How Bruce Lee shaped my ministry (part 1)
Hi Dojo readers!
Most of you know that I teach on the Bible, theology, and the Christian faith. You also know that this ministry, Disciple Dojo, owes its theme to my love of, and lifelong training in, the martial arts.
However, what you might not know is that when it comes to how I approach studying, teaching and applying the Gospel through my life, I owe a good bit to a Chinese-American martial arts movie star who’s been dead for nearly 40 years!
But first, a bit of background…
Before I ever thought about going into ministry or teaching the Bible for a living, I was just a kid who loved all things martial-arts.
Being born in the late 70s, I grew up watching “Kung-Fu Theater” on Sunday afternoons when I got home from church…
Seeing classic films like “Karate Kid” (the REAL one…not that horrible remake that just came out which as ZERO “karate” in it!) and “Big Trouble in Little China” in the theaters with my parents…
[GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE!!]
Renting Sho Kasugi and movies on VHS…
[“In the 80s…every kid wanted to be me.”]
Playing “Kung Fu”, “Karate Champ” & “Legend of Kage” on NES…
[Was there ever a harder game with worse controls in the history of video games?!]
and being a regular subscriber to Black Belt magazine…
[To this day I still have my copy of this very issue. It blew my mind as an 8 year old!]
And while I was just young enough to have caught the tail-end of the Ninja Turtles craze, by that time I was already hooked on martial arts and knew it would be a lifelong passion.
Thus, I always knew who Bruce Lee was. But it wasn’t until high school that I began to study his life, his film work, and his martial arts philosophy in more detail after seeing the highly-embellished (and factually dubious) “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story”.
[This really happened…]
As I began learning about this martial arts mastermind, I became enthralled! If the term “man-crush” had been coined in the mid-90s it most definitely would’ve applied to my love of all things Bruce Lee. True story: I once had to write a biographical essay for a social studies class on “The Greatest American”…I chose Bruce Lee! (That’s right! Bruce was born in San Francisco in 1940 while his father, a Cantonese opera star, was on tour in America–he was an American citizen by birth!)
[His Chinese name was Lee Jun Fan (the name “Bruce” was suggested for the U.S. Birth Certificate by a nurse)]
Many people aren’t aware that before he was ever a TV/movie star, Bruce was a philosophy major at the University of Washington and even as a college student he was beginning to be recognized as one of the top martial arts minds in the world by his peers…which is all the more fascinating given that before arriving in America at age 18, he only had a few years of training in Wing Chun under the tutelage of the famous Yip Man and a bit of boxing in high school!
[Contrary to appearances…they could both kill you.]
However, Bruce had a sponge-like mind when it came to the theory and philosophy of martial arts and individual combat. He read everything he could get his hands on on the subject–from wrestling, to Judo, to karate to fencing. Bruce’s library was massive. His quest for exploring and refining the study of martial arts is what set him apart from almost every other famous martial artist at the time. He was the first well-known advocate of what today would be called “mixed martial arts” (which is why UFC President Dana White refers to him as ‘the father of MMA’).
It’s also what generated the most controversy from many within the various traditional styles that he drew from. Bruce’s approach was seen by some traditionalists as an attack on all they held dear. He was bastardizing their cherished systems and rejecting much of what they felt made their style unique (and, of course, superior to all other forms of combat)! How dare this cocky kid in slacks with almost no formal training cast aside centuries of martial wisdom!
[Like YOU’RE gonna tell him how ridiculous he looks…]
However, over time the martial arts community came to see not only how much Bruce actually understood and appreciated the traditional foundations upon which he was expanding, but also just how effective his approach was. In time, martial arts champions like Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis (who passed away earlier this week after a long struggle with cancer) came to train with him and expand their own skill sets.
[R.I.P. Joe Lewis]
Eventually (and after years of frustration due to Hollywood’s well-documented racism regarding Asians), American audiences would be introduced to Bruce’s martial arts skill and philosophy primarily through his role as Kato in “The Green Hornet” TV series and his starring role in what has been called the greatest martial arts movie of all time, “Enter the Dragon” (which, sadly, Bruce never lived to see–he died six days before its release on July 26th, 1973).
[The movie that solidified Bruce’s legacy…]
Like other Hollywood stars who died young, Bruce’s legacy was cemented in history. However, unlike other Hollywood stars who died young, it was Bruce’s teaching and writings which have generated the most inspiration and shaped the entire landscape of martial arts training and study for nearly four decades now.
[Philly has Rocky…Hong Kong has Bruce!]
All that being said, in the coming days I will be looking at some of Bruce Lee’s teachings, put forth in his landmark book “The Tao of Jeet Kune Do” (published posthumously by his wife Linda in 1975) and reflecting a bit on the role his approach has played in my own developing thought–particularly in terms of theology and Christian discipleship.
I believe that all truth is God’s truth, and sometimes we find it to a profound degree in the most unexpected places.
Stay tuned…
JM
ps: For readers who would like to read more of Bruce Lee’s insights and philosophy, see the various volumes compiled by John Little, such as THIS one. For readers looking for an entertaining and readable biography, I recommend starting with “The Bruce Lee Story“.
pps: Click HERE for Part 2
Categories: Arts and Culture, Blog, Martial Arts, Ministry, Theological issues
Bruce Lee (and Bruce Leroy! accurately pronounced “luh-ROY!”) shaped my ministry as well! I grew up on Kung Fu theatre and Bruce Lee movies. His philosophy (which found it’s zenith for me in Watchman Nee!) gave me a TRUE understanding of what it means to walk in the Spirit. I look forward to reading the rest of your articles. (And you simply cannot beat the plaid bell bottom Bruce Lee suit. That’s how my dad dressed…to my shame!!! And further more, when I think “manhood,” I think Jack Burton!)
by Olatunde on Sep 5, 2012 at 8:33 pm
[…] interrupting my current Bruce Lee blog series (which you should TOTALLY be reading! ) because an unexpected thing happened today that I wanted […]
by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » A martial arts milestone: my purple belt in BJJ! on Sep 9, 2012 at 1:34 am
[…] HERE for part 1 and HERE for part 2 if you want to get caught up to […]
by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » How Bruce Lee shaped my ministry (part 3) on Sep 10, 2012 at 5:24 pm
[…] late Bruce Lee. So, now that readers know a little about the origins of my man-crush on Bruce (see PART 1 if you don’t!), let’s look at some of the things he wrote, spoke and/or talked about, […]
by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » How Bruce Lee shaped my ministry (part 2) on Sep 10, 2012 at 5:46 pm
[…] For part 1 (intro) click HERE. […]
by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » How Bruce Lee shaped my ministry (part 4) on Sep 12, 2012 at 7:00 pm
[…] For part 1 (intro) click HERE. […]
by Disciple Dojo – JMSmith.org » How Bruce Lee shaped my ministry (part 5) on Sep 17, 2012 at 6:52 pm