Bruce Lee is another one of the big time actors of the70’s. He was Known as one of the greatest martial artists of his time and maybe in history. He brought all of his martial arts skills to the screen with him when he became an actor. Bruce was very inspirational to many of the martial artists of today. One reason Lee was so inspirational was that he broke away from many Chinese traditions that he thought were unfair. Among these traditions were learning more than one style of the martial arts and teaching non Chinese the art of self defense. Lee taught anyone that had an extra special interest in the Arts of his trade. Most Chinese were restricted to one form of the arts, but Lee learned many different styles and even combined all the strong points of each style to create his own style (Jeet Kune Do
FACT: 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.
FACT: Did you know that Bruce Lee used the focus glove for martial arts training as far back as 1962? In fact, it was Bruce Lee who popularized its use in the martial arts. Focus gloves are now used by almost every martial artist in the United States.
FACT: Bruce Lee trained on a 300 lb. heavy bag to improve his kicking power.
FACT: 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.
FACT: 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.
FACT: Bruce Lee was one of the first Chinese Gung Fu teachers in the United States to teach non-chinese. Si-gung Lee did not allow racial discrimination to enter into his choice of who he wanted to teach. He chose to see people as individuals, and regardless of what the chinese community at that time wanted he stood his ground, even though he was challenged to fight as an ultimatum to stop teaching people other than those of chinese decent.
FACT: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.
FACT: 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
Photo album: Bruce Lee
By: A Sunday Mid Day Correspondent
July 20, 2003
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1. Bruce as Kid Cheung at the age of eight. |
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2. Snapshot of Bruce Lee soon after his enrollment at St Francis Xavier College in 1956. |
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3. The King of Jeet Kune Do. |
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4. In a scene from The Big Boss. |
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5. Bruce Lee began sporting a beard during his Hollywood days that did not go down well with his Chinese fans. |
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6. Bruce with Linda whom he married in 1964.
“I remember our first years of marriage as being deliriously happy,” his wife had said. |
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7. The opening scene of Enter the Dragon. |
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8. Wing Chun Kung-Fu master Yip Man and his star pupil.
The spectacles Bruce has in his pocket are the ones he used as a disguise in Fist of Fury.
When he died in 1973 they were buried with him. | | |
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