So rumor has it you know more about Bruce Lee than anyone you know, right?
That’s one thing every Bruce Lee fanatic in the world is good at, it’s hunting down as much specific detail about the man they idolize and finding out as much about him as possible.
But it doesn’t matter how much you know, there are so many other fans out there who managed to dig up some more crazy information on the the Little Dragon.
So I’ve spent some time scouring the web (from reputable sources) for some stuff you might not have heard before, some of it interesting, some obscure and some just plain weird.
So let’s get to it…
Weird Fact #1: Bruce Lee voiced most of the English voices in his films! Yep, all the English speaking guys in Way of the Dragon (apart from the mighty Chuck Norris) and his other Hong Kong films released before Enter the Dragon were voiced by the main man himself. I’m not sure why, but a fact is a fact!
Weird Fact #2: Bruce was partly German. Bruce’s Grandfather was 100% German!. This “non-pure” Chinese status prevented his acceptance into many Kung Fu schools back in the 50’s and slimmed his choices. Lucky though, otherwise he may have never learned Wing Chun from Wong Sheung Long under the guidance of Yip Man.
Weird Fact #3: Bruce had a shot removed from the Big Boss where he cut into an opponents head with a handheld saw. This is pretty common knowledge, but if you didn’t know this, all you have to do is go back and watch The Big Boss fight in the ice factory, you’ll see him attack the camera with a saw and skip past the resulting blow. This was removed because it was seen as being a little too violent for Hong Kong audiences.
Weird Fact #4: Apparently, he was a terrible driver! Many of Bruce’s American friends have said in interviews in the past that Bruce Lee wasn’t a ‘gifted driver’ and would occasionally ask his buddy Steve Golden to drive for him! This may have been due to the next fact…
Weird Fact #5: Bruce had bad eye-sight. Yep! Bruce was near sighted. His bad eye sight is one of the reasons he appreciated Wing Chun’s contact style of movement because he could rely more on touch than sight.
Weird Fact #6: Due to his bad eye sight, Bruce Lee was one of the first people to try contact lenses. They were very uncomfortable back in those days however, so Bruce stuck to his ‘coke bottle’ glasses instead. Which leads into another fact….
Weird Fact #7: Bruce Lee often wore his old, taped up ‘coke bottle’ glasses to remind himself of where he came from. Being the guy who likes to stay grounded and become the best version of himself, he held on to his old glasses and wore them regularly as a reminder to himself even after he found financial abundance – that he was once poor and struggling.
You’ll see him wearing those glasses in Fist of Fury (pictured above).
Weird Fact #8: His family called him “Little Phoenix”, they didn’t call him Bruce. Bruce was an English sounding name given to him by a nurse when he was born in San Francisco. It wasn’t until he moved to America that it became used very regularly! You can notice this in the film The Young Bruce Lee.
Weird Fact #9: Bruce was secretly filmed and included in his best friend’s feature film. In a film called Fist of Unicorn, Bruce Lee promised his friend Unicorn (‘Unicorn’?, ‘Little Pheonix’? very mythical names) that he’d help with choreography. But the producers secretly filmed Bruce and included him in the film so they could promote his name and sell more tickets. Douchebags!
Weird Fact #10: Was a champion Cha Cha Dancer in Hong Kong! You probably knew that, but yes, he won a Cha Cha dancing competition when he was in high school.
Weird Fact #11: Bruce Lee hoped to ‘one day’ fight Muhammad Ali. Bruce thought of Muhammad Ali as a superior fighter with his speed and technicality. He used to watch footage of Ali constantly to learn his style and also adapt some of his footwork and movements – for that inevitable fight that would, unfortunately, never happen.
Weird Fact #12: Bruce Lee used to lie to get private Wing Chun lessons. Bruce used to ask for one on one sessions to advance his Wing Chun – but he was refused.
So to get the one on one attention he wanted he would wait outside class, tell people that the class was off and walk them to the bus stop. He would then return and be the only student available and get his private session.
He got in some major trouble when his instructor found out though!
Weird Fact #13: Bruce Lee practiced 5000 punches a day! He was dedicated! He did 5000 punches a day to master his art. This explains why he was so powerful with his fists and had knock out jabs.
Weird Fact #14: Bruce Lee used to train to the Mission Impossible Theme. In martial arts training to music helps to develop a less predictable rhythm when fighting – so Bruce used to shadow box and train to the mission impossible theme!
Weird Fact #15: Bruce Lee used to puncture cans with his fingers. Yep, back in the days when cans weren’t soft aluminium, Bruce used to bust them open with fingers strikes. He cut himself performing this on the set of the Big Boss though, so keep an eye out for the bandaids on his fingers during the movie!
Weird Fact #16: Despite never formally studying Karate, Bruce was able to perform all of the Karate movements with tremendous accuracy! This is a man who can see the detail in movements and styles and bring it to his own training. Crazy stuff!
Weird Fact #17: Bruce was crazily fast. Not exactly a secret, Bruce used to demonstrate his speed by placing a coin in someone’s hand. He would then snatch the coin and replace it with another before the person could clench their fist and stop him.
Weird Fact #18: Bruce beat up Jackie Chan in Enter the Dragon! Well, in a scene – he grabs him by the hair and snaps his neck. Jackie also did stunts in some of Bruce’s other movies, including a fall for the villain in Fist of Fury’s final fight.
Weird Fact #19: Bruce was the inspiration behind a lot of big Video Game characters, such as Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat, Law from Tekken and Fei Long from Street Fighter II.
Weird Fact #20: Bruce proved his prowess many times in competition, becoming the Hong Kong boxing champion, knocking out all of his opponents including British boxer Gary Elms. Bruce also knocked out a Choy Li Fut fighter named Chung in a Seattle Full Contact match in 1958, refereed by Sheun-Leung Wong and another the same year named Uechi, in a match refereed by Jesse Glover.
This is additional to the famous Wong Jack Man fight in 1965 and numerous challenge matches he had both before and during his famous years!
Weird Fact #21: Bruce lee wrote a film called ‘The Silent Flute’ which was never made in his lifetime. It was later adapted and shot with David Carradine in 1978 and called Circle of Iron.
Weird Fact(s) #22: Bruce personally trained a number of celebrities, including:
Steve McQueen
James Coburn
George Lazenby
Kareem Abdul Jabaar
Joe Lewis
Roman Polanski
Mike Stone
Chuck Norris (they trained together)
Weird Fact #23: Actually, McQueen, Coburn and Norris were all pallbearers at Bruce Lee’s funeral!
Weird Fact #24: Bruce Lee chewed Cannabis. As a matter of fact the Cannabis was Nepal Hashish, which is an extremely strong form of Cannabis.
This is a cause of some controversy over his death, many pointing the finger at his Cannabis use. Bruce was a self-admitted Cannabis user and chewed the stuff for more than 10 years but changed suppliers recently before he died.
Weird Fact #25: Bruce was also was reported as having Epilepsy when he was a small child.
Weird Fact #26: Bruce Lee had his Sweat Glands removed from his armpits. Tired of sweaty pits and the ugly look they bring about, Bruce Lee had his sweat glands surgically removed in 1972 (for aesthetic reasons). I didn’t even know you could get that done!
Weird Fact #27: As a teenager, Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong “Child Star”! He was in 20 movies by the age of 18.
Weird Fact #28: Bruce failed a basic military physical in 1963 held by the US Army Draft Board. This was due to his poor eyesight – he managed to evade being shipped off to Vietnam because of that!
Weird Fact #29: Had an all night training session with Chuck Norris outside his hotel room. Chuck says it best (source):
“One time we were in New York, staying at the same hotel. As we went up in the elevator, we started sparring and kept doing so in the hallway of our rooms until 4 a.m.! I still wonder why we weren’t turned in to hotel security. (Maybe we were, but they refused to detain us!)”
Final Weird Fact #30: Fittingly, Bruce was once quoted as saying “If I should die tomorrow, I will have no regrets. I did what I wanted to do. You can’t expect more from life.” Well done, sir. Although tragic his death was at 32, you cannot deny the accomplishments of the man.