Information about Bruce Lee. Who defeated Bruce LEE? Bruce was an excellent boxer, dancer and poet

Bruce Lee is a famous martial artist, Hong Kong and American film actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. He can rightfully be called a legendary man, who, thanks to his skills, has gained a huge number of followers around the world.

Bruce Lee was born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco. His parents were Lee Hoi Chuen and Grace Lee. The head of the family is a Chinese opera actor who earned good money. According to Chinese calendar, the boy was born in the Year of the Dragon and the Hour of the Dragon, which is why he received the name Li Xiaolong, which translates as Little Dragon. According to Chinese beliefs, children should have several names in order to protect them from evil spirits. Bruce's mother subsequently gave her son the name Li Zhenfan, which means "come back."

Bruce Lee with his parents

The couple, who live in Hong Kong, went to America for a theatrical tour. And when it became clear that the pregnant Grace could no longer continue the trip due to the imminent birth, she remained in San Francisco. Immediately after the birth, one of the nurses suggested naming the boy the American name Bruce: by the way, no one remembered this name before Bruce Lee moved to America.

The child grew up in Hong Kong. Incredibly, as a child, Bruce was a rather “frail” child and, despite the fact that he was interested in martial arts, he was not seriously interested in them. The guy was not particularly successful at school either.

At the age of 12, the boy was sent to study at the La Salle College of Comprehensive Development. At the age of 13, Bruce began attending dance lessons, and four years later he won the cha-cha championship in Hong Kong.

When Bruce Lee turned 19 years old, he decided to move to the United States, thereby confirming the American citizenship he received by birthright. He first went to San Francisco and then to Seattle, where he got a job as a waiter in one of the local restaurants. During these years, he graduated from the Technical School and also went to study at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Washington.

Sport

As a teenager, Bruce Lee decided to master kung fu - he needed these skills to fend for himself in street fights. The parents approved of their son’s choice and sent him to master Ip Man to study the art of Wing Chun. Thanks to dancing, the guy had excellent coordination of movements, which helped him in as soon as possible master the basics of Taijixuan technique. From that time on, Bruce Lee never stopped training. The style Bruce studied involved fighting without weapons, although later he mastered it too - the athlete handled the nunchaku best of all.

Lee later mastered judo, jiu-jitsu and boxing. In addition, he contributed to martial arts, having developed a new style Kung Fu called Jeet Kune Do. By the way, he taught this style at his own martial arts school, which he opened in 1961 while living in the States. The lessons were not cheap ($275 per hour), but Bruce Lee’s school had one fundamental difference from similar ones educational institutions- it taught everyone, regardless of nationality, while other masters undertook to teach only Asians.

As a teacher, Bruce himself never stopped improving his kung fu skills, bringing every move to perfection. He even created his own nutrition system; later his training methods were published, which gained popularity all over the world.

Movies

Interestingly, the first time Bruce Lee starred in a film was when he was only 3 months old - it was the film “Golden Gate Girl”. Thanks to the fact that his father was connected with the world of art, the boy began to often act in films. Already in 1946, he made his debut in the film “Born of Man.” Then Bruce managed to star in two dozen films before he turned 15 years old. These roles did not bring much income or fame to the young man, although the experience he gained was enormous.

Bruce Lee (right) in The Green Hornet

During his years in the USA, Bruce Lee began acting in American television series and films, demonstrating martial arts. From 1966 to 1967 The series “The Green Hornet” was released with the actor’s participation, and a year later Lee appeared in an episode of the film “Marlowe”. He did not get the main roles, and he decided to leave America and return to Hong Kong, where the Golden Harvest film studio was then opened.

Bruce managed to negotiate with the studio director about the opportunity to star in leading role, while he himself had to stage all the fight scenes. Thus, in 1971, the film “Big Boss” was released, which changed the concept of martial arts in the world of cinema. On the wave of success, the films “Fist of Fury” and “Return of the Dragon” were made - these films made Bruce Lee a super popular actor.

In 1972, Bruce Lee worked on the film Enter the Dragon, which premiered six days after his death. This picture became the last completed film with his participation.

Another film in which the idol of millions managed to star, “Game of Death”: Bruce starred in only 28 minutes of the film. It was released in 1978; filming had to be completed without the participation of the actor, having involved a similar person in the filming.

Personal life

In 1964, Bruce Lee married Linda Emery. He met his future wife during his own lectures - a 17-year-old student attended kung fu classes. The couple had two children in their marriage. In 1965, Linda gave Bruce a son, who was named Brandon, and four years later the couple had a daughter, Shannon.

Unfortunately, the fate of Bruce Lee's son was tragic. followed in his father's footsteps and became an actor and martial artist. In 1993, he died right on the set - the pistol from which they shot at the actor in the frame accidentally turned out to be loaded with a live cartridge.

Death

At the age of 33, Bruce Lee died unexpectedly. Death occurred on July 20, 1973; this event came as a shock to all of Hong Kong, as well as fans of the star around the world.

According to the official version, death was caused by cerebral edema. The cause of the swelling was allegedly a headache pill taken by the actor. Bruce's body was transported and buried in Seattle.

Fans did not want to believe in such an absurd death of their idol, which led to the birth of a lot of rumors about how exactly Lee died. One of these versions spoke in favor of the murder of the actor by another master who did not want him to teach martial arts to Europeans and Americans. However, such rumors were not confirmed.

Filmography

• "Orphan"
• "Love"
• "It's my father's fault"
• "Faithful wife"
• "Game of Death"
• "The path of Dragon"
• "Fist of fury"
• "Storm"
• "Big boss"
• "Tower of Death"

Bruce Lee; baby name - Li Xiaolong (Chinese 李小龙, English Li Xiao Long, Russian Little Dragon), adult name- Li Zhenfan (Chinese: 李振藩, English: Lee Jun Fan). Born November 27, 1940 in San Francisco - died July 20, 1973 in Hong Kong. Master of Chinese martial arts, Hong Kong and American film actor, director, screenwriter, producer, fight choreographer and philosopher.

He began acting in films since childhood and appeared in 36 films in total.

Popularized Eastern martial arts in Western countries in the second half of the 20th century. He became widely known in the field of martial arts and inspired many imitators in film and television. About 30 films have been made around the world about the life and work of Bruce Lee.

Born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco in the Year of the Dragon and at the hour of the Dragon on the Chinese calendar (between 6 and 8 a.m.) during the American tour of his parents, Cantonese Chinese opera actor-comedian Lee Hoi Chen and his wife Grace Lee. Grace Lee's mother had Eurasian roots (she was half German), her father was Chinese.

He began acting in films from childhood, in Hong Kong: at the age of 3 months, Bruce Lee starred in his first film, “The Golden Gate Girl” (the role of a little baby girl), at the age of 6 years, “The Origin of Humankind.” There was a misconception that Bruce Lee never acted with his father, but this is not true. In childhood and adolescence, Bruce Lee was rather frail; in films he mainly starred in the roles of a “difficult” child or a cocky street orphan. Like many young people, Bruce was interested in martial arts from childhood, but did not study them seriously, and at school he was not particularly diligent.

In 1954, Bruce Lee began taking cha-cha-cha dancing lessons, and 4 years later he won the cha-cha-cha dance championship in Hong Kong, played the main role in the film "Orphan" and participated in interschool boxing competitions (defeating Gary Elms, who held the champion title for three years). Then he decided to take kung fu seriously. His first kung fu teacher recalled that Bruce came to him and said: “Teacher, I know that you are excellent at kung fu - and I dance the cha-cha-cha better than anyone else. So let’s exchange our knowledge: you teach me kung fu techniques, and I’ll teach you how to dance the cha-cha-cha.” Bruce turned out to be very talented; in just 3 days of training, he mastered the movements of the Tai Chi technique, basic training for which usually takes weeks. Since then, Bruce never left kung fu for long and constantly trained.

His main style of kung fu then became the Wing Chun style, which he studied in Hong Kong since 1956 with master Ip Man. Bruce Lee made a significant contribution to the popularization of this style and took part in several films about it (for example, “Fist of Fury”). This style emphasizes unarmed combat, although Lee has also mastered weapons. He was especially good at handling the nunchaku. He later also learned judo, jiu-jitsu and boxing. And then Lee developed his own style of kung fu called Jeet Kune Do.

At the age of 19, in order to confirm his American citizenship by birth, Bruce Lee went to the United States, first to San Francisco, then to Seattle to Ruby Chow (an acquaintance of his father who ran a restaurant), who took him to work as a waiter. There he studied art, graduated from Edison Technical School, and entered the University of Washington to study philosophy, where he met his future wife (since 1964) Linda Lee Cadwell, who was then 17 years old. Linda gave birth to two children: son Brandon (1965-1993) and daughter Shannon (born 1969).

Bruce began acting in the United States in television series, demonstrating martial arts. He became popular, he began to have students, including many famous people, such as the famous basketball player, NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (later Kareem and Bruce staged an impressive fight scene in the film “Game of Death”).

Bruce opened his own martial arts school, where he began teaching Jeet Kune Do - his own style kung fu, which Bruce Lee developed and perfected until his death. Bruce Lee's private lessons cost about $275 an hour, which was quite expensive and could ensure Lee's financial independence for years to come. But he never got the main roles in films, which upset him terribly. Out of disappointment, in 1971, Bruce Lee decided to leave the United States and return with his family to Hong Kong.

At that time, a new film studio, Golden Harvest (later to become very famous), opened in Hong Kong. Bruce Lee persuaded studio director Raymond Chow to give him the lead role in The Big Boss and allow him to direct the fight scenes himself. The risk paid off - the film was an unprecedented success. Bruce Lee literally revolutionized the idea of ​​martial arts in cinema. His polished fast movements, naturalistic fight scenes and bloody outcomes appealed to Asian viewers, and then this wave was transmitted to viewers all over the world. Chow entrusted Lee with making two more films (“Fist of Fury” and “Return of the Dragon”), this time with substantial budgets. The films were even more successful and made Lee a superstar.

Bruce Lee trained all the time. He constantly improved his kung fu skills, developed his own style of Jeet Kune Do, and tried to bring something new to existing fighting techniques.

He also developed his own nutrition system and paid great attention to general athletic training and training in the gym. He developed his body magnificently and published his training methods and exercises, which became very famous. Lee also subjected himself to enormous stress for experimental purposes, even giving himself electric shocks. At the same time, Bruce Lee spent a lot of time filming, trying to bring his every move on the screen to perfection. Lee was an ambitious and very demanding person. But, despite his screen image, he was very polite and courteous in communication, very respectful of those around him.

Bruce Lee's height was 171 cm. Some sources erroneously indicate 168 cm.

Bruce learned about nunchucks from the legendary karate master Hidehiko "Hidi" Ochiyai, whom he met at the Los Angeles Young Men's Christian Association in the mid-1960s.

Almost none of the computer and video games The fighting game genre is not complete without a character whose prototype would be Bruce - Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat, Marshall Law (Tekken 1-2, 4-6) and his son Forest Law (Tekken 3 - Tekken Tag Tournament) from Tekken, Dragon from World Heroes, Fei Long from Street Fighter, Zhen Li from Dead or Alive, Maxie from Soul Calibur and the game of the same name, released exclusively on Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, - Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior, Lee Sin from League of Legends.

Filmography of Bruce Lee:

1941 - Girl of the Golden Gate - Child
1946 - Born Man
1948 - Dream of Wealth
1949 - Sei Si in the dreams of Yam Li
1950 - Baby Chung
1951 - Child (/My son Ah Chung)
1951 - Early childhood
1953 - Conductor of Light
1953 - It's the father's fault
1953 - Facing Destruction
1953 - Mother's Tears
1953 - Countless Houses
1955 - Love
1955 - Love (part 2)
1955 - The Orphan's Tragedy
1955 - Faithful Wife
1955 - Orphan's Song
1955 - We owe this to our children
1955 - Smart guys fool around
1956 - Too late for divorce
1957 - Thunderstorm
1957 - Dear Girl
1958 - Orphan Ah San
1966-1967 - Green Hornet - Kato
1968 - Marlowe - episode
1971 - Big Boss - Zheng Chao'an
1972 - Fist of Fury - Chen Zhen
1972 - Way of the Dragon - Tang Lung
1973 - Enter the Dragon - Lee
1978 - Game of Death - Billy Lo
1981 - Tower of Death - Billy Lo.

Biography Bruce Lee, history and episodes of life, obituary of death. When born and died Bruce Lee, memorable places and dates of important events in his life. Actor quotes, photos and videos.

Years of Bruce Lee's life:

born November 27, 1940, died July 20, 1973

Epitaph

You left this life instantly
But the pain remained forever.

Biography of Bruce Lee

When was Bruce Lee born?, the parents pierced the boy's ears and named him female name so that neighbors and relatives, and most importantly, evil spirits they thought that a girl was born in the family. The “girl” became such a bully that soon the entire Hong Kong neighborhood where Bruce Lee lived knew that there was a boy growing up in the family. A boy who is destined to become the national pride of China.

Biography of Bruce Lee could have been long and successful, but, alas, Bruce's death occurred at the very peak of his fame. He born in San Francisco, while his parents were on tour, he attended school in Hong Kong and practiced cha-cha-cha dancing. Behind frail appearance Bruce was often teased by his peers, and then he decided to master martial arts. Bruce Lee's physical form later always amazed his rivals, students and fans. So, Schwarzenegger considered Lee’s body to be the standard for the absence of fat. There was a lot of controversy about Bruce Lee's height; the actor was short; various sources indicated that his height was 168 cm, others - 171.

At the age of 19, an important event occurred in Lee’s biography - he decided to return to the USA. There he met his wife Linda who gave birth to him son Brandon and daughter Shannon, opened a martial arts school, starred in several films and TV series. He could live quite comfortably on earnings from school, but Bruce was not satisfied with this; he dreamed of a real acting career. Disappointed, Bruce returned home to Hong Kong, and then the incredible happened.

Bruce Lee's life changed dramatically, when he signed a contract with the Hong Kong film studio Golden Harvest, persuading him to give him the main role in the film “Big Boss”. This film, and subsequent films Fist of Fury and Return of the Dragon, made Bruce Lee a worldwide superstar.

Bruce Lee's story is a success story a Chinese young man, purposeful and hard-working, talented and loving his job. But, alas, he failed to realize all his dreams and plans. Bruce Lee's death occurred when he was only 32 years old., his death was sudden and unexpected. Cause of death Lee, according to doctors, became cerebral edema, caused by the actor taking a headache pill.

It was very difficult for the Chinese people to believe in such a sudden death of their hero, so after Li's death many rumors arose that what did Bruce Lee die from?. One of the versions is the murder of the actor by another master. These rumors were not confirmed. Lee's funeral in Hong Kong became a day of citywide mourning; thousands of fans came to say goodbye to their beloved actor. His body was then sent to Seattle, where Bruce Lee's grave is located. Lee's funeral in the United States took place on July 31. Among the relatives carrying out the coffin were actors Steve McQueen, Chuck Norris, and Bruce Lee's brother Robert.
Many autobiographical films and programs were dedicated to Lee's memory. In 2008, the series “The Legend of Bruce Lee” was released about the life of Lee, produced by the actor’s daughter, Shannon.

Bruce Lee with his wife Linda and son Brandon

Life line

November 27, 1940 Bruce Lee's date of birth.
1959 Moving to the USA.
August 17, 1964 Marriage to Linda Lee Cadwell.
February 1, 1965 Birth of son Brandon.
April 19, 1969 Birth of daughter Shannon.
1971 Return to Hong Kong, release of the film “Big Boss”, where Bruce Lee played the first leading role.
July 20, 1973 Date of death of Bruce Lee.
July 31, 1973 Bruce Lee's funeral.

Memorable places

1. San Francisco, the city where Bruce Lee was born.
2. Golden Harvest Film Studio in Hong Kong, whose films made Lee a famous actor.
3. Bruce Lee's house in Hong Kong.
4. Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong, where the Bruce Lee monument is located.
5. Lake View Cemetery in the USA, where Bruce Lee and his son Brandon are buried.

Episodes of life

Bruce Lee was highly motivated, he constantly trained, improving his skills, developed his own style and nutrition system, published exercise and training methods that became very popular. Lee was just as diligent on the set, trying to perfect his every move.

Bruce Lee was not like his on-screen image; his friends and relatives spoke of him as very courteous person, well-mannered respectful towards others.

After Lee's death his colleagues said that during the filming of the last film, a stranger from the crowd approached the actor and offered to perform a spectacular stunt, but then suddenly dealt Bruce a short and strong blow to the head, after which he lost consciousness. The stranger immediately left the site, taking advantage of the crowd. After Bruce's death they went rumors that the man was a killer“Triads” and mastered the technique of a delayed death blow, after which the person receiving the blow can die after a while.

The last years of Bruce Lee's life, his career was on the rise

Testaments

“Don't pray for an easy life. Pray for strength to cope with the difficult one.”

“If you love life, don’t waste time.”

Film "Bruce Lee: The Warrior's Way"

Condolences

“I didn’t feel that life had treated me unfairly, I didn’t feel that life had been cruel to me, if it had been cruel to anyone, it was, first of all, to Bruce.”
Linda Lee Cadwell, wife of Bruce Lee

"Lee was the most strong man in all weight categories and, of course, the fastest.”
Chuck Norris, actor, student, friend of Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was more than just a martial artist, a movie star and a cultural icon. He was a tireless superman who overcame every obstacle in his life to become successful in any field that interested him. He also starred in amazing films and became the world's first international Chinese superstar, breaking barriers of race and nationality. Below are just a few facts and stories about it. wonderful person that may surprise you.

10. Bruce was sent to America to stop his street fighting

Just like any superhero, Bruce Lee had his own backstory. Lee grew up on the streets of Hong Kong in the 50s. During this time, British-owned Hong Kong was overrun by people trying to escape China's oppressive Communist government, leading to overpopulation. This meant that Hong Kong was overrun by homelessness, poverty and crime. As a child, Lee was part of a gang called the Tigers of Junction Street. Unfortunately, the Junction Street Tigers weren't a very good bunch and they got beat up pretty bad a lot of times. One day, 13-year-old Bruce came home with a black eye and asked to go to karate lessons. His mother said yes, and Bruce met his mentor, a semi-legendary kung fu teacher named Yip Man.

Most of what Bruce learned from Ip Man he used in street fights. Lee carried knives and chains and often challenged or outright attacked other gangs. Lee was fearless at this age and once attacked and beat the son of a prominent Triad member. Ultimately, his parents decided it would be best for him to leave the country. They had to bribe the police to get him off the list of known offenders so he could go to America.

9. Bruce was the 1958 Hong Kong Cha Cha champion

Before leaving Hong Kong, Bruce acquired one more skill. In addition to being one of the greatest martial artists who ever lived, Bruce was also talented in another, perhaps more amazing, area - Cha Cha Cha dancing. Apparently, Bruce became interested in this hobby a year after he began to study kung fu seriously. At first, dancing the Cha-Cha-Cha was just a way to impress a girl, but he soon became quite good at it. He also discovered that dancing could improve his legs and balance and soon began to pay close attention to dancing, along with kung fu. It is believed that Bruce always carried with him a map containing more than 100 individual dance steps, which he leafed through in his free time.

At the age of 18, he developed his dancing skills so much that he won the competition, becoming the champion of Hong Kong. To demonstrate just how good of a dancer he was, it is worth mentioning that when Bruce was traveling to America with just $100 in his pocket, he made extra money by teaching dance to some wealthy American passengers.

8. Fight with Wong Jack Man


In 1964, Bruce began teaching martial arts in California. Until this moment, kung fu was kept in the strictest confidence, and only the Chinese were taught this art. However, Bruce thought it was pointless. Bruce believed that all knowledge should be shared and that if people wanted to hurt each other, they didn't need kung fu to do it. For these reasons, Bruce accepted white and black students. This caused a scandal in the Chinese community, and several people arrived at Bruce's dojo during training and presented him with an ornate scroll. The scroll said that the man who sent it, Wong Jack Man, was challenging Bruce to a fight on behalf of the Chinese community. If Bruce loses, he will never be allowed to teach kung fu to non-Chinese people again.

It was all a bluff designed to intimidate Bruce. But Bruce Lee was not a man who could be easily intimidated, so, by this point, a rather angry Bruce accepted the challenge and agreed to fight Wong Jack Man. Unfortunately, there is no video of the event, but there are several reliable witnesses who claim that it lasted no more than a few minutes. Eventually, Wong Jack Man realized that he could not defeat Lee and tried to escape. Lee chased him and beat him until he gave up. No other calls were sent to Lee's dojo and Lee continued to teach kung fu to people of all races.

Of course, Wong's memories of the fight are radically different. According to him, Lee responded to the handshake with an illegal move and spent the rest of the fight trying to blind him with punches to the eyes. He also said that the fight ended in a draw. We will probably never know exactly what happened that day.

7. He recovered from a fatal spinal cord injury


In 1970, Bruce Lee suffered an injury that could mean the end of most athletes' careers. Lee's workouts were very difficult and dangerous even when done correctly, and although Lee usually took every precaution when training, one day he decided not to warm up before doing the good morning exercise. The "Good Morning" exercise involved Bruce placing a barbell that weighed over 45 kilograms on his shoulders and bending over until he was parallel to the ground.

Something went wrong and Lee soon found himself in the hospital with terrible back pain. He was told that he had damaged the fourth sacral nerve in his spine. His then-doctor told him that he would never be able to practice kung fu again, at least not at the same level. The most he could hope for, according to the doctor, was to lead a “normal life.” Lee spent the next six months trying to prove them wrong, developing his own philosophy and learning to walk again. He eventually came out of the hospital and managed to become faster and stronger than he was before the injury.

6. Famous students

Bruce Lee managed to land several roles in American television shows and films, including The Green Hornet, but his acting career was not easy for him due to racism. Most TV executives and producers weren't willing to risk casting an Asian man in the leading role. Despite this, Lee still attracted a lot of attention famous people who were willing to ignore his skin color. His famous students included such luminaries as Steve McQueen, Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris, James Coburn, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Bruce tried to politely get rid of celebrities by raising his hourly rate to $250 because he didn't want to give the impression that kung fu could be learned in a few simple lessons. But the higher he raised the prices, the faster they came. Bruce once even flew to Switzerland to give private lessons to Roman Polanski.

5. He once (accidentally) beat up Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan started out as a young crowd actor in several of Bruce Lee's films. One of his first appearances was in Fist of Fury, where he fell from a roof so tall building that it broke the record for the highest fall in Chinese cinema. In the same film, he flew through the wall from the impact. The bottom line is that Jackie Chan cannot be killed or injured by conventional means.

While playing a henchman in Enter the Dragon, he attacked Bruce from behind and accidentally got his face smashed in with a bo staff. In the video above (at 0:24 seconds if you're impatient), you can see the moment Jackie gets hit quite hard. Luckily, Jackie Chan is not cut from the same cloth as us mortals, so he survived with only minor injuries. He turned the incident into a joke and simply enjoyed the opportunity to meet and hug his idol.

4. Hollywood ostentatiously stole his idea.

During the 70s, Bruce Lee struggled to find roles, so he tried to pitch his idea to television studios. He proposed a show about a Chinese martial artist who wandered the old West and used kung fu to fight evil. Unfortunately, the producers he spoke to were skeptical because they thought the show wouldn't be popular if main character will look "too Chinese". His idea was ultimately rejected. . . and then a few years later, the television series Kung Fu was filmed.

Bruce Lee's name was not in the credits of Kung Fu and he did not receive payment. According to the producers and creators, as well as Warner Brothers itself, the Kung Fu series was not based on Lee's ideas or assistance. And we certainly believe that it was just a giant coincidence that the same studio that Lee pitched his idea of ​​a Chinese kung fu master wandering the Old West and bringing justice to just happened to launch a completely unrelated show about a Chinese martial artist wandering through the Old West, restoring justice.

3. He was too fast for the cameras.

It's hard to write about Bruce Lee without implying that he was some kind of machine sent back in time from the future. This becomes even more likely when it comes to the fact that he often performed feats that should not have been possible, such as striking faster than the eye could see. Lee starred as Kato in The Green Hornet in 1966, but once they started filming, the show's cameraman learned that Bruce's kicks and punches were actually too fast for the camera to capture. They eventually solved the problem by simply asking Lee to throw his punches more slowly.

But just how fast was Bruce Lee? Above is a video featuring Lee in clips from several of his films. When the scene slows down you can see how fast his punches and kicks were, the video also shows several moves he makes that were too fast to be shown on screen at normal speed. (Especially good example can be seen at 1:40 minutes).

2. He was cooler than Chuck Norris

According to the Internet, Chuck Norris is unstoppable and terrifying. So, who would win in a fight between Lee and Norris? Chuck Norris was a friend of Bruce Lee and talks about him in numerous interviews, where the same question often arises. As a rule, Norris answers somewhat evasively, becoming philosophical and refusing to answer the question directly. In the past, he has responded with quotes such as: “Could I beat Bruce Lee in a real fight, or not? Forgive me for answering with another Bruceism: “Bragging is a fool’s idea of ​​glory.”

However, on one occasion (and only one time), while doing the DVD commentary for Enter the Dragon, he actually directly answered the question. . . and the answer was yes, even Chuck Norris admitted that Bruce Lee could beat him in a fight. Unfortunately, the closest we get to a fight between Lee and Norris is when the two faced off in Way of the Dragon.

1. Bruceploitation - exploitation of the image of Bruce

In 1973, Bruce Lee died after starring in only five films. But astonishingly, Lee's tragic and untimely death actually created a new genre of kung fu film: the Bruceploitation genre. There have been 168 films released in this spoof genre. Basically, Bruce was so popular at the time that filmmakers realized that essentially anything that included his name or a name that sounded similar to his name would sell. Thus, the profit began.

For starters, his last unfinished film, Game of Death, was completed through a combination of splicing old footage and using several body doubles. In an attempt to stretch the film to the desired length, the filmmakers even shamelessly used footage of the actual funeral, including shots of Bruce Lee's corpse. This went on for many years. The films featured entire armies of Bruce Lee look-alikes with names like Bruce Li and Lee Bruce. They appeared in a lot of bad movies with terrible dubbing and titles that were just remixes of old Bruce Lee movies. If you're wondering how bad Bruceploitation movies have been, check out the trailer for Enter the Game of Death above.

As we started writing about , we immediately remembered that it would be nice to write about Bruce Lee, because he is almost as memetic as Chuck. Well... Almost like that.

Bruce Lee's arrogance, in our progressive opinion, can only be matched by Quentin Tarantino's ego. Bruce had a special childhood. His father Lee Hoi Chen, a theater actor and comedian, was a rather specific person who could spend all his hefty income from giving several apartments on women and booze. Bruce himself was simply distinguished by his inhuman cockiness. He looked wrong, said something wrong - the young Chinese gopnik could start a fight for any reason. And so he began, however, until he mastered martial arts, he often raked it himself.

Being a naturally phenomenally dexterous man, Lee also possessed exceptional abilities. At the age of 18, he won the cha-cha-cha championship, came to a famous martial arts teacher and stated in a very specific manner: “Teacher, I know that you are fluent in kung fu - and I dance the cha-cha-cha better than anyone else. So let’s exchange our knowledge: you teach me kung fu, and I’ll teach you how to dance the cha-cha-cha.” That's what we agreed on. We don’t know how well Bruce taught his teacher to dance, but he definitely had a talent for fighting. In just a few days, young Bruce Lee mastered the entire minimum that usually takes years to learn. Bruce's further successes were amazing: he never gave up training, mastered the nunchaku to perfection (in fact, it was he who discovered this amazing weapon used by the ninja turtle Michelangelo to the world), mastered judo, jiu-jitsu and boxing. And then he thought carefully and came up with his own style, which he called Jeet Kune Do, which is good for self-defense in fights.

Bruce became famous by starring in cheap TV series, and he was quickly noticed (how can you not notice this crazy Chinese?). He got students, and Bruce began charging a record $275 an hour for private lessons, the cunning Chinese!

Increased realism, incredible beauty and the monstrous speed of striking (some scenes had to be artificially slowed down so that one could understand what and how) made Bruce a legend during his lifetime. He was entrusted with several large projects with substantial budgets, such as the films “Return of the Dragon” (where he desperately rips out Chuck Norris’s chest hair) and the movie “Fist of Fury”.

Strange nonsense, but with simply incredible attention to his health and daily training, Bruce Lee died, according to one of the many versions, because of... headache pills. Damn it, this is simply unreal! Doctors say the pill caused brain swelling. Of course, there are other versions: revenge of the people whom Bruce put on his back, revenge of the mafia, accident, allergy, revenge of his mistress. There are all sorts of theories, but we believe that his early death helped Lee become even more memetic than before.

Actually, Bruce's biography is not as interesting as his abilities. This dude uses his natural gifts coupled with his extreme desire to train turned himself into the ultimate weapon. Lee was extremely dissatisfied with the fact that most martial artists focus on improving their skills rather than honing their body performance. With a height of 171 centimeters and a weight of about 60 kilograms, Bruce could do the incredible. For example, he could hold a 32-kilogram weight at arm's length. Try it, comrade, and then tell me. Jackie Chan learned from him to throw grains of rice into the air and catch them with chopsticks. Bruce could pierce a can of cola with his finger from a short distance, considering that at that time the steel from which it was made was much thicker, this is an achievement. Lee could make the famous one-inch putt - a hit one inch from the target. They say that so far no one has succeeded. Bruce also knew how to throw a 50-kilogram bag of flour to the ceiling, do push-ups on his fingers and do pull-ups on two fingers.

In general, he was an amazing person, he even loved to philosophize and wrote books. This is an example of a specific gopnik who overpowered himself.