Bruce Lee

The Chinese calendar says that 1940 was the Year of the Dragon. This is also the same year the wolrd's greatest and most inspiring martial artist was born. On November 27th 1940, Grace Lee had gone into labour and was taken to Jackson Street hospital. Later that day Lee Jun Fan, which means "To Return Again" was born. A doctor attending the birth gave the child the English name Bruce. This child would go on to do amayzing things. THE WORLD WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME!

When Bruce was only 6, he began to appear in numerous Chinese films. His first film was called "A beginning of a Boy." It didn't stop there, but even Bruce did not know how far he would go. He played a problem child, always stealing or fighting. He made at least 20 of these Cantonese films including "Black Boy Jungle" and "Boys on the Street". When Bruce was only 14, he was horribly beaten up in a street fight. After discussing what had happened to him with his mother they both decided it would be best for him to learn martial arts and to develop his physique and self defense abilities. This was the last fight Bruce would ever lose. His first REAL teacher was a Wing Chun master, Sifu Yip Man. Bruce became fascinated with the ideas and philoshpies of Wing Chun(a non tradtional style of Kung Fu). Soon he became very good at it. His next teacher was Siu Hon Sung, a Kung Fu expert. Bruce had no means of paying for his Kung Fu classes. But he had been learning Cha Cha dancing and offered to trade his knowledge of dancing for Kung Fu lessons. It took most people 3 weeks to learn 30 Kung Fu moves, but Bruce found a way to master them in only 3 nights. His teacher never learned one Cha Cha step!

In 1958 Bruce earned the title, Hong Kong Cha Cha champion. He then went on to make two more Cantonese films, "The Orphan" and "Thunderstorm". Time passed, and Bruce grew stronger in his fighting skills and in the Cha Cha. He would fight in the streets trying to test his abliities to see just how good he was. It wasn't long before the police warned his mother that if Bruce didn't stop street fighting, he would be arrested. On April 1958, his father gave him $100 US and sent him to San Francisco (his place of birth). His dad hoped that Bruce would become more responsible. He got on a boat and left. Bruce made a little money on the way there giving Cha Cha lessons. When Bruce arrived in San Francisco he lived with his fathers friend, Ruby Chow. Bruce's only option was to work in a restaurant while living in its attic. Once he finished high school, he furthered his training and developed his skill. For Bruce being good was nothing, he had to be the BEST. Bruce eventually earned enough money and headed for Seattle to study Philosophy at the University of Washington. In 1959, he met a fellow Asian called Taki Kimura. He was twice Bruce's age and had suffered many years of racial abuse. Bruce persuaded him to take pride in his Asian identity and taught him martial arts. Eventually Bruce decided to open a school in order to make money. In China, Kung Fu was the secret Chinese weapon and philosophy which was never taught to any non-Chinese person. Bruce thought differently though, he welcomed ANYONE who was interested in learning what he had to teach. Bruce felt that Chinese people were not the only worthy people to learn this great art. He alone broke the racial barrier that had been forged over time!

This is the reason why I chose Bruce Lee as my hero. I've always enjoyed martial arts movies like most people, but I never cared enough to pursue what I was watching. This didn't change until I was in sixth grade when I watched my first Bruce Lee movie, "the Fists of Fury". It wasn't until after seeing this anything but ordinary Kung Fu flick, that I decided to pursue martial arts. I started with Wing Chun much like Bruce Lee did. Then I continued with kickboxing until ninth grade. That is when I found my favorite style, Taekwondo. Along this never ending road, I've picked up aspects of my other favorite styles, such as Brazilian Jujitsu and Aikido. I feel I owe the peace and state of mind I found from Martial Arts to the man who inspired me to do them. This is why Bruce Lee is my hero!

It was on July 20th, 1973 that Bruce Lee passed away. It happened as Bruce was sleeping, his brain started to swell from an unknown allergy to a painkiller he was taking for one of his many horrible headaches he suffered from. Bruce was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth hospital, barely alive. The ambulance crew was fighting to resuscitate him, but Bruce was pronounced "dead on arrival". The Man died that day, but his spirit and identity continue to be celebrated everywhere in Jeet Kwon Do (way of the intercepting Fist, his own personalized and created martial art) and in his movies(The Fists of Fury,The Chinese Connection, Return of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon , The Game of Death and many many more). On November 27th 1940, the legend was born and it still hasn't ended!