[+1]James Y wrote: ↑Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:29 pmYeah, I have no doubts that Bruce Lee probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I believe that back in the 1960s, his confidence sometimes came across as arrogance, and maybe he was arrogant. He most likely was; many martial arts people are. He was also young, and Chinese (technically, with a quarter German from his mom’s side). Many Chinese people, but especially non-Asians in the US back then, were probably taken aback and were not accustomed to seeing an Asian man openly exude so much self-confidence and assertiveness to the point of cockiness. Keep in mind, many non-Asians back then (and even now), were used to seeing Chinese men (and Asians in general) being portrayed as subservient. This could also have colored their views of Bruce Lee, possibly even amplifying his level of hubris in their minds.
My Choy Lee Fut kung fu teacher actually saw Bruce Lee demonstrating in person at the Ed Parker International Karate Championships in Long Beach in 1964, and he said that Bruce Lee was extremely fast, and was also very cocky. But he wasn’t the twerp (or the cartoon character) that QT made him out to be.
I recall a story by Bruce Lee’s first American student, Taky Kimura, a Japanese-American whose self-esteem had been at an all-time low ever since being incarcerated in one of the Japanese-American internment camps during WW2. Kimura stated that it was Bruce Lee who told him that nobody was better nor worse than he was, and to hold his head high and be proud of himself. That was the beginning of Taky Kimura gaining his self-esteem. It takes a LOT more than some complete jerk to inspire self-esteem in someone who doesn’t have any.
Jim
Without my father who enrolled me into Judo at the age of 9(the start), or Bruce Lee(the visionary) I never would have continued to study martial arts.