Ep. 182: Bruce Lee – Top 6 Facts
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
I’m Jans your Mnemonic Man and today's episode is on the biggest name in martial arts history, Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco in California in 1940 before returning to Hong Kong when he was just 4 months old. Lee was raised in Hong Kong but due to his constant fighting, trouble with the police, and the fact that be beat up the son of a triad family, he returned to the United States to finish his education where he ultimately studied philosophy and drama at the University of Washington.
He had a passion for martial arts and his biggest influence was when he trained in Wing Chun under the renowned master Ip Man. This enabled Lee to teach martial arts in Seattle where he taught his approach to Wing Chun which he called Jun Fan Gung Fu which literally means Bruce Lee’s Kung Fu. This eventually evolved into Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts style developed by Lee which translates to ‘way of the intercepting fist.’
Along the way he got married to Linda Emery in 1964 to which he had two children, Brandon and Shannon. His first big break came in Hollywood when he landed the role as Kato in ‘The Green Hornet’ in 1966. This led to a purple patch with the movies ‘The Big Boss,’ ‘Fist of Fury,’ ‘Way of the Dragon,’ and ‘Enter the Dragon’ all from 1971 to his untimely death in 1973.
Despite his short life Bruce Lee has left an enduring legacy in cinema, martial arts, and philosophy, along with paving the way for future Asian actors.
Today’s mnemonic will be on Bruce Lee’s top six facts.
So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong American martial artist, actor, movie director, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement.
Lee is famous for martial arts films in the United States in the 1970s, when he played in a series of movies. Lee starred in five movies: The Big Boss, Fist of Fury (also known as The Chinese Connection and The Iron Hand), The Way of the Dragon (also known as Return of the Dragon), Enter the Dragon and The Game of Death.
He starred in the first ever martial arts movie in the United States - called Enter the Dragon, which was released after Bruce's death. He died in 1973 during the production of a movie called, The Game of Death. The movie was not finished, although some completed sections were later released.
Almost 20 years later his son, Brandon Lee would also die while making a movie. Lee also taught other people martial arts, including actors Huggo Chairres, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
He inspired many other actors who are famous for using martial arts in their movies including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, and Chuck Norris. Jackie Chan had a small part in 'Enter The Dragon' and Chuck Norris co-starred in Way of The Dragon.
He is noted for his major contributions to both the Hong Kong and American movie industry during the 1970s, his martial arts movement and innovative ideas (including Jeet Kune Do), his philosophy, and his physical fitness ability.
He is considered to be a cultural icon and is considered to be one of the most influential martial artists ever by social critics and other martial artists alike.
On the night of July 20, 1973, Lee aged 32, died at his home from cerebral edema, which is a buildup of fluid around the brain. This is believed to have been caused by a reaction to painkillers he was taking for a back injury.
Extracted from: [https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee]
Mnemonic
Bruce Lee – Top 6 Facts Mnemonic – Bruce Lee Founded Career in Hollywood Acting
(Picture Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris filming their legendary fight scene in the Coliseum in ‘The Way of the Dragon’)
1. Began martial arts at age 13
2. Left Hong Kong and moved to the United States when he was 18
3. Founded the Jeet Kune Do style of martial arts
4. Crown Colony Cha Cha dancing champion of Hong Kong
5. He was born on the Chinese Year of the Dragon, on the day of the dragon, and on the hour of the dragon
6. Appeared in 37 films
Five Fun Facts
1. Bruce Lee was born Lee Jun-Fan on 27th November, 1940 to his father Lee Hoi-chuen, a leading member of the Cantonese opera and film communities, and his mother Grace who was half Chinese and half Caucasian who came from one of the wealthiest and most powerful clans in Hong Kong. As stated in the mnemonic, he was born in the hour and the year of the Dragon, which was a strong omen for his life.
Now just speaking of Bruce Lee’s family, it turns out that he had quite the extended family that no one knows about. Apparently, he had a cousin who is unable to lie called Honest Lee, A grandfather who abhorred violence called Gent Lee, a rich auntie called Abundant Lee, a brother that is even faster than him called Quick Lee, his older sister who couldn’t cook called Char Lee, and finally his vegetarian uncle called Brock Lee!
2. Bruce Lee started his acting career at the age of 3 months, where he was carried onto the stage in the film ‘Golden Gate Girl’. He appeared in over 20 films before leaving Hong Kong for the United States at age 18. In the United States he did approximately the same number but included his best works such as ‘The Big Boss,’ ‘The Way of the Dragon,’ and ‘Enter the Dragon.’ He also had 20 television appearances and did 52 documentaries.
3. Bruce Lee got his big break in Hollywood in 1964 when he was discovered by a hairdresser. That hairdresser happened to be Jay Sebring, a celebrity stylist who spotted Bruce at the Long Beach Karate Championship, and the same man who was brutally murdered alongside Sharon Tate and others by the Manson clan.
4. Bruce Lee’s dream was to open up martial arts schools across the USA. His first school was located in a parking garage in Seattle’s First Hill area, after which he moved it to a basement in Chinatown. He also ran many private martial arts lessons, which included celebrities that included Steve McQueen, Huggo Chairres, James Coburn, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate, and Kareen Abdul-Jabbar.
5. Bruce Lee’s death in 1973 is a mystery that just won’t die. The official cause of death states that it was due to swelling of the brain caused by an allergic reaction to the headache medication Equagesic. Another hypothesis is that he was murdered by triad gangsters, as he threatened the mobster Lo Wei two weeks before his death, while other hypothesis include heatstroke, Cannabis use, Cocaine use, epilepsy, to a family curse.
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Three Question Quiz
Q.1. What initially spurred Bruce Lee to take up martial arts? Options are losing a street fight or he was forced to by his dad
Q.2. How old was Bruce Lee when he died? Options are 32, 42, or 52
Q.3. What was the name of Bruce Lee’s official video documentary released in 1984? Options are ‘The Bruce Lee Story’ or ‘Bruce Lee – The Legend’
Bonus Q. Bruce Lee died before the completion of what film? Options are ‘Game of Death’ or ‘The Iron Fist’
Bonus Q. What philosophy did Bruce Lee maintain to adapt in martial arts? Options are ‘be like rubber’ or ‘be like water’
Mnemonic Recap
Bruce Lee – Top 6 Facts Mnemonic – Bruce Lee Founded Career in Hollywood Acting
(Picture Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris filming their legendary fight scene in the Coliseum in ‘The Way of the Dragon’)
1. Began martial arts at age 13
2. Left Hong Kong and moved to the United States when he was 18
3. Founded the Jeet Kune Do style of martial arts
4. Crown Colony Cha Cha dancing champion of Hong Kong
5. He was born on the Chinese Year of the Dragon, on the day of the dragon, and on the hour of the dragon
6. Appeared in 37 films
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. What initially spurred Bruce Lee to take up martial arts? Options are losing a street fight or he was forced to by his dad
A. Losing a street fight when he was 13
Q.2. How old was Bruce Lee when he died? Options are 32, 42, or 52
A. 32
Q.3. What was the name of Bruce Lee’s official video documentary released in 1984? Options are ‘The Bruce Lee Story’ or ‘Bruce Lee – The Legend’
A. Bruce Lee – The Legend
Bonus Q. Bruce Lee died before the completion of what film? Options are ‘Game of Death’ or ‘The Iron Fist’
A. Game of Death, which was released five years later in 1978
Bonus Q. What philosophy did Bruce Lee maintain to adapt in martial arts? Options are ‘be like rubber’ or ‘be like water’
A. Be like water
Word of the Week
propitiate
[ pruh-pish-ee-eyt ]
verb
to placate or make peace with
Example
In a time of segregation in U.S. society, Bruce Lee would propitiate discrimination by inviting everyone to his martial arts studio regardless of race or gender.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
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References
https://chatgpt.com/c/67cf7e2f-3950-8010-98d0-8f5c6a9c49f6
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/11-amazing-facts-about-bruce-lee/QwVR7wlTt5sELw?hl=en
https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/quizshow.php?title=bruce-lee-trivia-quiz&q=9
https://www.jokes4us.com/celebrityjokes/bruceleejokes.html