Before Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme, there was Bruce Lee. Somehow, it is a real shame that many fans of the modern generation of the film have never been exposed to Bruce Lee because he was probably the greatest karate warrior. His martial arts skills in the film may not have been as sweet as Jackie Chan or Jet Li's say but his on-screen violence and love are incompatible. Even more significant was the impact that Bruce Lee had on the martial arts that he still has today, even more than 30 years after his death.
Bruce Lee always considered himself a military artist and second actor. As a karate master, he was ahead of his time in developing his karate style which he called a jeet than do. His martial arts incorporates very effective techniques from a variety of martial arts as he moves away from traditional and creative techniques. His fighting skills were real as well
honored by other prominent military artists such as Jhoon Rhee, Chuck Norris, Ed Parker and Joe Lewis. His name was entered the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame twice, once while he was still alive and another after his death. This is an honor that no other karate champion has ever been able to achieve. Martial Arts schools in North America have enjoyed significant growth in enrollment thanks to Bruce Lee.
North America first saw Bruce Lee while playing Kato on the Green Hornet television series and a small role in the film Marlowe. He traveled to Hong Kong and made several films such as Fists of Fury (called Big Boss in the Asian market) and Chinese Connection which made him a major star in Asia. Bruce Lee also wrote, directed and acted in a film production called The Way of the Dragon, which was probably one of the greatest martial arts ever. The incident took place at the Roman Coliseum and had Chuck Norris give Norris his first film debut. It was Enter the Dragon who rescued him to North America. Unfortunately, he died tragically at the age of 32 in 1973 before he could see the success of that movie. At the time of Lee's death, he had completed fighting scenes in another film called, The Death Game which featured basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabar, who was actually one of his karate students. Other Bruce Lee students include actors Steve McQueen and James Coburn. Game of Death ended with the same characters later.
One of Bruce Lee's most important contributions was the opening of a new international entertainment portfolio for Asians. He was the first Asian to achieve any significant success in North American entertainment. She has become a star in North America and around the world by playing heroes instead of the past roles of Asian people such as workers, gangsters, laundry workers or other ‘pigtail coolie’ characters. On a far grander scale, Bruce Lee gave Asians, especially Chinese people around the world, a reason to be proud. Bruce Lee encouraged them to be confident in moving forward to achieve their goals no matter where they were in the field.
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