Dragon: The Life and Legacy of Bruce Lee -Part I
On November 27, 1940, between the hours of 7 and 9 AM in San Francisco, a dragon was born. According to the Chinese Zodiac, Lee Jun Fan, also known as “Bruce,” was born during the hour and the year of the Dragon. It is said that those born of the Dragon possess traits that pertain to courage, power, and ambition. So it seems that even from the beginning, Bruce Lee was destined to lead a life bound for greatness.
Beyond being ubiquitous in the world of martial arts and action cinema, Bruce Lee was also a prolific writer and thinker. He forged these disparate elements of his life together into a practice he called “Jeet Kune Do” or “Way of the Intercepting Fist.” The core tenets of this philosophy focus on intentionality through simplicity, directness, and freedom — honing on the ability to adapt to situations in order to intercept whatever may come your way. Bruce not only applied this system to overcome the opponents he faced in his martial arts career but also to overcome the stereotypes and social limitations placed in front of him on his way to becoming a pioneer in both cinema and Asian American representation.
Bruce was raised in a performing arts family. His mother Grace gave birth to him while they were on tour with the Chinese Opera. When Bruce was 3 months old, the Lees returned home to Hong Kong amid the opening throes of World War II and the beginnings of Japanese occupation. This period was formative in Bruce’s upbringing, greatly impacting his unique worldview and philosophies later in life. Even at a young age, Bruce was an accomplished child actor in Hong Kong, starring in twenty films by the time he was 18.
Alongside his acting, Bruce also had a penchant for dance and began his study of gung fu at the age of 13. Lee was initially barred from formal gung fu training due to his mixed-race heritage conflicting with Chinese martial arts customs. Undeterred, Bruce eventually came to study Wing Chun gung fu under the prestigious grandmaster Yip Man.
Bruce became a voracious student of both dance and Wing Chun. His acumen went beyond just practicing the physical movements. He also focused heavily on training his mental approach. Bruce journaled extensively about both and took meticulous notes about his personal philosophies pertaining to each individual movement. This practice and his love for writing would be a constant throughout his life.
To be continued in Dragon: The Life and Legacy of Bruce Lee – Part II…-