Bruce Lee - Biography, Achievements and Quotes

Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; 27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) was a Chinese American martial artist, actor, martial arts instructor,[3] philosopher, and filmmaker. The founder of Jeet Kune Do, Lee was the son of Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-Chuen. He is widely considered by commentators, critics, media and other martial artists to be one of the most influential martial artists of all time,[4] and a pop culture icon of the 20th century.

Lee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco on 27 November 1940 to parents from Hong Kong and was raised in Kowloon with his family until his late teens. He was introduced to the film industry by his father and appeared in several films as a child actor. Lee moved to the United States at the age of 18 to receive his higher education, and it was during this time that he began teaching martial arts. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. 

The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world. He is noted for his roles in five feature-length films: Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978), both directed by Robert Clouse.

Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world, particularly among the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese nationalism in his films. He initially trained in Wing Chun, but later rejected well-defined martial art styles, favouring instead the use of techniques from various sources, in the spirit of his personal martial arts philosophy, which he dubbed Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist). Lee held dual citizenship from Hong Kong and the United States. He died in Kowloon Tong on 20 July 1973.

Achievements & Facts about Bruce Lee

• Bruce Lee injured his back causing damage to his sacral nerve in 1970. The injury was due to overtraining and lifting too heavy during "Good Mornings", a weight training exercise, not during a fight as many people believe. Although doctors told him he would not be able to continue his lifestyle in the martial arts, through determination he fully recovered and went on to star in four and a half films made between 1971 and 1973.
• Bruce Lee trained on a 300 lb. heavy bag to improve his kicking power.
• Bruce Lee was far from being genetically perfect, as most people believe. Bruce Lee wore contact lenses and actually failed his physical exam in 1963 and was deemed physically unacceptable by the U.S. Army Draft Board.
• Bruce Lee could land a punch in around five hundredths of a second (0.05 second) from 3 feet away, and from 5 feet away it was around eight hundredths of a second (0.08 second).
• Lee could take in one arm a 75 lb barbell from a standing position with the barbell held flush against his chest and slowly stick his arms out locking them, holding the barbell there for several seconds.
• Lee could perform one-hand push-ups using only the thumb and index finger. Lee performed 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups.
• Lee could cause a 300-lb (136.08 kg) bag to fly towards and thump the ceiling with a sidekick.
• Lee could hold an elevated v-sit position for 30 minutes or longer.
• Lee performed a sidekick while training with James Coburn and broke a 150 lb (68 kg) punching bag.
• 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 horizontal midair.
• Actually, "Bruce" was a name given by a nurse at the Jackson Street Hospital, San Francisco, where he was born (Bruce's father was traveling with an acting troupe at the time). The nurse thought that giving the baby an English name would help avoid any confusion with his American birth certificate (yes, Bruce was an American by birth - he never had any other citizenship).
• Bruce wasn't pure Chinese - he was actually part German (his grandfather from his mother's side was half German).
• Lee could throw grains of rice into the air and catch them with chopsticks.
• In 2005, a bronze statue was unveiled in Hong Kong to mark what would have been Bruce Lee’s 65th birthday.
• Growing up, Bruce was very near-sighted, and wore thick glasses. He switched to contact lenses after his acting career took off.
• Bruce Lee is arguably the most influential martial artist in history because he essentially introduced Chinese martial arts to the world. Within a short span of time, he inspired millions to practice martial arts.
• To avoid gang fights in Hong Kong and get his U.S. citizenship, Bruce Lee moved back to the United States in 1959 and began teaching wing chun at his newly opened Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. 
• Recognizing the weaknesses of traditional kung fu training, Bruce Lee created his own martial way, jeet kune do (way of the intercepting fist). He believed one’s movements and mind should flow like water, which is why his school motto was “using no way as way; having no limitation as limitation.”
• Bruce was an accomplished dancer and a Hong Kong Cha Cha champion.
• To demonstrate his speed, Bruce Lee would invite a person to hold a coin and close their hand. Lee would take the coin before the hand closed and could even swap the coin for another.
• Bruce Lee once said "If I should die tomorrow, I will have no regrets. I did what I wanted to do. You can't expect more from life."
• Well, actually he lost a fight only once in his life: when he was 13 years old. This loss actually prompted Bruce to learn martial arts from a Wing Chun master named Yip Man. After other students learned that Bruce wasn't pure Chinese, they refused to let him train in their class. Yip Man had to train him privately. (Image: Portland Kung Fu Club)
• Academics didn't interest Bruce in the least. After primary school, Bruce entered La Salle College, an English-speaking boys' secondary school in Kowloon, Hong Kong, where he often got into trouble. Bruce was expelled from La Salle for disruptive behavior.
• Even after his parents moved him to a different school, Bruce kept on getting into street fights.
• Bruce wasn't just all muscle and no brain. He attended the University of Washington, where he majored in philosophy with focus on the philosophical principles of martial art techniques. As you might imagine, Bruce supported himself in college by teaching martial arts. Later, Bruce dropped out of college to open his martial arts school.
• After he got famous, a lot of people thought they could beat Bruce - they would walk up to him, tap their foot on the ground (symbolizing a challenge) and then proceed to attack him! Well... maybe not that literal, but Bruce's popularity certainly attracted a lot nutcase trying to prove they're better than him.
• Bruce Lee was able to jump 8 feet from a stand still (this was shown in pictures and his films such as the one where he kicked the lightbulb out).
• Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches (15 cm) thick.
• Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and then catch them in mid-flight using chopsticks. - Witnessed by many such as Joe Hyams.
• Bruce Lee was introduced to the football shield for kicking by student Dan Inosanto. At first, he rejected the idea, but within a few days he had developed a series of drills and the kicking shield became a mainstay of Jun Fan Gun Fu Jeet Kune Do training. Today there is a shield in almost every martial arts school in the USA.
• Although Bruce Lee started his acting career at age 6 and was known worldwide as an actor, he considered himself a martial artist first and an actor second.
• Bruce was so fast, he once broke five boards with a speed break on Hong Kong TV, as they were held stacked dangling between his assistant's thumb and forefinger

Superb Quotes by Bruce Lee

• “Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.”
• “Choose the positive. You have choice, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success.”
• “Don’t fear failure.  Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”
• “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.”
• “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.”
• “It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.”
• “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”
• “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
• “What is” is more important than ‘what should be.’ Too many people are looking at ‘what is’ from a position of thinking ‘what should be’.”
• “When one has reached maturity in the art, one will have a formless form. It is like ice dissolving in water. When one has no form, one can be all forms; when one has no style, he can fit in with any style.”
• “I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”
• “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”
• 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 and 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.”
• “Be happy, but never satisfied.”
• “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”
• A teacher must never impose this student to fit his favourite pattern; a good teacher functions as a pointer, exposing his student's vulnerability (and) causing him to explore both internally and finally integrating himself with his being. Martial art should not be passed out indiscriminately.
• Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. LEARN, MASTER AND ACHIEVE!!!
• “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.”
• “Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”
• “If you always put limits 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.”
• “If you think a thing is impossible, you’ll make it impossible.”