Bruce Lee - Martial Arts Personified

An action film actor, a filmmaker, founder of a fighting style, ‘Jeet Kune Do’ a famous child film artist, a pop culture icon and the list continues... Bruce Lee aka Lee Jun-fan, was the son of a Hong Kong based couple Lee Hoi-Chuen Lee’s father and Grace Ho Lee’s mother. Lee’s father was a well known Cantonese opera star and his mother belonged to the very influential, powerful and wealthiest clans of Hong Kong known as the Ho-tungs.

Bruce Lee was introduced to films by his father as a child artist. In his early teens while Bruce Lee resided with his family in the then British Colony of Hong Kong, due to Bruce Lee’s frequent involvement in the street fights, his parents made a decision of giving him a formal martial arts training. His father was his very first trainer in martial arts who taught him the fundamentals of the Wu-style t’ai chi ch’uan.

Lee completed his high school education in Seattle and did his major from The University of Washington in drama. Lee started his career by working as a live-in waiter at a restaurant owned by Ruby Chow, a friend of his father.

Bruce Lee pursued his passion of teaching martial arts since 1959 in the United States and named his style as Jun Fan Gung Fu which means Bruce Lee’s Kung Fu.  Bruce Lee started his first martial Arts school in Seattle.

Bruce Lee’s Hollywood discovery happened almost 5 years later when he moved to Oakland, where he was introduced to Ed Parker, who invited Lee to appear for the long beach International Karate Championships where Bruce lee’s martial arts skills were noticed and appreciated. Due to his appearance at the long beach International Karate Championships Lee later was offered a role of Kato in the season of The Green Hornet  series, which was followed by various roles in different series titled, ‘Blondie’, ’Iron side’ amongst others. 

Lee struck gold with The Golden harvest and The Shaw Brothers Studio by signing a 2 film contract for ‘The Big Boss’ and ‘Fist of Fury’, which smashed the previous box office records followed by ‘Way of the Dragon’, a film he produced under his own banner, Concord productions Inc.

Lee’s untimely death at the age of 32,  remains a mystery, though his autopsy reports state that Lee dies due to an allergic reaction to a pain killer pill he had a few hours prior to his death. Bruce Lee’s 7 foot statue in Hong Kong is a reminder of the most loved whirlwind warrior.