I had decided to do China, (thanks to Bobby flipping a coin. It was between that and Japan) and I needed to research a dead person. I had previosly heard of Bruce Lee from Sarah's dad and I thought "well he sounds interesting enough". So I read his biography. And as I read his biography I realized that yeah he was a great martial artist but like because he didn't put up with any s**t and he knew how much he wanted to be paid, he inspired other actors to ask for more money too. When he was just starting out he asked for a contract worth so much that people thought he was insane becuase he wasn't even a star yet! But Bruce Lee knew how much money he was worth and he wouldn't settle for less. He improved the condition of actors in Hong Kong. Also, he became known as a symbol of hope for people in China. Poor people saw him in movies, fighting bad guys and it helped them to put up with the suffering and discrimination that they had to live through. (Yeah that part might not have made much sense but it was like three weeks ago when I read the biography and my memory's a little hazy... sweatdrop ) Some people refuse to believe that he has died, they just thinkg he's gone away for a while but he'll return when the time is right. Oh and he married an American women at a time when interacial marriage was unacceptable.
Ok so on top of all that, he created his own style of Kong Fu. It's called Jeet Kune Do. (I think I spelt that right...) Anyway, he didn't believe in seperating different kinds of Kong Fu. To Bruce, they were all the same. He said that unless we have three legs and four arms, fighting is all the same. We can't let our minds by controled by limitations. The only limitations there are, are the ones we make ourselves. Fighting is the way one expresses themself through their bodies. He though a lot about that kind of phisophical stuff. Last but not least, the reason why I really feel like I connect with him is that he wrote poems. Yes, poems. I've only had the chance to read a few of them but they're really good. They tend to be a little morbid, but hey, I write morbid stuff too! So yeah, I don't think I was able to fully express what I feel about Bruce Lee, I don't think that if I wrote a whole page I would be able too. But I do feel like writing this will help me to carry on his name. I mean I know people have heard of him, but do they know who he really was? Bruce was a great guy, he might have had a short temper but he also had a kind and caring side that not many people knew about. So I will always remember Bruce as the guy who inspired me to see things differently, not as Bruce Lee: a well known martial artist.
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