黃錦銘截拳道的歷史、哲學與科學 痞客邦部落格(Ted Wong Jeet Kune Do's History,Philosophy,And Science Pixnet Blog)

關於李小龍的傳記和小說類作品很多，大多都帶有戲說的成份，本站將努力計畫根據年表，以李小龍武道思想的形成及李小龍影視事業發展為線索整理出一份較為學術和嚴肅的生平介紹。

以下為簡略生平介紹，分享給廣大的讀者！

李小龍（Bruce Lee，1940年11月27日－1973年7月20日），原名李振藩(Jun Fan Lee)，乳名為細鳳，出生於美國加州三藩市，祖籍中國廣東省佛山市。偉大的武術家、哲學家、電影演員、改革者，也是截拳道武道哲學的創立者。

  他是將中國功夫傳播到全世界第一人，打入好萊塢的首位華人，他革命性地推動了世界武術和功夫電影的發展。他將“Kung Fu”一詞寫入了英語詞典，被國際權威武術雜誌《黑帶》評為世界七大武術家之一；他被譽為“功夫之王”、“武之聖者”；他作為唯一入選的華人獲《時代》雜誌評為“20世紀的英雄與偶像”。李小龍，一代革命性的偉大宗師，是中國的驕傲，世界的偶像！

  生平簡介 

    李小龍的童年和少年是在香港度過的。李小龍幼時身體非常瘦弱。他父親為了兒子的體魄強壯，在他7歲時便教其練習太極拳。

李小龍在13歲經親戚和友人張卓慶介紹隨葉問學習了詠春拳，並在家中設一座木樁，每天對著木樁勤練不輟。此外，他還練過洪拳、白鶴拳、譚腿、少林拳、戳腳等拳種。　　

      為了提高技擊水準，李小龍除了勤習中國拳術外，還研究西洋拳，他一邊參加西洋拳訓練班，一邊節省零用錢購買世界拳王喬‧路易士的拳擊賽紀錄片，從中學習拳王的步法、身法、拳法和訓練方法；他還經常參加校內外的拳擊比賽，不斷累積比賽經驗。

　　      由於害怕李小龍學壞，在他18歲那年，李小龍的父母決定送李小龍到美國留學。 李小龍在西雅圖的生活相當艱苦，進入大學就讀以後，他除了學習外，把精力都放在研習武術上。他在學校裡組織了一支“中國功夫隊”，經常在校園裡進行訓練和表演，博得了師生們的好評。　　

      李小龍為了宣揚中華武術，在大學2年級期間，在外面租了一個停車場角落，掛起了“振藩國術館” 的牌子。

他邊教邊練，刻苦磨煉，技術大有長進，尤以腿功造詣更為精深。在教學中，他認識了來學武術的醫學院女大生琳達，經過一年多的交往，他們漸漸產生了感情，在1964年8月，他倆正式結婚。婚後，李小龍夫婦雙雙休學，合力經營“振藩國術館”。　

    自從李小龍在佛羅里達州唐人街(China Town)赤手空拳制服4個持刀歹徒，勇救華人少女的消息在報紙上刊登之後，李小龍的名字便傳遍了美國，佛羅里達州等電視台也請他去表演，從這時中國功夫開始引起人們的重視。

而他創辦的振藩國術館也逐漸興旺起來了。為了擴大影響，李小龍經常到各處參加武術比賽，並先後在西雅圖、奧克蘭、洛杉磯等地開設武術分館授徒。國術館的規模和設備不斷完善，世界上許多顯赫的武打明星如美國空手道冠軍羅禮士等都來和他交流學習，好萊塢的著名電影明星如占士亨賓和史提夫、麥昆都是他的學生。

美國國內各流派的拳師經常聚集在李小龍的武館切磋武藝，他的“以武會友”的宗旨收到了預期的效果。涉足電影界功夫震撼全球

　　    20世紀70年代初，一股中國功夫影片的狂潮席捲著世界。李小龍這個響亮的名字震撼全球。　　

    1971年夏季，李小龍接受香港嘉禾電影公司的邀請，以1.5萬美元的片酬簽了兩部影片，第一部是以中國武術為題材的《唐山大兄》。該片預算只有10萬美元，而且劇本也是邊拍邊寫的，在這種情況下卻創下了香港開埠以來的電影最高票房紀錄，達到了 300萬港元。繼《唐山大兄》之後，李小龍又拍攝了《精武門》，《精武門》比《唐山大兄》增加了一倍的預算，引起更大的轟動。李小龍在片中的大無畏精神和驚人的打鬥技巧，，令人讚不絕口。此後，李小龍又自組協和電影公司，自編、自導、自演了影片《猛龍過江》和《死亡遊戲》，還與美國華納電影公司聯合拍攝了《龍爭虎鬥》，並親自擔任了主角。

正當李小龍雄心勃勃，大展宏圖，準備繼續拍完《死亡遊戲》的時候，由於藥物過敏，1973年7月20日突然在香港逝世，享年才32歲。　　

      李小龍由於在武術和電影等方面有卓越的貢獻，他先後在1972年和1973年兩度被國際權威武術雜誌《黑帶》評為世界七大武術家之一。1972年還被香港評為十大明星之一。美國報刊把他譽為“功夫之王”，日本人稱他為“ 武之聖者”，香港報紙讚譽他為“當代中國武術及電影史上的奇才”。在美國、日本、英國、中國香港、中國臺灣等國家或地區同時出版了紀念李小龍的多種多樣的雜誌和特刊，都稱他為“發揚中國武術最有成效的人。”

    李小龍的一生是短暫的，但卻如同一顆耀眼的彗星劃過國際武壇的上空，對現代技擊術和電影表演藝術的發展作出了巨大的貢獻。他主演的功夫片風行海外，中國功夫也隨之聞名於世界。許多外文字典和詞典裡都出現了一個新詞：“功夫”(Kung fu)。在不少外國人心目中的功夫就是中國武術，李小龍也成了功夫的化身。許多國外武林高手、空手道拳師，泰拳大師看過李小龍主演的功夫片後都承認：“李小龍確有真功夫。”確實，還很少有一位東方武術家能像李小龍一樣突破國家、種族的領域，並且在死後聲威依然不減。　　

    李小龍多才多藝，亦文亦武。他每當練功之餘，埋頭研究武術理論與訓練方法。他逝世前留下了七大本學武筆記和六本著作手稿。世界各國技擊雜誌仍在不斷地研究、介紹他的武術，世界各地的武術愛好者依然崇拜他。當回顧作為一位中華武術傳人的李小龍一生時，人們將永遠懷念他那顆熱愛中華民族、振奮中華民族精神，渴望中華民族強盛的赤誠之心。　

    毫無疑問，李小龍是一個天生的巨星，一個傳奇中的傳奇。

    儘管過世已久，李小龍依然是功夫代名詞，即便紅透整個世界的成龍都很難超越。他的才華，他的正氣，他的輝煌，都已成為一份無法拷貝的神話。三十二歲、五部電影，足以令璀璨的流星黯然失色，不知何時才會有人另寫這樣一份東方傳奇。

奮鬥歷程 

    童年時候的李小龍非常頑皮，不愛學習，性格怪異，喜歡獨處。但拍電影卻非常敬業，加上天資聰穎，成了小有名氣的童星，深受女孩們歡迎，而李小龍也自小是個性情中人，把妹也是他的嗜好。13歲那年拜入葉問門下學習武術，到處尋人打架，1957年奪得香港校際拳擊賽冠軍，1958年奪得全港恰恰舞公開賽冠軍。總之，這之前的李小龍還是一個年輕、頑皮、不愛學習、到處惹是生非的毛小子。　　

    李小龍的奮鬥歷程應該從19歲那年懷揣100美元隻身前往美國謀生算起。　　

    郵輪經過神戶、橫濱、夏威夷，前往他一片茫然的未來之地—三藩市(現舊金山)。在香港，他是小有名氣的童星和赫赫有名的街頭打手，在這裡——還算不得真正意義上美國社會的三藩市他只是無數到美國淘金華人中不起眼的一個，只能幹一些零碎的活，住在破爛的貧民區。　　

    三藩市最引為自豪的是宏偉壯觀的金門大橋。李小龍站在橋上，倚欄眺望碧藍的大海。大洋的彼岸，是香港，他由此想起他那"望子成龍"的父母。他決計洗心革面，發奮自強，做出成果來證實自己是一條龍！　　

    李小龍在三藩市，幹得稍長、稍有點起色的職業是教人跳"ChaCha"(恰恰舞)，他的收費低廉，學員稀少，這與他精湛瀟灑的舞技很不相稱。在香港，他是跳舞作樂；現在，他卻以舞藝權做維持生計之手段。美國人不鄙視從事任何職業的人，可李小龍總覺得有些無奈。　　

    三個月後，他去了西雅圖。他找到周露比女士開的中餐館，周女士很熱情地接待了他，並收容他在餐館打工以賺取生活費和學費。　　

    李小龍進了當地的愛迪生高級工業學校(相當於中國的職業高中)，這是他英文水準不夠格的緣故，不能夠直接進大學。周女士是李小龍父親的舊友，她在政治上很活躍，是當地華人社團的代言人。但李小龍父親的面子，到李小龍正式打工的那天，給無情地撕掉 ——周女士儼然一副老闆面孔，她毫無表情地對李小龍指指點點，稍不滿意，便厲聲訓斥。

李小龍怒火填膺，他來美已三個月，雖也知道"朋友歸朋友，生意歸生意 "這一信條，但他覺得太突然，簡直就受不了。但李小龍還是把火氣強行壓下，按照周老闆的意旨，把活計做得她滿意。李小龍的行為跟在香港時大不一樣，依過去的脾氣，他會摔掉盤子不幹，或拿盤子砸她個滿臉開花。

李小龍在餐館打工

    美國的學校，跟保守的香港學校很不相同，完全是開放性的，紀律鬆懈散漫，在李小龍看來，美國的學生簡直就在玩。此時的李小龍，父母再不能督促他，老師也不會約束他，同學更不會因學業的優劣而崇拜或鄙視一個人。李小龍完全可以無拘無束，放浪形骸。然而，此時的李小龍完全成了另一個人。他一改在港厭學翹課的作風，一絲不苟，如饑似渴地學習。他深知學費來之不易，逆境中的他悟醒了許多人生的哲理。他知道理科一直是他的弱項，他曾對它恨之入骨、厭之如蠅。現在，他儘管仍不喜歡，卻比文科下了多倍的苦功。他對英語，更是到嗜學如命的地步，他知道；來到美國，無論進大學深造，還是進社會就業，語言是最最重要的。　　

    李小龍的英語水準提高很快，開始做跑堂，工資比做雜務要高，還有小費。但李小龍心中仍十分壓抑。他從小就有做首領的欲望，希望駕馭他人，而不被他人所駕馭。李小龍正處於被人人所驅使的境地，食客、老闆、廚師都可以驅使他。　　

    李小龍離開了周記餐館（這期間有一段愛情風波促成了此事），發誓不去任何一家餐館打工——那樣太束縛自己的個性了。他想獨立從事一種職業，哪怕收入僅夠糊口，也比受他人約束要心情舒暢。　

    李小龍結識了日裔美籍商人木村武之，那時他19歲，木村36歲。他們成了忘年之交，木村甘願做李小龍的弟子和追隨者。李小龍一直想開設武館，但沒把握，也沒錢。現在得到了木村的鼓勵和出資幫助，武館開起來了。　

    李小龍的武館設在西雅圖唐人街（China Town）的一個地下室，初衷是以此賺些生活費，並將中國武術發揚光大。但是創業是艱難的，武館乏人問津。李小龍跟木村商量後，就和木村帶幾個學武的學生，去西雅圖的幾所大學表演。事實證明，他這種笨拙而古老的方法行之有效，他的表演越來越受大學生的歡迎，每次都有一兩個學生放棄他們原有的愛好，而改學中國功夫，而讓武館初見起色。　　

    1961 年，李小龍順利地完成了高中學業，以優異的成績考入華盛頓州立大學，主修哲學。那時，醫科、法律、商科是熱門專業，而李卻選擇了冷門的哲學。李小龍是一個好動而又好靜的雙面人，他酷愛武術，活潑好動爭強好勝，又愛靜靜地思考。李小龍暢揚在哲學的海洋，他崇拜的東西方哲學家，有中國的老子、莊子，德國的尼采，法國的薩特。他發現，葉問師父的教誨，以及古代俠客故事所包容的意義，皆可從老莊哲學中找到印證。而尼采、薩特的哲學，又與李小龍好鬥好強、無拘無束的天性驚人地相似。"真人不露相"是中國古代大俠的行為準則和追求境界，而年輕好勝的李小龍，總在不斷地推銷自己，張揚自己，以證實自己個"超人"。　　

    李小龍很聰明，應付學業綽綽有餘，主要精力放在了功夫上。他在學校附近的停車場租用了一個角落，每月20美元租金，用作他的武館。他和木村對這塊地方非常滿意，較唐人街那個地下室，空間和光線都要優越得多。1962年，第一間“振藩國術館”開設起來了。　　

    當時他的名氣已經頗大，是校園裡引人注目的華裔學生。他好出風頭，擅長演講，樂於推銷自己，一些美國人也加入到李小龍門徒的行列。他總能如願地招滿學生，每位學費每月15美元。對囊中羞澀的李小龍來講，這是一筆不菲的收入。　　

    那時，美國征戰越南，李小龍應徵入伍。但是李小龍自由不羈的天性怎會願意待在軍隊呢？後來李小龍作為預備役軍人留在美國本土，末被派往越南作戰。這算是他的一大幸運，也是武術界的一大幸運。　　

    李小龍在大學期間與琳達墜入愛河，後來休學結婚。

    李小龍和琳達離開了華盛頓，去了更有發展前景的加州。在那裡結識了學過肯波空手道和菲律賓武術的丹·伊魯山度，武術界的前輩嚴鏡海，全美空手道冠軍羅禮士，美國跆拳道之父李俊九和許多朋友。從影是他的夢，但自來到美國，一直跟電影無緣。未曾聽說，有哪位華裔演員躋身好萊塢，並佔有一席之位，但卻又一直忘不掉電影並懷著一線希望。他們驅車來到天堂般的好萊塢，卻只能遠遠望望而已。未來，很遠。他們離開好萊塢，李小龍靠在座椅上，情緒低落，琳達說：“你行的，一定行”。在李小龍奮鬥的背後，琳達一直直默默忠實地支持著他的第一步。

李小龍在長堤空手道

大賽上表演寸勁

　　    1964年，美國長堤空手道大賽是李小龍一生的重要轉捩點。李小龍作為表演佳賓出席這場大賽，表演了詠春拳，矇眼黐手、寸勁、二指俯地挺身等，令所有觀眾瞠目結舌。李小龍在長堤國際空手道大賽中的出色表演，使他名氣在美國武術界名氣大增，不少武友從千里萬里之外趕來拜訪他，而這次大賽表演也促成了李小龍邁出踏入好萊塢。

    經過長時間的周折，李小龍得到了好萊塢電視劇《青蜂俠》第二主角加藤的角色，這之前穿插著《陳查理》長子角色落選和李小龍攜琳達回港的事。《青蜂俠》的播出，沒有引起太大轟動，但飾演加藤的李小龍，卻愈來愈受觀眾的青睞，他英俊靈敏，身手不凡，在劇中的表現，遠勝於飾主角青蜂俠的威廉士一籌。　

　    李小龍終於實現了進入好萊塢從事表演的夢想。他沒有名聲大噪天下知，卻已取得可喜的業績。他的最終目標是做世界級的功夫明星，這條路不平坦，充滿艱辛，並且漫長。　

　    李小龍把武館關了，想一心做職業演員。後來得到費西蒙的指點和雪伯靈的開導，武館重新開起來了，不過不是什麼人都收，不是每個月學費20美元，而是只收名人和資質很高的人，每小時學費50美元，後來還漲到250美元！——這樣來提高他的名氣。　　

    李小龍已在好萊塢有了一席之地，也接演了一些配角，擔任武術指導什麼的，但總是在原地徘徊不前，甚至還不得已飾演了《醜聞喋血》中那個陰陽怪氣的同性戀殺手。在好萊塢曇花一現的人很多，況且他還是一位中國人，要在好萊塢風風火火談何容易。一位影評家說："一句話，因為李小龍是中國人。不是好萊塢的首腦對李小龍本人有什麼偏見，而是美國根深蒂固的種族偏見如無形的手，窒息了他們的思維。" 　

    雖然事業不得意，但李小龍並沒有垂頭喪氣，反而很有自信地在一張便簽上寫到：　　

   我的明確目標 　　

   我，布魯斯·李，將會成為全美國最高薪酬的超級東方巨星。作為回報，我將奉獻出最激動人心，最具震撼性的演出。從1970年開始，我將會贏得世界性聲譽；到1980年，我將會擁有一千萬美元的財富，那時候我和我的家人將過上愉快、和諧、幸福的生活。

   這是中文翻譯，原文是： 　

   My Definite Chief Aim 　　

   I,Bruce Lee,will be the highest paid Oriental superstar in the United States.In return I will perform the most exciting and breathtaking performance.Starting in 1970,I will achieve world-fame and from then on and till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession 1,000,000.Then I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness with my family 　　

    李小龍與朋友策劃一部《無聲笛》的影片。他們去印度勘外景，大失所望，拍攝計畫被迫取消。曾有主演電視連續劇《功夫》的希望，他又一次幻想成功，最終發現又是水月鏡花。被好萊塢美麗憧憬所誘惑的李小龍，就象頭可憐的驢子——嘴巴前面懸著一把草，它拉著車努力地向前跑，卻始終吃不到那把草。他憤怒地想：我在好萊塢還有呆下去的必要嗎？李小龍開始有了回港發展的念頭。　

    那時候，香港電影業的龍頭老大是邵氏集團，60年代是邵逸夫一統天下的黃金時期。1969年，邵氏製片主任鄒文懷帶領何冠昌等人走出邵氏，創辦了嘉禾公司。兩家公司明爭暗鬥，嘉禾始終處在下風，無能撼動邵氏，直到一個人——李小龍的到來。　　

    那時雖然對李小龍本人來說甚不得志，但他的名氣已經非常之大，香港能請動李小龍的也只有邵氏與嘉禾兩家。本來李小龍看中的是實力雄厚的邵氏，並且不計較相對較低的片酬，但邵逸夫自高自大，最終因各種原因不歡而散；另一方面，鄒文懷以他的誠意打動了李小龍，李小龍決意加盟嘉禾。　　

    嘉禾、鄒文懷，這兩個詞在李小龍影壇事業生涯中占著重要的地位，推崇尼采要做“超人”也真正做到了“超人”的李小龍只聽兩個人的話：一個是妻子琳達，另一個就是鄒文懷。

李小龍與鄒文懷

    以後的事就是大家所熟知的經典“四部半”。很多人都津津樂道，李小龍這短短兩年掀起狂瀾的時期，很多人只知道《唐山大兄》、《精武門》、《猛龍過江》、《龍爭虎鬥》、《死亡遊戲》，只知道一次又一次打破票房記錄，只知道李小龍似乎一夜之間成了國際巨星，但有多少人瞭解李小龍在這之前艱難的奮鬥歷程，有多少人知道這兩年中李小龍的孜孜不倦？　　

    《唐山大兄》一片的攝製，在極原始、極艱苦的泰國柏莊。當時嘉禾還沒有足夠的財力去造出劇情所需的場景、道具，住宿、飲食條件都十分艱苦，氣候也不適應，總之，比在好萊塢拍片簡直就是天壤之別。李小龍怨言歸怨言，工作起來卻十分投入，仿佛有使不盡的精力和力氣，令其他疲憊不堪的演職員十分佩服。儘管當時條件艱苦，工作繁忙，精神和體力嚴重透支的李小龍仍堅持練功。他們住在柏莊附近小鎮的旅館裡，每天天末亮，李小龍就起來跑步健身，而當時極度疲憊的演職人員還沉浸在夢鄉中。　　

    1971年《唐山大兄》公映，狂攬320萬，打破《仙樂飄飄處處聞》票房記錄230萬，天皇巨星從此誕生。　　

    李小龍決定留在香港，馬上投入到《精武門》的拍攝。第二年，《精武門》上映，票房突破450萬。那李小龍風風火火的年代，也是嘉禾起死回生的年代。　

    同年，李小龍自編自導自己主演和製片，推出又一力作《猛龍過江》，票房超過500萬。本來李小龍想自己組建公司自立門戶，但李小龍野心雖大，但並非經營之才，對如何籌建、運作，心中無底。鄒文懷語重心長地說：此事要慎之又慎，我是在影壇混到這把年紀，做過好些部電影的製片，有了十二分把握才離開邵逸夫走這步的。現在好些人年少志高，草率行事，創辦製片公司不待製片就砸牌了。後來李小龍便打消了這個念頭。

 1972年秋，不待《猛龍過江》公映，只作了短暫的休息，李小龍便投入《死亡遊戲》的攝製。但只拍攝了三段武打和一些零散的鏡頭就得到了主演《龍爭虎鬥》的機會。這是一部使他如願好萊塢成為真正國際巨星的作品，只可惜這部影片上映前一個月便辭世西歸，只有他的在天之靈能看到這一切了。

  李小龍告訴我們：即使你是天才，也需要奮鬥。(一分天賦、九分努力)~~~~~~!!!!

生與死，只在呼吸之間，龍的傳奇一生

緬懷李小龍(振藩)，繼續奮鬥努力~~~~~~~~~

完

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bruce Lee

 Bruce Jun Fan Lee was born in the hour of the Dragon, between 6 and 8 a.m., in the year of the Dragon on November 27, 1940 at the Jackson Street Hospital in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Today, a plaque in the hospital’s entry commemorates the place of his birth. Bruce’s birth, in the hour and the year of the Dragon, is a powerful symbol in Chinese astrology. It would be a strong omen of the powerful life that was to be lived by Bruce Lee and the explosive impact his life would have on countless others.

 Bruce was the fourth child born to Lee Hoi Chuen and his wife Grace Ho. He had two older sisters, Phoebe and Agnes, an older brother, Peter, and a younger brother, Robert. Lee Hoi Chuen was, by profession, a comedian in the Chinese opera and an actor in Cantonese films. At the time Bruce was born, Mr. and Mrs. Lee were on tour with the opera company in the United States. Thus, it was fortuitous for Bruce’s future that his birth took place in America, as he would return 18 years later to claim his birthright of American citizenship.

 Bruce’s parents gave him the name “Jun Fan.” Since it is Chinese custom to put the surname first, Bruce’s full name is written Lee Jun Fan. The true meaning of Jun Fan deserves an explanation as it, too, would foretell the journey of the newly born Lee son. Literally, JUN means “to arouse to the active state” or “to make prosperous.” It was a common middle name used by Hong Kong Chinese boys in those days, understandably because China and the Chinese people were very vulnerable at that time, and everyone, including Bruce’s parents, wanted the “sleeping lion of the East” to wake up. The FAN syllable refers to the Chinese name for San Francisco, but its true meaning is “fence of a garden” or “bordering subordinate countries of a big country.” During the period of the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911), many Chinese immigrated to Hawaii and San Francisco as laborers, and the implication became that the United States was FAN of the Great Ching Empire.

 Thus the true meaning of Bruce’s name--JUN FAN--was “to arouse and make FAN (the United States) prosperous.” The gut feeling of many Chinese at that time, who felt suppressed by and inferior to foreign powers, was that they wished to outshine the more superior countries and regain the Golden Age of China. Bruce’s parents wanted Bruce to have his name shine and shake the foreign countries, which he certainly succeeded in doing.

 The English name, BRUCE, was given to the baby boy by a nurse in the Jackson Street Hospital although he was never to use this name until he entered secondary school and began his study of the English language. The story goes that on the first day of English class, the students were asked to write down their English names, and Bruce, not knowing his name, copied the name of the student next to him. His family almost never used the name Bruce, especially in his growing up years when his nickname in the family was “SAI FON,” which literally means Little Peacock. This is a girl’s nickname, but in being applied to Bruce, it had a serious purpose. The first-born child of Mr. and Mrs. Lee had been a boy who did not survive infancy. Their belief was that if the gods did not favor the birth of a male child, the babe might be taken away. Thus, the name, Little Peacock, was used as a ruse to fool the gods into thinking that Bruce was a girl. It was a term of great affection within the family circle.

 At the age of three months, Lee Hoi Chuen, his wife Grace and baby Bruce returned to Hong Kong where Bruce would be raised until the age of 18. Probably because of the long ocean voyage and the change in climates, Bruce was not a strong child in his very early years, a condition that would change when he took up the study of gung fu at the age of 13. (Bruce always spelled his Chinese martial art as GUNG FU, which is the Cantonese pronunciation of the more commonly spelled Kung Fu, a Mandarin pronunciation.) Bruce’s most prominent memory of his early years was the occupation of Hong Kong by the Japanese during the World War II years (1941-1945). The residence of the Lee family was a flat at 218 Nathan Road in Kowloon directly across the street from the military encampment of the Japanese. Bruce’s mother often told the story of young Bruce, less than 5 years old, leaning precariously off the balcony of their home raising his fist to the Japanese Zeros circling above. Another nickname the family often applied to Bruce was “Mo Si Ting” which means “never sits still” and aptly described his personality.

 The Japanese occupation was Bruce’s first prescient memory, but Hong Kong had been a British Crown Colony since the late 1800’s. The English returned to power at the end of the war. It is not hard to see why young Bruce would have rebellious feelings toward foreign usurpation of his homeland. In his teenage years Bruce was exposed to the common practice of unfriendly taunting by English school boys who appeared to feel superior to the Chinese. It is not surprising that Bruce and his friends retaliated by returning the taunts and sometimes getting into fights with the English boys. This atmosphere laid the background for Bruce to begin his study of martial arts. At the age of 13, Bruce was introduced to Master Yip Man, a teacher of the Wing Chun style of gung fu. For five years Bruce studied diligently and became very proficient. He greatly revered Yip Man as a master teacher and wise man and frequently visited with him in later years. When he first took up gung fu, he used his new skills to pummel his adversaries, but it did not take long for Bruce to learn that the real value of martial arts training is that the skills of physical combat instill confidence to the point that one does not feel the constant need to defend one’s honor through fighting.

 In high school, Bruce, now no longer a weak child, was beginning to hone his body through hard training. One of his accomplishments was winning an interschool Boxing Championship against an English student in which the Marquis of Queensbury rules were followed and no kicking was allowed. Given the graceful movements, which would later be spectacularly displayed in his films, it is no surprise that Bruce was also a terrific dancer, and in 1958 he won the Hong Kong Cha Cha Championship. He studied dancing as assiduously as he did gung fu, keeping a notebook in which he had noted 108 different cha cha steps. It is easy to see that Bruce possessed the traits of self-discipline and hard work which would later hold him in good stead, even though at this stage he was not among the best academic students in the class.

 In addition to his studies, gung fu and dancing, Bruce had another side interest during his school years. He was a child actor under the tutelage of his father who must have known from an early age that Bruce had a streak of showmanship. Bruce’s very first role was as a babe in arms as he was carried onto the stage. By the time he was 18, he had appeared in 20 films. In those days movie making was not particularly glamorous or remunerative in Hong Kong, but Bruce loved acting. His mother often told stories of how Bruce was impossible to wake up to go to school, but just a tap on the shoulder at midnight would rouse him from his bed to go to the film studio. Movies were most often made at night in Hong Kong in order to minimize the sounds of the city. (See Filmography)

 At the age of 18, Bruce was looking for new vistas in his life, as were his parents who were discouraged that Bruce had not made more progress academically. It was common practice for high school graduates to go overseas to attend colleges, but that required excellent grades. Bruce’s brother and sister had come to the United States on student visas for their higher education. Although Bruce had not formally graduated from high school, and was more interested in gung fu, dancing and acting, his family decided that it was time for him to return to the land of his birth and find his future there. In April of 1959, with $100 in his pocket, Bruce boarded a steamship in the American Presidents Line and began his voyage to San Francisco. His passage was in the lower decks of the ship, but it didn’t take long for Bruce to be invited up to the first class accommodations to teach the passengers the cha cha. Landing in San Francisco, Bruce was armed with the knowledge that his dancing abilities might provide him a living, so his first job was as a dance instructor. One of his first students was Bob Lee, brother of James Y. Lee, who would become Bruce’s great friend, colleague in the martial arts, and eventually partner and Assistant Instructor of the Oakland Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute.

 Bruce did not stay long in San Francisco, but traveled to Seattle where a family friend, Ruby Chow, had a restaurant and had promised Bruce a job and living quarters above the restaurant. By now Bruce had left his acting and dancing passions behind and was intent on furthering his education. He enrolled at Edison Technical School where he fulfilled the requirements for the equivalent of high school graduation and then enrolled at the University of Washington. Typical of his personality traits, he attacked learning colloquial English as he had his martial arts training. Not content to speak like a foreigner, he applied himself to learning idiosyncrasies of speech. His library contained numerous books, underlined and dog-eared on common English idiomatic phrases. Although he never quite lost the hint of an English accent when speaking, his ability to turn a phrase or “be cool” was amazing for one who did not speak a word of the language until the age of 12.  Bruce’s written English skills exceeded his spoken language abilities at first because he had been well tutored in the King’s proper English prose in Hong Kong.  When his wife-to-be met him at the University of Washington, he easily edited her English papers for correct grammar and syntax.

 At the university, Bruce majored in philosophy. His passion for gung fu inspired a desire to delve into the philosophical underpinnings of the arts. Many of his written essays during those years would relate philosophical principles to certain martial arts techniques. For instance, he wrote often about the principles of yin and yang and how they could translate into hard and soft physical movements. In this way he was completing his education as a true martial artist in the time-honored Chinese sense of one whose knowledge encompasses the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of the arts.

 In the three years that Bruce studied at the university, he supported himself by teaching gung fu, having by this time given up working in the restaurant, stuffing newspapers or various other odd jobs. He and a few of his new friends would meet in parking lots, garages or any open space and play around with gung fu techniques. In the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s, “gung fu” was an unknown term; in fact, the only physical art that might be listed in the yellow pages was Judo. Even the name “karate” was not a familiar term. The small group of friends was intrigued by this art called gung fu. One of the first students in this group was Jesse Glover who continues to teach some of Bruce’s early techniques to this day. It was during this period that Bruce and Taky Kimura became friends. Not only would Taky become Bruce’s gung fu student and the first Assistant Instructor he ever had, but the friendship forged between the two men was a source of love and strength for both of them. Taky Kimura has continued to be Bruce’s staunch supporter, devoting endless hours to preserving his art and philosophy throughout the 30 years since Bruce’s passing.

 The small circle of friends that Bruce had made encouraged him to open a real school of gung fu and charge a nominal sum for teaching in order to support himself while attending school. Renting a small basement room with a half door entry from 8th Street in Seattle’s Chinatown, Bruce decided to call his school the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute.  In 1963, having established a dedicated group of students and having given numerous demonstrations at the university, Bruce thought he might attract more students by opening a larger school at 4750 University Way where he also lived in a small room in the back of the kwoon.

 One of his students in 1963 was a freshman at the University of Washington, Linda Emery. Linda knew who Bruce was from his guest lectures in Chinese philosophy at Garfield High School, and in the summer after graduating, at the urging of her Chinese girlfriend, SueAnn Kay, Linda started taking gung fu lessons. It wasn’t long before the instructor became more interesting than the lessons. Bruce and Linda were married in 1964. By this time, Bruce had decided to make a career out of teaching gung fu. His plan involved opening a number of schools around the country and training assistant instructors to teach in his absence. Leaving his Seattle school in the hands of Taky Kimura, Bruce and Linda moved to Oakland where Bruce opened his second school with James Lee. The two men had formed a friendship over the years with each traveling frequently between Seattle and Oakland. James was a gung fu man from way back, but when he saw Bruce’s stuff he was so impressed that he wanted to join with him in starting a school. Thus the second branch of the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute was founded.

 Having now been in the United States for five years, Bruce had left behind any thought of acting as a career, and devoted himself completely to his choice of martial arts as a profession. Up to this time Bruce’s gung fu consisted mostly of wing chun techniques and theory he had learned from Yip Man. Gradually though, because of his burgeoning interest in the philosophy of martial arts and his desire for self improvement, he was expanding his repertoire. A particular incident accelerated his process of self-exploration. In 1964 Bruce was challenged by some gung fu men from San Francisco who objected to his teaching of non-Chinese students. Bruce accepted the challenge and the men arrived at the kwoon in Oakland on the appointed day for the face off. The terms were that if Bruce were defeated he would stop teaching the non Chinese.  It was a short fight with the gung fu man from The City giving up when Bruce had him pinned to the floor after about three minutes. The significance of this fight was that Bruce was extremely disappointed in his own performance. Even though he had won, he was winded and discouraged about his inability to put the man away in under three minutes. This marked a turning point for Bruce in his exploration of his martial art and the enhancement of his physical fitness. Thus began the evolution of Jeet Kune Do.

 Just as Bruce was cementing his plans to expand his martial arts schools, fate stepped in to move his life in another direction. In the preceding years Bruce had made the acquaintance of Ed Parker, widely regarded as the father of American Kenpo. In August of 1964, Ed invited Bruce to Long Beach, CA to give a demonstration at his First International Karate Tournament. Bruce’s exhibition was spectacular. He used Taky as his partner and demonstrated his blindfolded chi sao techniques. At one point he used a member of the audience to show the power of his one-inch punch. Such was Bruce’s charisma that he spoke conversationally, injecting humor into his comments while at the same time emphatically demonstrating his power, precision and speed.

 A member of the audience was Jay Sebring, a well-known hair stylist to the stars. As fate would have it, the following week, Jay was styling the hair of William Dozier, an established producer. Mr. Dozier mentioned to Jay that he was looking for an actor to play the part of Charlie Chan’s son in a series to be entitled, “Number One Son.” Jay told the producer about having seen this spectacular young Chinese man giving a gung fu demonstration just a few nights before. Mr. Dozier obtained a copy of the film that was taken at Ed Parker’s tournament. The next week he called Bruce at home in Oakland and invited him to come to Los Angeles for a screen test.

 Bruce’s screen test was impressive, but in the meantime plans for “Number One Son” had been scuttled. Mr. Dozier was now immersed in the production of the “Batman” TV series, but still he wanted to hang onto Bruce. The plan was that if Batman was successful for more than one season, then Dozier wanted to capitalize on the popularity of another comic book character, “The Green Hornet” with Bruce playing the part of Kato. To keep Bruce from signing with someone else, Mr. Dozier paid him an $1,800 option for one year.

 About this time things were changing in Bruce’s personal life as well. His own number one son, Brandon Bruce Lee, was born February 1, 1965. One week later Bruce’s father, Lee Hoi Chuen, died in Hong Kong. Bruce was pleased that his father had known about the birth of the first grandchild in the Lee family. Given these events and the arrival of the lump sum option money, Bruce decided it was time to make a trip to Hong Kong to visit his mother and introduce the family to both Linda and Brandon. They stayed in the family flat on Nathan Road for four months. While there Bruce was able to “play gung fu” with Master Yip Man and the students of the wing chun school.

 Upon leaving Hong Kong, Bruce and his family traveled to Seattle where they stayed with Linda’s family for another four months. During this time Bruce spent a great deal of time with Taky and the students at the Seattle school. After Seattle, the family moved back to James Lee’s house in Oakland for several months before making the move to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, he got better acquainted with Dan Inosanto whom he had known through Ed Parker. It was not long before Bruce opened his third gung fu school with Dan as his assistant instructor

 During this entire year of traveling and working closely with his best gung fu colleagues, Bruce was going through a period of intense self-exploration. Bruce was always a goal setter. However, he was never obstinate about his goals and if the wind changed, he could steer his life on a different course. He was in a period of transition at this time, deciding whether to make acting his career or continue on the path of opening nationwide schools of gung fu. His decision was to focus on acting and see if he could turn it into a productive career. He often said his passion was pursuit of the martial arts, but his career choice was filmmaking.

 The chief reason that Bruce turned his attention to acting was that he had lost interest in spreading his way of martial arts in a wide scale manner. He had begun to see that if his schools became more numerous, he would lose control of the quality of the teaching. Bruce loved to teach gung fu, and he loved his students. Countless hours were spent in his backyard or in the kwoon, one on one with students. They were like members of the family. His love for his martial arts was not something he wanted to turn into a business.

 In 1966, production started on “The Green Hornet.” The filming lasted for six months, the series for one season, and that was the end of it. Bruce’s take home pay was $313 a week, which seemed like a lot of money at the time. When they first started filming, the cameras were not able to record the fight scenes clearly because of Bruce’s speed. They asked him to slow down to capture the action. Bruce’s gung fu moves thrilled audiences, and the series became a sought-after collector item in later years.     Bruce maintained a friendship with Van Williams who played the part of Britt Reid.

 The years between 1967 and 1971 were lean years for the Lee family. Bruce worked hard at furthering his acting career and did get some roles in a few TV series and films. (See Filmography) To support the family, Bruce taught private lessons in Jeet Kune Do, often to people in the entertainment industry. Some of his clients included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Stirling Silliphant, Sy Weintraub, Ted Ashley, Joe Hyams, James Garner and others.

 A great blessing was the arrival of a daughter, Shannon Emery Lee, on April 19, 1969. She brought great joy into the Lee household and soon had her daddy around her little finger.

 During this time Bruce continued the process he had started in Oakland in 1964, the evolution of his way of martial arts, which he called Jeet Kune Do, “The Way of The Intercepting Fist.” He read and wrote extensively his thoughts about physical combat, the psychology of fighting, the philosophical roots of martial arts, and about motivation, self-actualization and liberation of the individual. Thanks to this period in his life, which was at times frustrating, we know more about the mind of Bruce Lee through his writings.

 Bruce was devoted to physical culture and trained devotedly. In addition to actual sparring with his students, he believed in strenuous aerobic workouts and weight training. His abdominal and forearm workouts were particularly intense. There was rarely a time when Bruce was doing nothing—in fact, he was often seen reading a book, doing forearm curls and watching a boxing film at the same time. He also paid strict attention to his food consumption and took vitamins and Chinese herbs at times.    It was actually his zealousness that led to an injury that was to become a chronic source of pain for the rest of his life. On a day in 1970, without warming up, something he always did, Bruce picked up a 125-pound barbell and did a “good morning” exercise. That consists of resting the barbell on one’s shoulders and bending straight over at the waist. After much pain and many tests, it was determined that he had sustained an injury to the fourth sacral nerve. He was ordered to complete bed rest and told that undoubtedly he would never do gung fu again. For the next six months, Bruce stayed in bed. It was an extremely frustrating, depressing and painful time, and a time to redefine goals. It was also during this time that he did a great deal of the writing that has been preserved. After several months, Bruce instituted his own recovery program and began walking, gingerly at first, and gradually built up his strength. He was determined that he would do his beloved gung fu again. As can be seen by his later films, he did recover full use of his body, but he constantly had to take measures like icing, massage and rest to take care of his back.

 Bruce was always imagining story ideas. One of the projects he had been working on was the idea of a television series set in the Old West, featuring an Eastern monk who roamed the countryside solving problems. He pitched the idea at Warner Bros. and it was enthusiastically received. The producers talked at great length to Bruce about the proposed series always with the intent that Bruce would play the role of the Eastern wise man. In the end, the role was not offered to Bruce; instead it went to David Carradine. The series was “Kung Fu.” The studio claimed that a Chinese man was not a bankable star at that time. Hugely disappointed, Bruce sought other ways to break down the studio doors.

 Along with two of his students, Stirling Silliphant, the famed writer, and actor, James Coburn, Bruce collaborated on a script for which he wrote the original story line. The three of them met weekly to refine the script. It was to be called “The Silent Flute.” Again, Warner Bros. was interested and sent the three to India to look for locations. Unfortunately the right locations could not be found, the studio backed off, and the project was put on the back burner. Thwarted again in his effort to make a go of his acting career, Bruce devised a new approach to his goal.

 In 1970, when Bruce was getting his strength back from his back injury, he took a trip to Hong Kong with son Brandon, age five. He was surprised when he was greeted as “Kato,” the local boy who had been on American TV. He was asked to appear on TV talk shows. He was not aware that Hong Kong film producers were viewing him with interest. In 1971, about the time that “The Silent Flute” failed to materialize, Hong Kong producer Raymond Chow contacted Bruce to interest him in doing two films for Golden Harvest. Bruce decided to do it, reasoning that if he couldn’t enter the front door of the American studios, he would go to Hong Kong, establish himself there and come back in through the side door.

 In the summer of 1971, Bruce left Los Angeles to fly to Hong Kong, then on to Thailand for the making of “The Big Boss,” later called “Fists of Fury.” Between Hong Kong and Thailand, producer Run Run Shaw attempted to intercede and woo Bruce away from Golden Harvest. But Bruce had signed a deal so he stayed with Raymond Chow. Bruce’s family did not accompany him on this trip because the village where the film was made was not suitable for small children. It was also felt that if this film was not a hit, Bruce might be back in L.A. sooner than expected. Although the working conditions were difficult, and the production quality substandard to what Bruce was accustomed, “The Big Boss” was a huge success. The premier took place at midnight, as was Hong Kong custom. Chinese audiences are infamous for expressing their emotions during films—both positive and negative. The entire cast and production team were very nervous, no one more so than Bruce. At the end of the showing, the entire audience was silent for a moment, then erupted in cheers and hailed their new hero who was viewing from the back of the theater.

 In September of 1971, with filming set to commence on the second of the contractual films, Bruce moved his family over to Hong Kong and prepared to sell their Los Angeles home. “Fist of Fury,” also called “Chinese Connection” was an even bigger success than the first film breaking all-time box office records. Now that Bruce had completed his contract with Golden Harvest, and had become a bankable commodity, he could begin to have more input into the quality of his films. For the third film, he formed a partnership with Raymond Chow, called Concord Productions. Not only did Bruce write “The Way of the Dragon,” also called “Return of the Dragon,” but he directed and produced it as well. Once again, the film broke records and now, Hollywood was listening.

 In the fall of 1972, Bruce began filming “The Game of Death,” a story he once again envisioned. The filming was interrupted by the culmination of a deal with Warner Bros. to make the first ever Hong Kong-American co-production. The deal was facilitated mainly by Bruce’s personal relationship with Warner Bros. president, Ted Ashley and by Bruce’s successes in Hong Kong. It was an exciting moment and a turning point in Hong Kong’s film industry. “The Game of Death” was put on hold to make way for the filming of “Enter the Dragon.”

 Filming “Enter the Dragon” was not an easy undertaking. The American cast and crew and their Chinese counterparts experienced language problems and production difficulties. It was a stressful time for Bruce too as he wanted the film to be especially good and well accepted by Western audiences.

 “Enter the Dragon” was due to premier at Hollywood’s Chinese theater in August of 1973. Unfortunately, Bruce would not live to see the opening of his film, nor would he experience the accumulated success of more than thirty years of all his films’ popularity.

 On July 20, 1973, Bruce had a minor headache. He was offered a prescription painkiller called Equagesic. After taking the pill, he went to lie down and lapsed into a coma. He was unable to be revived. Extensive forensic pathology was done to determine the cause of his death, which was not immediately apparent. A nine-day coroner’s inquest was held with testimony given by renowned pathologists flown in from around the world. The determination was that Bruce had a hypersensitive reaction to an ingredient in the pain medication that caused a swelling of the fluid on the brain, resulting in a coma and death.

 The world lost a brilliant star and an evolved human being that day. His spirit remains an inspiration to untold numbers of people around the world.