to a style which claims to possess truth to the exclusion of all other styles. These styles become institutes with their explanations of the “Way,” dissecting and isolating the harmony and firmness and gentleness, establishing rhythmic forms as the particular state of their techniques.” The consequence, wrote Lee, was to bypass the purpose of martial arts and create “flowery forms” and “artificial techniques” that become “ritualistically practiced.”

Noting that “real combat is not fixed and is very much ‘alive’,” Lee stated that the “fancy mess” created by ritualizing fighting “is nothing but a blind devotion to the systematic uselessness of practicing routines or stunts that lead nowhere.”

The philosophy promoted by Lee was repugnant to many people already mired in traditional habits of thought. Angry or not, they could not deny the success of Lee. His understanding of martial arts was too profound for traditional views to keep him back.

The logic of Lee’s philosophy, which he uneasily labeled jeet kune do (he was cautious of giving his philosophy a title for fear of its crystallization into yet another style), is quite simple: “The art of Jeet Kune Do is simply to simplify.” The martial artist must ask two questions. 1) What is it that I want to accomplish? 2) What is the quickest, most efficient and effective way to reach my objective?

Lee felt that much of the “fancy mess” in martial arts wasted time and energy, and that styles restricted action. Styles, which lead to specialization, make a person incapable of handling a true master of martial arts. A kick-boxer would be unable to handle a wrestler who had the kick-boxer on the ground. A wrestler would be helpless against a boxer if the boxer kept the wrestler at arm’s reach.

Wrote Lee, “There is a great temptation to exploit favorite strokes to the neglect of most others. While this may bring initial success, it is unlikely to enable one to gain regular results in the highest-class competition. All too soon one’s opponents will find the answer to a limited game; a routine system of defense, for instance, plays into the hands of an observant opponent.”

To that end Lee pushed himself to be a master of every form of martial arts, using whatever was useful and discarding whatever was merely ritual. Only a few months before he died, Lee said, “I am improving and making new discoveries every day. If you don’t you are already crystallized and that’s it.”

Source Material: Bruce Lee's Philosoph By Shawn Olson

[bromack1]

Penthouse Magazine had an article back in the 80's that gave a different slant on Bruce's death. As I recall, the article said Bruce had a habit of smoking hashhish. According the article, it said Bruce had reactions to it and had been warned in the past to stop. It's highly suspected that Bruce was doing that while at the home of the "women who was not his wife"....hahaha

Now that I think about it, I might searh the net to see if that article is around on the web.

For all that said, that in "no way" diminishes the fact I'm a Bruce Lee Fan.

I was really turned on by Bruces Book "The Tao Of Jeet Kune Do." I believe the fighting principles he discussed in that book laid the foundation for modern day self defense training.

Bruce has been ...and forever will be.. my idol.

[bromack1]

If anyone is interested... this article was in Penthouse in the January and February 1983 copy.

"The Life and Death of Bruce Lee, Part " by Albert Goldman

[k1bagami]

Penthouse Magazine had an article back in the 80's that gave a different slant on Bruce's death. As I recall, the article said Bruce had a habit of smoking hashhish. According the article, it said Bruce had reactions to it and had been warned in the past to stop. It's highly suspected that Bruce was doing that while at the home of the "women who was not his wife"....hahaha

Now that I think about it, I might searh the net to see if that article is around on the web.

For all that said, that in "no way" diminishes the fact I'm a Bruce Lee Fan.

I was really turned on by Bruces Book "The Tao Of Jeet Kune Do." I believe the fighting principles he discussed in that book laid the foundation for modern day self defense training.

Bruce has been ...and forever will be.. my idol.

i've read about that too somewhere -- in time magazine, it stated that there were high levels of marijuana in his body.

[HongKongDr]

i've read about that too somewhere -- in time magazine, it stated that there were high levels of marijuana in his body.

Here is an article that states some of the factors and facts to "Bruce Lee" dying -

******************************************************
The Mystery of Bruce Lee's Death

By: Jake Seal
Bruce Lee, dressed in the traditional Chinese outfit he wore in the movie Enter The Dragon, was laid to rest in Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle in late July of 1973. But long before Lee's sudden and tragic death in a Hong Kong apartment at age 32, rumors were rife throughout the Orient that he had been wounded or killed in fights.


"One day, I got a long-distance call from Hong Kong's largest newspaper," Lee recalled. "They asked me if I was still alive. 'Guess who you are talking to?' I replied."


Thus, when Lee actually did die, speculation abounded as to the cause. The rumors ranged from Lee being killed by Hong Kong triads (gangsters) because he refused to pay them protection money - something that was common for Chinese movie stars to do at that time to his being killed by an angry martial artist's dim mak (death touch) strike. Some people claimed Lee was cursed he had just bought a house in Hong Kong that was supposed to be haunted or that he had died while mking love to actress Betty Tingpei, or that he had angered the Chinese martial arts community by teaching foreigners, and that he had been killed in a challenge match.


Many Chinese believed Lee was the victim of too much gum Ilk (intensity) in his training, while others cited drug use as the cause for his sudden demise. Still others believed that Lee's fate was sealed at birth, that it was in the stars. And, finally, there are those who think Lee's death was staged, and that he is merely waiting for the right time to return to society.


The facts of the case are this: Lee died after falling into a coma. The coroner's report was inconclusive, and medical authorities came up with five reasons for Lee's untimely death. However, they all agreed that it was caused by a cerebral edema (a swelling of the brain caused by a congestion of fluid). But what caused the edema became a matter of speculation. For the most part, the course of events on that fateful July day in 1973 can be pieced together. According to Lee's wife, Linda, Bruce met film producer Raymond Chow at 2 p.m. at home to discuss the making of Game of Death. They worked until 4 p.m., and then drove together to the home of Betty Tingpei, a Taiwanese actress who was to also have a leading role in the film. The three went over the script at Tingpei's home, and then Chow left to attend a dinner meeting.


A short time later, Lee complained of a headache and Tingpei gave him a tablet of Equagesic a kind of super sapirin. Apart from that, Lee reportedly consumed nothing but a couple of soft drinks.


At around 7:30 p.m., Lee lay down for a nap and was still asleep when Chow called to ask why he and Tingpei had not yet shown up for dinner as planned. The actress told Chow she could not wake Lee. The ensuing autopsy found traces of cannabis in Lee's stomach, but the significance of this discovery is debatable. Some believe the cannabis caused a chemical reaction that led to the cerebral edema, but the coroner's inquiry refutes this theory. In fact, one doctor was quoted as saying that the cannabis being in Lee's stomach was "no more significant than if Bruce had drunk a cup of tea that day."


Dr. R.R. Lycette of Queen Elizabeth Hospital viewed Lee's death as a hypersensitivity to one or more of the compounds found in the headache tablet he consumed that afternoon. Although his skull showed no injury, his brain had swollen considerably, from 1,400 to 1,575 grams. None of the blood vessels were blocked or broken, so the possibility of a hemorrhage was ruled out. All of Lee's internal organs were meticulously examined, and the only "foreign" substance to be found was the Equagesic.


Chow came to the apartment and could not wake Lee either. A doctor was summoned, and he spent 10 minutes attempting to revive the martial artist before sending him by ambulance to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. By the time he reached the hospital, Lee was dead .


Foul play was immediately suspected as having a role in Lee's passing. Chow appeared on television to try to settle the public furor that quickly developed. He explained what happened, omitting only the fact that Lee had not died at home. The press soon uncovered the truth, however, and demanded to know what Chow was trying to cover up. R.D. Teare, a professor of forensic medicine at the University of London who had overseen more than 90,000 autopsies, was called in and declared that it was basically impossible for the cannabis to be a factor in Lee's death. In Teare's opinion, the edema was caused by hypersensitivity to either meprobamate or aspirin, or a combination of both. His view was accepted by authorities, and a determination of "misadventure" was stamped on Lee's death.


Strangely, an early death was a conceivability that Lee had contemplated with surprising frequency. According to his wife Linda, he had no wish to live to a ripe old age because he could not stand the idea of losing the physical abilities he had strived so hard to achieve.

"If I should die tomorrow," he used to say, "I will have no regrets. I did what I wanted to do. You can't expect more from life."


***********************************************
Quoted from: http://www.allbrucelee.com/article/mystery_of_bruce_lee.htm

[bromack1]

Here's another article. Its in line with what I read in Penthouse that said Bruce had been "warned" to discontinue with his proclivity for Hashish...

Bruce died from multi-factoral causes. His doctors knew what almost killed him on May 10th, 1973. He even presented it to Dr. Langford, the next day, when Langford came in and interrogated him at the hospital, after saving his life. He wanted to know if Bruce was taking any drugs. There was no other explanation. He pulled out Nepal hashish and Langford told if he started taking this again, it would kill him. He rejected Langford's medical advice and flew to UCLA and was clean. They found nothing wrong with him, because there were no drugs in his system. This gave him a false sense of security and a few weeks before he died, he was ingesting it again. This type of hashish he got from Katmandu, Nepal. It's one of the most near-lethal strains of *unrefined* hashish and is much more rarer than the refined types manufactured in the Middle East.

It's been documented to kill it's users the exact same way it killed Bruce on July 20th, 1973. It's neurological side effects are nightmarish, and contains over 4,000 chemical compounds, any one of which, his central nervous system could build up a sensitivity to, and so highly toxic, cerebral edema, kidney/ adrenal failure, vomiting, convulsions, cardiac arrest/coma and death is the result. On May 10th, 1973 he ate some in the bathroom and then collasped on the floor at Golden Harvest Studio, regained consciousness and then collasped again, and went into convulsions and seizues and was throwing up, then went comatose. Dr. Langford was very concerned about Bruce having no body fat left, as this will only worsen side effects of drugs in his system. There is no fat to help absorb it, and he also had his sweat glands removed later in 1972. Removal will also cause brain edema, because the saline that carries toxins, builds up in the body and bloodstream. The fluid buildup is pumped from the heart into the brain, resulting in cerebral edema and kidney failure, convulsions and, coma and death. When Bruce left the hospital on May 10th, Dr. Langford was sure he would be back.

He was one of the top two doctors in the Orient and is still alive today. He was right; 10 weeks later, he died. No one killed Bruce--he killed himself with drugs. The doctors were surprised he lasted til July 20th. There were no marks on his body, just heavy swelling from the edema and some bruises on his left temple, running up the brow ridge. While in Betty's bedroom on July 20th, the seizures from the reaction jerked him off her bed, and the left side of his head was hit. They are too small to be the result of a blow with a weapon. Bruising is common with violent body seizures. The inquest was sham. Two UK doctors flew in to overturn Bruce's doctor's cause of death, and blamed it on a pain pill ( he had been taking for years ). It was also for insurance reasons and payouts, since Bruce stated in his will, he didn't use illegal drugs and if he did--he would be subject to payouts to certain parties. The government in Hong Kong was behind this. They didn't want a hashish epidemic on their hands, with all the young kids who worshipped Lee and wanted to be just like him. The night of July 20th, he ingested the hashish in Betty's apartment, than complained of a mind-numbing and constricting headache ( this is a side-effect ), and she gave him the pain pill, Equagesic, to counter the headache. Betty is supposedly writing a book, telling everything, right now.

Bruce's weight in 1972 was 146, as he stated in a phone-taped interview with Alex Ben Block, who called him while he was making Way in summer 1972. He looks about the same weight in the filmed footage GOD some 3 months later in Sep-Oct the same year. Healthy weight. When he arrived in HK in 1970, he was 155, and weight traing trimmed him down. In 1973, while making ETD, he was about 135 pounds and underweight. By May, he was down to 126, some 20 pounds. I've seen a few photos of Bruce shortly before his death and he looks frail and sickly. The robustness from his face is gone. Dr. Langford said he looked obscene, with only 1% of body fat on him. It's easy to tell Bruce in his last few months--June and July. He's so thin and has a new and fuller hairstyle he never wore while in HK. There's a B&W group photo on a gallery on a website, with Bruce, Betty and co-stars and his appearance is identical to the July 10th TV appearance he made in 1973. Timeframe is approximate.

http://www.bruceleedivinewind.com/death.html

[trrmaster]

This is probably what Bruce would say to those who believed those who claim to know how he died......"And you believe what you were told? WELL I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!"

[HongKongDr]

Does it matter how "Bruce Lee" died?

It was a great loss to both China, Hong Kong and the world.

Not only for his "martial arts" ability
but
for what "Bruce Lee" was doing with the "Asian Community"
and
How "Asians" are starting to be treated on a different level -

There are many people today who still miss "Bruce Lee" -
and
"Bruce Lee" films are still going on and on and on -
probably some of the greatest fight sequences were filmed
during that period of time and how it was being filmed -

So - yes, it is a great loss for "Bruce Lee" to be gone
so then
does it really matter how he died ?????

Bruce Lee is gone -

This thread is about what "Bruce Lee" is - was - and what "Bruce
Lee " gave to the world -

Thank you

[HongKongDr]

What is Jeet Kune Do?

Simply put, it's English translation is "way of the intercepting fist." Bruce studies all types of fighting from American Boxing to Thai Kickboxing. His simple philosophy was rather than block a punch and hit back with two distinct motions, why not intercept and hit in one, fluid stroke.

Fluidity was the ideal. "Try and obtain a nicely-tied package of water," Bruce would taunt. "Just like water, we must keep moving on," Inosanto reitterates. "For once water stops, it becomes stagnant." Water, Bruce would always give as an example, is the toughtest thing on Earth. It is virtually indestructable; it is soft, yet it can tear rocks apart. Move like water. Bruce dissected rigid classical disciplines and rebuilt them with fluid, po-mo improvements. "It's good but it needs restructuring," he would say.

Classical techniques did not take into account the reality of street fighting. Jeet Kune Do did. It was pragmatic, reality-based, empirical- not a bunch of stances, postures and mumbo jumbo handed down from antiquity. Bruce utilized all ways but was bound by none. "Efficiency is anything that scores.


What happened with the Martial Arts movie industry after the death of Bruce Lee?

After Bruce's death, the Martial Arts movie industry boomed, hundreds of look-alike Bruce's began to try out to make Martial Arts movies. They even used similar names, like Bruce Le, and Bruce Li. But none of them could catch the eyes of world as Bruce has. The closest success in Asian Martial Arts is Jet Li, and Jackie Chan, who unlike the other wannabe Bruce's had styles of their own. But even these Martial Artists could not succeed in America.

They, too, had to make movies in foreign countries. The closest Martial Arts movie to succeed in the U.S. is Rumble In the Bronx, staring Jackie Chan, who was also stuntman in Fists of Fury (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Echenj/brucelee/fists_of_fury.html) and Enter the Dragon (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Echenj/brucelee/enter_the_dragon.html)


Why was Bruce Lee so famous, and why is he still thought of as the Master of Chinese Martial Arts?

Another interresting thing about Bruce Lee is his true ability to perform martial arts. He criticized Karate for its brocken motions, and Wing Chun for its flashy techniques. Both, he said, were not ideal to use in actual combat. This is the reason for the creation of Jeet Kune Do (JKD). JKD was designed to be used in real life situations. It's style is no style. The goal of JKD is not to master certain techniques, but to let your body express the techniques in its own way. Everyone has his own style, and JKD is a form of bringing it out.


What aspect(s) of Bruce Lee's character made him so famous?

The question remains in many people's mind: What made Bruce Lee so famous? There are several Martial Arts movies; why is Bruce the one remembered for Chinese Gung-Fu. Bruce would work himself very, very hard, until he perfected what he was working on. He was a perfectionist. Another aspect of his success is his ability to really kick some ass. Bruce remains undefeated throughout his life, except for a lost fight when he was 13 years old (this prompted Bruce to begin taking Martial Arts lessons). People jealous of Bruce, or people just thinking they could beat him, would frequently approach Bruce, tap their foot on the ground (this symbolizes a challenge), and they would begin to fight. Once during the filming of Enter the Dragon (http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Echenj/brucelee/enter_the_dragon.html), an extra aproached Bruce, tapped his foot on the ground, and they began to fight. The extra had some real skill, but instead of trying to beat Bruce, he was really trying to hurt him. When Bruce realized this, he began to unleash his lightning quick speed and powerful moves; he smashed the guy right agains the wall. Bruce later said that he had never kicked a guy so hard before. He really beat the guy up. But unusually, after the fight was over, Bruce told the extra to get back to his spot and act. He never fired him.
SOURCE: The Shrine to Bruce Lee

[Kayvaan]

Bruce Lee is my idol because of what he has done for the Chinese people (and asians) in the fight against racism and also because he was and awesome action star.

however, i don't see him as a martial artist because from his words and actions, he just seems to be a fighter and not a true martial artist.

Why?
well, martial arts, 武术 is a combination of 2 things, 武道 (the way/techniques and skills)and 武德 (martial ethics/morals).
He is great in the first but lacks alot in the second
The the ethics of martial arts is the more important part of being a martial artist and the difference between a fighter and a martial artist.

the reasons i feel that way is that the reason he even picked up martial arts (Wing Chun) is to beat up people.
Not to strengthen his body or protect himslef but to cause hurt and harm to others
you can even see it true the actions of his students who were taught by him that the core martial arts concept of only using it as a form of protection is not taught to his students.
i've seen a video where McQueen was just going, "come on, let's fight" when he saw Bruce Lee.
to me that is just so disrespectful and goes against the ethical behaviour of someone who wants to be a martial artist and the behaviour of the student reflects upon his master.

so Bruce Lee's behaviour reflects upon his master, Ip Man. who probably never taught him the proper way to behave as a martial artist

And alot of people especially in the West erroneous credit Bruce Lee for his supposedly groundberaking concept of taking the best stuff from different martial arts and combining them into one.
Sorry, to break it to you but that is the entire concept of the various forms of Chinese martial arts and how they came to exist.

there is a famous saying from WuXia novels, "All the martial arts of the world originates from Shaolin" (天下武功出少林) but the actually saying from Shaolin is actually Shaolin martial arts originates from the world (少林武功出天下)
Why? Simply because Shaolin monks would invite martial artist form all over the China to the Temple and have sparring sessions with them and from those sessions they would take the strengths fromt he various chinese martial arts and add it to their own to strengthen the weaknesses that they saw.
they would also go around the country to spar with other martial artist to improve their own martial arts by adding stuff that are better and removing stuff that are not workable in actual combat.
this is not only done in Shaolin but among all martial artists in China and that is how the various forms of Chinese martial arts came about

so Bruce Lee did not think of that concept.
and his famous, "Be like water" theory is really just a watered down version of Chinese martial arts theories from 内家拳 (i don't really know how to translate that but it is basically internal form of martial arts), Tai Ji Quan 太极拳, Ba Gua Zhang 八卦掌 belongs to this school of thought.
which emphasize on training your Chi (internal strength)

Sidenote, all Chinese martial arts are actually divided into 内家拳 or 外家拳
外家拳, is actually forms like the various Shaolin Martial arts, Hong Quan etc
which emphasize strength and speed.
although the origins of the terms are different from how is is later used

[trrmaster]

So after one full year, has Bruce inspire any of y'all to be better they you thought you could be(whatever that is)? For me, porn and hot gravure chicks will always be what it always has been(a way for amateur HOT girls to make some money teasing us and a way for us to get away). I'm sure Bruce knew that cuz he's experimented drugs and concluded that it's best to be able achieve what and how you feel when you are under the influence NATURALLY. But imagine if Bruce wasn't a cool lookin dude with lots of cash and celebrity status, how do y'all think Bruce would be like? Personally, I'd still think his charactor and discipline in the the martial arts will overcome any human short comin. If Bruce was still around, he will not be trolling scanlover(sorry mod, Bruce is a badass mofo IMO). Lol

[malau]

I got into an editing war on Wikipedia because they insisted on describing Bruce as "Chinese" - whereas of course he is American.

So I changed it to "American <blah blah> of Chinese descent......"

They said 'but he has Chinese parents' (not true - he had Hong Kong parents - which of course was a British Protectorate) - so I told them that if they insist Bruce is Chinese on account of his parentage then that means Barack Obama is Kenyan, and Kirk Douglas is Belarusian.

We eventually agreed on Chinese-American just to keep the peace - but they still haven't changed Mr Obama's entry to Kenyan-American.

I hate their political correctness, if you are born in America then you are American.