Bruce Lee

From Asian Martial Art Supply.

A person that I have much respect and admiration for is Lee Jun Fan, or as most people know him as, Bruce Lee. I admire him because he is the first real martial artist that made it to the silver screen as an action star. He wasn’t like any other mundane action hero; he could actually do the punches and kicks that were shown in the movies, no stunt doubles, no padding, just raw physical power and martial art technique. He was born in San Francisco in Chinatown on November 27, 1940 while his parents were traveling in America doing performances. When he was just three months old, he got his first part in a play. After that, he moved back to Hong Kong to live until 1959.

From poster.de

Bruce Lee wasn’t always a world class fighter though, before he ever even thought of fighting he studied dance, he even won many cha-cha competitions, that shows that he wasn’t a brutal warrior his whole life. When he was a teenager he joined a Chinese street gang and it was then that he decided to sharpen his fighting skills by learning kung fu. In 1959 Bruce Lee got in serious trouble with the police for fighting, so his mother sent him to live with family and friends in Seattle both for personally safety and shame.

From a fan.

Bruce Lee was very educated at that time for a man that wasn’t born in America, seeing how chances weren’t as equal as they are now, and he graduated from Edison high school in Washington. After that, he enhanced his education when he studied philosophy in the University of Washington. After College, he got a job in a school of martial arts teaching the Wing Chun style of fighting, which was a very common style of martial arts at the time, also, back in the 1960’s only Asians were allowed to be taught martial arts, but Bruce Lee taught every race. That’s where he met his wife, Linda Emery. In 1964, Bruce and Linda were married. At that time he had two schools of martial arts and he created and perfected his own style of fighting called Jeet Kune Do.

From celebstuck.com.

Later, Bruce and Linda moved to California to expand their business to different places, it was there where he was discovered by a Hollywood producer who wanted him to be in a remake of a 1930’s radio show called The Green Hornet where he played Kato, The Hornet’s faithful sidekick. The show aired from 1966-1967, after that, there were a number of films that Bruce was in, including Ironside, Longstreet, and Marlowe. Bruce was confronted with the Asian actor stereotype that all Asian actors are born to be in Kung Fu films, so he, Linda, and his two children Brandon and Shannon moved back to Hong Kong in 1971. When he was in Hong Kong, Lee signed a contract that states that he has to do two films. The two films were a flop in America, but they were hit action movies oversees. In 1972, Bruce Lee made his own production company called Concord Pictures, just four years after his acting debut. It was then that he made the greatest action movie of his lifetime, Enter The Dragon. He used a form of his own Jeet Kune Do art along with traditional Kung Fu to dazzle the audience with an array of flips, punches, and kicks. Unfortunately, Bruce Lee died before the premiere of the movie: he died of a brain edema in his dressing room. It's ironic how his own body did something that no man could have done, kill Bruce Lee.

From sportail.net.

Bruce Lee was a warrior that inspired legends, he was a fighter, both on and off the silver screen. He was a loving father of two children and a husband who took care of his wife to the best of his ability. He would never let others speak or act in his name, if something needed to be done, he would do it his way, by himself. There were even rumors that other martial arts teachers would challenge him or threaten him to close his business because he did not just teach Asians, he would challenge them to a fight, if he won then he would keep teaching, but if he lost, he would never teach again. Every fight that he challenged someone too, he would win because he fought with honor and passion. People said that he could punch a man halfway across a room just with on hand. He was a strong man, both physically, mentally, and morally, and that’s why Bruce Lee is my hero.