Bruce Lee Facts

This section provides key Bruce Lee facts. The following is a list of important martial arts techniques and events associated with Bruce Lee. For books on Bruce Lee, please visit our section on the Best Bruce Lee Books.

Bruce Lee Facts

  • Bruce Lee is probably the best known martial artist of all time.
  • Famous Bruce Lee martial arts movies
    1. Enter the Dragon – The Bruce Lee film that has generated the most revenue.
    2. Fist of Fury
    3. Way of the Dragon with Chuck Norris. This movie is also known as Return of the Dragon.
    4. Game of Death – This was the last movie made by Bruce Lee. It contains the famous scene where Bruce Lee fights a very tall martial artist (played by basketball legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). See movie clip at the bottom of this page.
  • Bruce Lee was the founder of the martial arts style known as Jeet Kune Do.
  • Bruce Lee popularized the famous one inch punch.
  • Diet information – Bruce Lee focused on health foods, high-protein drinks, supplements and vitamins. He avoided refined flour and baked goods.

Bruce Lee Biography

  • Bruce Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco. Nevertheless, his parents were from Hong Kong and moved back to Hong Kong when he was 3 months old.
  • Bruce Lee grew up in Hong Kong. However, in 1959, Bruce Lee moved back to the United States.
  • Bruce Lee’s Chinese name was Lee Jun-Fan.
  • Bruce’s father (Lee Hoi-Chuen) was Chinese and his mother (Grace Ho) was of Eurasian ancestry.
  • Bruce Lee learned martial arts in order to defend himself after being attacked by street gangs in Hong Kong.
  • When Bruce Lee was a teenager, he learned Wing Chun from Master Yip Man in Hong Kong. He studied Wing Chun with Master Yip Man for 5 years.
  • The popular Ip Man movie series was based on Master Yip Man, who was Bruce Lee’s first formal martial arts instructor.
  • In 1964, Bruce Lee married Linda Emery. They had two children; Brandon Lee and Shannon Lee.
  • Bruce Lee received his first major role as Kato in The Green Hornet, a TV show that aired in 1966-1967. Kato was a martial arts expert and the sidekick to the Green Hornet.
  • In 1970, Bruce Lee severely injured himself. According to BruceLee.com, “Bruce picked up a 125-pound barbell and did a “good morning” exercise severely injuring his back… He was ordered to complete bed rest and told that undoubtedly he would never do gung fu again. For the next six months, Bruce stayed in bed.”
  • Bruce Lee resumed making films in 1971.
  • His first leading role was in the 1971 movie called The Big Boss.
  • The Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon were released in 1972 and Enter the Dragon was released in 1973.
  • Bruce Lee died in 1973. When he died, Bruce Lee was 32 years old.
  • Bruce Lee died from a cerebral edema. It is thought that Bruce Lee died from an allergic reaction to a prescription painkiller.
  • Bruce Lee’s grave site is located at 1554 15th Avenue East, Seattle, WA, USA. It is a famous martial arts “tourist” destination.

Famous Bruce Lee Quotes

  • I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.
  • Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is specifically your own.
  • Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.
  • For other Bruce Lee quotes, please visit Black Belt Wiki’s section on Famous Martial Arts Quotes.

Top 10 Bruce Lee Moments

Bruce Lee – Game of Death Movie Clip

 

Reference Sources

  1. BruceLee.com, Bruce Lee Long Bio, https://www.brucelee.com/bruce-lee