James Bryant...,

Bruce Lee 1940-197319

I never had the chance to meet Bruce Lee but I do have a couple of original photos of him (below). The first (left) is 1972 (August) during a visit to SB Studios. The second is 1972 at Kai Tak-Airport when Bruce Lee came back from Thailand after making the movie Big Boss. The third photo isn't mine but is one of Linda and Bruce Lee taken in early February 1965.

Bruce Lee at SB Studios 1973        Bruce Lee, 1971 Kai Tak Airport

It takes a lifetime to know oneself (Bruce Lee)

Bruce Lee is known for being the greatest martial arts exponent that has ever lived, but he was also a philosopher, thinker and poet. Below is his poem to his wife, Linda penned in my hand:

Poem by Bruce Lee to Linda his wife, penned by me
Circa 1963, a poem by Bruce Lee to his wife


How good was Bruce Lee?

It was Bruce Lee's speed which set him apart from other martial artists. His favourite trick was to make a bet with a friend that he could safely close their eyelids with his fingertips before they could stop him. Even as the person tried to raise their hands to defend themself, Bruce Lee's arm would dart out at incredible speed and gently push down the eyelids. He never missed.

Another indication of how good he was is by running through the list of martial champions who co-started with him on his films: Chuck Norris, seven times Karate champion; Bob Wall 1970 Professional Karate champion, Peter Archer, Commonwealth Karate champion; Yang Sze, Shotokan champion of south Asia to name a few!

Although Bruce Lee was no giant (5'7.5"), he had developed a super charged body. His kicks would literally pick up his opponent with his foot and canon him up to 30 feet or more through the air. Watch his kick in Way of the Dragon against a chinese waiter.

Another of his stunts was to stretch out his right arm almost to the limit and tell a man of say 13 stone (85kg) that, by extending his arm an inch he could generate enough power to punch him across the room. With the smallest of movements he could send a man twice his weight flying through the air. You can see videos of this on Face book!

Bruce Lee was also revolutionary in his training techniques. He would train and shadow box to music which was something way ahead of his time.

The above is just the tip of the iceberg on his talents and he was definitely the greatest exponent of the martial arts that has ever lived and I'll leave you with an actual Bruce Lee quote: 'All the time people come up to me and say "Hey Bruce, are you really that good?"'. 'I say, "Well, if I tell you I'm good, probably you'll say I'm boasting. But if I tell you I'm no good, you'll know that I'm lying."'

Bruce Lee with Yip Man
Bruce Lee with Wing Chun Kung-Fu master Yip Man.
The glasses in Bruce Lee's pocket were buried with him when he died

 

Last image of Bruce Lee, July 23 1973
Bruce Lee lies in his coffin in the Kowloon Funeral Home, 25th July 1973 (C)

 

Bruce Lee's grave
Bruce Lee's grave and his son's grave are side by side in Lake View Cementery, Seattle

 

Bruce Lee’s style was called Jeet Kune Do which really means a style without style. I was spurned on by reading about him in the early 1970s along with seeing “Enter the Dragon”. I look up martial arts around 1974 and below are some old photos from those halcyon days. I am indebted to Mujahid Khan for providing a photo of himself, one of my old instructor, Stefan Coleman and the group Tang Soo Do photo. Sadly Stefan died on 16 December 2012, see my obituary to him at this link.

 

Tang Soo Do group photo, St. Ives 1974
Tang Soo Do Group photo, St.Ives, 1975. I'm in the back row 4th from the left.
This was the first visit by 10th Dan Grand Master Hwang Kee (centre in suit) and if you go to this link on YouTube
you can see a video in remembrance of that great master
.

Master Hwang Kee on Kung Fu Magazine, 1975
Master Whang Kee,10th Dan on front cover of Inside Kung Fu, 6 May 1975 - I still have this Magazine

 

My 2nd Dan Instructor, Stephen Coleman, circa 1974
Stefan Coleman (L) my 2nd Dan Tang Soo Do Instructor circa 1974

 

Mujahid Khan, 6th Dan
Mujahid Khan (L) whom I first had the pleasure of meeting in 1974, then a fledgling white belt and now (2012)
a 6th Dan black belt. This photo is 1984..

 

Me 6 April 1976
Me, 6 April 1976, Buckden

 

Me, 6/4/1976 with nunchucks
Me, 6 April 1976, Buckden, with nunchucks - pity Korean flag is upside down
!

Video of Bruce Lee with nunchucks. click here

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