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About Bruce Lee

Name: Lee Jun Fan or Bruce Lee

DOB: November 27, 1940

Passed Away: July 20, 1973

Education: Philosophy major at the University of Washington

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Articles

Note: These articles were taken from other magazines, books, etc. whose were also taken from other magazines, books, etc. They are all copyrighted by their respected owners. I hereby hold no responsibility for any of them. I am only responsible for the design and layout of the website.

My Dad Didn't Want Me to Follow in His Footsteps - by Brandon Lee

Training with Bruce Lee - An Interview by Thomas Nilsson

Formal Students

Training Program

Bruce Lee's Last Letter

Liberate Yourself from Classical Karate by Bruce Lee

Replies to Bruce Lee's Article "Liberate Yourself..."

Bruce Lee's Speed Training

Jeet Kune Do Concepts/Principles

Jeet Kune Do FAQs

Chronology

1940 - November 27 - San Francisco- The Year of the Dragon, Lee JunFan is born at the Jackson Street Hospital in the Chinatown section of San Francisco. Later to beknown as Bruce Lee. His father, Lee Hoi Chuen, a performer with the Cantonese OperaCompany, was touring in America at the time.

1941 - Hong Kong - Bruce and his parents return to Kowloon, their familyhome.

1946 - Hong Kong - At the age of six, he makes his professional screendebut in The Beginning of a Boy. During the later years of his chilhood, Bruce appears in20 more films in Southeast Asia. Lastly, being the film The Orphan at age 18.

1953 - Hong Kong - After being involved in numerous street fights inHong Kong, Bruce begins training under Sifu Yip Man, a master of the wing chunsystem of gung fu.

1958 - Hong Kong - Being an expert dancer, Bruce wins the Crown Colony Cha-Cha Championship.

1959 - Hong Kong - After more fierce street fighting ending in policeinvolvement, Mr. and Mrs. Lee decide that Bruce should exercise his American citizenship andreturn to San francisco.

1959 - San Francisco - Seattle - Bruce arrives in the U.S. and stays with anold friend of his father's. He works odd jobs around the various chinese communities. Latermoves to Seattle to work for Ruby Chow, another friend of his father's . He lives in a room aboveher restaurant while working as a waiter downstairs. Eventually enrolls at Edison TechnicalSchool and earns his high school diploma. Starts teaching gung fu in backyards and city parks.

1961 - Spring - Seattle- E nrolls at the University of Washington.Major - Philosophy. Teachs gung fu to students at school.

1963 - Summer - Hong Kong - Returns to Hong Kong for the first timesince his arrival in the U.S. Returns to Seattle at the end of summer to continue school.

1963 - October 25 - Seattle - Bruce takes out Linda Emery (the futureMrs. Linda Lee) for their first date. Dinner at the Space Needle.

1963 - Fall - Seattle - Moves the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute into a building(4750 University Way) near the university campus.

1964 - Summer - Oakland - Bruce leaves Seattle to start a second school in Oakland. His good friend, Taky Kimura, takes over as head instructor.

1964 - August 17 - Seattle - Bruce returns to Seattle to marry LindaEmery. Residing afterwards back in Oakland.

1964 - Oakland - Several months after he begins teaching, he is challengedby a leading gung fu practitioner in the Chinatown community. If Bruce lost the challenge, he was either to close his school or stop teaching Caucasians. At that t ime, the Chinese were reluctant toteach Caucasians their martial arts. Bruce accepts and dispatches his opponent in only a couple ofminutes. Later he is bothered on why the fight took so long and begins to re-evaluate his style.Thus, the early concepts of Jeet KuneDo, Bruce Lee's own style, are born.

1964 - August 2 - Long Beach, Ca - Ed Parker, known as the Father of American Karate (Kenpo), invites Bruce to give a demonstation at his first International Karate Championships. In the audience is Jay Sebring, the hair stylist for B atman producerWilliam Dozier who is looking to cast a part in a TV series he was developing. Sebring then givesa film of Bruce's demo to Dozier who is empressed at what he sees. Bruce later flys down to LosAngeles for a screen test.

1965 - February 1 - Oakland, CA - Brandon Bruce Lee is born.

1965 - February 8 - Hong Kong - Bruce's father passes away.

1966 - Los Angeles - Bruce and family move to Los Angeles where hebegins working on a new TV series called The Green Hornet as Kato. Later opens third branch of the Jun FanGung Fu Institute in Los Angeles' Chinatown.

1967-1971 - Hollywood - During this time, Bruce lands bit parts in variousfilms and T.V. series (Marlowe, Longstreet). He also gives private lessons for up to $250an hour to the likes of Steve McQueen, James Coburn, James Garner, Lee Marvin, RomanPolanski, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

1969 - April 19- Santa Monica, CA - Daughter Shannon Lee is born.

1970 - Los Angeles - Bruce injures his back while training. The followingperiod of inactivity he starts to document his training methods and his philosophy of Jeet KuneDo. Later after his death, The Tao of Jeet Kune Do is publishe d by his wife.

1971 - Hong Kong. - Takes a short trip back to Hong Kong to arrange forhis mother to live in the U.S..Unknowingly to him, he had become a superstar for The Green Hornet was one of the most popular TV shows in Hong Kong. Later is a pproached byRaymond Chow, owner of a new production company, and offered the lead role in a new filmcalled The Big Boss. He accepts.

1971- July - Thailand - Filming begins for The Big Boss (releasedas Fists of Fury i U.S.). Opens in Hong Kong to great reviews and mobs of fans.Proceeds to gross more than $3.5 million in little than three weeks.

1972 - Hong Kong - Fist of Fury (called The ChineseConnection in the U.S.) is released. Grosses more than The Big Boss and furtherestablishes Bruce as a Hong Kong superstar.

1972 - Rome, Italy - Location shots are made for Bruce's third film The Way of the Dragon (later called The Return of the Dragon), which he writes,directs, and stars in. Chuck Norris is Bruce's adversary in the final fight scene. Again, this filmsurpasses all records set by his previous two films.

1972 - Hong Kong - Bruce begins work on Game of Death andfilmsseveral fight scenes including Danny Inosanto and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

1973 - February - Hong Kong- Filming of Enter the Dragonbegins. It is the first-ever production between the U.S. and Hong Kong film industries. Gameof Death is never completed. (Later completed after his death using a stand -in for Bruce'sun-shot scenes.)

1973 - April - Hong Kong - Filming of Enter the Dragon iscompleted.

1973 - July 20 - Hong Kong - Bruce Lee dies in Hong Kong of anapparent cerebral edema (swelling of the brain). Enter the Dragon premieres a month laterto much success.

1973 - July 25 - Hong Kong - A funeral ceremony is held for friends andfans in Hong Kong consisting of over 25,000 people. Bruce is dressed in the Chinese outfit hewore in Enter the Dragon.

1973 - July 30 - Seattle - After a smaller second ceremony, Bruce Lee isburied at Lake View Cemetery. His pallbearers included Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Danny Inosanto, Taky Kimura, and his brother, Robert Lee.


Reference: Linda Lee, The Bruce Lee Story (Santa Clarita, CA: Ohara Publications, 1989) 189 pages.