One fine evening, I was at home and was trying to find out something good on Television. I found one English movie channel, was broadcasting something great! I stood, thinking if the stuff was good out there, I would watch it! And to my surprise, the stuff was not good, it was marvelous. A man was fighting with ten goons alone and there were no special effects, no cables, no “Emotional Atyachaar” kind of fighting scenes but pure movements of punches and kicks! A single kick and the opponent is down, even the Hero material, rarely used his hands. He just went on kicking and in less than 5 minutes, the fight scene was over! Believe me, this was not any “In-digestive fighting scene”, it was divine greatness possible on celluloid. The scene was from one of the biggest block busters of all the time, “The way of the dragon” and the hero was none other than “The dragon itself” – Bruce Lee!

Born on 27th November-1940 (Both in the Dragon year and Hour according to Chinese Zodiac) and died on 20th July-1973, at the blooming age of 32 years and 8 months! Yes, today on 27th Nov'13, the Bruce Lee phenomena, came into existence! Painful because, the 70mm screen is no longer able to deliver those unforgettable and unbelievable fighting scenes. The death of this legend is still a mystery and I will no longer run after the reason for it in this writing of him, but I would like to utter those beautiful moments which I spent with him. I will try to highlight some of those unknown parts of Bruce Lee, which are still behind the curtains for masses of people. I will try to bridge two different personalities of this legend, Bruce as a warrior and Lee as a Meditator! I will try to unveil the story of a street fighter turning into the Kung fu legend.

There was a street fighter in China and upon loosing one fight in the streets, that young blood was so sad and unready to accept the fact that he was defeated. He decided not to accept that he was weak and tried looking for someone who could help him getting out of his weakness. On the path of this search, one day he met a simple fellow wearing Peace on his face! He acclaimed that he was a Martial arts teacher and Bruce could not believe in that. He thought a martial arts teacher and this much simple and sober? How could be this possible? He tested that person by throwing some amature punches and kicks to him, but that “looking like a weak person”, not only defended but defeated Bruce and his friends within few minutes without giving them a single injury! By seeing this, Bruce was convinced that this is the person, he was looking for and there, he met his master Yip, on whom a “Ip Man” triology succeeded.

Not a surprise that Bruce’s father was summoned many times by the police officer for Bruce’s fights in the school and this thing made him decide to send Bruce to his homeland, where he was born, Sanfancisco. So after getting thorough training of “Wing Chung” from Yip Man, Bruce at the age of 18, was sent to Washington to get the education. He enrolled there as a student of Philosophy and Lee mastered that too. Here he found his would-be-wife, Linda. Apart from doing the odd jobs (A dancer, a newspaper-man, waiter in the restaurants), Bruce was searching for him self in those years. He was devoted to his art “Gung fu (which later turned to Kung fu)” and was planning a career of being a teacher in this. I don’t know how many, but a very few people on the earth may be aware of this that, Bruce got married to Linda in 1964, had his son Brandon (1965) and THEN he entered into Film industry by “Green Hornet”. Later in 1969, the couple had a baby girl named “Shannon” and up to this point the world was not at all aware about the BruceLee. This can be an Inspiration for those who are considering marriage as a barrier for the progress in Films!

Apart from doing and thinking of Martial arts, Bruce was doing nothing. Bruce lee had deep love towards Martial arts and that love was not at the physical level of defending and fighting but he was searching for the roots of this tremendous arts. This led him to the level of fighting where he was told by his on-screen master in “Enter the Dragon”, “I can see that your talents have gone beyond the physical level and have entered into the spiritual levels.” Bruce lee after getting enrolled in the University of Washington, opened a few schools to teach Gungfu, as his first plan for the career was to be a teacher of martial arts. But there, upon being challenged by a Gungfu expert on teaching this art to Nonchinese, Bruce found that his traditional Gung- fu is not sufficient, on looking to his performance of defeating the challenger within 3 minutes! Bruce lee was upset with this result, that it took 3 minutes(!) to defeat that person and this resulted into the foundation of his own developed art, by taking inspiration from the various fighting arts and his own experiences, “Jeet Kune Do (JKD)”.

Bruce landed in the film industry by full fledge from “Big Boss” following by “Fist of Fury” and took the control of Film Audience. It was very difficult at that time to make your voice hear on the international platform for the Chinese people, and at that time, Bruce became the most beloved Actor/ Fighter/ Fight choreographer/ Writer/ Director and Producer by the ever lasting beauty – “The way of the dragon” also called “Return of the dragon” in Hollywood movies. This film featured International Karate expert – “Chuck Norris” who then became one of the closest friends of Lee.

You can see the beauty of Bruce in every of his films that his some of the actions movements are still unclear on the cameras. Hitting the darts towards a goon, breaking elbow joint of Norris are the best examples of this saying in “The way of the dragon”. In “Big Boss”, Bruce was asked several times to slow down his movements, so that cameras could capture him! In this movie, the trained dogs were out of their breathing, chasing for Bruce in one scene! Be it, “Taking a high jump across the long gate in Big Boss”, “Applying Fly kick to Japanese Master in Fist of fury without cables” OR “Jumping and twisting body in the air, across six pupils in Enter the dragon” OR “Breaking the bulb above two hands of his head, with one simple straight kick in Way of the dragon” OR “Kicking on the face of opponent who was taller than Bruce by two hands in Game of Death”, nothing was impossible for him. Bruce Lee was the milestone of everything he used to do.

Bruce is well known in all over the world for his Martial arts but a secret is that, Bruce lee was also one of the best Painter/ Dancer/ Philosopher. Bruce was in deep love with meditation, yes you read the right word – Meditation! Meditation is the art wherein, the Peace and the Power both dwell equally and with same speed. He planned his life after 35 years. He wanted to become a Tao Master after 35 years. He wanted to renounce the materialistic world and wanted to go in deeper peace of within and with the experience of that, he wished to portray this inner beauty on screen. But Alas! GOD perhaps didn’t wish that and called Bruce so early, back to home. Today, people learn Kungfu to do the street quarrel, to dominate others where Bruce was in this art to find his own self. Bruce lee was master of Martial arts with and to become the master in this art- where each muscle of body is in the active mode, concentration is the core and without meditation, this can’t come! This is the power of meditation that it brings out the inner.

Interesting experiment to do, to understand the Spiritual power of Bruce Lee:

- Take a paper and pen your feelings after watching a fight scene in any Hollywood/ Bollywood movie. You will certainly feel anger/ Hatred/ Anxiety/ Insecurity and tension.
- Now, get some Bruce Lee’s CD/ DVDs and do the same thing. Pen your feelings again and you will see that you will FORGET to FEEL. You will not be able to note your feelings on a paper. You will lost in his fighting art just like something gets lost in the flowing water. There, in his fight scenes, you will not feel any tensed movements, just the art will be there and you will get stuck in that.

Some interesting and unbelievable, but true facts about Bruce Lee.
1) Bruce could throw power out of his body and could punch his opponent with 1 Inch Distance! Yes, without touching.
2) He could do pushups with the help of only Index finger and thumb. He was the first in this kind of excercise, which later became great success in Gym.
3) It was not possible to pinch Bruce Lee. His muscles were this much tensed and hard.
4) Within some fraction of seconds, he could snatch away the coin from anybody’s palm. And if someone is given a task to open his fist, no one could ever be able to open it.
and there are ENDLESS….

THIS was his height! Bruce him self said, “Be like a water. Be formless! Don’t be tensed just be ready to fight!”

Today, when Bruce is not with us, I want to salute this War-Maestro.

“Bruce, you are one of them, I admire the most in my life. I have come to learn a lot many things from your life. You’re so amazing on screen OR off screen that I can’t stop thinking of you. I never felt that you are not here, you always ARE and will be. Rest In Peace Master. NO words are there to tell the world Who and What Bruce Lee – the dragon, was! The world only can FEEL Bruce Lee …”