Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, actor, and filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do, born November 27, 1940, in San Francisco, Califo…
Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, actor, and filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do, born November 27, 1940, in San Francisco, California, and died July 20, 1973, in Kowloon, Hong Kong, aged 32. ◦ He was born in San Francisco during his parents' international Cantonese opera tour and raised in Hong Kong. ◦ His father, Lee Hoi-chuen, was a Cantonese opera singer, and Bruce appeared in some 20 films as a child actor by the time he was 18. ◦ His parents, disturbed by his street fighting and run-ins with the police, sent him to live in the United States shortly after he turned 18. ◦ In Seattle he finished high school and studied philosophy and drama at the University of Washington, and opened his first martial arts school there. ◦ Bruce Lee's official cause of death was swelling of the brain caused by an allergic reaction to a headache medication; he died in Hong Kong on July 20, 1973, six days before the release there of his film *Enter the Dragon*. ◦ He is regarded as the first global Chinese film star. ◦
Lee conceived Jeet Kune Do (截拳道), literally the "way of the intercepting fist," a hybrid martial art. ◦ He disavowed the rigidity of systematized martial arts around 1964 following his duel with Wong Jack-man, outlined its basic concepts in a 1965 press interview, but resisted naming it until 1967. ◦ He considered traditional form-based martial arts, with their pre-arranged patterns and forms, to be restrictive and ineffective in chaotic self-defense situations. ◦ He believed real combat was alive and dynamic, and that only through use in real combat could a practitioner judge a technique worthy of adoption. ◦ He borrowed from Chan Buddhism the metaphor of constantly filling a cup with water and then emptying it to describe his philosophy of "casting off what is useless." ◦
Lee often used water as an analogy for flexibility, noting that water is infinitely flexible, can be seen through or obscure, can split and go around things and re-join, or crash through them, and can erode the hardest rocks by gently lapping at them. ◦ The maxim "Absorb what is useful; disregard that which is useless" is central to his teaching, and Jeet Kune Do students are encouraged to study every form of combat possible. ◦ He described the central maxim of Jeet Kune Do as "Using no way as way; Having no limitation as limitation," which is rendered on the JKD emblem alongside the yin-yang taijitu. ◦
Lee articulated a philosophy of self-reliance and internal search, stating that he had changed from self-image actualization to self-actualization, and from blindly following propaganda and organized truths to searching internally for the cause of his ignorance. ◦ He emphasized authenticity and self-expression, urging individuals to be themselves, express themselves, and have faith in themselves, rather than duplicating a successful personality. ◦ On readiness and non-doing, he held that a good martial artist does not become tense but ready, and that when the opponent expands, he contracts, and when the opponent contracts, he expands, so that when there is an opportunity, "I" do not hit, "it" hits all by itself. ◦ He also taught total commitment, maintaining that one must keep reflexes ready so that when one wants to move, one is moving, and that one must become one with one's feelings. ◦
Lee described Three Stages of Cultivation: a primitive stage of original ignorance where one fights instinctively and fluidly; a mechanical or "sophistication" stage where training imparts scientific knowledge but the original self and sense of freedom are lost and the mind freezes for calculation, becoming "intellectually bound"; and a third stage of artlessness or spontaneity, where the student realizes "gung fu is nothing special" and adjusts himself to his opponent "like water pressing on an earthen wall," flowing "through the slightest crack." ◦ In his only English-language television interview, on the 9 December 1971 edition of *The Pierre Berton Show*, filmed in Hong Kong, Lee and Berton discussed his career, martial arts philosophy, and the problems faced by an Asian pursuing stardom in Hollywood. ◦ Asked whether he considered himself American or Chinese, Lee replied that he thought of himself as a human being, saying that under the heavens there is but one family. ◦
In combat, Lee advocated adaptability over fixed forms, instructing that when the opponent expands, he contracts, and when the opponent contracts, he expands. ◦ He judged techniques worthy of adoption only through their use in real combat, rejecting pre-arranged patterns as ineffective in chaotic self-defense situations. ◦ He encouraged a process of continuous refinement, telling students to absorb what is useful and disregard what is useless, and to study every form of combat possible. ◦ He applied this to his own development, changing from blindly following propaganda and organized truths to searching internally for the cause of his ignorance. ◦
Even in institutional decisions, he resisted premature systematization: he outlined basic concepts of Jeet Kune Do in a 1965 press interview but resisted naming it until 1967. ◦ In Hollywood, he set up his martial arts school not to train people for acting roles but to teach the art of expressing the human body in combat form. ◦
Water was Lee's primary mental model for flexibility and adaptability: he described it as infinitely flexible, capable of flowing around obstacles or crashing through them, and able to erode the hardest rocks by gently lapping at them. ◦ He explicitly urged, "Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water," and noted that "Running water never grows stale." ◦ He modeled learning as a cyclical process of filling and emptying a cup, borrowed from Chan Buddhism, to represent casting off what is useless. ◦ He viewed combat as alive and dynamic, rejecting pre-arranged patterns in favor of techniques proven in real combat. ◦
He understood skill development through the Three Stages of Cultivation: original ignorance, mechanical sophistication where the mind becomes "intellectually bound," and final artlessness where one adjusts to an opponent like water pressing on an earthen wall and flowing through the slightest crack. ◦ He held a model of self-actualization that privileged internal search over external authority, having moved from self-image actualization and blindly following propaganda to searching internally for the cause of his ignorance. ◦ In interpersonal engagement, he used an expansion-contraction model: when the opponent expands, he contracts; when the opponent contracts, he expands. ◦
Lee's early martial arts experience included Wing Chun, which he trained under Ip Man after being introduced in 1953, as well as tai chi and boxing; he won the 1958 Hong Kong schools boxing tournament by knocking out the previous champion. ◦ He also engaged in frequent street and rooftop fights before moving to Seattle in 1959. ◦ He studied philosophy and drama at the University of Washington. ◦ He opened his first martial arts school in Seattle. ◦
He founded Jeet Kune Do. ◦ He conceived it as a hybrid martial art, literally the "way of the intercepting fist." ◦ As an actor, he appeared in some 20 films as a child actor by age 18. ◦ His U.S. roles included Kato in the ABC series *The Green Hornet* (1966–1967). ◦ After returning to Hong Kong in 1971, he starred in *The Big Boss* (1971), *Fist of Fury* (1972), and *The Way of the Dragon* (1972), which he directed and wrote. ◦ He also starred in the American–Hong Kong co-production *Enter the Dragon* (1973). ◦ In Hollywood, he taught students including James Garner, Steve McQueen, Lee Marvin, and James Coburn to express feelings through movements of the body in combat form. ◦
Lee often used water as an analogy for flexibility when communicating his martial arts philosophy. ◦ He used Chan Buddhist imagery, such as constantly filling a cup with water and then emptying it, to explain the need to cast off the useless. ◦ His language was often paradoxical and aphoristic, as seen in the maxim "Using no way as way; Having no limitation as limitation." ◦
In his only English-language television interview, on *The Pierre Berton Show* in December 1971, he discussed his career, martial arts philosophy, and the problems faced by an Asian pursuing stardom in Hollywood. ◦ He explained that his Hollywood school taught students to express feelings such as anger, determination, pride, or happiness through movements of the body. ◦ He framed personal growth in stages, describing the progression from original ignorance to mechanical sophistication to artlessness and spontaneity. ◦
He demanded total commitment and reflex conditioning, maintaining that one must keep reflexes ready so that when one wants to move, one is moving. ◦ At the same time, he pursued an artless, formless spontaneity where "I" do not hit and "it" hits all by itself. ◦ He was a disciplined student of Wing Chun, tai chi, and boxing, and won the 1958 Hong Kong schools boxing tournament by knocking out the previous champion. ◦ His parents, disturbed by his street fighting and run-ins with the police, sent him to live in the United States shortly after he turned 18. ◦
He appeared in some 20 films as a child actor by age 18 and is regarded as the first global Chinese film star. ◦ In Hollywood he faced the problems of an Asian pursuing stardom, and in his only English-language television interview he was asked whether he considered himself American or Chinese. ◦ He disavowed the rigidity of systematized martial arts and resisted naming Jeet Kune Do until 1967. ◦ Nevertheless, the art became associated with an emblem bearing the yin-yang taijitu and the maxim "Using no way as way; Having no limitation as limitation." ◦ He died on July 20, 1973, six days before the Hong Kong release of *Enter the Dragon*, the film that became a worldwide hit and thrust him into international stardom. ◦
He advised keeping reflexes ready so that when one wants to move, one is moving, and not accepting even one inch less than 100 percent of honest feelings. ◦ He insisted on authenticity: do not look for a successful personality and duplicate him, but rather be yourself, express yourself, and have faith in yourself. ◦ He encouraged students to study every form of combat possible, absorbing what is useful and disregarding what is useless. ◦ He taught that one should adapt and build one's own form, letting it grow, and keep on flowing like running water. ◦ In his Hollywood school, he taught the art of expressing the human body in combat form, training students to express feelings such as anger, determination, pride, or happiness through movements of the body. ◦