Bruce Lee's struggle should be counted from the age of 19 when he traveled to the United States with $100 in his pocket to make a living.
The cruise took him through Kobe, Yokohama, Hawaii, and on to San Francisco, the land of his uncertain future. In Hong Kong, he was a famous child star and street fighter, but here in San Francisco, which is not really an American society, he is just one of the countless Chinese who came to the United States to look for gold, and he can only do some odd jobs and live in the shabby slums.
San Francisco is most proud of the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. Bruce Lee stood on the bridge, leaning on the fence looking out over the blue sea. The other side of the ocean, is Hong Kong, he remembered his parents "hope that the son of the dragon". He was determined to change his mind, and strive for self-improvement, to make the results to confirm that he is a dragon!
Bruce Lee in San Francisco, do a little longer, a little more colorful occupation is to teach people to dance "ChaCha" (cha-cha-cha), his charges are low, few students, which is very disproportionate to his exquisite and elegant dance skills. In Hong Kong, he danced for fun; now he uses his dancing skills as a means of livelihood. Americans do not despise people engaged in any occupation, but Bruce Lee always feel a little helpless.
Three months later, he went to Seattle. He found a Chinese restaurant owned by Ms. Ruby Zhou, who received him warmly and took him in to work at the restaurant to earn money for living expenses and tuition.
Bruce Lee went to the local Edison Senior Industrial School (the Chinese equivalent of a vocational high school), which was a result of his lack of English proficiency and his inability to go directly to college. Ms. Chow, an old friend of Bruce Lee's father, was politically active and a spokesperson for the local Chinese community. But the face of Bruce Lee's father was mercilessly torn off on the day he started working - Ms. Chow acted like a boss, pointing at Bruce Lee without any expression and reprimanding him if he was not satisfied. Bruce Lee was furious, he has been in the United States for three months, although he also knows that "friends to friends, business to business" this creed, but he felt too sudden, simply can not stand. But Bruce Lee still put the anger forced down, according to the will of the boss Zhou, the work done to her satisfaction. Bruce Lee's behavior is very different from when he was in Hong Kong, according to the temper of the past, he would drop the plate to quit, or take the plate to smash her a full face.
Schools in the United States, and the conservative Hong Kong schools are very different, completely open, discipline lax loose, in Bruce Lee's view, the United States students simply play. At this time, Bruce Lee, parents can no longer urge him, the teacher will not restrain him, classmates will not be due to academic merit and worship or despise a person. Bruce Lee can be completely unrestrained and unrestrained. However, at this time, Bruce Lee has become a completely different person. He changed the style of anorexia and truancy in Hong Kong, meticulous, hungry to learn. He knew that tuition fees were not easy to come by, and in the face of adversity he realized many of the philosophies of life. He knows that science has always been his weak point, he used to hate it to the bone, like flies. Now, although he still doesn't like it, he has put in twice as much hard work as he did in the arts. He is more addicted to English, and he knows that when he comes to the United States, language is the most important thing, no matter whether he goes to college or to work in the community.
Bruce Lee's English level improved very quickly, began to do the hall, the wage is higher than doing chores, and tips. But Bruce Lee was still very depressed. He grew up with the desire to be an alpha, to dominate others without being dominated by them. Bruce Lee is in the position of being driven by everyone; the diners, the owners, the chefs can drive him.
Bruce Lee left Chow Kee's (there was a love affair that contributed to this) and vowed not to work in any restaurant - it would be too much of a straitjacket on his personality. He wanted to pursue an independent career, even if the income was only enough to make ends meet, but still more comfortable than being bound by others.
Bruce Lee met Takeshi Kimura, a Japanese-American businessman, when he was 19 and Kimura was 36. They became close friends, and Kimura willingly became Bruce Lee's disciple and follower. Bruce Lee had always wanted to open a martial arts school, but was unsure and had no money. Now with Kimura's encouragement and financial help, the martial arts school was opened.
Bruce Lee's martial arts school is located in a basement in Seattle's Chinatown, the original intention is to use this as a means of livelihood, and will be the promotion of Chinese martial arts and create a school. But starting a martial arts school was difficult, and very few people asked about it. After consulting with Kimura, Bruce Lee and Kimura took a few martial arts students to several universities in Seattle to give demonstrations. His clumsy and old-fashioned methods proved to be effective, and his performances became more and more popular with college students, with one or two students giving up their original hobbies and switching to Chinese kung fu each time, and the martial arts school began to take off.
In 1961, Bruce Lee successfully completed high school and entered Washington State University with honors, majoring in philosophy. At that time, medicine, law, and business were popular majors, while Lee chose the cold philosophy. Bruce Lee was an active and quiet double-sided person, he loved martial arts, lively and competitive, but also love to think quietly. Bruce Lee indulged in the sea of philosophy, he worshiped the East and West philosophers, there are Chinese Laozi, Zhuangzi, German Nietzsche, French Sartre. He found that the teachings of Sifu Ip Man, as well as the meaning embraced by the ancient stories of chivalry, could be found in the philosophy of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. The philosophies of Nietzsche and Sartre, in turn, were strikingly similar to Bruce Lee's combative and uninhibited nature." The "real man does not show his face" is the ancient Chinese warrior's code of conduct and the pursuit of the realm, and the young and aggressive Bruce Lee, always in the constant promotion of their own, publicize their own, in order to confirm their own "Superman".
Bruce Lee's brain is absolutely smart and good, more than enough to cope with school, the main focus on the kung fu. He rented a corner of a parking lot near his school for $20 a month to use as his martial arts studio. He and Kimura were very happy with the space, which was much more spacious and well-lit than the basement in Chinatown, and in 1962, the first Zhenfan Kung Fu Academy was opened.
By then, he had already made a name for himself as one of the most visible Chinese students on campus. He was a good publicist, a good speaker, and a good salesman, and some Americans joined Bruce Lee's disciples. He was always able to fill his classes as he wished, and tuition was $15 per month per student. For the shy Bruce Lee, this is a lot of income.
At that time, the U.S. war in Vietnam, Bruce Lee enlisted in the army, as a "soldier brother". But Bruce Lee's free and uninhibited nature would be willing to stay in the army? Bruce Lee stayed in the United States as a reservist and was sent to Vietnam at the end of the war. This was a great fortune for him, and a great fortune for the martial arts community.
Bruce Lee fell in love with Linda during his college years and later double dropped out of school to get married. For their love story, read Chapter 6 of Zhu Chunting's Kung Fu Movie Star Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee and Linda left Washington, D.C. for the more promising state of California. There he befriended the Filipino stick king Dan Iruzando, martial arts veteran Yim Keng Hai, National Karate Champion Lo Lai Shi, and the father of American Taekwondo, Lee Jun Kau. It was his dream to be in the movies, but since he came to the U.S., he had no connection with movies. He has never heard of any Chinese actor who has made it to Hollywood and taken his place, but he has never forgotten the movie and has a ray of hope. They drive to the heavenly Hollywood, but can only look from afar. The future, it was far away. As they left Hollywood, Bruce Lee leaned back in his seat, depressed, and Linda said, "You can do it, you will." In the back of Bruce Lee's struggle, Linda has always been straight quietly and faithfully support him.
In the fall of 1964, Bruce Lee participated in the National Karate Championships, defeating the three-time champion Luo Lishi and crowned champion, and Luo Lishi became a close friend and teacher and student.
In 1964, the Long Beach Karate Championships were a major turning point in Bruce Lee's life. Bruce Lee attended the competition as a guest performer, performing Wing Chun, Sheltering Eye Sticky Hands, Inch Fist, Shadowless Fist, and Two Finger Push-ups, which left all the spectators with their jaws on the floor. Bruce Lee in the Long Beach International Karate Competition in the outstanding performance, so that his fame in the United States martial arts fame, many martial arts masters from thousands of miles away to visit him, and the competition performance also contributed to the Bruce Lee took the first step into Hollywood.
After a long period of time, Bruce Lee was offered the role of Kato, the second lead in the Hollywood TV series The Green Hornet, which was interspersed with the loss of the role of Charlie Chan's eldest son and Bruce Lee's return to Hong Kong with Linda. The airing of The Green Hornet did not create much of a stir, but Bruce Lee, who played Kato, became increasingly popular with the audience. He was handsome, sensitive and skilled, and his performance in the show was far superior to that of Williams, who played the lead role of The Green Hornet.
Bruce Lee finally realized his dream of acting in Hollywood. He didn't make a name for himself, but he had already achieved a promising track record. His ultimate goal was to become a world-class kung fu star, a road that was uneven, grueling, and long.
Bruce Lee closed his martial arts school and wanted to be a professional actor. Then, with the guidance of Fishmon and Sherbrooke, the martial arts school was reopened, but not for everyone, not for $20 a month, but only for celebrities and the highly qualified, at $50 an hour, and then up to $250! -- so as to increase his fame.
Bruce Lee already had a place in Hollywood, and took on supporting roles as a martial arts instructor and whatnot, but always languished where he was, and even had to play the shifty gay killer in Scandalous Chatter. It's not easy to be a flash in the pan in Hollywood when you're a Chinese national. One critic said, "In a word, because Bruce Lee was Chinese. It's not that the heads of Hollywood had any prejudice against Bruce Lee himself, but that America's deep-rooted racial prejudice stifled their thinking like an invisible hand."
Despite his unfulfilling career, Lee didn't hang his head, but instead wrote confidently on a Post-it note:
My Definite Goal
I, Bruce Lee, will become the highest paid superstar of the Orient in the United States. In return, I will give the most exciting and powerful performances. Beginning in 1970, I will have earned a world-wide reputation; by 1980, I will have a fortune of ten million dollars, and by that time my family and I will be living a life of pleasure, harmony, and happiness.