Bruce Lee is a cult figure in the world of sports, martial arts, and also in cinema. A man with a huge history and a whole list of achievements. But today he became a guest of our article for a reason. You can endlessly talk about his biography. Lee's story is known all over the world, and especially to the generation of the 80s and 90s. We are not interested in his film career, and not in his becoming a master of his own martial arts. Now people are only interested in one thing - how Bruce Lee achieved his excellent physical form? How did he maintain such a low percentage of fat throughout his life without the use of various diuretics, doping and without other modern "tools"? We collect interesting facts, facts about his training and analyze all this from the point of view modern fitness, physiology and endocrinology.

Bruce Lee had a slender physique with a minimum percentage of fat. He couldn’t boast the massive muscle size of Schwarzenegger or any other bodybuilder, but at the same time, the amount of fat was truly minimal, comparable to bodybuilders at the height of the competition. Why is it so attractive to people?

The fact is that bodybuilders work for months to reduce the percentage of body fat, and despite the huge number of actions, the result can be saved only for a few days - during the competition. Bruce, on the other hand, kept a low percentage of fat throughout his life, until his sudden death. Well, who in our time does not want to be slim and fit all year round? Don't forget about amazing fact from Li's biography: He did not eat exhausting diets, and generally ate like the average person in China and America. The differences were evident due to Bruce's frequent travels. But first things first.

Sports facts about Bruce Lee

Low fat is not Lee's only achievement. He possessed excellent strength indicators and good strength endurance, as evidenced by his ability to hold a 32kg kettlebell in front of him for 4 seconds.

Lee's weight ranged only from 1 to 2 kg, that is, it can be called stable throughout his adult life. The achievement looks impressive, despite the huge amount of physical activity, high-calorie diet and the frequent changes of the grocery basket due to constant travel.

The punching speed and reaction were excellent, and this is largely due to the special training, which we will talk about below. Among Lee's physical achievements, one should note the complete rejection of strength training equipment... He actively used dumbbells and weights, occasionally a barbell, but never used cable, lever or block trainers, because I did not feel the muscles in them properly. According to his statements, the simulators felt like someone doing the exercise for him, and he is just a tool for this.

Bruce Lee's workout secrets

Surely you are waiting for the unique secret techniques from ancient China, which Li learned from his eminent master Ip-Man. The reality, alas, is not so mythical. Thanks to modern knowledge of humanity in physiology, biochemistry and kinesiology, you can conduct a full analysis of Bruce Lee's training and understand what his "secret" was.

There are not many of Lee's workouts in the video archives, but some of them are recorded in full. To this can be added the stories of those who started training with Bruce or studied jit-kundo under his supervision.

A unique feature of his training is the use of negative reps. Of course, in those days Bruce was not aware of this training method from the world of bodybuilding. He was guided by what he learned in his historical homeland from the stories of his mentor.

Bruce has always been distinguished by his inquisitiveness and sharp mind. Seeing ancient paintings with Chinese strongmen and circus performers, he became interested in this topic. They were able to hold huge weights on their outstretched arms, over their heads, etc. Their strength was great, but it was not suitable for martial arts and for kung fu.

Lee tried to find and create a kind of symbiosis of training of ancient Chinese strongmen and modern methods of strength training. Through his teacher, he learned that strength is increased through painful static exercises... Prolonged holdings of light dumbbells or weights in front of you, above yourself, behind you and in other possible poses significantly increase strength.

This is how Bruce began training with static. He took small weights and froze with them in certain poses, like a mime caught in gym... Over time, his strength grew and he became able to hold rather heavy weights, but he did not achieve anything extraordinary.

Lee continued to search for his unique technique that would allow him to apply strong and at the same time quick strikes... He noticed that static training drains his nervous system a lot. After a day of such training, it took him several days to recover. It had a bad effect on his kung fu training and on life in general. He became irritable, tired and simply dissatisfied with the lack of progress.

By chance, he found the negative repetition technique on his own. During the next holding of the dumbbell in front of him, his friends distracted him. He had to constantly interrupt the approach and start over. This went on for an hour, and the next day Bruce was shocked by the strong muscle pain, which at first were mistakenly viewed as a consequence of an illness or a cold.

For several weeks, Bruce slowly but surely walked towards his invention, which was used by American bodybuilders for a long time. Lee noticed that when doing exercises in the classical manner, he did not feel a significant load, and the increase in weights did not allow him to perform the exercise correctly. At the same time, its prolonged static retention was exhausting and did not give significant results.

He decided to combine the two techniques into one. He lifted the weights in the classical manner - quickly, paused for 4-5 seconds, and very slowly lowered the kettlebell back, spending another 5-6 seconds. Thus, he "invented" negative repetition. At first, Lee used negatives in only one exercise - lifting a dumbbell in front of him. After two months of such training, his strength indicators and the speed of punches increased dramatically. One of the reasons can be safely called negatives - a new load unusual for his muscles, which served as a new stimulus for muscle development.

All this strengthened in him the idea of ​​the loyalty of the chosen training plan... He decided to take a rest for a month, which was a lucky trip to China and back. Upon arrival, he made himself a combat dummy, bought several weights and a small barbell with dumbbells. The number of barbell pancakes was small, as the main focus was on kettlebells and dumbbells, which featured removable components. It was a very expensive purchase in those days. However, Bruce did not regret at all both at the time of purchase and after a few months. He had a hunch that this would play an important role in his training.

He began to train actively every day. The alternation of strength training, active cycling and hiking with kung fu and the development of his own system of martial arts (jit-kundo) required tremendous strength and effort, but nevertheless he coped. Bruce used a conventional strength program that he intuitively "invented".

The logic was simple: it was necessary to load all the muscles, and focus on the shoulders, arms and legs, so that this would be of the greatest benefit in the context of martial arts. After a month of such training experience, Bruce was finally convinced that he would follow the invented tricks and nuances of training for the rest of his life. The simplest use of negatives in his training led Lee to a number of discoveries that later made it possible to leave a significant mark in the history of martial arts.

How to become like Bruce Lee?

When a person asks such a question, he is talking about a low percentage of fat and pronounced relief, and not about the historical heritage and other interesting facts of his biography. It would seem that it is enough to follow a low-calorie diet and work out in the gym, and after a few months you will become as prominent as Bruce. But in reality, things are a little more complicated.

Look at everyone who is losing weight. Anyone who will load the body with strength training against a background of a lack of calories is rapidly losing not only total weight, but also muscle mass... There is no dryness, relief and stiffness of the muscles. The reason is simple - the body does not expel water and glycogen from the muscles against the background of a lack of calories. It breaks down muscles, and body weight decreases.

Any actions to preserve muscle mass while losing weight will result in their gradual loss. It is almost impossible to achieve pronounced relief and vascularity. Bodybuilders use heavy artillery to drive water and the last remaining fat: change the water-salt balance, eat less salt, limit the flow of fluids, limit carbohydrates, etc. etc. And all these methods are aimed only at short-term results - for 1-2 days of competition, nothing more. Further, the body takes its own and either returns the lost fluid, or you lose muscle mass, so this method is not suitable for you and me.

Evil tongues say that Bruce Lee used various doping, stimulants and diuretics to be in such relief all year round. Of course, this is not the case. Standard doping does not suit him, and diuretics and various stimulants would simply not allow him to recover before each new day.

The truth is much simpler: he did not torment his body with few calories. On a calorie deficit, a person loses muscle mass - this is a fact. Someone is fast, and someone is slow, this is inevitable. But despite this fact, Bruce managed to maintain his shape and even improve. The secret lies in the special kind of training. Negatives force the muscle fiber to work to the limit of its capabilities. During the lifting of the weights, from 50 to 75% of the fibers are activated, while the return of the projectile activates from 75 to 100%, depending on the weight of the burden.

Add to this the negative execution technique with the deliberate slow return of the projectile to the starting point. Muscle involvement in movement will be 100%, and this wastes a huge amount of energy. Performing absolutely all exercises in this manner, Bruce Lee unknowingly turned the whole training process a waste of calories. He loaded the muscles with a huge load not at the expense of heavy weight weights, but due to the slow negative phase. To develop the speed of the legs and arms, he lifted weights and dumbbells as quickly as possible, but again, he lowered the shells extremely slowly.

Against the background of such training, Bruce Lee ate a lot, especially for a guy of his weight. He ate plentifully, high in calories and even right. There were forbidden foods in the diet, but the main emphasis in the grocery basket has always been concentrated on good carbohydrates and valuable sources of protein, but we will talk about nutrition later.

The secret of Bruce Lee's figure is the huge calorie intake and the same huge waste of calories. That is, he did not use a low-calorie diet, which looks like 100% stress to the body. Instead, he plentifully supplied the body with energy from food, and at the same time spent exactly the same, and sometimes even more.

A high activity coefficient, constant employment, martial arts classes, and of course, the use of negative repetitions in their strength training allowed us to build a functional physique with a minimum percentage of fat. Now you know how Lee was able to maintain his excellent relief shape all year round, without interruption.

He simply ate a lot and spent even more. Strength training and active aerobic exercise developed not so much strength as strength endurance... Glycogen accumulation, decrease subcutaneous fat etc. made his muscles similar to an anatomical atlas, which in turn was noted even by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Bruce Lee workouts

There was no single training scheme, or it has not survived to this day. It is known that Bruce Lee trained in the "fullbid" style, loading all the muscles in one workout. The total workload has been reduced to allow time for recovery. On average, it was 3-4 sets for one muscle, and 1-2 for small muscle masses of assistants, such as biceps and triceps.

Between sets, Lee rest for about 2 minutes, using not a stopwatch, but an ordinary hourglass. Interesting fact: due to inaccuracy or incorrect assembly hourglass, they were not counting 120 seconds, but 111. So technically he was resting between sets of 111 seconds.

Every approach strength exercises represented a rapid weight lifting, a distinct pause at the critical point with the target muscle tension, and a slow return of the projectile back in the style of negatives. The number of such repetitions was in the range from 8 to 10, no more and no less. In the final approaches, they often had to work to failure, but Bruce was not embarrassed, he saw this as another challenge.

The list of exercises was quite simple: basic exercises, but almost everywhere Lee replaced the barbell with dumbbells or kettlebells. Exercises with two hands, he tried to do one - in turn. For example - the press of dumbbells up, for the development of the shoulders - he replaced the press of the kettlebell while standing, first with one hand, then with the other. He performed the curl of the arms for biceps alternately with dumbbells, and not simultaneously with the barbell, but you know firsthand about push-ups on one arm from his filmography.

Bruce Lee's nutrition

As such, Lee did not have a diet. Carbohydrates taught him to eat in China. The main sources of carbohydrates were: rice, broccoli, some types of bread, and regular table sugar. Of the proteins, Lee preferred fish and lean beef, which he most often boiled and consumed with broths. At the same time, Bruce was not afraid of the fast food developing in those years. As a resident of America, he actively consumed all the trending food inventions, from the big mac to pizzas from various pizzerias.

His high activity coefficient allowed him to do this without fear of losing muscle mass or, on the contrary, gaining fat. It is important to note that from childhood, Lee's parents taught him minimalism. He never gorged too much, strictly listening to the signals of his body. The slightest signal of satiety was enough to stop eating.

It is safe to say that in addition to his unique physical and athletic achievements, Bruce was an adherent of intuitive eating and at the same time one of the best. He ate different calorie foods, and at the same time knew his calorie limit perfectly. Lee literally felt it. It will be extremely difficult to repeat this, especially for a modern person with a huge amount of frills on the shelves of grocery stores.

Therefore, in order to become like Bruce Lee, at least in terms of diet and nutrition, you will have to meticulously count the calories consumed and received. This is very difficult, which explains such a small number of people with a similar figure. In addition, not every disciplined person can maintain a high activity rate like Bruce Lee.

Outcome

Bruce Lee was a unique person in the field of martial arts, but in terms of fitness, he was not remembered for his achievements in cinema or in martial arts. A low percentage of fat, stiffness of the muscles, relief and the absence of any rigid diet - this is how Lee can be described.

Bruce did not go deep into physiology or sports biochemistry, but at the same time he was able to independently "grope" the right training plan that suited his lifestyle and ambitions. Negative repetitions intense workouts, regular martial arts classes, yoga and philosophy - such an explosive mixture endowed him with an incredible physique. Alas, it is almost impossible to become like Lee using his techniques. You need a more accurate approach, with calorie counting and calculating training load with appropriate planning.

However, we recommend that you try to combine several types of activities. If you want to have relief muscles, you need to teach it its functionality. This can be martial arts, running, gym, yoga and even swimming. From the point of view of physiology, such training should simultaneously develop various characteristics of the muscles: endurance, strength, strength endurance, static strength, etc.

But be careful, because the negative rep technique takes too much energy away from your nervous system. First of all, have time to recover, and relief like Bruce Lee's is impossible without full recovery of muscles and body.

Bruce Lee is the greatest master of martial arts, who, thanks to his unique talent, dedication and hard work, has become a real world legend and has gained millions of followers in all corners of the planet. A talented actor, director and screenwriter who managed to embody on the screen all the beauty and power of oriental combat techniques.

Childhood and adolescence

Bruce Lee was born in the United States, where his father Lee Hoi Chen, an artist of the Cantonese Opera, was on tour at the time. On the trip, he was accompanied by his pregnant wife, Grace Lee, a beautiful half-blood, Chinese woman with German roots. When it became clear that childbirth would take place from day to day, Lee Hoi left his wife in a San Francisco clinic, and continued his performances. On November 27, 1940, in the year and hour of the Dragon, a boy was born who was destined to become a world legend. The baby was born between 6 and 8 o'clock in the morning, and in medieval Asian time, this interval was called the hour of the Dragon.

The newborn baby was given several names at once. According to Chinese calendar he was named Li Xiao Long ("Little Dragon"), in the birth certificate issued at the clinic, the child was listed as Bruce Lee (as the midwife named him), and the mother christened the baby Li Zhen Fan, which translated from Chinese means "Come back ". Grace really wanted her son to return to America when he grows up.

Returning with the baby to their native Hong Kong, where their adopted daughter Phoebe and the eldest son Peter were waiting for them, the parents pretended that they had a baby girl named Lee Yong Fan ("Baby Phoenix"). Thus, they tried to deceive the "evil spirits" who, in their opinion, took away the first son who died in infancy. At first, Bruce was even dressed in a girl's clothes and an earring was inserted into his ear so that no one had doubts. Interestingly, he also first appeared on the screen in the role of a girl, playing the three-month-old daughter of the main character in the drama "The Girl's Golden Gate".

Although by the standards of Hong Kong the head of the family earned well (most of his income came from renting apartments), any American would be horrified by the appearance of their housing. The family, along with grandmothers, grandfathers, a servant and a large German shepherd, lived in a huge hall, in the center of which was a dining table, at which the whole life passed: at it they not only ate, but also studied, worked and played. There was running water in the house, but water came from the pipes for several hours a week. However, the living conditions of the Bruce family were much better than that of most ordinary peasants and workers huddled in shacks with almost earthen floors.

When Bruce grew up, his parents assigned him to a Jesuit school, from which he was soon kicked out for poor academic performance and disgusting behavior. The boy studied very badly, he especially hated mathematics and grammar, and his favorite pastime was to bully classmates. Because of this, he often came home with bruises and bumps, which incredibly upset his parents.

Lee Hoi Chen tried in every possible way to guide his son on the right path and took him with him to the theater and to the shooting. Thanks to this, Bruce got into the cinema early and at the age of six he played a little thief in the film "The Birth of Mankind". The father dreamed that his son would become an artist, and understood that, despite his thin physique, it was disproportionate Long hands and a slightly twisted left leg, the boy has natural plasticity and an innate sense of rhythm. Therefore, he gave it to the dances, which Bruce unexpectedly liked.

At the age of thirteen, the young man first crossed the threshold of the dance class, and four years later he won the Hong Kong cha-cha-cha championship. But, despite the new hobby, the restless teenager did not stop getting involved in street showdowns and after one of them, which ended not in his favor, he decided to professionally engage in martial arts.

He settled on the vin-chun style (fight on short distances without the use of weapons) and came to the best master of this military technique, the former policeman Yip Men, who opened his own school in Hong Kong. The teacher immediately appreciated the adolescent's plasticity and coordination, as well as the speed and dexterity of his movements. Bruce showed unprecedented success, but street fights still beckoned to him. Once a young man clashed in a showdown with members of a well-known Hong Kong criminal group and decently beat two of them. It is not customary for people from the criminal world to forgive offenders, so Bruce was in mortal danger. The frightened mother immediately packed her son's things, bought a ticket and sent him to the States, since Bruce, who was born in the United States, had American citizenship.

So in 1959, the young man again found himself in America: first in San Francisco, then moved to Seattle, where he stayed with friends and got a job in their restaurant. A year later, he entered Edison Technical School, where he made up for gaps in grammar and exact sciences, and then became a student at the University of Washington.

Sports career

Despite being busy, Bruce did not give up sports, but, on the contrary, devoted everything to training. free time... He mastered a wide variety of techniques in kung fu, jiu-jitsu and judo, and used trees in the park as dummies for sparring, wrapping them in blankets.

In 1961, Lee opened his own school of martial arts, where he began to teach Jeet Kune-do, his own style kung fu developed through regular grueling practice. Anyone could study in it, and not only Asians, as was previously accepted, which fundamentally distinguished this institution from many others like it.

Lost Bruce Lee interview

The classes were not cheap (almost $ 300 per hour), but they were worth the money. Bruce improved his original technique until his death, developed a special nutrition system for students. He was constantly in impeccable shape and subjected himself to extreme stress, which his associates never dreamed of.

What Bruce Lee did

Film career

But not only thanks to sporting achievements Bruce Lee has become a world legend. He managed to completely change the idea of ​​combat fights in cinematography and bring them to a different quality level. If earlier on-screen fights had to be accelerated to make them more spectacular, then Bruce's fights, on the contrary, were slowed down so that viewers could fully enjoy his magnificent technique.

During his short life, the actor managed to star in 36 films, many of which have become classics of cinema.

Despite the fact that numerous episodic works in childhood and adolescence did not bring him wide popularity, Bruce gained invaluable experience, which was useful to him in the future. After moving to the United States, the young man continued to appear in TV shows, but he did not wait for serious roles.

Upon learning that a new film studio, Golden Harvest, had opened in Hong Kong, he decided to return to his homeland and left America in 1971. Bruce managed to persuade the director of the studio not only to entrust him with the main role in the film "Big Boss" (1971), but also to allow him to stage all the action scenes. The success of the film exceeded all expectations, and Lee got a unique opportunity not only to demonstrate his acting and sports skills, but also to directly participate in the creation of the following films.

Bruce Lee in the movie Fist of Fury

1972 saw the release of Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon, which became real bestsellers and made Bruce a star. The Dragon Walk (1973) premiered a week after Lee's unexpected death with a resounding success. This picture became a worthy requiem for the great actor and athlete, and the final duel with Chuck Norris is considered the best in the history of world cinema.

Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris (Excerpt from "Enter the Dragon")

The last film to be released with the participation of Bruce Lee was the action movie "Game of Death" (1978), which had to be filmed without him, resorting to the help of an understudy. The picture includes documentary footage from the actor's funeral.

In 1993, his name star was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bruce Lee's personal life

Bruce met his future wife Linda Emery in Seattle. The girl, like him, studied at the University of Washington and in 1961 came to his kung fu classes. A sympathy arose between the martial arts master and the 17-year-old beauty, which gradually grew into love. Linda became a faithful admirer and devoted student of Bruce, and in 1964 she became his official wife.

A year later, the couple had a baby Brandon, and in 1969 baby Shannon was born. Brandon, like his father, became an actor and, by tragic accident, passed away before he even reached the age of thirty.

The young man died on the set of the film "The Raven" from a pistol shot, which, due to the negligence of the pyrotechnician, was loaded with a live cartridge.

Shannon also became an actress, but has not acted in films for many years. The last film with her participation, the action movie "Lessons for the Assassin", was released in 2003. now, together with his mother, he heads the Foundation of his legendary father. Shannon quit cinema due to the birth of her daughter Ren Lee Kesler in 2003.

Memory

In 2012, a documentary film "I am Bruce Lee" was released, which included clippings from interviews with Bruce himself, his rare photographs, as well as the memories of his relatives and colleagues.

In the homeland of the actor, in Hong Kong, a monument was erected for his 65th birthday. The day before its opening, a similar monument appeared in the Zrenjevac Park in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, the almost two-meter figure of Bruce Lee is installed in the Chinatown of Los Angeles.

The 20-meter statue of Bruce was erected in the Chinese city of Shunde, the city where the ancestors of the parents of the martial arts master come from. The monument is located in the park Bruce lee Paradise.

Shannon Lee criticized Tarantino's film and the director himself. In response, Quentin remarked that in real life, Bruce Lee was indeed an arrogant guy. Shannon told the director to shut up.

Bruce lee

Master of martial arts, American and Hong Kong film actor, director, producer, screenwriter, philosopher.

Born November 27, 1940 in San Francisco (California, USA), in the family of Chinese opera actor Lee Hoi Chen and half-Chinese half-German Grace Lee.

Strictly speaking, he is Li Jang Fan (translated from Chinese - "come back": the child was born in San Francisco, and the mother wanted her son to return to America). When the boy grew up, he was given the name Li Yen Kam (" never sitting still "): after the first filming, the name Li Sui Lung (" little dragon ") appeared. And on the birth certificate issued in the Chinese hospital in the city of San Francisco, there was the name Bruce Lee.

Not everyone believed that Bruce Lee was actually a boy. The evil spirits knew for sure that Grace gave birth to a girl: the mother and father spent a lot of effort to confuse them, and even gave the child the girlish nickname Little Phoenix. Their first son died, and they thought they had something to anger the gods; in China, they believe that the second child in the family should be a girl, and Grace and Lee adopted the daughter of a poor man. Then they had a son, Peter, then Grace became pregnant again and could not find a place for herself because of anxiety: according to Chinese beliefs, the second son is also in danger. Newborn Bruce Lee had his ears pierced and called his maiden name - it seemed that evil spirits had been tricked.

Bruce Lee grew up and haunted the whole quarter: there was no second such Skoda in Hong Kong. Bruce Lee ran around the city, made friends with just anyone, dragged apples from stalls of street vendors and did not listen to his parents - a great sin for Chinese people who respect old age. However, Bruce Lee's father also did not differ in family virtues. He was a good actor and a great guy, he was loved by friends and women, and he didn’t like them - Lee Hoi Chen spent money on anything but children. By Hong Kong standards, Lee was a wealthy man (he owned several apartments that he rented out), but the way the family lived would have terrified a Chicago unemployed person. A large table at which they ate, played and read; the only room in which Lee, Grace, their children, grandparents, several servants and a huge German shepherd slept; a fan under the ceiling, sadly driving hot air ... Water was brought into the house once a week for several hours, and it was drawn into all the bowls. The Li family took a shower in a feline manner, smearing water on their faces, snorting and splashing - they did not know what a bath was in the house, and a forty-degree heat in Hong Kong was in the order of things ... But everyone who lived under this roof was holy convinced that such comfort is only in the governor's palace: most of the Chinese huddled in cramped, pitiful shacks.

Children grew up, and they had to be taught - Bruce Lee and his brothers were sent to a Jesuit college. The Jesuits had been doing missionary work in China for several centuries and knew more about the natives than anyone else, but even they could not cope with Bruce Lee.

Small, thin, nimble, Bruce Lee could not sit still, did not want to puzzle over arithmetic and English grammar, and felt great pleasure only when he managed to smash someone's nose. The former classmate of Bruce Lee, Henry's brother, remembering him many years later, assured him that he was an unusual child - alive, receptive, intelligent. He had to be treated very gently, all the time to occupy his imagination - then he behaved like a goody ... Apparently, this was rarely possible for Henry's brother: several years passed, and Bruce Lee was expelled from the Jesuit school.

In Bruce Lee, there was a huge craving for self-affirmation, street showdowns elevated him in his own eyes. He was puny, evasive and absolutely fearless: the reason for a fight could even be that the boy he met looked at him wrong, sighed wrong, spat in the wrong direction, apologized not respectfully enough. Bruce Lee did not pay attention to the height and weight of his enemies, and they beat him twice a day. Lee Hoi Chen, of course, was not an exemplary father, but the bruises on his son's face and the always torn clothes got on his nerves. A wailing Grace washed the bruises and darned her torn shirt, and Lee lectured Bruce Lee every night: he was tired of it, after all. Lee Hoi Chen did not give money to children out of principle, but when Bruce Lee asked to pay for his kung fu lessons, he unexpectedly agreed for himself - he had at least a faint hope that this disgrace would someday end.

Bruce Lee chose a tough and aggressive Vinh Chun - according to legend, the creator of the style was a nun who lived in the 15th century. (She invented it when she watched the fight of a snake with a crane.) The nun taught him the girl Yum Vinh Chun, she taught him her future husband, he also had students ... So it came to Ip Men, a former police inspector in the city of Namkhoi, who fled to Hong Kong from the troops of Mao Tse-tung. In Hong Kong, Ip Men opened his own school and made a living by making street pranksters like Bruce Lee into real fighters.

Running five kilometers and hundreds of push-ups, endless blows on a sandbag, acrobatics, full contact fights, when the enemy's fist hits your ribs with all its might ... Training at Ip Men's school put his body in impenetrable muscle armor , taught an almost perfect combat technique. Bruce tested it on his classmates and the results were more than satisfying.

Soon, his parents sent him to another school - it turned out that the lessons with Ip Men were good for the child. Of course, he did not become an excellent student, but the senseless mischief that bothered the Jesuit fathers greatly diminished. Young Li no longer had the strength to leprosy: after practicing Wing Chun, every bone ached - lightness came only in the fifth year.

But now Bruce Lee has calmed down. He became the king of the school - on the street he was always accompanied by a respectful retinue. Having dealt with his classmates, Bruce Lee took up the English boys: they constantly fought with little Chinese and, as a rule, beat them for nothing. The British were much larger, besides, in their schools they taught to box, but blows with a knee to the chin, forehead to the nose and elbow to the ear were a devastating surprise for them. One after another, the rulers of the seas went into a deep knockdown, and with each black eye and sagging nose, the authority of Bruce Lee grew: in Hong Kong they well remembered the "Opium War", the plundered Beijing and the inscriptions "Dogs and Chinese are not allowed", which had recently disappeared from the central parts of the city.

Life smiled at Bruce Lee, and by the age of eighteen he felt almost happy. When he was very young, his father taught him to dance, and now he won the Hong Kong cha-cha-cha championship, played several children's roles in action films. No one argued with him on the street. In his free time from fighting and training, Bruce Lee took dance lessons. Now he looked like a dandy - his hair carefully licked and greased, an impeccably ironed black suit (he ironed it himself, not trusting his mother), a narrow tie with an even knot. Whether it's a missionary school student or a variety show dancer, it's the perfect target for a fun-loving street hooligan.

On the streets of Hong Kong, mama's sons were not treated kindly. It was pleasant to spit on the patent boot, to pull on the tie. But after that, the impudent received sau-do - Bruce Lee's favorite blow, when the edge of the palm hardened by many hours of training falls on the attacker's throat. One day he saluted three members of the Hong Kong Triad with them, two of whom were hospitalized.

The oldest of the Asian criminal communities, the "Triad" has existed for hundreds of years: having emerged as a secret society that fought against the Manchu conquerors, over time it switched to the drug trade. Those who joined it were bound by mutual responsibility: society demanded absolute loyalty from its people, and in return provided them with protection. If people from the "Triad" began to beat up with impunity in the streets, the clan's power and prestige would not be worth a penny. Bruce Lee now had to die - quickly and painfully as possible. Born in San Francisco, he was saved by the fact that he was considered a US citizen - his mother packed up in one evening, bought a boat ticket and sent Bruce to America to visit friends. Grace Lee, terrified to death, did not even suspect that she was sending her son to meet wealth and fame.

Seventy years ago, the first shipment of Chinese was brought to the United States. America was rapidly covered by a network of railways, for their construction, cheap labor was needed - poor, hardworking and unrequited Asians were perfect for this. The right hook was considered the best argument in dialogue with them: the poor peasants from remote Chinese villages, who had never learned martial arts, endured such treatment with Confucian patience. Time passed, morals softened, but laundries and cheap restaurants remained the lot of American Chinese - in one of them Bruce Lee got a job.

Bruce Lee soon became a movie star. It happened, in general, by accident: TV producer William Dozier was looking for an actor for a role in a new series, a man who studied with Bruce was nearby, and the role went to him. Then he was given a new role, and then bypassed for the sake of an American actor. Bruce Lee was worried - it seemed to him that his film career was not working out, but when he arrived in Hong Kong, his fellow countrymen were ready to carry him in their arms. It turned out that at home he is wildly popular - in hometown Lee Jang Fan returned to the halo of an American movie star and at the same time a warrior who beat the "white devils".

Wife - Linda Lee Cadwell.
Son - actor Brandon Lee (1965-1993).
Daughter - Shannon (1969).

Bruce Lee died on July 20, 1973 at the 33rd year of his life in Hong Kong.
The actor was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Bruce Lee died suddenly after taking a pill for a headache, not having time to finish the next film "Game of Death". The autopsy showed that the cerebral edema was caused by a hypersensitive reaction to the headache pill. His death was a shock to the whole of Hong Kong - no one could imagine that this person, who perfected his body day and night, could die. After his death, rumors began to spread that he died in the bed of his mistress, but they did not find confirmation. Bruce Lee's funeral turned into a city-wide, and then an all-Asian mourning. Thousands of friends and fans came to pay their last respects to him. Bruce Lee's body was then transported to Seattle, where his family said goodbye to him, and where he was buried. The grave of Bruce Lee is still visited by martial arts lovers in Seattle. And his last film was filmed five years later with the help of stunt doubles, was a huge success and sparked a new wave of interest in kung fu and oriental martial arts.

Bruce Lee (1940-1973) - American and Hong Kong film actor, screenwriter and director, producer, philosopher, promoted martial arts, was a master of martial arts and a director of battle scenes and stunts.

Childhood

Bruce Lee was born in the American city of San Francisco. It was November 27, 1940, the Year of the Dragon in the Eastern calendar. In a hospital in Chinatown on Jackson Street, between 6 and 8 am (this time is considered the hour of the Dragon), a boy was born, whose parents gave the name Li Siu Lung, which means "Little Dragon" in Chinese.

It was customary for the Chinese to give children several names in order to protect them from evil spirits, so the mother named the boy another name, Li Jang Fan, which in Chinese means "Come back." And one of the nurses who adopted the boy suggested an American name for him - Bruce. In general, they took partly from all the names and in the birth certificate, which was issued in the Chinese hospital in San Francisco, wrote Bruce Lee. Although, for a very long time, no one called the child who was born with such a name.

His father, Lee Hoi Chuan, was a comedian actor in the Cantowaye Opera Room (a kind of Chinese variety show and music hall). He earned quite well and at the time of the birth of his son was on tour with his wife in America. When it became clear that her husband was about to give birth, Lee Hoi Chuan left her in the San Francisco maternity hospital.

Mom, Grace Lee, was of Eurasian origin, her father is Chinese and her mother is German. In Hong Kong, she was brought up in the family of local tycoon Robert Hothun.

Bruce Lee first appeared on the movie screen at the age of 3 months as a baby girl in the film "Girl's Golden Gate".

In 1941, the parents with the baby Bruce returned to their native Hong Kong, where the boy's childhood passed. He grew up an incredible shkodnik, the second such in Hong Kong was difficult to find. The whole quarter did not know peace from him, he did not walk around the city, but rushed around, he was friends with just anyone, stole apples from stalls from street vendors. And what was considered a special sin for the Chinese, Bruce did not obey his parents at all.

Bruce Lee's father, despite the fact that he earned decent money, did not spend money at all on children, but on entertainment and women who adored the comedian actor. He had several apartments that he rented out, at that time it was considered a whole fortune.

Nevertheless, the family lived in conditions that would horrify any American or European. One single large room where everyone slept together - father and mother, children, grandparents, servants and a dog (they had a large German shepherd). In the middle of this room was a huge table, at which they ate, and studied, and played.

Water was brought into the house once a week for several hours, and any empty dishes were filled with it. There was no concept of "bath" for the inhabitants of this house. At best, the family managed to shower like a cat, rubbing drops and splashes all over the body. But they were piously convinced that they also lived in the governor's palaces, because most of the other Chinese families lived even worse, in miserable and cramped shacks.

Education

At the age of six, Bruce was sent to study at a Jesuit school. It would seem that the Jesuits, who have been doing missionary work in China for so many years, should have easily dealt with little Li. But with this nimble, frail and thin child, they could not do anything. He was not attracted either English, no arithmetic, I just wanted to fight with someone and break my nose.

Nevertheless, many years later, his mentors recalled Bruce Lee as an intelligent, lively and receptive boy. The main thing was to find a gentle approach to him, to occupy his imagination with something interesting. But over time and their patience came to a limit, Bruce was expelled from school.

Despite the outward weakness and frailty, he was not so interested in anything in life as fights. He was absolutely fearless and evasive, constantly participating in all kinds of street showdowns, not paying attention to the weight and height of his rivals. He found a reason for a fight in any look he did not like, sigh or spit of the oncoming boy. Very often he got it, and a lot, sometimes Bruce was beaten twice a day. My mother lamented in the evenings, mending torn clothes and washing abrasions, while my father lectured.

But then the stingy dad, who was not too fond of giving money to his children, became generous and gave Bruce Lee a certain amount for kung fu lessons ($ 12 per lesson). He was so tired of all these bruises and wounds that he hoped that if his son went to learn martial arts, then all this chaos would end.

Bruce Lee's teacher was a former police officer from Namhoe City who fled to Hong Kong to escape Mao Zedong's persecution. Ip Man opened his own school in Hong Kong and made money by raising real fighters from street pranks like Bruce Lee. The training was difficult, every day I had to run 5 km, do acrobatics and full contact fights, endlessly hit the bags filled with sand, and do several hundred push-ups. As a result, Bruce perfectly mastered the techniques of boxing and judo, wing chun and jiu jitsu, masterfully mastered the nunchucks, and later developed a new style in kung fu - jitkundo.

Simultaneously with his kung fu studies, Bruce Lee entered the prestigious La Salle College of Comprehensive Development at the age of 12. However, studies did not interest him at all, he received poor grades, and did not find a common language with his classmates. Nevertheless, the teenager's kung fu lessons benefited the teenager, he was no longer so mischievous, after training every bone ached, and there was simply no strength left for leprosy.

On top of that, at the age of 14, Bruce Lee began to study cha-cha-cha dancing. And four years later he won the dance championship in Hong Kong.

At the age of 18, Bruce Lee became the king of the school, no one argued with him on the street. He greased and licked his hair, carefully ironed his own black suit, not trusting his mother, tied a thin tie with a beautiful knot. In a word - handsome, very much like a dancer from a variety show.

Film career

In 1946, a picture was released in which Bruce Lee played his first significant role. It was the film "The Origin of Humanity", as the actor himself later believed, it was from that moment that his film career began.

By the age of 18, about 20 roles in Chinese films had accumulated in his acting list. In 1958, the film "Orphan" was released, where Bruce Lee starred in the title role. In his career, this was the last film where he played a teenager and where he has not yet used his martial arts skills.

At the age of 19, Bruce Lee, who rightfully had American citizenship (since he was born in America), went to San Francisco, and from there to Seattle. There he turned to an acquaintance of his father, who ran a restaurant, and she took Bruce to her job as a waiter.

Working in a restaurant, Bruce devoted a lot of time to his studies, studied art, studied at the Edison Technical School and at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Washington. During his studies, Bruce often gave lectures, where he taught Americans oriental martial arts... Soon this talent was noticed by film producers and directors, Bruce Lee began to be invited to the shooting of the series.

He very quickly became popular in America, Bruce Lee had not only fans, but also students. He soon opened a martial arts school, where he taught his own developed style of jitkundo. His lessons were expensive and could provide him with a comfortable living with his wife and children, but Bruce wanted to act in a big movie, and Hollywood did not offer him such roles.

In 1971, Bruce made the decision to return to Hong Kong. A new film studio had just opened there, and he arranged with the director to be cast in the lead role and allowed to stage the action scenes himself. The director took the risk, but not in vain, the success of the movie "Big Boss" was deafening, and Bruce Lee turned all the old ideas about the martial arts on its head. First, Asian audiences marveled at Lee's skillfully and naturally filmed battle scenes and every polished move by Lee, and then the wave swept around the world.

The next two films, now with more decent budgets, "Path of the Dragon" and "Fist of Fury" made Bruce Lee a superstar. These paintings have broken all records at the box office.

He was incredibly talented as a director of combat choreography. Many karate stars of that time were guided by him, Arnold Schwarzenegger always considered the figure of Bruce Lee to be an ideal, because he subjected himself to unthinkable loads and developed his body to perfection. This is evidenced by such facts as push-ups on two fingers of one hand or pull-ups using only one little finger to grip the bar.

In total, Bruce Lee starred in 36 films, almost the same number of films were shot about his life and work. The last finished picture with his participation was the tape "Exit of the Dragon".

Personal life

While studying at the University of Washington, Bruce met a 17-year-old girl, Linda Emery. He gave a special lecture where he demonstrated his abilities in kung fu. Linda got to the first lecture by accident, and then continued to take lessons. Young people met and fell in love with each other. In the summer of 1964, their wedding took place.

In 1965, the couple had a son, Brandon, and in 1969, a daughter, Shannon.

Tragic fate waiting for Brandon, he died very young on the set. In the final scene, his character was shot with a pistol, during the filming, the shot was not blank, Brandon was wounded in the stomach, the bullet stuck in the spine. He died 12 hours later of blood loss. He was barely 28 years old, and in 17 days a wedding was to take place. Brandon died exactly 20 years after his father's death; they are buried nearby in Seattle.

Shannon Lee also became an actress, but now she is busy managing the Bruce Lee Foundation with her mother and her husband.

Death

Bruce Lee has been working on the new film, Game of Death. During the filming, he became very ill, he fell, began to choke, lose consciousness and convulse, while his eyes were open, but absolutely did not react to the light. After three minutes he came to his senses. After this incident, the best American doctors examined him, but did not find anything, they decided that at that moment Bruce had simply increased intracranial pressure.

Two and a half months later, Bruce Lee and his partner in the film "Game of Death" drove to the apartment of actress Betty Ting Pei, who played the main role in the film, to discuss some details. The three of them were working on the script when Bruce suddenly had a headache. Betty gave him the pain reliever the doctor had recently prescribed for her - equiagesic (a type of aspirin). He took a pill, and before that he took a few light cocktails.

In the evening, his partner began to get ready for a meeting, and Bruce felt unwell and lay down on the bed. He fell asleep and never woke up again. An autopsy revealed that Bruce died of cerebral edema, which was caused by the allergy of the healthiest person in the world to a banal aspirin pill.

There were incredibly many rumors about the cause of his death. Some said that during the autopsy, traces of marijuana were found in Bruce's stomach, allegedly he was on drugs to maintain such a shape. Others tried to prove that he was ruined by his “death touch” by the Sifu, who envied Bruce and did not want him to teach Eastern martial arts to Europeans and Americans. Some have argued that the death was staged.

The official funeral ceremony was held in Hong Kong, and then Bruce Lee was buried in Seattle. Five years later, in 1978, the film was released with his last role "The Game of Death", he appears on the screen for only 28 minutes, the rest of the time is played by an actor similar to Bruce.

I dragged the whole family to the cemetery. Yes, here at Lake View Cemetery is buried my childhood idol and one of a kind superman - Bruce Lee, next to his son Brandon Lee. Then, in the early 90s, admiring the abilities of this man, I had no idea that Bruce was outstanding not because of cinema, but in spite of all the limitations that cinema of that time had.

Bruce became the founder of a new martial arts school (as written on his tombstone) - jetkundo, his students were stars, and his short film career was Bruce Lee has starred in just 5 Hollywood films- gave birth to the phenomenon “ Bruceploitation"- a wave of cheap second-rate films with actors outwardly similar to Bruce, a total of 168 such fakes were counted.

So why is that? It's very simple - read these 15 facts proving that Bruce Lee was a superhuman that I did not know and I think you will also be interested.

1. Bruce was too fast for the camera

Bruce Lee could strike in 0.05 seconds from a distance of 1m and in 0.08 seconds from one and a half meters. On ordinary film (24 frames per second), such a blow was not visible - in one frame Bruce is standing in a rack, and in the next he is already in a rack again, but his opponent writhes in pain. So on the first takes of the Green Hornet ( Green hornet) rivals magically scattered around Bruce, who was standing almost motionless, which did not suit the producers.

Whereas combat videos are usually accelerated for dynamism, filmmakers asked Bruce to hit slower and filmed him with the most advanced technology at the time at 32 frames per second, and then slowed it down. And even so, all that was achieved was very blurry movements [...].

2. Bruce could do two-finger push-ups half a hundred times

On numerous occasions, Bruce Lee publicly demonstrated 50 one-arm push-ups, resting his thumb and forefinger on the floor just because he could.

Pulling up 50 times on two fingers of one hand was not a problem for him either.
Bruce could hold a 32-kg kettlebell in his outstretched hand for several seconds.

3. Bruce could hold the press for half an hour in any position

4. Bruce did over 8,000 exercises every day.

His daily allowance included 5,000 punches, 2,000 sidekicks, 360 waist twists, 100 sit-up twists, 200 leaning twists, 100 leg raises. and 200 frog kicks. And that's not counting training!

Even when Bruce was not exercising, he often did various exercises in his daily life - during the day, for example, when he was watching TV. He was a fan of abdominal training.

5. Bruce was too strong for a punching bag

With one side kick, Bruce Lee could break a standard 150 lb (68 kg) punching bag, so he was custom-made for training punching bags - two heavier (300 lb) and with a metal base. Rumor has it that even with such a pear, Bruce could send one side kick to the ceiling.

6. Bruce could deliver a crushing blow from a distance of 3 cm

In 1964, Bruce Lee was invited to the Logue Beach (California) Karate Championship to demonstrate his famous One Inch Punch.

Bob Baker - The person in this video then asked Bruce not to hold such demonstrations anymore, as he had to stay home the next day due to unbearable chest pains.

7. Bruce could send a man flying with one blow

Bruce was so much stronger than ordinary people that he almost never hit with full force, but there are cases when he kicked an assistant who was holding his training shield.

And once he shifted the guy's shoulder with what he called a "light slap."
His punch was impossible to block - he stabbed the US Karate Champion (Vic Moore) after warning about it ... Of course, the punch was not in full force, because then he could not repeat it 8 times.

8. Bruce has not lost a single fight

In fact, Bruce Lee only lost a fight once in his life: when he was 13 years old. It was this defeat that prompted him to study the martial art. After the other students learned that Bruce was not a purebred Chinese, they demanded that he stop training with them. The teacher had to study with him individually.

After that, Bruce really did not lose a single fight, either in street fights or in international competitions... Moreover, very few people ever managed to strike him. He fought his fastest fight in 1962, knocking out his opponent in 11 seconds with 15 punches and one leg.

9. Bruce was a great boxer, dancer and poet

In 1958, Bruce Lee won two tournaments at once - the Hong Kong Cha-Cha Championship and the Boxing Championship. His secret hobby was poetry. According to the assurances of experts, he produced very good poetry.

10. Bruce could punch his fingers through an unopened can of Coke.

And in those days, the layer of aluminum from which the container was made was much thicker than today.
He could also break a 15 cm thick board.

11. Bruce could jump 2.5 meters from a standing position

What he demonstrated in the film Marlow, where he knocked out a light bulb in a jump.

12. Bruce could catch a grain of rice with his chopsticks

Trying to develop his reflexes more, Bruce Lee practiced catching a grain of rice in flight with chopsticks. […]

13. Bruce could light a match with his nunchucks

Bruce Lee glued the strike from a matchbox to the nunchucks and was able to deliver such an accurate strike that they neatly struck the match and set it on fire. By the way, the assistant was holding a match in his teeth.

And here is the fact that he could play nunchucks in table tennis- a fake made in 2008 for advertising Nokia N96 ...

14. Bruce could swap the coin in your hand faster than you clench your fist.

15. Bruce is cooler than Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris was one of Bruce Lee's students, his friend, and one of those who carried his coffin at his funeral in Seattle. Bruce "defeated" Chuck in Way of The Dragon [ …], and when Chuck Norris was asked who would win the mortal combat, he replied: "Bruce, of course, no one can beat him."

In 1970, Bruce Lee suffered a back injury that could no longer play sports. He trained with a 45 kg kettlebell without warming up and was hospitalized with a pinched spine. Doctors said that, at best, Bruce would be able to lead a normal life without serious stress and that for six months he would learn to walk again. He soon left the hospital on foot and became even stronger and faster than before.

However, back pain did cause his death (conspiracy theory aside) three years later, on May 10, 1973, when an unusual brain allergic reaction to painkillers interrupted the life of a one-of-a-kind superman, Bruce Lee.

By the way, the real video footage of Bruce Lee, lying in the coffin, was included in his last film - Game of Death, where Bruce's character allegedly faked his death.

This is what Bruce Lee's grave looks like today in Seattle, where he is buried next to his son, Brandon Lee, who also died under mysterious circumstances on the set of the film The Raven (on the map).

Every day in this place of the cemetery is very crowded, many fans even drive through the cemetery in cars, just like through Drive-Thru in McDonald's - a mess.

By the way, since Seattle is a city founded by lumberjacks (what are you talking about), many of these brave guys are buried in this cemetery, some of whom died in battles in the First World War.