The Bruce Lee Phenomenon Trivia Quiz

Answer: November 27th, 1940

Bruce was born in the year and hour (6-8 am.) of the Dragon. His Western zodiac sign was Sagittarius. His birth name was actually Lee Jun Fan which means 'Return again Lee', but the nurse called him Bruce. In his childhood he was nicknamed Sai Fung -'Never sit still'. His Chinese name was Lee Xiao Long- Lee "Little Dragon".

Answer: He lost a street fight when he was 13

Bruce was generally a loner at school and prone to street fights. After this loss he started sessions with Master Yip Man who taught Wing Chung, a type of Kung Fu. It works predominantly on punches and the central line theory. It is notable that this was to be his first and only formal training in martial arts.

Answer: San Francisco

At first he worked at Ruby Chow's restaurant, before enrolling at university doing a course on philosophy. He taught students Kung Fu to earn money.

Answer: teaching the Gwai Lo (Caucasians or 'foreign devils')

Bruce was somewhat of an idealist. He believed in equality and 'showing the world the beauty of his culture'.

Answer: The most neglected element of martial arts for student participation

Bruce believed to a large extent that skills in martial arts could be cultivated through passion, hard work and creativity. He explored many methods of training such as isometrics, weight training and circuit training. But first on his daily workouts was "mental training"- meditation, for instance. He rarely spoke publicly about this.

Answer: False

Maybe, but he was known to do it with chopsticks!

Answer: Abdominals

'My strength comes from the abdomen. It's the centre of gravity and the source of real power'

Answer: The way of the intercepting fist

He wrote a famous book on it "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do". It seems his Philosophy major influenced his ideas on fighting to a great extent, and for the good. He's quoted as saying "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. If you want to understand the truth in martial arts, to see any opponent clearly, you must throw away the notion of styles or schools, prejudices, likes and dislikes, and so forth.

Then, your mind will cease all conflict and come to rest. In this silence, you will see totally and freshly."

Answer: The honest expression of the human body

"To learn to express themselves through some movement, be it anger, be it determination or whatever. So, in other words, they're paying me to show them, in combative form, the art of expressing the human body."

Answer: True

A stuntman (playing Han) in Enter the Dragon said it felt like his eyes were going to pop out- on taking his sidekick. Bruce also once caved in a protective headgear, reinforced with steel rods.

Answer: No style, one must adapt to his/her opponent

Even his own creation Jute Keen Do is not intended to be the ultimate way of fighting; only a method of exploring yourself. Bruce did say however to 'absorb what is useful, reject what is not and apply what is essentially your own.'

Answer: Between 130-145 lbs

By the time he was acting in "Enter the Dragon" Bruce only weighed 9 stone! Though I presume Bruce worked towards an ideal weight, muscle size e.t.c for ultimate efficiency- considering the force he could employ. He could send people twice his weight into the air with a one inch punch, a stuntman man (in Way of the Dragon) claimed taking his kicks felt like being hit by a car (and he had been hit by a real car once), and he once dislocated a man's shoulder when punching his pad.

Answer: 5 foot 7 and a half

Apparently one of Bruce's legs was longer than the other. Suprisingly he was not accepted into the army because one of his testicles hadn't descended.

Answer: False

Bruce may have been good, but he was still only human. Some people do have extraordinarily hard bones, others more muscle fibers, different structures and metabolic rates. The cyclist Lance Armstrong, who has won the Tour de France many times has a heart a third bigger than normal, and his resting rate is only 32- half the average... Lance may be an exception but most advantages are quantifiable- as Bruce would say - "There is no effective segment of a totality".

Answer: Be like water

'Now you put water into a cup and it becomes the cup..Water can flow and it can crash. Be like water my friend'.

Answer: True

A short conversation on Bruce's fighting philosophy follows.
Monk : What is the highest technique you hope to achieve?

Answer: True

And that was in the days when they were made of steel, not the aluminium ones we use nowadays! (However, he cut himself and needed stitching when puncturing the cap on a bottle of beer, on the set of Big Boss.. So don't go trying those tricks.)
Bruce Lee : To have no technique.

Answer: Talking about combat.. you need to develop every part of your body.

Bruce Lee : A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously.
Monk : What are your thoughts when facing your opponent?

Answer: The ability to produce a quick, sudden movement (explosive force) to move the body with maximum effort.

On pride he claimed "External pride is not the thing- it's internal self sufficiency".
Bruce : There is no opponent.
Monk : And why is that?

Answer: The ability of the body to assert great force.

Bruce Lee : Because the word 'I' does not exist.
Bruce Lee : A good martial artist does not become tense but ready, not thinking yet not dreaming, ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands I contract, when he contracts I expand and when there is an opportunity I do not hit, it hits all by itself.

Thanks for playing. Do send a note on what you thought, or email me at Rutley7@hotmail.com. My other quizzes include 'The Thundercats', 'The Paranormal' 'Extraordinary Insects' and "Palinagrams".