After an 18 day boat trip, he finally made it to San Francisco with 115 dollars. Bruce had spent much of his time on the boat trip teaching cha-cha dancing to some of the passengers. He also decided to distance himself from the name Lee Jun Fan and diligently practiced his English on fellow passengers as often as he could. By the time the boat arrived in San Francisco, the Hong Kong street kid, Lee Jun Fan, had been transformed into Bruce Lee- an English speaking US citizen.
For the first few weeks Bruce earned a little money by giving dance lessons, however the amount he made was barely enough to pay for the most basic of provisions. During his first few months in San Francisco, several Karate practitioners witnessed his skills and tried to persuade him to teach fulltime. However Bruce wasn?t interested at this juncture of his life. He saw America as a way to clean the state and make his family proud. He was seriously considering a medical career and began to brush up on his maths, a subject he detested. Lee?s stay in San Francisco was brief however. Worried about Bruce?s wellbeing, his parents had arranged a family friend to take him in Seattle.
Ruby Chow was a tough independent business woman, who opened the first Chinese restaurant outside on Seattle?s Chinatown. She was also married to Chow Ping, a fellow Cantonese opera member and friend of Bruce?s father. She had established herself as a very influential person in the community, often acting as a go-between sorting out immigration problems with the local authorities. Ruby often took in immigrants and gave them work and a place to stay.
Life in Seattle was a rude awakening for Bruce. It was the first time he had seen his name written on a work schedule. He thought he would be treated as a house guest and left in peace to continue his studies. Instead he was given a room no bigger than a closet to stay in and the job of a waiter. Taking orders was something Bruce didn?t take a shine to either. A day wouldn?t go by where Ruby would not hear complaints about him being rude to customers. She always thought that he would amount to nothing, because he was wild and reckless. Even to this day she has no fond memory of him.
Bruce had enrolled into Thomas Edison Technical high school and had immersed himself into his studies. The years he spent here he made many friends, who would later go on to spread and teach Bruce?s methods on fighting. At an Asian Culture Day held at Thomas Edison, he met James Demille, who know teaches Wing Chun Do. Jesse Glover, a judo exponent, who was also at the culture day, was also an early student of Bruce. He now is the most knowledgeable person on Sticking Hands. Taky Kumura, a local supermarket owner, who now teaches a select group of people at the back of his shop.
Many impromptu classes were held in the parking lot of Ruby Chow?s restaurant. Even at Taky Kumura?s supermarket. As he taught it dawned on him how fighting methods have to be adapted, depending on the environment. For example the people Bruce fought in Hong Kong were similar in size, however in the US people were heavier and stronger. So as his students progressed so did he, it was a matter of survival. If he got hit by any of his students during demonstrations, then he would be seriously hurt.
It was his time at Edison High school where a Japanese martial artist took a dislike to Bruce?s views, especially his comments on Karate. Bruce tried to resolve the situation by saying that it wasn?t a personal attack but rather his interpretation of where martial arts should be going. After a heated debate, Lee unable to control himself further organised a bout to put things to rest. With limited rules, they adopted their stances. Wing Chun versus Karate. The Japanese guy performed a simple front kick that he thought would suffice, Bruce parried the kick and gave a series of painful straight punches to the face. The Japanese guy fell instantly; Jesse Glover stepped in to stop the fight after Bruce kicked the guy in the face. It lasted 10 seconds. The Japanese guy later attributed the bruises he had on his face to a car accident to his friends, Bruce let things slide, after all he won the fight.
As he went through self improvement in his martial arts, so did his academic studies. He graduated with a high school diploma and managed to secure a place at the University of Washington. After enrolling into many subjects, he decided to major in philosophy. The reductionism of certain philosophical theories appealed to him. Reducing things to their essence to fully understand a subject. It would later have a profound effect on his whole view on martial arts.
During his studies at Washington Bruce was called to take a physical examination, for possible service in Vietnam. Surprisingly he failed the exam, but it probably worked out for the best. If he wasn?t good at taking orders as a waiter, then there was slim chance of him taking orders from a higher officer. He was heading for prison in Hong Kong, he most probably would have been court-martialed.
As his kung fu classes grew, it became important to secure a place to teach at. At first he taught to small groups of Asian enthusiasts, but soon started teaching to anyone who was interested. With the permission of the university, he used the gymnasium to hold classes and demonstrations. These classes became very popular and people began missing their own lessons to attend. Not only did he discuss Chinese culture, but introduced different forms of kung fu, also showing old kung fu films. Linda Emery, who attended a class with her friend, was not expecting it to be so enjoyable. She became a regular, and later changed her name to Linda Lee when she married Bruce.
Coming from a white protestant family, Linda was careful to keep the relationship a secret. Their first date took place at the Space Needle?s revolving restaurant, where Bruce told Linda his dreams and future plans. They seemed to complement each other, he liked to talk, and she liked to listen.
Despite his future plans, Bruce was still living and working at Ruby Chow?s. His patience was wearing thin, so after much insistence by his other students he secured a more permanent place to teach in. To make sure he could get by and pay the rent, there was a charge of four dollars. The place wasn?t too far from the university, and occupied the entire ground floor of an apartment building. Showers were already installed and prospectuses were printed. In October 1963 he was happy to hand in his notice to Ruby chow and open the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute at 4750 University Way in Seattle.
Word of Bruce Lee's exceptional martial artist talents soon spread like wildfire among his peers and Bruce soon realized that he could use his Kung Fu skills to earn some money. Up until then he never thought of it as a means of generating income. This was the first of what Bruce hoped would become a large chain of Kwoons. He was already making plans to open an Oakland branch with a friend James Lee.
When Bruce first arrived in the US he had heard the name of James lee, a former state weight lifting champion, who had in depth knowledge of Chinese martial artist. He would in fact teach part time, but was a welder by trade. Although twenty years older than Bruce and not having formerly met, James also grew tired of the rigid and impractical forms that kung fu had. They both were thinking that kung fu should be simple and practical in real life situation. It?s only natural that when they met, they realised the potential of one another.
Bruce Lee was obsessed with the idea of developing a version of kung fu which was simple and practical in a real-life situation. In fact, he once stated, "99% of the whole business of oriental self-defence is baloney. It looks good but it doesn't work." These convictions would later lead Bruce to formulate which can only be described as a paradigm shift in martial arts thinking. The more he concentrated on his martial arts, the less interested he became in his philosophy doctorate and soon left the university to teach fulltime.
In 1964 the Long Beach Sports Arena held the annual International Karate Tournament. The sponsor of the event Ed Parker introduced Bruce as a speaker and was later to give demonstrations on what he called anti-classical kung fu. This is where a much larger audience witnessed the one-inch punch. The one inch punch illustrates that even from a short distance, strong force can be generated. It sent the ?victim? into a chair placed a few feet away behind him. Although it?s a simple trick that can be mastered, the point was to show there was a more powerful way of striking that didn?t involve your strength. The more relaxed your muscles are just before striking, the more energy can flow through your body. Tension only causes the loss of power as you get closer to the target. Instead Bruce relied on a sudden explosive force that the opponent could not brace himself for.
Also at the Karate tournament was Filipino martial artist Dan Inosanto. An exponent of Filipino martial arts, as well as Kenpo karate. That very night Dan went to Bruce to see whether he was the real deal. They staged a small fight in his hotel room. Dan came out worse off. He was shocked at the way Bruce controlled the whole fight, countered all his moves. As if all the teaching he had absorbed amounted to nothing. From then on they spent more and more time together. He even replaced Taky as the human punch bag, and accompanied Bruce on his demonstrations. Which involved Inosanto taking falls and punches. At night however, after the demonstrations, Bruce would show some of his devastating techniques. Something Inosanto called ??an improved version of wing chun??.
In 1965 a challenge was offered by a Kung Fu instructor in San Francisco, by the name of Wong Jack Man. He had set out to make a name for himself and made an offer to a cocky and brash American born Bruce. This wasn?t just a simple challenge. What lay behind it was the objection that the Chinese community had with Bruce, and his sharing of his skills to foreigners. The teaching was one thing, but the fact that he wasn?t full Chinese meant that he should not have been permitted to learn in the first place. Bruce being Bruce took up the challenge.
It was described as short, scrappy and brutal, by Jesse Glover. Bruce was less pleased with his result. Although he won the fight, he felt that it had gone on longer than it should have. After he gave Wong a few blows to the face, his gang tried to step in and help him. They were swiftly intercepted by James lee. The rest of the fight involved Wong running around in circles with Bruce repeatedly punching him in the back of the head. He failed to deliver a finishing blow, which he took quite badly.
This fight only fuelled Bruce?s obsession of finding simplicity in martial arts. The hacking away at inessentials. A sculptor doesn?t add more clay to his statue, but rather chisels away to reveal the truth that lies beneath. This event also led Bruce to revise his physical conditioning programme. His cardio and weight training were increased with the help of James Lee. Bruce never believed that weight training was beneficial to martial arts. Instead believing the contrary, that it would slow you down as you put on more bulk. But through Speed Training his body size remained the same, while he gained strength and speed. Speed training simply involves performing workouts at great speeds. Speed requires power, and power involves work for the muscles, especially when trying to remain at constant speed. Such intense exercises force the muscles to adapt their neural pathways, therefore increasing in strength to deal with the workload.
Bruce even used James Lee?s skills as welder to make himself equipment that was not readily available during the 60?s. Wing Chun Dummies with spring mounted heads, giant over-sized punch bags that required great force to move them, forearm training equipment. Whatever was needed, Bruce would invent it, James lee would construct it. Towards the end of his life they were working on fully functioning mechanical dummy that would fight and retract, like a ?real? person.
Bruce?s relationship with Linda was developing day by day, and soon there were talks of marriage. They had managed to keep it secret from the Linda?s family, with marriage not far off, he was to face a new opponent. He had faced Blackbelts and other martial artists, but the mother-in-law was truly something else. A Chinese man, who taught Kung fu as living?he had no chance. The plan that Bruce came up with was to get married first, stay at James Lee?s house, and then inform Linda?s mother. What Bruce didn?t foresee was the details of his forthcoming marriage being published in the local newspaper. This was required by law, when one applied for a marriage licence. Linda?s immediate family immediately tried to persuade her not to go ahead with the marriage, but the young couple were headstrong and had made up their minds.
The wedding took place the Seattle Congregational Church, with Taky Kimura as best man. It was a last minute affair, Bruce rented a suit, Linda had no wedding dress, they borrowed a ring from James lee, and Linda?s mother and grandmother gave her away.
One of the reasons that Linda?s mother pushed for a quick wedding was the news of her pregnancy. On February 1 1965, at East Oakland Hospital, Brandon Bruce Lee was born. Bruce was over the moon, when he heard he was to be a father to a son. He would often say that this new member of the family would be the only blonde-haired Chinaman in the world.
It was only three days after Brandon?s birth that Bruce would leave his son to attend a screen test at Twentieth Century Fox. He had been spotted by Jay Sebring, hair stylist to the stars at the Long beach tournaments. One of Sebring?s clients was TV producer William Dozier, who was looking for someone to play the lead in TV show he was developing. Sebring suggested that he get in touch with the twenty-four year old Bruce lee.

To be continued?.