In ESPN’s 30 for 30 – Be Water, recalling the life and times of the late martial arts superstar Bruce Lee, his wife Linda Lee Cadwell acknowledged her beloved Bruce’s profound legacy:
His philosophy was one of self-actualization. Don’t accept that you are this stereotype image that is cast upon you by others. Find what is worthwhile about yourself and express it.
Amen. When I was 10 years old, Bruce Lee was my Hero. His posters filled my bedroom walls. Although, I didn’t get to see any of his movies. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me see R-rated movies. Still, I was a fan of the TV shows: The Green Hornet and Longstreet. Bruce was strong, beautiful, and so very cool. I wanted to be like Bruce Lee.
Bruce was as authentic as he could be. In the 1971 interview in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee said:
To me, ultimately martial arts means honestly expressing yourself. But it’s very difficult to do. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly enough, that my friend, is very hard to do.
You have to train. You have to keep your reflexes so that when you want it, it’s there. When you want to move, you’re moving. And when you move, you are determined to move… Not anything less than that. And if I want to punch, I’m gonna do it. So that is the type of thing you have to train yourself: To become one with the punch.
Throughout his life and career, Bruce Lee honestly expressed himself to the world. In 1973, Bruce died at the young age of 32. Tragically, he passed away before the worldwide release of his iconic movie Enter the Dragon. No, my parents didn’t let see R-rated Enter the Dragon, either. Eventually, I saw it many years later. It was awesome, too.
When I was 12 years old, after returning from our family’s summer vacation, Mom ‘made’ me take Aikido. She wouldn’t let me take any martial art that had punching and kicking, like karate or kung fu. None of that for me. So I started Aikido classes when I was in 7th grade. Mom religiously drove me to Aikido practice 3 times a week.
Still, back then Bruce Lee inspired me to be the best martial artist that I could be. It was what Linda said about Bruce: He was true to himself. Bruce’s authentic expression touched and inspired me those many years ago.
When I was 14 years old, I quit Aikido, so that I could concentrate on my studies at the college prep school that Mom and Dad paid a lot of money for me to attend. Still, my love for Aikido sustained. When I moved to Los Angeles to start work as an engineer after graduate school, I renewed my Aikido training with Mizukami Sensei. That began our amazing 25-year journey together until Sensei passed away.
Sensei was the father I needed to evolve the greater-than version of myself. I’m now Sensei, like him. Sensei is my authentic expression: I guide others in inventing their greater-than versions, what Mizukami Sensei had done for me over the years.
Although, the international box office movie star, Bruce’s authentic self-expression was of Sifu, of Sensei. Bruce taught Dan Inosanto, Steve McQueen, Kareem Abul-Jabbar, and many other students. I too, represent Sensei’s and Bruce’s legacy of service to others. Service makes a difference for others and makes a difference for me.
30 for 30 – Be Water profiled the depth and breadth of the racial prejudice and bigotry that Bruce endured in his pursuit of Hollywood stardom as a Chinese American.
Bruce originated the concept of the ABC TV series Kung Fu. He worked with Jerry Thorpe and Ed Spielman developing the show about half-Chinese, half-American Shaolin Priest Kwai Chang Caine in America during the 1870s. When casting the series lead, the ABC Network chose David Carradine, who wasn’t Chinese, to play Caine.
Maybe, virtually unknown Bruce presented too great a financial risk as the lead actor in a major American TV series. That might just have been sound business acumen. Yet, it might have also occurred as myopic euphemistic racism. Just saying.
In the aftermath, Bruce was extremely disappointed. Yet, he didn’t complain. He believed in himself. He left Hollywood to make movies in Hong Kong. In 1971 Bruce became the Box Office Movie Star in China. He returned to the US, signing with Warner Brothers to make Enter the Dragon. The rest is Hollywood Movie Lore.
As the 10-year-old, I didn’t yet appreciate the man that Bruce Lee was nor the tremendous adversity he overcame. As a kid, I was mesmerized by his handsome face, his perfect body, and his martial arts mastery. Back then, I was the short nerdy fat kid, who hated on myself, suffering in an abusive childhood.
As a child, I was never strong enough, never smart enough. Really, I was never going to be enough. Bruce Lee gave hope that one day, I too could be strong, that I too could be great. Bruce’s authentic expression was being the best that he could be. That was freedom to me.
For the 10-year-old with Bruce’s posters up on his bedroom walls, that was so very meaningful. Bruce gave hope that in whatever I had suffered, I could be good enough, if I put in the work if I grind it out. Amen.
Now, I’m Yondan, 4th-degree black belt in Aikido. I’m Sensei. I guide students discovering their greater-than versions, that honors the late Mizukami Sensei. That honors Bruce’s enduring spirit, too.
I’ve evolved as a writer with a generous platform to express myself. In healing my childhood trauma and depression with my Therapist Lance, I invented my greater-than versions. I write about finding the balance in our humanity, of love, and forgiveness for ourselves. Perhaps, that makes a difference for someone out there, someone who suffered, someone who could have been me.
Cheryl taught me the Japanese aesthetic wabi-sabi – the beauty in our imperfection. She said, “Life is imperfectly perfect.” We have power in accepting ourselves.
Perhaps, my authentic expression:
Love and forgive thine own self. We can love ourselves for who we are, and forgive ourselves for who we’re not. We just train. We can all leave the world a little greater than when we came into it.
That’s my dream, my purpose. That was Sensei’s and Bruce’s, too. Just saying.
What’s your authentic expression? Just asking. The world is waiting and listening.
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