MySpace - Bruce Lee - 69 - Male - California - myspace.com/dragon

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Early life:
Jun Fan Lee was born in the hour of the dragon, between 6-8 a.m., in the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, November 27, 1940 at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the United States.[3] His father, Lee Hoi-Chuen , was Chinese, and his Catholic mother, Grace , was of Chinese and German ancestry. Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old. He was a citizen of the United States by birth and did not hold any other citizenships.

Names

Lee's Cantonese given name was Jun Fan (振藩; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhènfán).[14] At his birth, he additionally was given the English name of "Bruce" by a Dr. Mary Glover. Though Mrs. Lee had not initially planned on an English name for the child, she deemed it appropriate and would concur with Dr. Glover's addition.[15] However, his American name was never used within his family until he enrolled in La Salle College (a Hong Kong high school) at the age of 12,[14] and again at another high school (St. Francis Xavier's College in Kowloon), where Lee would come to represent the boxing team in inter-school events.

Lee initially had the birth name Li Yuen Kam[2] (李炫金); Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ Xuànjīn) given to him by his mother, as at the time, Lee's father was away on a Chinese opera tour. This name would later be abandoned because of a conflict with the name of Bruce's grandfather, causing him to be renamed Jun Fan upon his father's return. Also of note is that Lee was given a feminine name, Sai Fung (細鳳, literally "small phoenix"), which was used throughout his early childhood in keeping with a Chinese custom, traditionally thought to hide a child from evil spirits.

Lee's screen names were respectively Lee Siu Lung (in Cantonese), and Li Xiao Long (in Mandarin) (李小龍; Cantonese pengyam: Ley5 Siu² Long4; Mandarin Pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎolóng) which literally translates to "Lee the Little Dragon" in English. These names were first used by director 袁步雲 of the 1950 Cantonese movie 細路祥, in which Lee would perform. It is possible that the name "Lee Little Dragon" was based on his childhood name of "small dragon", as, in Chinese tradition, the dragon and phoenix come in pairs to represent the male and female genders respectively. The more likely explanation is that he came to be called "Little Dragon" because, according to the Chinese zodiac, he was born in the Year of the Dragon.

Education and family
At age 12, Lee entered La Salle College. Then, he attended St. Francis Xavier's College. In 1959, at the age of 18, Lee got into a fight with, and badly beat, a feared Triad gang member's son.[10]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. Lee left with $100 in his pocket and the titles of 1958 Boxing Champion and the Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong.[3] 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 Edison Technical School. He enrolled at the University of Washington as a drama major and took some philosophy classes. It was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife Linda Emery, whom he would marry in 1964. He had two children with Linda, Brandon Lee (1965-1993) and Shannon Lee (1969-). Brandon, who would also become an actor like his father, died in an accident during the filming of The Crow in 1993. Shannon Lee also became an actress and appeared in some low-budget films since the mid 1990s, but has since quit acting.

Physical feats

Lee's phenomenal fitness meant he was capable of performing many exceptional physical feats. The following list are the physical feats that are documented and supported by reliable sources.

* Lee's striking speed from three feet with his hands down by his side reached "five hundredths" of a second.
* Lee could spring a 235lb (107kg) opponent 15 feet (4.6 metres) away with a 1 inch punch.
* Lee's combat movements were at times too fast to be captured on film at 24fps, so many scenes were shot in 32fps to put Lee in slow motion. Normally martial arts films are sped up.
* In a speed demonstration, Lee could snatch a dime off a person's open palm before they could close it, and leave a penny behind.
* Lee could perform push ups using only his thumbs
* Lee would hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.
* Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then "catch them in mid-flight" using chopsticks.
* Lee performed one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger
* Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.
* From a standing position, Lee could hold a 125lb (57kg) barbell straight out.
* Lee could break wooden boards 6inches (15cm) thick.
* Lee performed a side kick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150-lb (68kg) punching bag
* Lee could cause a 300-lb (136kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.
* In a move that has been dubbed "Dragon Flag", Lee could perform leg lifts with only his shoulder blades resting on the edge of a bench and suspend his legs and torso perfectly horizontal midair.
* Lee could "thrust" his fingers through unopened steel cans of Coca-Cola, at a time before cans were made of the softer aluminum metal.
* Lee can use one finger to leave "dramatic" indentations on pine wood.

Philosophy

Although Bruce Lee is best known as a martial artist and actor, Lee majored in philosophy at the University of Washington. Lee himself was well-read and had an extensive library. His own books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertions both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His 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, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhism.

The following quotations reflect his fighting philosophy.

* "To tell the truth....I could beat anyone in the world."
* "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."
* "Fighting is not something sought after, yet it is something that seeks you."
* "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 like 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 opposite effect."
* "Mere technical knowledge is only the beginning of Gung 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."

Trivia

Ranked 100 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

Father of Brandon Lee.

Died of brain edema in Hong Kong at age 32.

He is considered the greatest martial artist of the 20th century.

Developed his martial art style called Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist) which is more of an idea of being flexible and practical with learning martial arts

Father of Shannon Lee

Interred at Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, Washington, USA.

While "The Green Hornet" (1966) TV series was in production, Bruce made several promotional appearances as Kato, but made a point to never do the standard martial art stunts like breaking boards, which he felt had nothing to do with what martial arts are about.

Bruce Lee Jun Fan Yuen Kam (Bruce Lee's full birth name) was born in the year of the dragon (1940), at the hour of the dragon (between 6:00AM- 8:00AM).

Was an accomplished dancer and Hong Kong cha cha cha champion.

A noted brawler in Hong Kong, Lee received formal training in wing chun under legendary sifu Yip Man. He later trained in a variety of arts before creating his Jeet Kune Do style.

Weighed only 128 pounds at the time of his death.

Suffered a serious back injury while attempting a good-morning. During his recuperation, he wrote several books on the martial arts.

His students in Jeet Kune Do martial arts included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Steve McQueen and James Coburn.

His ancestry is German and Chinese. His father is a full-blooded Chinese, while his mother is of German-Chinese decent (her father is German; her mother is Chinese).

His development of Jeet Kune Do came partially out of an incident with his school. A rival martial artist challenged him to a duel over his decision to teach non-Chinese students. Lee accepted the challenge and won the duel, but later thought that the fight took too long because his martial art technique was too rigid and formalistic. Thus he decided to develop a better system with an emphasis on practicality and flexibility.

Was constantly challenged by movie extras and other men seeking to gain fame by beating him in a fight.

Left for Seattle in 1958 with $100. Gave cha cha cha lessons to first-class passengers to earn extra money during ship ride to US.

Was sought after for instruction by established martial artists such as Joe Lewis and Chuck Norris.

Faced discrimination from other Chinese kung fu masters when trying to learn other martial arts styles. Would usually go to the number 3 or 4 man in a certain system to learn it in exchange for teaching what he knew.

Demand for his private lessons grew so high, his hourly rate soared to $275 per hour.

His last movie, Game of Death (1978), was his first film to be shot with sound, unlike most of his earlier films which were filmed without sound and later dubbed in by the actors. Some of the lost footage was later shown in Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey (2000) (V). You can hear his own voice speaking English and Cantonese. Had he not died, his character's name in this movie would have been Hai Tien.

Spoke English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese.

Was able to name every single karate term and performed them with dead accuracy.

Adopted his legendary nunchaku routine in his movies from the legendary karate master Hidehiko "Hidy" Ochiai. The two met at the Los Angeles YMCA in the mid 1960s.

Earned $30,000 for his first two feature films.

Developed a trick for showing off his speed: a person held a coin and closed his hand, and as he closed it, Lee would take it and could even swap the coin for another.

His death was considered to be under 'extraordinarily bizarre' circumstances by many experts. Many people claimed that it was the work of 'Oni' (Japanese for Demons or evil spirits), while others claimed he was cursed. The theory of the 'Curse of Bruce Lee' carried over to the extremely bizarre death of his son, Brandon Lee, who was shot and killed during the filming of The Crow (1994) in 1993.

Before hitting it big as a movie star, he often trained with the martial arts world's biggest stars, many of whom would latter become celebrities in their own right, such as world karate champion 'Chuck Norris'. Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, Lee was never Norris' instructor. They trained together, often trading techniques and ideas, but never had a student-teacher relationship.

One of his martial arts students was James Bond star George Lazenby.

In his first and only meeting with Enter the Dragon (1973) composer Lalo Schifrin, Bruce told him that he often trains to the "Mission: Impossible" (1966) theme.

Mastered a technique called "The One Inch Punch", in which he could deliver a devastating blow yet have his fist travel a mere one inch (2.54 cm) in distance before striking an opponent.

His first major U.S. project was the role of Kato in the television series "The Green Hornet" (1966). He joked that he got this role because he was the only Oriental actor who could properly pronounce the lead character's name: "Britt Reid.".

Mortal Kombat character "Liu Kang" was inspired by him, complete with the characteristic animal noises.

When Elvis Presley's and Ed Parker's unfinished martial arts film "New Gladiators" was found in 2003, there was 20 minutes of Lee's demonstration at a martial arts display in the mid-'60s found along with it.

Is often honored in video games. In "Mortal Kombat" games, the character Liu Kang was an obvious tribute to Lee. Then, in Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (1993) (VG), a character named Fei Long was introduced, bearing an uncanny resemblance in both looks and fighting style to Lee. A lesser game, World Heroes (1993) (VG), also copied Lee as Kim Dragon. Lastly, the "Tekken" games did the tribute to him not once, but twice. First with Marshall Law, then with his son Forrest Law for the third installment of Tekken. Along with this, his fighting style was honored in Virtua Fighter (1993) (VG) with Jacky Bryant, in Dead or Alive (1997) (VG) with Jann Lee and in the "Soul Calibur" series as Maxi.

Has a statue placed in the country Bosnia. After many years of war and religious splits, Lee's figure is to commend his work, to successfully bridge culture gaps in the world (2004 September).

His father, Lee Hoi Chuen (b. February 1901, died 8 February 1965) was a popular stage actor, and died 8 days after Brandon Lee was born.

Lee was trained by Yip Man from 1954-1957 & Wong Shun-Leung from 1957-58.

Defeated British boxer Gary Elms by knockout in the third round in the 1958 Hong Kong amateur boxing championships by using Wing Chun traps and high/low-level straight punches. Before he met Elms in the finals, he knocked out three boxers in the first round. Hawkings Cheung, his fellow Wing Chun street fighter, witnessed the event.

Lee knocked out Wong Jack-Man in Oakland, CA, in a 1965 no-holds-barred challenge match. It was Lee's last official fight. It lasted three minutes.

Lee knocked-out Chung, a Choy Li Fut fighter, in Hong Kong in a 1958 Full-Contact match. The match was refereed by Sheun-Leung Wong.

Lee knocked out Uechi in 10 seconds in a 1962 Full-Contact match in Seattle. It was refereed by Jesse Glover.

Had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers: Phoebe Lee (b. 1938), Agnes Lee, older brother and fencing champion Peter Lee, and younger brother and musician Robert Lee. Some sources claim he also had a brother James who died of Black Lung in 1972, but James Yimm Lee was in fact his training partner, and not his brother.

Son of Hoi-Chuen Lee

He was a gang leader in his teenage years. The name of his group was known as "The Tigers of Junction Street".

UFC President Dana White considers Bruce Lee as "the father of Mixed Martial Arts".

Alongside Muhammad Ali, Lee is cited as a major influence by many K-1 and MMA champions: Bas Rutten, Jose "Pele' Landi-Jons, Wanderlei Silva, 'Emilianenko Fedor', Norifumi "Kid' Yamamoto, Rob Kaman, Ramon Dekkers, Frank Shamrock, Murilo Rua, Mauricio Rua, 'Jerome Le Banner', 'Carlos Newton', Remy Bonjasky, Jeremy Horn, David Loiseau and Tito Ortiz, among others.

To mark the occasion of what would have been Lee's 65th birthday (27 November 2005), a bronze statue of a topless Bruce adopting a martial arts stance was unveiled in Hong Kong, effectively kicking off a week-long Bruce Lee festival.

In the popular Nintendo game series, Pokémon, the fighting type monster Hitmonlee is based on Lee.

In an interview he gave a few years before his death, he revealed that he was an atheist.

According to Hong Kong stuntman Phillip Ko, Lee was challenged by a tiger/crane kung fu stylist, an extra on Enter the Dragon (1973), who claimed Lee was a phony. Lee, who was furious at the claim, accepted the challenge to prove that his martial arts were indeed the real deal. The fight, which took place on the film set, only lasted 30 seconds, with Bruce pummeling his challenger with a series of straight punches to the face, low-line kicks to his shins/knees/thighs and finally ended with the guy being smashed to the wall with his hair pulled and his arms trapped by Bruce. After Lee forced the kung fu stylist to submit, he showed some class by telling him to go back to work instead of firing him. This fight was witnessed by the film's producer, Fred Weintraub, and Robert Wall.

There is a character in the anime and manga Shaman King that is very heavily based on him. Also a character inspired by a Lee like character appeared in the Yugioh manga.

Chosen by Goldsea Asian American Daily as one of the "100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time". (ranked 2).

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