Evolution of Bruce Lee as an Artist and Filmmaker
Martial Art films- Trace the evolution of Bruce as a martial artist and film maker
Bruce Lee was an influential figurehead in both realms of martial arts and the film industry. The main philosophy of his beliefs as both a martial artist and a filmmaker was created via the integration and shaping of different concepts of martial arts, his belief of Taoism and ancient Chinese paradigms and the integration of this concept into his films. Through these, he has revolutionized the martial arts industry into the American film industry.
Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist), Bruce Lee’s self-compiled and self-discovered martial art style integrated and shaped the way people perceived martial art, both in the martial art community and in the film business. He started fighting as a young child and was involved in several street brawls (R. Lee, 2010) before his father taught him traditional martial art. Overtime, Bruce learnt off a teacher called Mr Hu Han San before beginning his formal training under YIp Man. To be taught by YIp man was a rare opportunity as the master had only up to six disciples at a time. Bruce would lie to his disciples that YIp man was not teaching that week, just to have private tuition. This determination to absorb as much knowledge of Wing Chun was unparalleled by any of YIp Man’s disciples and this open-minded and studious approach to learning, set a benchmark to Bruce’s success in his later years. His newly adopted fighting method however got him into a lot of trouble.
To understand Bruce’s evolution as a martial artist and film-maker, one has to look into Bruce’s life as a rebel and also understand why he had to move to America. According to Shih Wu in his documentary of Bruce’s life, Bruce was forced by his father to move to America due to his constant street fights and feared that Bruce would end up in prison. However according to his younger brother’s biography (R. Lee, 2010), it was inevitable that Bruce had to leave Hong
Bruce Lee was an influential figurehead in both realms of martial arts and the film industry. The main philosophy of his beliefs as both a martial artist and a filmmaker was created via the integration and shaping of different concepts of martial arts, his belief of Taoism and ancient Chinese paradigms and the integration of this concept into his films. Through these, he has revolutionized the martial arts industry into the American film industry.
Jeet Kune Do (The Way of the Intercepting Fist), Bruce Lee’s self-compiled and self-discovered martial art style integrated and shaped the way people perceived martial art, both in the martial art community and in the film business. He started fighting as a young child and was involved in several street brawls (R. Lee, 2010) before his father taught him traditional martial art. Overtime, Bruce learnt off a teacher called Mr Hu Han San before beginning his formal training under YIp Man. To be taught by YIp man was a rare opportunity as the master had only up to six disciples at a time. Bruce would lie to his disciples that YIp man was not teaching that week, just to have private tuition. This determination to absorb as much knowledge of Wing Chun was unparalleled by any of YIp Man’s disciples and this open-minded and studious approach to learning, set a benchmark to Bruce’s success in his later years. His newly adopted fighting method however got him into a lot of trouble.
To understand Bruce’s evolution as a martial artist and film-maker, one has to look into Bruce’s life as a rebel and also understand why he had to move to America. According to Shih Wu in his documentary of Bruce’s life, Bruce was forced by his father to move to America due to his constant street fights and feared that Bruce would end up in prison. However according to his younger brother’s biography (R. Lee, 2010), it was inevitable that Bruce had to leave Hong
References: Shih, Wu 1973, Bruce Lee: The Man & the Legend, DVD, Golden Harvest Company, Hong Kong Wong, Manfred, 2010, Bruce Lee, My Brother, DVD, J.A Media, Hong Kong Mudge, James, 2011, Bruce Lee, My Brother Movie Review #2, Beyond Hollywood, Seattle, http://www.beyondhollywood.com/bruce-lee-my-brother-2010-movie-review-2/ Chinese Daily, 2012, Bruce Lee biopic tracks action hero’s early life, China.org, Beijing, http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2010-11/26/content_21427438.htm