Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973), was a Chinese American martial artist and actor who is widely regarded as among the most influential martial artists of the 20th century. Lee's few movies, especially his performance in the Hollywood-produced Enter the Dragon, elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity, paving the way for future martial artists and martial arts actors such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, and Chuck Norris.
His family included his wife (and former martial arts student), Linda Emery, with whom he had a daughter, Shannon, and a son, Brandon. Brandon would eventually follow in his father's footsteps, becoming a martial artist and actor. Both Bruce and Brandon had untimely deaths. Lee's family also include his brother and sisters who are still alive.
Names
Birth names
• Lee was named Lee Jun Fan in Cantonese (???; Mandarin Pinyin: L? Zhènfán; literally means invigorate [San] Francisco, paying homage to the Chinese name of his birthplace, ???).
• At birth, Lee was given the English name Bruce by nurses at the hospital[1], a name he retained.
• Lee's mother initially gave him a name (??
ndarin Pinyin: L? Xuànj?n), since Lee's father was away on a Chinese opera tour at the time. When Lee's father returned after some months, the name was abandoned due to a conflict with the name of Lee's grandfather; in Chinese culture, it is considered a taboo to give a child a name that is the same as an ancestor's. Lee was then renamed Jun Fan.
• Lee was also given a feminine name throughout his early childhood, Sai Feng (??, literally Slender Phœnix, a typical feminine name).
Screen name
Lee Siu Lung in Cantonese or Li Xiaolong in Mandarin (???; Cantonese pengyam: Ley5 Siw2 Long4; Mandarin Pinyin: L? Xi?olóng), literally Lee Little-dragon, first named by director ??? in the 1950 Cantonese movie ???).
Biography
Bruce Lee was born at the Chinese Hospital[2] in San Francisco to a Chinese father, Lee Hoi-Chuen (???), and Chinese-German mother Grace Lee (???). Bruce Lee was an ABC (American-born Chinese) although he had received his early education and Kung Fu training in Hong Kong. Because of his father's fame as a Chinese opera actor, Lee had the opportunity to appear in several Chinese movies as a child. He studied the martial art known as Wing Chun for a few years and, at a young age, picked up the dialects/languages of English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.
In 1959, Lee went to Seattle, to complete his high school education. He received his diploma from Edison Technical School and enrolled at the University of Washington as a Philosophy major. It was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife, Linda Emery, whom he would marry in 1964 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Washington.
Acting career
Due to his father's entertainment industry connections, Lee was a child actor in several 1950s Hong Kong movies.
After graduating from the University of Washington, Lee went on to star as Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet, which ran from 1966 to 1967 and afterward opened up his own Jeet Kune Do school.
In 1971, unable to find acting roles and faced with stereotypes regarding Asian actors, Lee returned to Hong Kong with his family. There, he starred in martial arts movies, earning $30,000 for his first two feature films and cementing his fame.
Yuen Wah, a member of the Seven Little Fortunes, and later to become a well known actor in his own right (notably starring
few years and, at a young age, picked up the dialects/languages of English, Cantonese, and Mandarin.
In 1959, Lee went to Seattle, to complete his high school education. He received his diploma from Edison Technical School and enrolled at the University of Washington as a Philosophy major. It was at the University of Washington that he met his future wife, Linda Emery, whom he would marry in 1964 after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Washington.
Acting career
Due to his father's entertainment industry connections, Lee was a child actor in several 1950s Hong Kong movies.
After graduating from the University of Washington, Lee went on to star as Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet, which ran from 1966 to 1967 and afterward opened up his own Jeet Kune Do school.
In 1971, unable to find acting roles and faced with stereotypes regarding Asian actors, Lee returned to Hong Kong with his family. There, he starred in martial arts movies, earning $30,000 for his first two feature films and cementing his fame.
Yuen Wah, a member of the Seven Little Fortunes, and later to become a well known actor in his own right (notably starring in 2005's Kung Fu Hustle), was Lee's stunt double in Lee's last few films.
The Karate black belt, and actor, Chuck Norris was introduced, portraying one of Lee's enemies in Return of the Dragon.
Martial arts training and development
Lee began his formal martial arts training at the age of 13 in Wing Chun Gung Fu under Hong Kong master Yip Man. Like most martial arts schools at that time, Yip Man's classes were often taught by the highest ranking student. Lee did not finish Yip Man's curriculum.
It would not be until his arrival in the United States, however, that Lee began the process of creating his own style, which he would later teach at the martial arts schools he opened in Oakland and Los Angeles, California (named the Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute). After becoming dissatisfied with existing schools of martial arts, he later modified his style, which consisted mostly of elements of Wing Chun, with elements of Western Boxing and Fencing, and named it Jun Fan Gung Fu. Lee expanded this style over time, including elements from Muay Thai, Indo-Malay Silat, Panantukan, Sikaran, Bando, Catch Wrestling, Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, Aikido, and other arts. It would be much later that he would come to describe his style as Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist) or JKD.
It took a violent confrontation to start Lee's adaptation of his art. Bruce was issued a challenge by Chinese elders in the region in response to his teaching Asian "secrets" to westerners. A contest was scheduled between him and another popular artist in the area to settle the dispute. According to Linda Lee (Cadwell) the fight lasted a total of three rounds, most of which consisted of Lee chasing the man around the room until finally submitting him. Although he won, Bruce was forlorn, thinking that the fight had taken too long and that he had failed to live up to himself. At this point he decided to start training hard: weights for strength, running for endurance, stretching for flexibility, plus many other methods of training, which he constantly adapted as he grew as a martial artist.
During this time he developed his own combat techniques as well as the famous one inch punch, which comes from Wing Chun, which he demonstrated during a Karate tournament in Long beach.
Prior to his death, Lee told his then only two living instructors, Dan Inosanto
