Seven Unknown Facts About Bruce Lee
The very name of Bruce Lee reminds us of lightning-fast punches, deadly combating skills and well-built muscles. Most of the people who watch his talent in action think that he must have had all the opportunities to take him to where he went.
But he had to cross many obstacles to succeed in what he did. Here are a few facts that many people do not know about Bruce Lee.
1. Bruce Was Born in America
Although born in America, Bruce Lee was grown up in Hong Kong. He would get into fights very often in his teens, and after a particularly bloody fight including a trip to police station, he was sent back to America by his family.
2. He Dropped Out Of The University
In America, at the end of his junior year in 1964, Bruce decided to drop out of the university to dedicate himself to martial arts. He thought he would join the list of people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who became famous despite dropping their studies.
3. He Was Badly Injured
He grievously injured his back during one of the practice sessions for The Green Hornet series in 1970. The doctors asked him to forget Kung Fu. But for someone who loved martial arts so much, this was too devastating a blow to take. Although he took physical rest for 6 months, his mind worked furiously and he wrote down many ideas and methods of martial arts. After 6 months, he himself started practicing them, moderately at first and vigorously with time, and then resumed to his teaching. But his back remained as a source of pain through out his life.
4. Many Opportunities Were Stolen From Him
After The Green Hornet series, he did not get any television work. The movie he acted in, The Silent Flute, was a flop. At that time, Warner Bros have contacted him asking help in developing a TV series based on martial arts. He gave them many ideas which were used in the famous TV series Kung Fu which starred David Carradine, and not Bruce Lee. Warner Bros themselves admitted that they never even considered Bruce for that role.
5. His Practice Was Vigorous
After his recovery from the back injury, Bruce Lee practiced incessantly to get back the previous vigor in his body. There are records which show that he practiced kicks up to thousand times a day.
6. He Loved Reading
Bruce Lee had a vast collection of books, and still looked for new books every time he went out. He read not just the books on martial arts, but books on personal growth. He even liked novice writers of his time like Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale and Clement Stone.
7. His Success Came from a Less-Than-Perfect Victory
Bruce Lee was once challenged in the 1960s, for revealing the secrets of Chinese to others. He won the fight, but he was not happy: He took 3 minutes to win the fight when he could have completed in one minute. This less-than-perfect experience had made him modify the traditional martial arts to make them more deadly and powerful.
Dedication, determination and confidence that he can achieve what he wants are what that made him successful.
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21 Comments
valli, posted this comment on Oct 29th, 2007
Thank you very much for your encouraging words Judy.
Arthur .e. Ngwube, posted this comment on Nov 8th, 2007
Bruce lee, king, master, and truly a rare gem in every sense of the word , still remains the number 1, and will live on in our hearts.
IcyCucky, posted this comment on Nov 9th, 2007
Valli,
I must have missed this wonderful article.
Please leave me your email address at one of my site, I’ll turn the spam guard on ASA I receive it. I would like to invite you to the chat room that Darlene started. If you’ve already received an invitation, please disregard this.
valli, posted this comment on Nov 10th, 2007
Thank you very much for the comments Arthur .e. Ngwube and Icy.
Shaun Antonino, posted this comment on Feb 21st, 2008
bruce lee was awsome.
sumeet, posted this comment on May 4th, 2008
bruce lee is already the best martial artist(fighter) of all time… he was tryly exceptional….much more than that. rather we call him “The Honourable” Bruce Lee.
dg, posted this comment on Jun 23rd, 2008
Silent flute was NEVER released during Bruce’s lifetime. He worked on its development, but it was released as a David Carridine feature LONG AFTER Lee’s death. Let’s get our “facts” straight fer crissakes!
Lazer, posted this comment on Jun 30th, 2008
“He thought he would join the list of people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who became famous despite dropping their studies.”
Are you serious? In 1964 Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were 9 years old.
And #7 sounds like something a 10 year old would make up to impress his friends.
Steve, posted this comment on Jul 17th, 2008
I have been a Bruce Lee fan since I was 12, and I also hurt my back and have had chronic problems and pain associated with it ever since.. In my case, I injured it by over-stretching! I was seated on the floor trying to bend over to put my head between my knees and I pushed too far. The next day my entire back went into severe muscle spasms. It took a full week for my muscles to settle down. I was 21 when that happened and am 40 now.. X-rays show my vertibrae and discs to be fine, so I am not sure what the hell happened, other than maybe I did some micro tearing to muscle attachment fibers. Whatever it was I still suffer from the stupid manuever I did 19 years ago. Anyone who is reading this, make sure you stretch safely and don’t OVERDO it like I did..
Paul, posted this comment on Oct 29th, 2008
Correction! Bruce Lee was Was considered for the part of Kung-fu but was turned down because they wanted somebody white to play the part to try to interest Americans in the art.
beasta, posted this comment on Nov 20th, 2008
thank u
Keri, posted this comment on Nov 21st, 2008
You said the facts were unknown but I knew it already.
goodselfme, posted this comment on Nov 25th, 2008
Wonderful informational read about a man well revered by many. I am one.
joe, posted this comment on May 12th, 2009
bruce lees martial arts were amazing i have trained for 10 years in his art and i will never mesure to his skill.
jordan, posted this comment on May 12th, 2009
bruce lee rocks chuck norris stinks.
jamie, posted this comment on Oct 5th, 2009
when i went i went on holiday to visit Bruce Lee’s grave it was so depressing knowing that my idol had died
baron, posted this comment on Dec 20th, 2009
excellent article.good work
Jeffrey James Lippold, posted this comment on Jan 13th, 2010
It might be the fact that Bruce Lee walked into wally jay’s school and got locked and choked several times, and was strangled in a private match with Judo Gene Lebell, and Blasted with a kick from Chuck Norris when they sparred in a hotel when they fist met that might have been a little more of an influence on his attitude about Martial Arts than beating some knuckle head up in 3 minutes instead of 1 minute? I mean 1 minute? what took him so long? I’ve had street matches that last 3-5 seconds. He is a great Martial Arts Movie Actor and we all love him for that. His attitude about fighting was, to be a good fighter you must fight, and that was his downfall. Most likely he had a blood clot break loose from an injury and hemorrhaged his brain. Not the “Alice in Wonderland” headache pill. He did take his doctors advice and never learned kung fu again, he instead studied judo and jujutsu incessantly reading many original writings from Musashi. Don’t believe me? Look at his last screenplay, ironically played by David Carradine I think, was a direct influence from Musashi’s “Book of the Five Rings” called “Circle of Iron” again you think Game of Death was his last written work? Look at the IMDB credits for writing. Then watch it. PS huge fan of his work and read all of Bruce’s books on Martial Arts and have had the privilege to talk about Bruce with people that have actually fought or sparred with him. So please don’t hate on me for knowing the True Bruce Lee. Thank you.
hinata$death, posted this comment on Feb 4th, 2010
Bruce Lee sure was a wise man n waz 1 of d greatest fighters of all time i admire him alot cuz he taught me d true meaning of life
bob, posted this comment on Mar 11th, 2010
this website is tight i am doin a report on him!
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Judy Sheldon, posted this comment on Oct 28th, 2007
I have long been fascinated by Bruce Lee. You did a terrific job of honoring him. Thank you.