Today Sifu Bruce Lee would have turned 69, if he'd live to this day. I consider Mr. Lee my teacher and the source for inspiration.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Bruce:

Bruce Lee (Jun Fan, 李振藩, 李小龍; pinyin: Lǐ Zhènfān, Lǐ Xiăolóng; 27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) was a Chinese American and Hong Kong actor, martial artist, philosopher, film director, screenwriter, practitioner of Wing Chun and founder of the Jeet Kune Do concept. He is considered by many as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century, and a cultural icon. He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Lee was born in San Francisco, California, and raised in Hong Kong until his late teens. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional Hong Kong martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, and sparked the second major surge of interest in Chinese martial arts in the West. The direction and tone of his films changed and influenced martial arts and martial arts films in Hong Kong and the rest of the world as well. He is noted for his roles in five feature length films, Lo Wei's The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Bruce Lee; Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973), directed by Robert Clouse, and The Game of Death (1978).

Lee became an iconic figure known throughout the world and remains very popular among the Asian people and in particular among the Chinese, as he famously portrayed Chinese nationalism and upheld the Chinese national pride at a very crucial time in history and also of the Asians through his movies which reached every part of the known world. While Lee initially trained in Wing Chun, he later rejected well-defined martial art styles, favoring instead to utilize useful techniques from various sources.

Bruce Lee was born on 27 November 1940 at the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco's Chinatown. His father, Lee Hoi-Chuen, was Chinese, and his Catholic mother, Grace Ho (何愛瑜), was three quarters Chinese and a quarter German. Lee and his parents returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old. He was the fourth child of five children: Agnus, Phoebe, Peter, and Robert.

Although Lee is best known as a martial artist, he also studied drama and philosophy while a student at the University of Washington. He was well-read and had an extensive library. His own books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertions both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His eclectic philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. He believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts. His influences include Taoism, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhism. John Little states that Lee was an atheist. When asked in 1972 what his religious affiliation was, he replied "none whatsoever." Also in 1972, when asked if he believed in God, he responded, "To be perfectly frank, I really do not."

The following quotations reflect his fighting philosophy.

"Be formless... shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend..."
"All kind of knowledge, eventually becomes self knowledge"
"Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."
"Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there."
"A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough."
"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it."
"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."

Mr. Lee's legacy lives on.

Please visit:

The Bruce Lee Foundation and the Official Bruce Lee site for more information.

Thank you, Linda and Shannon, for keeping the legacy of your husband and father alive. To me personally he is much more, than a Great Martial Artist...

You are encouraged to follow Shannon on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.

Thank you!

-- Val Paliy