BRUCE LEE
ENTER THE DRAGON LITTLE KNOWN FACT WAY OF THE INTERCEPTING FIST
A WARRIOR'S JOURNEY LAST MAN STANDING GAME OF DEATH NUNCHAKU
FISTS OF FURY THE CURSE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE SILENT BUT DEADLY
ELVIS & BRUCE THE DRAGON
"Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is
uniquely your own" - Bruce Lee
ENTER THE DRAGON
Bruce Lee Jun Fan Yuen Kam was born in the year of the dragon,
1940, and at the hour of the dragon, between 6 and 8 AM.
LITTLE KNOWN FACT
Bruce's ancestry was Chinese and German. His father was Chinese
while his mother was of German-Chinese decent. Her mother was
Chinese and her father was German.
WAY OF THE INTERCEPTING FIST
Jeet Kune Do, also known as Way of the Intercepting Fist, was
Bruce Lee's personal martial art style. He developed it with the
idea of being more flexible and practical with martial arts
techniques. In doing so, he commonly considered the greatest
martial artist of the 20th century.
A WARRIOR'S JOURNEY
His Jeet Kune Do instruction was a premium in the highest demand
and commanded a staggering $275 an hour. His students consisted
of some of Hollywood's most elite, including Kareem Abdul-Jabar,
Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Joe Lewis and Chuck Norris.
LAST MAN STANDING
In many ways his celebrity gave him a parallel to the characters
he portrayed as he was contantly being challenged by movie
extras and other men who could get near him seeking to gain fame
by beating him in a fight. Many tried, but he was never beaten.
GAME OF DEATH
His last film was "Game of Death" and was his only film to be
shot with sound. His earlier films were shot without sound and
the voices were later dubbed in.
NUNCHAKU
Nunchaku were Bruce Lee's hand weapon of choice and when
wielding a pair he was an undefeatable force. He developed his
legendary routine under the instruction of karate master
Hidehiko "Hidy" Ochiai. The two men first met at the Los Angeles
YMCA in the mid-1960's.
FISTS OF FURY
Bruce Lee's ultimate secret was his lightning quick speed. To
demonstrate he developed a trick where he had a person hold a
coin and close his hand around the coin, but before they could
do so Bruce would quickly remove the coin and replace it with
another most often without the participate even realizing what
had happened. When they opened their hand, it would be the new
coin.
THE CURSE
As most know, Bruce Lee's death was deemed to be extraordinarily
bizarre. Motivating many to be belove it was the work of "Oni",
a Japanese term for demons or evil spirits. This curse
apparently carried on to his actor son, Brandon Lee.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
During an interview, composer Lalo Schifrin revealed that Bruce
often trained to the "Mission Impossible" TV Show soundtrack.
SILENT BUT DEADLY
Another claim to fame was Bruce mastered a technique called,
"The One Inch Punch". With it he could deliver a devastating
body punch just with his fist just a mere inch from his target.
ELVIS & BRUCE
Elvis Presley and Ed Parker had a pet project film they were
constructing in 1973 and 1974, but then suddenly it was
forgotten until 2003 when the footage resurfaced. The film is
basically groups of martial arts experts going at it. The cast
reads like a 'who's who' of the martial arts world of the time
and although he is not featured in the film, 20 minutes of
never-before-seen footage of Bruce Lee was also discovered with
this lost footage.
THE DRAGON
When he passed away on July 20, 1973 Bruce Lee was only 32 years
old was 5'7" and weighed 128 pounds. He might have been small in
stature but was one of the all time greatest film stars and the
most accomplished martial artist in modern history.
About the author:
To read more articles by Chad, please visit the American Pop
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