On this day, November 27th, in the Year of the Dragon (1940) Lee Jun Fan was born in a Chinatown hospital in San Francisco. His father and mother travelled to the US as his father, Lee Hoi Chuen was performing with the Cantonese Opera Company. Lee Jun Fan, otherwise known as Bruce Lee, would go on to become one of the most celebrated and influential martial artists ever.
Bruce Lee is best known for his film Enter the Dragon and his role as Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet, but he also starred in quite a number of other films which all helped to raise the profile of martial arts films to new heights and pave the way for a range of other martial artist/actors. Bruce also developed his own martial arts style Jun Fan Gung Fu or Jeet Kun Do which is still taught today.
On July 20th 1973, approximately three weeks before the opening of Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee died of a cerebral edema, at the tender age of just 32.
I was just three months old when Bruce Lee died, but he has always been a hero of mine. He wasn’t the best actor, his fight scenes weren’t that spectacular but he had a presence about him which many others like Norris, Van Damme or Seagal could only dream of. And unlike many others this man was a true martial artist. It’s always the good ones that die young.
Bruce Lee Foundation
Time 100: Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee: Wikipedia
Brucelee.com
All About Bruce Lee
The Shrine to Bruce Lee
I like the realistic principles behind Jeet Kune Do. As I understand it, it tells you that if you’re attacked by a group of people, run away. And if you have to fight, fight to create an opening for yourself so you can get away.
Much better than all the fancy things other martial arts preach.
I think when he developed JKD he studied about 25-30 different styles and tried to develop something dynamic & flexible which actually works in real situations.
Running certainly sounds like a good strategy when you’re up against it.