Yesterday was the 36th anniversary of the death of Bruce Lee Xiao Loong. His untimely death on 20th July 1973 shocked his fans all over the world.
xx
Bruce Lee was a martial artist extraordinaire, philosopher, actor, director, and writer. He made five movies - The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), Way of the Dragon (1972), Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978). I'm sure many of us have watched each of these classic films umpteen times. He was also the creator of a new martial arts style called Jeet Kune Do, and had many celebrities as his students.
xxIn short, Bruce Lee was a cultural icon of our time. Many of us boys were fans back in the 1970s, and even today many still hold him in high esteem. (C'mon, admit it now - how many of you still have his poster on your wall or somewhere?)
xxHe is buried at Lake View Cemetery, Seattle, USA.
xxx
Posts
Bruce Lee did a lot to enhance global perception of Chinese. He was one of the most influential people of the 70s.
ReplyDeleteRewatched all his movies on DVD not that long ago. Favourite is Fist of Fury.
ReplyDeleteLove his movies. Shocked when I heard him passed away on that 20th July. Just unbelievable that some one so fit will have such sudden death.
ReplyDeleteFist of Fury is also my favourite.
This is quite a coincidence! Just when I was wondering if WJ would post anything about Bruce on July 20th, he didn't let me down. I remember the cinema lines for tickets at Cathay and Miramar was beyond belief and the "undesireables" (Brother Columba's word for gangster) would never stood in line but instead, just jammed the counter for tickets. It was a frenzy and obviously, only a Bruce Lee movie could do that. Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do gyms were sprouting up all over Kuching. Guys were playing with the Nanchuks(2 short sticks joined by a chain). It was not until when I moved to the United States that I realized now popular he was. Most Americans are very familiar with him and generally regards him as a true martial artist unlike some of the present stars like Jackie Chan. Against all odds, he managed to be accepted by Hollywood even though he had to move back to HK to do it. For a Chinese-American, it cannot be easy but Bruce Lee never gave up. I always regard him as a hero for the Chinese American over here simply for what he did to enhace our ethnic pride. "Fist of Fury' and "Way to the Dragon" are 2 examples of his expressing his Chinese pride against the foreigners.
ReplyDeleteYou know what the "Ang mo" say about us China men? Slitty eyes and they all look the same!!!! Thanks to Bruce Lee, I get called or referred to him on many occasions and Jackie Chan too. Mind you, got a lot of respect from being an oriental as well. If you can stand your ground and show confidence in your outlook, they would assume you know some kind of martial arts and all because of Bruce Lee. What a guy and he was my hero too. Believe it or not, even to this day, I still get that reference in England. Long may his legend lives amongst the world all over.
ReplyDeleteWow, this man's a legend. Many years ago, my friends, Jason Scott Lee & Ong Soo Han were in the movie "Dragon: the bruce lee story" and I was in the LA film set during the last 3 weeks and it was most awesome to see a colourful remake of Bruce's life. Not quite the real stuff but great fun nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteWJ sure is a hardcore Bruce Lee fan finding time to remember him via this post even while on a genealogical exploratory trip in sabah.
ReplyDeleteBesides his movies, a hurriedly done feature film on the life of Bruce Lee was shown in the cinemas to packed audiences as well.
John aka Mr Novice Sibu 1989,
ReplyDeleteDo you do martial arts as well?
Hiya, Lee Kien
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you should ask me this as I get asked many times in some of the work I am involved in (....and that's another story on a different day).
Officially: no, unofficially: yes. I have learnt a bit from various masters but not the norm types of martial arts. I know how to protect and look after myself but most important is self awareness and using common sense to make judgement. Sometimes it is never a "lost face" when faced with danger and to run for it. Better to be a live coward than a dead hero. LOL
John,
ReplyDeleteWow, a true Bruce Lee fan! Do you still do weights? Muscle mass will become flabby when you don't right?
Met a guy who's in his 70s and the Uncle still looks good. We paid some compliments and the wife and he chatted with us for hours. He still do weights and has a mini gym at home.
I guess we have to take care of those muscles as we get bone loss as we age.Take care!
Hi...LK
ReplyDeleteMuscle mass turning into flab is only a myth or a common statement. You build muscle by regular weight/cardio training. You gain or lost weight through dieting. Regular training with poor diet can have adverse effect. In general a person who regularly exercise burn off a number of carories and with good diet will stay in good shape. If the same person still on a normal diet but stop exercising, then his/her body mass will either reduce or put on weight if not eating properly (like too much kolo mee, kuih chap, etc. LOL)
As for myself, I still go to my local gym although not as often as I would like and have reasonable good diet, all thanks to my good wife and I am not a big eater.
Mini gym at home normally do not work as there are too much distraction unless the person is very disciplined. My belief is any kind of exercise is good (within reason....!!!!) regardless of age and with sensible diet added by good multi vitamins, especially Omega 3, Fish Oils & Calcium as you get older. One good tip for those who are always feeling tired and those who are anemic, especially women: try Vitamin B12 (preferrably sublingual type), you will be surprised.
My tip for the day!!!!
John,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the info and tips..
So how does Mr Novice Sibu 1989(Grandfather) look fast forward 20 years??
Hey! Send pic to WJ lah so that he can do before and after series..i think it your turn next!!
Sinos said:
ReplyDeleteI think one of our seniors SJS who looks very much like the late Bruce Lee is Mr. Vernon Chew...brother of Bertram Chew...anyone have contact with these 2 brothers? Last time I heard about Vernon Chew was that he worked at Eastern Oxygen..
Rgds,
Sinos,
ReplyDeleteFew years ago, my brother worked in Malaysia Oxygen and he met up with Vernon in Kuching. I think he was in the MOX Kuching office. Let me check with my bro whether he still has his contact if not i ask my mum to check with their sister in law.
Thanks Lee Kien. Appreciate that. Yes, that would be nice to be able to contact them again.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Sinos
Vernon is GM - EOX (subsdiary of MOX).
ReplyDeleteTel contact avaialble for those who want it.
Haaaaaaiiiyaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!
ReplyDeleteWah peter ! Rubbing shoulders with the stars these days, hah !
ReplyDeleteOng Soo Han is from Batu Pahat lah: what star ...
ReplyDeleteJust another one of us, anon
Hi, Vernon here and hi to you all and special hi to Bartholomew towkay.
ReplyDeleteYes, i am with Eastern Oxygen and i was in MOX, KL for an attachment stint in 2006/7 to get me ready for the hot seat position.
Your blog is great . Kudos to James and all those who contributed. Thanks to Ben for telling me about the blog.
My brother, Bertram is in Canada. Told him yesterday to log in and he was greatly impressed and felt very connected to you all after all these years. I am sure he will write in soon.
regards, vernon.
Hi Vernon
ReplyDeleteGreat to read your comments. I always remember you as the artistic Triple Jumper. I always watch admire your jumps...at SJS practise ground.
Of course, we played Rugby together too....
Hi Vernon @ Bruce Lee SJS,
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you,my man. haven't seen you for ages. Bertram was my classmate at Form 6 SJS but I think he left earlier?
How's things with you Sir? I hope to meet up with you when I am back in KCH soon.
Do keep in touch. God bless & take care.
Sinos,
Siem Reap, Cambodia
So pai-seh, to be called the lookalike ( i cant even do have a kick ) but it does bring back fond memories of good times and many friends in school and on the sports field.
ReplyDeleteCLK and Bartholomew, thanks for writing in.
Bartholomew, my sister was on the pic you had with the TYT. She is on the left, her name is Irene.
Hope to visit your beautiful Siem Reap one fine day, sorry for asking, what are you doing there? I mean with your coat and necktie, you mesti some big shot di sana.
rgds,
Vernon
Sinos is THE MAN from Malaysia in Siem Reap !!!!
ReplyDeleteBruce Lee was the greatest. If any of you guys happen to be in Hong Kong, go find that famous statue of him and take a photo with it and send to WJ to post. Will be great for fans of BL.
ReplyDeleteThere's a TV series called "The Legend of Bruce Lee" made by a mainland China TV company, and starring a young man called Danny Chan Kwok Kwan, who bears a very close resemblance to the real Bruce Lee. It was apparently aired in 2008 on CCTV1 apparently. I'm looking to get a copy of the DVD of the series. Anyone know where to buy?
ReplyDelete