Bruce
Lee was born in San Francisco on November 27, 1940. He was the fourth
child born to Hoi Chuen Lee and his wife Grace. As a young child he moved
to Hong Kong with his parents. He was constantly sick and weak, and his
mother would take care of him. Gradually, he became robust and full of
life. These traits would characterize Bruce Lee's personality throughout
his life.
Growing up, Bruce was involved in local street gangs and always got into
trouble. In his parochial school, Bruce often bullied other children.
Interestingly enough, Bruce turned to kung fu because he felt insecure
without his gang. He studied several styles of kung fu, and soon settled
on wing chun. His si fu, or instructor, in that art was Yip Man.
During his senior year in high school, Bruce entered an amateur boxing contest. Despite the fact that he had never trained as a boxer, he won the competition and was declared Hong Kong High School Champion. He also won the High School cha cha championship that same year.
Bruce left for the United States to pursue a degree in Philosophy at the University of Washington. After a few months of moonlighting as a dishwasher, Bruce decided to teach kung fu. Although he was not interested in sports, he was particularly fascinated with self-defense, so much so, that he would buy any and all books on the subject and study them intently.
