The Frakenjuice: Frakenjuice Man/Woman of the Week (Vol. 2)

Kettle drum roll please.......

Bruce Lee: The Flabbinzeus Incarnate?

We all recognize his name. He is known as, arguably, one of the greatest martial artists of our time. We are awestruck by his outstanding performances in Enter the Dragon, Fists of Fury, and The Big Boss. But, who really was Bruce Lee? An International martial arts icon or something much more?

"Bruce Lee" was born as Lee Jun Fan, on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, CA but a year later moved to Hong Kong with his family. His mother decided to name him, "Bruce," because of her love for its Gaelic meaning, "strong one." Since his family, had Chinese film connections, Bruce was in his first movie at the age of 3-months. As a child star, he was in about 20 films and began taking dance and kung fu lessons in his early teens. Around that same time, Bruce started hanging out with a Hong Kong street gang. When Bruce was 18, he got into some police trouble for badly beating up someone and his parents sent him to live with family friends in San Francisco for a short time before moving to Seattle.

Bruce finished high school, attended the University of Washington and majored in Philosophy. While in Seattle, Lee taught the Wing Chun martial arts style, which he learned in Hong Kong. Around 1964, Bruce decided to open his own martial arts schools in Oakland and Los Angeles and taught his own styleless style of martial arts called Jeet Kune Do.

(Above) Jeet Kune Do symbol

It was the combination of various fighting methods, which included western boxing, judo, jujitsu, and Wing Chun that influenced Lee to develop his own philosophy and fighting style, void of limitations and traditional structure. Bruce hated the idea of having to mimic a specific way of fighting in order to be a great "martial artist" or even a great fighter. His new form of martial arts promoted a practical, self-involved, and efficient philosophy. Bruce Lee once said, "Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. Learn, Master, and Achieve."

Lee had always been respected within the martial arts community, mostly known in Asia for small televison roles. Yet, it was only until Lee had become focused on his new styleless style of fighting that he was recognized for his superior abilities. Impressing producers and martial artists alike with his unique form of martial arts and amazing physical abilities, Lee was casted for sidekick roles in 60's TV series' such as Batman, The Green Hornet, and Longstreet. Lee experienced moderate fame in the US but was unhappy with just playing supporting roles. So, in 1971, Lee moved back to Hong Kong to star in a Kung Fu movie called The Big Boss. This movie launched Lee into A-list fame in Asia and with the proceeding releases of Fists of Fury ('72), The Way of the Dragon ('72), and Enter the Dragon ('73), Bruce Lee became an international sensation.

Although Bruce Lee died a few days before the premier of Enter the Dragon, his legacy and Frakenjuice philosophies about unity, the power from within, and about living life by your own standards are forever remembered. His passion for life, the amazing physical feats he demonstrated (a one-inch punch that could send an opponent to the ground, he could propel a 300lb punching bag to the ceiling with one side kick, 50 reps of one-arm chin-ups, movements that were too quick to capture on 70's film equipment, 2 finger one-handed push-up....seriously try doing that shizz, etc.), and his perspectives on reality parallel those of the great Flabbinzeus, as revealed to me. To close, I give you the words of a great human being and some YouTube video's that need to be viewed by all...especially Lee's 1971 interview clips. You see a Bruce Lee that you never knew existed. Oh, you also must watch the video where Lee literally kills Chuck Norris... this is a real scene... it occurred at the end of The Way of the Dragon.... a little old school Chuckie Nono.

All Information confirmed by:

1) www.bruceleefoundation.org

2) www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542095

4) A 30min interview with Bruce Lee on The Pierre Berton Show, Dec 1971, accessed through YouTube.

3) Properly cited (checkable) facts on Wikipedia.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."