Written by Jeff Yang, Wall Street Journal

Bruce Lee in ‘Enter the Dragon’ 1973

“From my point of view, the 20th century gave us just two icons who rose above time, space and race: There was Muhammad Ali, and there was Bruce Lee,” says documentary filmmaker Pete McCormack, explaining the rationale behind his two most recent projects, the feature documentary “Facing Ali,” shortlisted for the Academy Award in 2010, and its new followup “I Am Bruce Lee,” which hits 160 theaters across the country for special screenings on February 9 and 11.

It’s an assertion that instantly prompts thoughts of obvious alternatives (was that a muffled cough from Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.?) — but the truth is, it can’t be dismissed as hyperbole either.

Ali and Lee were rare and similar figures: Exceptionally charismatic individuals who thrived in the spotlight, and who earned their permanent place in history by both embodying and overcoming the contradictions of their era. They were unifiers and provocateurs, paramount warriors who preached peace, racial role models whose impact reached far beyond their own communities.

Both were named to Time magazine’s 1999 list of the 100 most important individuals of the past hundred years. And yet, when the list was unveiled, there were those who groused about Lee’s inclusion. A martial arts movie star? Alongside the likes of Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, and, uh, Gandhi and King?

Well…yes. “I Am Bruce Lee” is essentially a 94-minute-long argument that Lee was more than worthy of recognition among the century’s greats, and frankly, it’s a convincing one. The documentary is a cascading chain of reminiscences from friends and family (including wife Linda Lee Cadwell and daughter Shannon, inner-circle member Dan Inosanto and goddaughter Diana Lee Inosanto), tributes from students and fellow fighters of many styles and generations, and vivid celebrations of his legacy from an eclectic mix of celebrities who claim him as a personal inspiration: NBA superstar Kobe Bryant; filmmaker and former BET chief Reginald Hudlin; actors Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family”) and Mickey Rourke (“Iron Man 2″); skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, B-boy Jose Ruiz, and Black Eyed Peas member Taboo.

Interspersed with the talking heads and moving bodies — the interviewees prove that it’s impossible to expound on Bruce Lee while standing still — are samples of his life and work, including personal clips and images that have never before been seen on screen.

Together, all of it makes the case that the biggest source of Lee’s impact wasn’t his onscreen performances, but the unique philosophy he formulated and preached, and that has made converts of individuals from an amazing range of backgrounds — what you might call a way of thinking that leads to a way of moving that leads to a way of life.

The belief system behind Lee’s art, Jeet Kune Do, was rooted in resourcefulness: “Use what works, and take it from any place you can find it”; in flexibility: “Don’t get set into one form, adapt, be like water”; in simplicity: “Express the utmost with the minimum”; in action: “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”

But most of all, it’s one that was steeped in a defiant antiestablishmentarianism, a rebellion against the status quo that walks in startling lockstep with the sensibilities of today’s cultural and political moment.

Some of what he said sounds like it might appeal to the Tea Party right: “Not a daily increase, but a daily decrease: Hack away at the inessentials”; “To hell with circumstances — I create opportunities”; “A big organization is not necessary….all members will be conditioned according to the prescribed system; many will end up as a prisoner of a systematized drill.”

But though Lee was a firm believer in the power of the individual, he was if anything the inverse of the Ayn Randian self-interested superman, contemptuous of the lesser beings around him. He told his disciples that “the successful warrior is just an average man with laser-like focus”; he stressed to them that he wasn’t their master, but a “student-master,” still constantly learning from them and from the world — “you can consider someone a master when you’re closing their casket”; he reminded them that “real living is living for others.”

Lee abhorred the elitism of the martial arts world, refusing to issue belts or to imbue his lessons with quasi-mystical ritual. He was relentlessly egalitarian, teaching anyone and everyone who wanted to learn and was willing to work, regardless of size, shape, background — or race: Early in his career in the U.S., he came into violent conflict with the incensed heads of other Chinese martial arts schools, who demanded he stop initiating non-Asians into their secrets. Lee thrashed the representative they sent to challenge him, and continued instructing whomever he wanted.

To Lee, boundaries and divisions, whether between styles or between peoples, were nothing more than a tool of oppression — and as Lee’s wife Linda says, “Bruce hated the oppression of the little people, which he saw everywhere: The Japanese occupation, the Boxer Rebellion, the foreign powers going into China. He just thought all of that was wrong.”

In the film, an animated Reggie Hudlin adds that Lee emerged at a time when the angry underclass was seeking out leaders and symbols, “counterculture figures to fight the establishment” — figures like Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, Muhammad Ali — and Bruce Lee: “When he fought Chuck Norris [in "Way of the Dragon"], Bruce Lee represented the entire Third World, all people of color, fighting the Western oppressor.”

In short, it’s fair to say that Lee was a badass of the 99 Percent.

Today, Norris has become a kind of conservative kingmaker, anointing right wing candidates he decides are worthy of his badge of toughness (he’s the one who famously called Arizona Governor Jan Brewer a woman who eats “scorpions for breakfast,” which she promptly used as the title of her now-famous memoir). If Lee had lived to today, might he be replaying their famous battle at the Coliseum in the political arena — giving progressive politicians the benefit of his personal magic to counter Norris’s fists of approval? Or would he, as Kobe Bryant jokes in the doc, be competing on “Dancing With the Stars” — and winning?

Maybe both.

“My dad didn’t see limitations, in himself or in other people,” says Shannon Lee, who served as the film’s executive producer. “He did what he did his way, and left behind an extremely unique footprint.”

Unique enough to last 40 years without fading, as trainer and expert Jeet Kune Do practitioner Teri Tom says in the film: “You’d think people would have forgotten him by now, but no — I think a lot of cultures have actually picked him up as their hero.”

In 2005, a grassroots youth organization in Mostar in Bosnia spearheaded a successful drive to commission and erect a statue of Lee in one of the city’s main squares, calling him a symbol of “the fight against divisions, and the struggle to bridge cultures — one thing we all have in common is Bruce Lee.” (There’s also a street named after Lee in the city of Drvengrad in Bosnia’s bitter rival Serbia, suggesting a broad-based Balkan fascination with Lee.) That same year, Lee fans raised over $100,000 to get Hong Kong, the city of Lee’s childhood, to erect a statue of him in a choice location by the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront on the Hong Kong Walk of Stars. A thriving theme park dedicated to Lee, “Bruce Lee Paradise,” opened in his ancestral town of Shunde on the China mainland in 2006.

But this year could see the way open for the biggest Bruce Lee memorial yet — a $50 million Bruce Lee Action Museum targeted for Seattle, Washington’s International District, which is currently under review by the city’s council. According to Shannon Lee, the museum would have a permanent exhibit of Lee’s life and memorabilia, galleries for visiting shows on themes related to his ideas, a store, theater, meditation space, outdoor training area, research library and café.

And what better year to announce the museum than this one? Lee’s family and fans await the council’s announcement with bated breath. In the meantime, there’s “I Am Bruce Lee,” which is as good a reason to Occupy movie theaters on February 9 and 11 as any. Happy Year of the Dragon.

***

The truly amazing thing about Bruce is how much he accomplished in such a short span of time. He died in 1973 at the age of 32, with just five feature films to his name — one of which, “Game of Death,” was assembled posthumously around 11 minutes of footage shot before his demise. Despite this fact, Lee may be the only Asian American with household name status nearly everywhere in the world — he’s certainly the only Asian American on the Time 100 list of the century’s most influential individuals.

It really does make you wonder what he’d have become if he hadn’t died. Given his amazing drive, ambition and intellect, it’s hard not to imagine that his career wouldn’t have continued on its upward trajectory, to paraphrase one of Lee’s most famous lines, like a finger pointing at the moon in all its heavenly glory.

Lee’s legacy is something that’s already tough to live up to: “I’ve studied martial arts, but of course I’m not anywhere near the level of my father,” laughs Shannon Lee. “Still, people assume I’m a lethal weapon anyway! Sometimes people come up to me and I have to correct the impression — look, I’m a mom and a businessperson, and no, I can’t kill you with two fingers and an evil look.”

I get that all the time myself, Shannon. Maybe it doesn’t help that I’ve written a book called “I Am Jackie Chan.”

10 May 2012 – Sifu Tim Tackett JKD Seminar, Leicester

Dates: Thu 10th May 2012
Times: 6pm – 10pm
Venue: Urban Martial Arts, St John Street, Leicester, LE1 3WL
Cost: £50

LIMITED SPACES!!!  To avoid disappointment…

Call 0795 180 7982 to BOOK NOW!!!

Written by The Jerry Poteet Family

(Left-Right) Jerry Poteet, Daniel Lee, Bruce Lee, Steve Golden, Pete Jacobs, Bob Bremer

With heavy hearts, we are saddened to report that Sifu Jerry Poteet passed away on Saturday, January 15, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.  His Flame is still burning bright now and into the future through our family, instructors, students, friends, and followers.  As Sifu Bruce Lee once said:

“Remembrance is the only paradise out of which we cannot be driven away.  Pleasure is the flower that fades, remembrance is the lasting perfume. Remembrances last longer than present realities.”

The Jerry Poteet Family

Interview: Andrew Williams [Metro, Monday 9th Jan 2012]

Former actress Shannon Lee talks to Metro about her relationships with her father, of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, and brother Brandon Lee, who died in an accident while filming The Crow in 1993.

I was four when my father died. My memories of him are like glimpses. I remember visiting the sets of his films and running around. They shot without sound so we were allowed to make noise.

When my father died [in 1973] he was very famous in Asia but Enter The Dragon, which catapulted him to international fame, hadn’t come out. When it did, his fame grew gradually. My mother raised us out of the limelight and told us not to say we were Bruce Lee’s children, so I had a normal childhood. I didn’t run in Hollywood circles or go to premieres. My brother, Brandon, would occasionally be challenged to fights growing up because he was Bruce Lee’s son.

There was more expectation for my brother to enter the  entertainment industry. He wanted to be an actor from when he was a little kid. When he started, everyone wanted him to do action films, which wasn’t what he wanted. He was a gifted athlete and when he started martial arts at 17 it came naturally. He established his own career.

When I started acting in my twenties,  a director on the set of an action film shouted: ‘Just do it like your dad would.’ I couldn’t – I can only do things as I’d do them. My father’s philosophy was about being the best person you can be – so the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.

I have a degree in vocal performance, I’m a classically trained singer and I studied musical theatre. I always liked performing and I wanted the opportunity to try acting. I’d worked with my brother on a film and he told me to move to LA to help me – but soon after, he died. It was a difficult time. I was grieving for a number of years and, while I enjoyed acting, I didn’t feel I was fully immersed in it.

No one’s given an education in how to deal with death – especially when it’s thrust on you so unexpectedly as it was with my brother’s death. I struggled through it and still have sharp moments of grief  18 years later. It took seven years to feel I could attain joy again.

I was depressed during the entire time I was acting. I didn’t have therapy or medication but I did some soul-searching about what journey I was on in the world. Friends were very helpful and I was finally able to shake free of that grip of depression and grief. I lost my father when I was four, so maybe that was always in the background. Losing my brother kicked it into overdrive. When you get to such an intense place of suffering you either have the choice to continue suffering or figure a way not to.

I now run the Bruce Lee Foundation, a charity to preserve the legacy of my father. We do that through a scholarship programme, doing talks and events, and we’re raising money to build the Bruce Lee Action Museum in Seattle. It won’t be just for memorabilia but a place about ‘action’ – whether that’s action films, philosophical action or taking social action. It’ll engage people and hopefully be a fitting tribute to my father.

It’s a big undertaking but one that I enjoy. I believe my father’s legacy is worthwhile because of all the people he has inspired. I’m busy with that but my most important role is as a mother to my daughter, Wren.

Shannon Lee is the executive producer of The Legend Of Bruce Lee, which is out on DVD and Blu-ray today.

Written by Lak Loi

To celebrate Bruce Lee’s life and legacy, a flash mob of fans and martial artists inspired by the legend gathered by West London’s Westfield Shopping Centre, on Wednesday 4 January in the pouring rain, to perform one of the most spectacular sights in London, in homage to their idol and in conjunction with the film release of his life ‘The Legend of Bruce Lee’ executive produced by daughter Shannon Lee.

The star and force behind iconic movies FIST OF FURY and ENTER THE DRAGON, Lee’s extraordinary physical skills and dedicated mentality literally catapulted him into global superstardom. It is without question Lee’s legacy continues to live on as the world’s most celebrated martial arts actor, expert and philosopher.

‘Legend of Bruce Lee’ flash mob was generously supported by JKD London…London’s flagship ‘Old School Jeet Kune Do’  (JKD) academy.  JKD London’s mission is to preserve and promote Bruce Lee’s authentic teachings of his martial art and philosophy.  Headed by Lak Loi, 3rd generation JKD Instructor with direct lineage to Bruce Lee himself. To learn Bruce Lee’s JKD in London and Hertfordshire, please contact Lak Loi on 0795 180 7982 or visit their website  www.JKDLondon.com for information and bookings.

Click on picture (above) to watch official film trailer.

THE LEGEND OF BRUCE LEE IS AVAILABLE ON DVD AND BLU-RAY ON 9 JANUARY

Written by Lak Loi

As many of you may know, JKD London ran a New Years FREE Prize Draw Competition in celebration of Bruce Lee’s birthday which was on 27th November 1940.  JKD London is giving away a Limited Edition Film Cell numbered plaque (14/1,000) from Bruce Lee’s blockbuster movie, The Way of The Dragon.

JKD London offers Bruce Lee’s original teachings in his martial art & philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, aka “The Way of the Intercepting Fist”.

JKD London is proud to announce that the New Years FREE Prize Draw Competition Winner is… Shiren Maru. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

To be in with a chance of Winning FREE Prize Draw Competitions on www.JKDLondon.com in future, just keep tabs on our JKD Blog and enter by filling out the form on the right hand side of our JKD Blog (under the red arrows). You will also receive a free e-book with information on Bruce Lee’s martial art & philosophy of JKD.

Happy New Year!!!

Written by Lak Loi

Napoleon Hill holding a copy of his book, Think & Grow Rich (circa 1937)

On 6th June 1971, Bruce Lee wrote a letter to Larry Hartsell, one of Bruce’s Jeet Kune Do students who went on to develop the Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Grappling system.  Larry must have been suffering from a hip injury at the time, as Bruce wrote: -

Within this letter, Bruce enclosed one of his favourite motivational poems, one that praised the power of positive thinking in the face of adversity.  It was enclosed as a motivational tool to strengthen his friend’s will to recover.

The poem goes: -

[Bruce Lee, Artist of Life, Page 258-259, Edited by John Little, Tuttle Publishing]

I wanted to share with you that this poem was written by one of the most famous success authors that ever graced Planet Earth, namely Napoleon Hill.  This poem appeared in Hill’s most famous work, a book called Think & Grow Rich (1937), which became a best-seller during Hill’s time, selling over 20 million copies by Hill’s passing in November 1970, and still is an all-time bestseller in the field today.  Hill became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933-1936, and is famously known for his quote: -

“What the mind of a man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.  Thoughts are things!  And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.”

Hill’s library of educational materials are a must read for anyone that wants to acquire financial wealth and the true riches in life.

Make your New Years resolution to… Think & grow rich my friend!