ABOUT SKIP ELLSWORTH AND BRUCE LEE:
This
chapter contains the following:
#1.) Historical information about Bruce Lee.
#2.)
Photographs of
Bruce's first American
"friends / students" (including Skip).
#3.) Photos
of many of Skip’s (and Bruce's) other “Martial Art” friends.
#4.) A few
excerpts from Paul Bax’s interview of Skip Ellsworth – to be included in Paul’s next book, called
“DISCIPLES OF THE DRAGON."
[PLEASE NOTE:
All of Paul Bax's books are
excellent, and we highly
recommend them for your collection.]
#5.) Approximately 5% of Skip’s book called
“BRUCE LEE – HIS APPROACH TO GUNG FU – AND MORE…”
#6.) Lots of other historical stuff.
#7.) Some historical information regarding Bruce's "obscure" SEATTLE
YEARS -- with more to be added.
#8.) A portion of Skip's book -- with the the rest to be added soon so
people can read the entire book for FREE.
SKIP WAS BRUCE LEE'S THIRD STUDENT IN AMERICA:
Bruce and Skip met and
became close friends in 1959, when Bruce was “only” a dishwasher at Ruby Chow’s
restaurant on Capital Hill in Seattle, Washington.
Skip’s close personal
friendship with Bruce continued until Bruce’s untimely death in 1973 -- and in Skip's
heart his close personal friendship with Bruce Lee still continues....
Skip is included in many books and
articles about his friend, Bruce Lee.
Copies of some of these books and articles, along with photos of Bruce, Skip and the rest of the gang giving Kung Fu exhibitions are hanging in the Lobby at Skip’s Beach Resort.
Writers often come to the Philippines specifically to interview Skip about Bruce.
Skip recently finished his book about his relationship with his friend and teacher. The book is called “BRUCE LEE – HIS APPROACH TO GUNG FU – AND MORE..."
The following photographs and all other material that is contained on this entire website are Common Law Copyrighted by DeWelle F. (Skip) Ellsworth.
THE FOLLOWING PHOTO IS OF BRUCE LEE'S
ORIGINAL STUDENTS IN AMERICA (including Skip Ellsworth):
From left to right are JESSE GLOVER, BRUCE LEE,
SKIP ELLSWORTH, TAK MIYABE, JIM DeMILE, LeROY GARCIA, and TAKY
KIMURA.
These photo directly "ABOVE" was taken with Skip's camera at the Television Studios of the KCTS Television Station (Channel #9), at Seattle, Washington. Bruce and his "friends/students" had just finished giving a series of TV Exhibitions. At first, we could not remember where these photos were taken. However, Skip finally found the negatives in an envelope in one of his desks -- with a scribbled note of explanation... Does anyone recognize the interviewer (photo below) ??? If so, we would love to get in touch with him.
BOTH PHOTOS DIRECTLY "BELOW":
These photos were taken at
THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR in 1961.
Skip had the photos
developed in August of 1961, as indicated by the developer’s date that was
printed on each photo. He
still has the negatives.
Incidentally, Skip was Bruce's third
student in America to get a uniform (Jesse was the first, and Ed Hart was the second). Bruce asked his friends-students to get
uniforms primarily so they could help him as he started giving exhibitions at
such places as the Yesler Terrace
Gymnasium -- the International Trade Fair
-- on TV -- at Seattle's Chinatown (e.g. for Chinese New Years Celebrations) --
at Vancouver's Chinatown -- at high schools, colleges, and universities -- at
various community halls and gymnasiums -- at the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 -- and the list goes on...
THE FIRST PHOTO, BELOW: This photo shows (from left to right) Skip Ellsworth -- Jesse Glover -- and Bruce Lee.
Bruce is
demonstrating some "moves" on Jesse -- and Skip is waiting his turn to
be
"demonstrated upon."
THE FIRST PHOTO, BELOW:
This photo shows (from left to right) Skip Ellsworth and Jesse Glover.
Jesse is
demonstrating a Gung Fu form, and Skip Ellsworth is in the background waiting
for his turn to
do the same thing.
THE PHOTOS BELOW SHOW BRUCE’S ORIGINAL STUDENTS IN AMERICA AS THEY WERE IN 1962 (?) -- AND AS THEY ARE 45 YEARS LATER:
From left to right: Ed Hart (Bruce's second
friend / student in America) – Jesse Glover –
Skip Ellsworth – Jim DeMile – and Taky Kimura. When compared with the original photo of the
same group (taken many years ago) only three people are missing from this latest
photo. In the recent photo, the three missing people are
LeRoy Garcia (very much alive, and living near
Monroe, Washington) -- Tak Miyabe (presumed dead in Japan) -- and our friend and
leader, Bruce Lee.
It sure would be nice to be 25 years old
again... or even 35... or even 45... or even 55... or even 65...
On the other hand, as Shakespeare said, "The only thing worse than growing old
is FAILING to grow old."
DIRECTLY BELOW IS ANOTHER "HISTORICAL" PHOTO -- PERHAPS TAKEN IN 1962.
The above photo shows the following people (from left to right):
ED HART -- Bruce’s second student in America. He and Jesse were room-mates, and they were both highly respected black-belt Judo players at the Seattle Judo Dojo.
This photo was taken at the home of Jim DeMile. Jim was perhaps Bruce’s fifth student in America, and he is a very accomplished martial artist. His home at that time was located near Rainer Avenue in South Seattle. We were always welcome to visit Jim's home, and he was always an excellent host. At that time Jim was driving a totally cool 1932 Model A Ford sedan -- a real "collector's item."
The photo "below" is of Skip Ellsworth with one of his very best friends, Jesse Glover. Jesse was Bruce Lee’s first student in America, and Skip feels that Jesse was the best student Bruce ever had – anywhere -- anytime.
The photo below is of Ed Hart
[R.I.P.]– Bruce’s second student in America – and Skip’s life-long friend and brother.
The photo below is of Skip Ellsworth and his good friends Jesse Glover – Sonny Umpad – and Renato Alfonso. The photo was taken on the front porch of Skip’ log home at his ranch near Seattle. There are security cameras EVERYWHERE. Renato has now been to the Philippines to visit Skip on two different occasions -- the first time was approximately 14 years ago, and the second time was last year with his son, Sebastian. Photos of Renato and his son at Skip's Beach Resort on the Island of Cebu, Philippines, can be seen at the "photos of our guests" chapter of this website.
The photo below is of Skip and LeRoy Garcia. LeRoy has been one of Skip’s
very best friends since they were 15 years old. LeRoy was one of Bruce Lee’s original students
(and very good friends) in Seattle. In fact, he taught Bruce to drive a
car (actually a pick-up truck) on roads near Bellevue, Washington. Also, LeRoy and Skip
personally taught Bruce how to shoot pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shot-guns.
This photo was taken inside Skip's log home at his ranch near Monroe.
The photo below is
of Skip Ellsworth and his friend Jim DeMile.
The photo was taken on the front porch of Skip's log home.
The photo below is of Taky Kimura and Skip
Ellsworth. Taky was one of Bruce’s original students in Seattle, AND he is also
one of Bruce’s best friends “ever.” Taky is one of the nicest guys in the
world. He is
a perfect gentlemen in every sense of the term. Literally, EVERYBODY loves
Taky Kimura.
The photo below is of Skip and one of his good friends, Richard Bustillo (do
a Google Search on his name). Joe has been
inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame –
the Black Belt Hall of Fame
-- the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame, World Karate Union Hall of
Fame – and the list goes on…
LINDA CADWELL -- BRUCE LEE'S WIDOW:
The photo below is of Skip Ellsworth and Linda Cadwell (Bruce Lee's widow). Skip has often stated that Linda is one of the nicest people on the planet.
The invitation shown directly below, was from Linda Cadwell, to Skip Ellsworth – inviting Skip to be a “special guest” (and a speaker) at the BRUCE LEE - BRANDON LEE MEMORIAL BANQUET in Los Angeles on January 10 and 11, 1998.
At the above-mentioned meeting Skip was given a special medallion as a token of his friendship with Bruce. The medallion is now hanging in the “Bruce Lee Room" of Skip’s log home at his ranch near Seattle, Washington. Skip's Kung Fu uniform is also hanging in the "Bruce Lee Room," as well as many other mementos of Bruce and the gang. Skip's huge log home was used to film the "log mansion scenes" for the TV Series called NORTHERN EXPOSURE. Many photos of the "Bruce Lee Room" in Skip's log home are included below -- and elsewhere on this website.
BRUCE'S DAUGHTER, SHANNON LEE:
The photo below is of Shannon Lee (Bruce Lee’s daughter) – a wonderful person – a very good martial artist – and an excellent movie actress. Bruce would be very proud of Shannon.
Skip with his friend, Jason Scott
Lee, who played Bruce Lee in the movie.
The photo below is of
Jesse Glover, Skip Ellsworth, and Emil Farkas (do a GOOGLE SEARCH regarding Emil
-- a seventh degree Black Belt in
Karate and the former body guard to many famous people).
Below is a photo of Skip
Ellsworth with his good friend Cynthia Rothrock. Cynthia was the American
National Karate Champion for five years, and she is perhaps the world’s most
famous“karate-action” female movie star.
The photo below is
of Herb Jackson [R.I.P.]. He built a huge amount of Bruce’s training equipment.
Herb and Bruce became very close friends, and they remained so throughout the years.
The photo below was
taken in the kitchen of Skip’s NORTHERN EXPOSURE log home. It is of Skip
Ellsworth and his friend the award-winning actor named Barry Corbin that starred
in the TV series that was filmed at Skip’s ranch near Monroe, Washington.
Barry "played" the
retired astronaut that “lived in” the huge log mansion (Skip’s home) that was
supposedly located in Cecily, Alaska. Skip says that virtually ALL of the
Universal Studio people that were responsible for shooting at his home were honest, fair, generous, cooperative, and helpful to
the extreme. Also, all of the actors and actresses were an absolute pleasure to work with.
The photo below is of
Skip Ellsworth with his friend and famous author Jo Giametta (do a Google
Search). This photo was taken at Skip’s ranch near Monroe, where Jo came to
interview Skip for the excellent book she wrote regarding Bruce’s life.
The photo below is of Taky Kimura – Skip Ellsworth – and Andy Kimura (Taky’s son). Andy is cut from the same material as his dad – meaning that he is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.
In the photo below (from left to right) is Richard Bustillo – Skip Ellsworth – Jim DeMile – and Jesse Glover.
This was taken at the cemetery where Bruce and Brandon are buried.
Pictured below is Sonny
Umpad [R.I.P.] who is originally from Bogo, Philippines (approximately 30
minutes from SKIP’S BEACH RESORT in the Town of Daanbantayan) -- together with
his good friend and adopted nephew DeWelle Ferguson [Chip] Ellsworth IV
The photos below were
taken at a memorial banquet that was given for Bruce and Brandon in Chinatown,
in Seattle. The entire restaurant was rented by our group for the occasion.
In the photo below (from left to right) is Skip Ellsworth – Jim DeMile – Richard Bustillo – Jesse Glover – and Tim Taffle.
The photo below is of two "best buddies" -- Sonny Umpad [R.I.P.] and Chip Ellsworth. Those guys always loved to hang out together. This photo was taken at Skip's log home near Monroe, Washington.
The photo below is of Skip's good friend, Allen Joe -- an accomplished Martial Artist -- and a very nice guy. Allen was a member of the Jeet Kune Do Nucleus.
The photo below is of Taky Kimura and Skip Ellsworth.
This is Skip's friend Pat Strong -- Skip's friend Thomas Nillson (from Sweden) -- and Skip.
The photo below is of Skip – Linda – Skip’s former wife, Elvie – and Skip’s son, Chip
The photo below is of Richard Bustillo and Skip Ellsworth. Richard and Skip are good friends, and Richard is one of the nicest guys in the world. We recommend that you do a "GOOGLE SEARCH" on the name Richard Bustillo. He is obviously a very accomplished Martial Artist.
The following photos were taken in the BRUCE LEE ROOM at Skip’s huge log home near Monroe, Washington.
BRUCE LEE AND FENCING: As you know, Bruce Lee would "borrow" from any source when it came to improving his fighting skills. At one time, he was very interested in the "attack" and "retreat" methods that are used in Classic Fencing. Therefore, Skip and Bruce went to some pawn ships and hunted down some fencing foils and masks. Also, they went to libraries, and book stores, and hunted down some books -- instructional movies -- etc. They experimented with some of the "attack-retreat" options that were explained or shown via those sources.
Regarding the photos directly below: The first photo is of the two masks and two of the fencing foils that Skip and Bruce bought. They are still in the exact location (in the library) at Skip's log home. The second photo shows two more fencing foils that they bought (with different grips). These foils are currently sticking out of a HUGE glass jar which are at the bottom of the stairs that go up to the library in Skip's home.
Below is an “overview” of one of the international MEMORIAL
MEETINGS at the gravesites of Bruce and Brandon.
The following photo (below) is of Jesse Glover -- Skip Ellsworth's son, Chip Ellsworth
as can be seen between the grave-markers -- Skip Ellsworth -- and Jim DeMile.
In the photo shown
below, the large size of Skip’s home can be partially determined by comparing it
with the size of Skip’s Jeep that is parked next to the home (on the right). A Jeep
racetrack would easily fit inside the home (including hill climbs to the
second and third floors), except for the fact that there are currently a few walls and
some furniture in the way.
J
As a log home builder, Skip would often get harassed about his Corvette (e.g. "Where is the power take-off winch, Skip ???" "Where is the logging arch in the back, Skip ???" "How fast can you pull a log with this weird looking white Jeep, Skip ???" Etc., etc.
The two photos below are of
Skip’s current Fraternity house (e.g. DELTA KAPPA EPSILON at the University of
Washington).
In the photo below Skip and Chip are standing at the top of the stairs. The brass DKE letters can be seen on the upper-right side of the closest wall.
PAUL
BAX BIOGRAPHY AND HIS INTERVIEW OF SKIP:
We
highly recommend any and all of the books that Paul Bax has written.
We suggest that you read the list of his books and magazine articles (see below) – and look for the name “Paul Bax” the next time you are shopping for a good book about our friend, Bruce Lee.
PAUL'S
BACKGROUND IN MARTIAL ARTS:
Below are a few short paragraphs about Paul – as a martial artist -- as an author of books –
as an author of magazine articles -- as a man that is very much interested
in furthering the cause of J.K.D -- and as a man that is respected by everyone
in the business. This information will be followed by
a small excerpt of Paul's interview of Skip Ellsworth (to be published in Paul’s next book which
will be released soon).
Paul began training in martial arts in 1983. He received Black Belt in 1987 from Stan Weyrauch in Okinawa-Te. He was invited by both Linda Lee Cadwell and Steve Golden in 1997 to the first annual Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Nucleus seminar and banquet. He has received training from: Taky Kimura, Allen Joe, Howard Williams, David Cox, George Lee, Ted Wong, Richard Bustillo, Bob Bremer, Pete Jacobs, Steve Golden, Larry Hartsell, Herb Jackson, Tommy Gong, Tim Tackett, Chris Kent and Cass Magda. Bax has since attended various Jeet Kune Do seminars with JKD instructors including Pat Strong and Ted Wong.
Publisher/Editor of
The Jun Fan Journal Newsletter 1993-1995
Self-published, “Reflections of Bruce Lee” book, 1996
Published, “Disciples of the Dragon” 2005 (BAXtard Unlimited)
Published, “Descendents of the Dragon” 2007 (Outskirts Press)
Founded web forum, “The JKD Brotherhood” in 2002 (formerly known as, “The
Paul Bax Show”.
Launched official JKD Brotherhood website, 4/2007August 2nd and 3rd,
2008:
Hosted the first-ever Jesse Glover and Ted Wong seminar where both instructors
will appear together simultaneously.
Paul plans to soon re-release, “Disciples of the Dragon” with additional interviews of Bruce Lee’s original students.
Magazine Appearances:
April, 1993, Inside
Karate Magazine, Return of Jeet Kune Do article
October, 1993, Inside Karate Magazine, Jack Ponti Interview
January, 1994, Inside Kung Fu magazine, Taky Kimura interview
January, 1994, Masters of Kung Fu, Jack Ponti Interview
March, 1994, Inside Karate magazine, Interview with Steve Johnson
August, 1994, Masters of Kung Fu magazine, Gunnar Nelson interview
August, 1994, Inside Karate, Doug Palmer Interview
September, 1994, Martial Arts Masters Magazine, Joe Cowles Interview
September, 1994, Inside Karate Magazine, Interview with Lamar Davis II
November, 1994, Black Belt magazine, Jesse Glover interview
January, 1995, Martial Arts Masters, Gift of Reality article
Vol. 4, No#6 Karate International magazine, Ted Wong interview
July, 1995, Inside Karate Magazine, Bruce Lee: Real
Fighter or Showman article
October, 1995, Inside Karate magazine, Where to Find JKD Training article
November, 1995, Inside Karate magazine, John Little interview
January, 1996, Martial Arts Masters, Three Eras of Bruce Lee article
February, 1996, Inside Karate Magazine, Interview with Ed Hart
January, 1997, Martial Arts Legends magazine, John Little interview
June/July 1997 Karate International Magazine, Article on 1st JFJKD
Nucleus event
Budo International Magazine, John Little interview
August, 1997, Martial Arts Illustrated magazine (UK), George Dillman interview
January, 1997, Knowing Is Not Enough/JFJKD Nucleus Newsletter, Interview with
Steve Golden
July, 1998, Inside Karate Magazine, Interview with Patrick Strong
February, 2003, Inside Kung Fu Magazine, Interview with Leo Fong
March, 2003, Inside Kung Fu magazine, Website listed as “dot-com of the month”
September, 2003, Black Belt Magazine, Interview with George Dillman
March, 2003, Inside Kung Fu Magazine, Web forum is featured as “Dot Com Of The
Month”
November, 2003, Inside Kung Fu Magazine, Leo Fong Short Strike Escrima article
February, 2004, Black Belt Magazine, Interview with James DeMile
2006, Jade Screen magazine, Vol. 4, Issue 1, Interview with Paul Bax
April, 2007, Black Belt Magazine, Bob Wall Interview
July 2007, Black Belt Magazine, Interview with Richard Bustillo
February, 2008, Black Belt Magazine, Gary Dill article
THE PAUL BAX INTERVIEW OF SKIP (a few excerpts):
Skip and Paul agreed that Paul's interview can also be used by Skip in his own book, because so many of the answers simply turned out to be "excerpts" of what Skip has already written in his book (an unavoidable problem when dealing with the various aspects of Bruce's life that would generally be written about in a book).
Here are a few sample questions from Paul's interview -- along with Skip's answers.
#1.) When did you first meet Jesse Glover?
I first met Jesse Glover in either 1957, or 1958, when I
joined the Seattle Judo Dojo. I was either 18 or 19 years old. Jesse was
already a well known member of the Dojo, and as I recall he was the Inland
Empire First Degree Black Belt Judo Champion at the time. At the Dojo,
Jesse was one of the “main men” as far as teaching and helping people is
concerned. Jesse and I became close friends almost immediately. He was six or
seven years older than me, and I looked upon him as being a “big brother.” In
fact, to this day I still call him “Brother Jesse.”
In those
days, Jesse was sharing a duplex apartment with his good friend Ed Hart
[R.I.P.]. Ed was a black-belt Judo player from the same Dojo, and he later
became Bruce Lee’s second student in America. Jesse and Ed were totally
friendly and hospitable guys. Therefore their apartment became a place for our
group of friends to “hang-out” as we pursued our interest in Martial Arts. All
of us were so poor that we would sometimes joke about the fact that we often
used the same tea-bag for two weeks or more.
Incidentally,
the above-mentioned apartment was located at the southeast corner of Seventh and
James in downtown Seattle. It saddens me to say that the site is now buried
under the Northbound lanes of the I-5 Freeway.
Later on,
Jesse and one of his girl-friends rented a different duplex apartment that was
located on the same block as the Seattle Judo Dojo. That apartment was located
only 90 meters or so from the Dojo, and therefore it became one of the major
hang-out places for Bruce’s original gang in Seattle (consisting of Bruce Lee,
Jesse Glover, Ed Hart, Skip Ellsworth, Mike Lee [I think Jesse’s half-brother
Mike was ten years old at the time.], Jim DeMile, LeRoy Garcia, Taky Kimura, Tak
Miyabe, Charlie Woo, etc.).
Unfortunately, Ed Hart died on December 3, 1998. My son Chip and I went to his
memorial meeting (sort of like a wake or a funeral service) in Chinatown in
Seattle. Of course, a huge number of Ed’s friends were there. To help Ed’s
family preserve the memory of that occasion, I circulated a paper for all of
Ed’s friends to sign (with their names, addresses, phone numbers, and email
addresses). I did this so Ed’s family, in later years, would always be reminded
of how many good friends Ed had. I still have a copy of that “sign-in” sheet.
Even though
Ed Hart has now been dead for many years, I am still in contact with his family
-- especially with his daughter Lori and grandson Ronnie in Australia. In
Lori’s email to me dated August 19, 2007, she signed-off with the words: “You
are my father’s brother, Skip. All our love, Lori and Ronnie.” I was very
touched by Lori’s words, because she obviously realizes that I will always love
her father. Ed Hart was an awesome guy, and one of the best friends that a man
could ask for.
When I became
friends with Bruce Lee, Jesse Glover and Ed Hart those
occasions added up to being a very worthwhile turning point in my life.
#2.) How long did it take Jesse to introduce you to Bruce Lee? Please recall your first meeting with Lee.
After Jesse became friends with Bruce, he introduced me to
Bruce almost immediately. The introduction took place at Edison Technical
School, where all three of us were “working-students.” I was trying to finish
High School, and in retrospect I assume that Jesse was also doing the same
thing. Regarding that issue, Jesse took Algebra before I did, and I must
acknowledge that I never would have gotten through Algebra without Jesse’s help
“and” without his Algebra work-book which contained all of the solutions
to the problems.
Anyway… at my first meeting
with Bruce he explained a few things about “Gung Fu” to me, and therefore I
immediately expressed in interest in seeing it in action. To make a long
story short, Bruce then gave me a very brief private demonstration of his Gung
Fu.
During Bruce’s brief
demonstration he hit me in the chest (with both palms) so hard that
both of my feet left the ground, AND I flew backwards for
what seemed like ten feet before
my feet touched the ground again, AND I continued to be
propelled backwards by inertia
(trying to keep from falling), AND I finally slammed into a
wall. I remember thinking to
myself, “What the hell happened ???” All I knew for sure
was… “Nothing like that had
ever happened to me before.”
In other words, it only took Bruce Lee approximately two seconds to make a
“true-believer” out of me.
#3.) What was your first impression of Lee?
In my opinion, people often forget that Bruce was an extremely polite guy. He was soft spoken, thoughtful, kind, and he had excellent manners in social situations. For example, he and I would often go to my mother’s apartment at 11020 2nd Ave. N.E., Northgate Apartments, in Seattle, for lunch and/or dinner. Bruce and I (sometimes Jesse, and sometimes other guys) would be sitting at the table eating and talking, and whenever my mother would walk into the room with more food, Bruce would stand up. In other words, Bruce was aware of the fact that proper etiquette requires a gentleman to stand up whenever a lady enters the room. Every time Bruce stood up, it made my mother so nervous that she and the rest of us would end up joking about it. Bruce and my mom became close friends, and therefore when she was 98 years old and her memory was almost totally gone, she would still often ask me how “our friend Bruce” was doing. At that time Bruce had already been dead for many years, but I would always just smile and say that Bruce was doing just fine and that he wanted me to be sure to say “hi” to her. It always made my mother happy to hear that Bruce was still doing well, and that he had remembered to say “hi.” Damn… it brings a tear to my eye when I think about that scenario. I guess I’m a wimp.
#4.) Where did Bruce live and work when you first met him ?
When I first met Bruce Lee he was working as a dishwasher at
Ruby Chow’s Restaurant on Broadway in the South Capital Hill area of Seattle.
The restaurant was located on the first floor of a huge old wood-frame mansion
(perhaps built circa 1880). The front of the building, and the interior of the
restaurant, were both well maintained, freshly painted, and still looked good
(with lots of Chinese décor, etc.). However, the rest of the building was in
poor condition. Bruce’s bedroom was located on the second floor. The other
rooms on that floor were apparently used only for storage, with plaster falling
down, debris on the floor, etc.
Bruce’s
bedroom was actually a “walk-in-closet” that was approximately 4’ X 10” in
size. Half of his “closet-bedroom” was located underneath some stairs that went
up to the third floor. In other words, a large portion of the ceiling in his
room sloped down to the floor because the ceiling was the “underside” of a
stairway. This meant that it was impossible to stand up in the “low ceiling”
portion of his room. Whoops… maybe I need a technical writer for this.
J
In
Bruce’s room, his small mattress was on the floor directly under the sloped
ceiling where it was impossible to stand up. His clothes were always neatly
folded and stacked on the floor along-side the mattress. The rest of his room
had “normal” headroom, but it consisted of an empty floor area of only 4’ X 4.’
It was in that area that Bruce placed a wooden fruit-box which he used as a
desk. The make-shift desk was on the floor against the wall, and there was a
pillow on the floor for Bruce to sit on. Along the wall, he had a neat stack of
books (most of them were in Chinese), a pack-sack, a few photos of his family
back in Hong Kong, and a few other personal items. To provide light in his
room, there was only one naked light bulb hanging down on an electric wire from
the ceiling. The bulb was approximately 5’ above the top of the fruit-box
desk. The “on-off” chain had a long string tied to it so at night Bruce could
turn off the light while still sitting at his desk – roll over onto the mattress
– and go to sleep in the dark.
Some of the people that were associated with the restaurant
were prejudiced against anyone that was not Chinese – or not
white. I mention this simply because Bruce (and others at the restaurant) told
me that I was the only one of Bruce’s friends that “management” would allow to
enter Ruby Chow’s Restaurant through the back door of the kitchen and hang out
inside the building (e.g. in Bruce’s room – in the kitchen – etc.). In fact, I
was even allowed to help him wash dishes, put the clean stuff away, sweep the
floor, mop the floor, etc. I had previously worked in a commercial kitchen, and
therefore I knew what needed to be done -- and how fast it needed to be done.
I often helped Bruce with his work so he could get out of the kitchen faster and
we could have more time to practice fighting.
Paul's book will contain many other questions and answers.
In fact, Skip says that if you buy "Paul's" book you will not need to buy "Skip's" book.
Anyway... Skip's book will soon be included for "free" on this website.
:-)
________________________________________________________________________
MANY PEOPLE WRITE TO ME WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT BRUCE LEE. THE QUESTIONS
USUALLY INVOLVE THE FOLLOWING:
OUR EARLY TRAINING
WITH BRUCE:
Initially, Bruce and the rest of us guys (his new American
friends) would simply be hanging out together while he taught us Gung Fu in a
way that was totally NOT formal. For example, when Bruce was teaching
Gung Fu to his original friends, the word “sifu” was never used – we did not
have uniforms – there was no bowing – there was no “class-room” teaching – AND
(needless-to-say) he did not accept any money for teaching us. On the other
hand, he did an excellent job of teaching us Gung Fu and we loved every moment
of it.
While we
were learning Gung Fu from Bruce, our small group of friends also exchanged
information with him about a lot of other things – including the cultural
differences between China and America (socio-economic differences -- political
differences -- philosophical differences -- fighting differences --
etc.).
Later on, perhaps because of the public’s growing interest in
our group’s practice sessions (a crowd would sometimes gather), Bruce became
aware of the fact that he could possibly make money teaching. At that time, he
gave a few public exhibitions on his own at school auditoriums, etc.
A short time
later, Bruce asked his closest friends and students if we would help him
“spread the word” about Gung Fu by getting uniforms and giving “more formal
on stage public exhibitions.” Of course, we all agreed to do so, and I was
Bruce’s third student in America to get a uniform. We gave many exhibitions at
such places as the International Trade Fair – Sea Fair – Chinese New Year
Celebrations in Seattle – Chinese New Year Celebrations in Vancouver, Canada –
the World’s Fair in Seattle (In 1962) – at Universities and Colleges – at Street
Fairs (the Fremont Street Fair, the University Street Fair, etc.) – at Housing
Projects (e.g. Yesler Terrace) – and the list goes on… As part of the
“showmanship,” and perhaps even “salesmanship,” Bruce asked us to bow to him and
call him “Sifu” whenever we were giving public exhibitions. We were eager to do
so because we definitely wanted to help him in any way possible. As Shakespeare
said, “No matter how good a product is… you’ve still gotta sell it.”
Eventually, it became obvious (Bruce even mentioned it to me) that a
metamorphosis was taking place regarding his approach to teaching. For example,
he was slowly becoming more involved with paying students that he would
teach under formal conditions – than he was with friends that he
would teach under informal conditions. I believe that to a large extent,
the exhibitions enabled Bruce to become aware of what Gung Fu could accomplish
for him socio-economically in America. From then on, Bruce Lee was “on a roll.”
MY PREVIOUS MARTIAL ARTS EXPERIENCE:
I was a “white-kid” that was raised on an Indian Reservation in America. That was more than half a century ago. At that time, there were many Indians that still resented white people for destroying the Indian Culture. The racial problems that I faced on the “rez” meant that I had to fight Indian guys almost every day – often two or three times each day. My problems were increased by the fact that I had a Paper Route (the Duluth Herald) when I was a kid, and therefore I had to go deep into “hostile territory” on a daily basis. Therefore, during times of “no snow” (e.g. spring, summer and fall) it was unusual for me to get through a day without having to fight at least one Indian. Because of this, I became familiar with many of the mental and physical aspects of fighting. For example, I learned how to face those situations calmly no matter how bad I knew they could be. I learned how to accept fighting – plan for it – deal with it – and (ironically for me) even look forward to it. I learned how to become friends with pain – to not quit – and to accept the fact that my fights could involve staying on my feet or going to the ground. I also accepted the fact that my fights could involve fists – elbows – knees – feet – teeth – and any other weapons that might be at hand, including rocks, sand, dirt, etc. In other words, even though I had never heard the term “martial arts” I none-the-less became quite familiar with several aspects of those arts. It brings a smile to my face now, when I think about the experiences I had as a kid on the “rez.”
WHERE WE PRACTICED:
At first, we practiced wherever and whenever we
happened to be hanging out – at Jesse’s – at my place – in parking lots – in
alleys – in “underground” parking lots if it was raining. Sometimes we would
practice behind Ruby Chow’s Restaurant, where Bruce lived and worked. We put
Bruce’s wooden dummy at the back of the restaurant under some exterior wooden
stairs that went to the second and third floors (probably as a fire escape to
meet building codes when the home was converted into a “commercial” building).
We fastened the dummy to two bamboo poles that were nailed horizontally to the
wooden vertical 8” X 8” stair-columns. Whenever we hit the dummy, it would
spring back and forth on the bamboo poles – shake the ancient wooden columns –
and make a terrible noise that resounded throughout most of the building. The
owner of the restaurant often complained about the noise – as did the senior
cooks -- as did the dentist’s office (located approximately 40 feet away on the
other side of a 6’ tall wooden fence).
Eventually,
Bruce and the rest of us pooled our money and Bruce rented a “store-front”
building at 651 South Weller (at the southeast corner of Maynard and Weller) in
Seattle’s Chinatown. The room on the first floor was quite large – perhaps 20’
X 60’. Also, at the back of the room there was a stairway that went up to the
second floor which consisted of another large room. We practiced Gung Fu on the
first floor, where spectators could stand on the sidewalk and watch us through
the large store-front windows. On the second floor we sometimes just hung out,
talked, slept, etc.
At the
northwest corner of the intersection (opposite from us), there was a family of
“real life” Gypsies living in a store-front. I was fascinated by their culture,
and got to know them quite well. Three doors to the East of us there was an
abandoned three-story hotel that many derelicts were non-the-less inhabiting
(without water, electricity, toilets, etc.). They would often watch us through
the store-front windows. Directly across the street to the north of us was the
parking lot for the Tai-Tung Restaurant which was our favorite restaurant in
Chinatown. Across the street from us to the west, there was a huge vacant lot
with a dilapidated wooden fence around it. Hobos would always camp out at the
huge vacant lot.
Across the
street from us, and 100’ to the right (near the Tai Tung parking lot) was
Maynard Alley which went “North and South” from Maynard Street to S. King Street
(clear through center of the block). The Wah Mee Club was located in that
alley, and it was the gambling establishment where the infamous “Wah Mee
Massacre” occurred a few years later. During the massacre, a young Asian gang
forced its way into the place -- made 13 or 14 gamblers and employees lie down
on the floor – tied them up – and then shot each one of them in the head. The
police report said that the blood on the floor was two or three inches deep in
the small room where the victims were found.
To put it
mildly, our Gung Fu club was located in an area that was “then” quite depressed
in a socio-economic sense. However, when Bruce rented that club house we felt
that we were on top of the world, and we very much hoped that our friend Bruce
was on his way to becoming a successful “commercial” teacher.
BRUCE
SOCIALLY:
Bruce had a dynamic personality and an excellent sense of
humor. He was an entertainer -- a showman -- an excellent salesman. He had
what it took to get (and to keep) the attention of any audience. He loved to be
the center of attention. He loved to communicate. He loved to have FUN. He
loved a challenge of any kind. He loved to “think,” to use his imagination,
and to solve problems using innovation. Essentially, Bruce Lee was a dynamo.
However, in
my opinion the “most important” central core of his personality was as follows:
Bruce was a very polite man – kind – good – intelligent – highly perceptive –
totally innovative -- highly motivated to succeed -- and most of all, he took
such things as “friendship” and “responsibility” very seriously.
Speaking of
“socially,” when Bruce and I first became friends, we were both very poor in the
socio-economic sense. As far as most people were concerned Bruce was “only a
dish-washer at a Chinese Restaurant in Seattle,” and I was “only a
who-knows-what-part-time-truck-driver” from an Indian Reservation. One of
the things we often talked about was the fact that neither of us knew what we
were going to do (or even “wanted” to do) with our lives. We were bothered by
the fact that neither of us had any definitive long-term professional goals, and
we often discussed that problem. In his earliest “Seattle years” Bruce would
never have believed how important his knowledge of Gung Fu could eventually be
to him in America -- and in my case I would never have believed that my
knowledge of how to build log homes correctly could ever have any commercial
value “off the rez.” As for me, I thought perhaps I might become a long-haul
truck driver. Jesse once joined us in this type of discussion, and he told us
that he would like to someday own a used bookstore. Bruce told me that his
greatest hope would be to become a school teacher, perhaps teaching something
like psychology or sociology.
BRUCE AND I AT MY FRATERNITY PARTIES:
Eventually, I attended the U. of W., where I joined the Delta
Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Our members are called “Dekes” – and our Greek Letter
Insignia is ΔΚΕ. Of course, I often invited Bruce to attend my fraternity
parties (some big, some small). Our fraternity parties were often held at my
fraternity house, which was a huge mansion in the University District. Other
parties were held at various clubs (e.g. the Washington Athletic Club, the
Rainier Club, etc.) or at the homes of my wealthy fraternity brothers who lived
in beautiful homes on Lake Washington – Lake Sammamish – Bainbridge Island –
Mercer Island – Broadmore – The Highlands – etc. When Bruce and I attended
these fraternity parties, it often reminded us of how “money” is often related
to “power” (e.g. six of America’s Presidents have been Dekes, including George
H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush). Bruce and I often joked about the fact that it
was a motivating factor for us to see how wealthy people lived.
Incidentally,
Bruce’s experiences at my fraternity parties gave him another chance to be the
life of the party. For example, he would often demonstrate his one-inch punch –
his one finger push-ups – his Chi Sao – various Gung Fu forms (especially the
Preying Mantis Form) -- his Cha-Cha abilities – etc. At some of the parties we
went to, Bruce taught my girl friend and I (Judy was a totally awesome girl, and
a member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority), how to Cha-Cha. Those were the “good old
days…”
In my
opinion, the reactions of my fraternity brothers to Bruce’s Gung Fu were just
another example of how people’s reactions opened his eyes about how important
Gung Fu could be to him in America. On our way home from the parties, Bruce and
I always had a lot of good laughs when we compared how my rich fraternity
brothers lived, and how I had lived on the Indian Reservation, and
how Bruce was then living in a closet as a dish-washer at the Chinese
Restaurant. We accepted this as being a “humorously” motivating factor for both
of us.
BRUCE'S
COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS:
I
never felt comfortable bothering Bruce when he was teaching at a school that he
used for generating income. In fact, I don’t even know if Bruce would have
allowed me to do so. In my opinion, he would probably have said something
like, “What are you doing here in ‘this’ class, man ??? You and I should wait
until these ‘students’ go home, and then we can get together to train.”
Frankly, I
went through the same changes when I first started teaching my log home building
classes. For example, during the first five years that I was teaching, I
primarily taught my friends, and I did not charge any money at all. Eventually,
it became impossible for me to continue doing that, because my own expenses were
too great. Therefore, I had no alternative but to start charging money for my
classes. When that happened I encouraged my “personal friends” to not attend my
commercial classes, because I could never allow myself to accept money from
friends. I told my friends that we could get together anytime that I was
not involved in a commercial activity (teaching for money). In my opinion,
Bruce felt the same way, which should be easy to understand.
MY WITNESSING REAL-LIFE CONFRONTATIONS:
When Bruce and I went into an “all black” pool hall near 23rd and Madison, there was an incident involving some black guys.
When Bruce and I drove a truck to Montana (for Canus Services, Inc) to pick up some freight, and we stopped at a “cowboy-honky-tonk-tavern-restaurant” for dinner, there was an incident involving some cowboys that were hanging out under a mercury-light in the parking lot.
When Bruce and I were leaving the Kokusai Movie Theater one night, in the “International District” in Seattle, there was an incident involving three black dudes. The list goes on…
One must remember that we were only 18 to 23 (?) years old when these types of things were happening; AND we were exploring; AND we were often in places where a white guy was not welcome; AND we were often in places where a Chinese guy might be harassed; AND Bruce generally walked in a very “cocky” way that would always attract attention; AND we were often in places where challenges are common between guys of that age; AND finally, we knew that Bruce could end any physical confrontation within three or four seconds.
To describe any of the brief fights that Bruce had back in those days would serve no meaningful purpose here. In my opinion, it should suffice to say that Bruce Lee was the best fighter that ever lived. Whoops… maybe I should say that Bruce was only “one of” the best fighters who ever lived – so I don’t offend anyone.
BRUCE AND AMY:
First of all, I remember Amy quite well. Secondly, she was a very good person.
Thirdly, she and Bruce were very good friends. However, in my opinion it would
be rude of me to discuss any “personal relationship” that may (or may not) have
previously existed between any woman and any close personal friend
of mine.
Having said
that, I would like to comment on the rumors that Bruce wanted to marry Amy, and
that she refused him. Frankly, I do not know if the rumors are true or
not, because I wasn’t there when (or “if”) an alleged
discussion about “marriage” took place.
However, I “can”
definitely say that prior to Bruce and Linda getting married, Bruce and I had a
discussion about our personal “relationships” with the various girls that were
(or had been) in our lives. Regarding that issue, we discussed the fact that
there are many different kinds of love that are not related to “marriage”
(e.g. brotherly love, sisterly love, the love that a guy has for his mother, the
love that a guy has for his German Shepherd dog, the love that a guy has for his
XKE Jaguar, and the list goes on…). During that discussion, Bruce personally
told me that Linda was the only girl that he had ever really loved in the
“marriage” sense.
BRUCE AS A FRIEND:
Essentially, no one could ask for a better friend than Bruce
Lee.
BRUCE'S
INTEREST IN GUNS:
LeRoy Garcia and I taught Bruce how to shoot. LeRoy has been one of my best friends since I was 15
years old. This means LeRoy and I have been through a lot of changes together
(e.g. marriages, divorces, good times, bad times, friends getting busted,
business successes, business reversals, attacks, tactical retreats, “hospital”
type injuries, the loss of mutual friends, and the list goes on). I am not
specifically saying that in our youth we were involved in any “bad-guy”
activities. However, I will say that LeRoy was one of the baddest dudes
(best fighters) in Seattle, and people would come from all over the city to
fight him. I will also say that guns always seemed to be a very important part
of our lives. For example, I remember that LeRoy once called me and said he
needed a gun right away. I immediately went to his house with a sack full of
hand-guns and I told him to take as many as he needed. From the time I was 15
years old, I always carried at least one gun every day for the entire time that
I lived in America. During the last 20 (?) years, whenever I was in America, I
carried a customized Star Firestar M-45 (.45 ACP), double action with an
ambidextrous safety that allows for a “cocked-and-locked” carry. I liked that
piece because of the caliber, its weight, and because of its small size. As a
back-up I always carried a customized Freedom Arms 22 L.R. five-shot revolver
that was so small it could fit inside a flip-top box of Marlboros. In the “good
old days” LeRoy and I often went hunting together, sometimes as far away as the
Blue Mountains. In fact, LeRoy and I once shot a black-bear in my back-yard at
my ranch near Redmond, Washington. LeRoy skinned it (I still have the hide
hanging on my wall) and my kids ate the meat.
Between LeRoy
and I, because of our “gun-related” backgrounds [In my “opinion” many of Bruce’s
original friends-students in Seattle carried guns on a daily basis.] he and I
taught Bruce how to shoot pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns. Bruce
totally loved it. I loaned Bruce one of my own guns, a very small “antique”
Colt .25 Caliber semi-automatic pistol with black handle-grips, and he carried
that piece for at least a couple of years. I have since given that gun (as a
Christmas present) to my son, Fred Ellsworth, who is living in the Boston area.
Anyway… Bruce loved to shoot, and therefore we would often go shooting
together. He really liked to practice quick-drawing and shooting at cardboard
targets that were the same size and shape as a man. Occasionally, we “may have”
shot in a few areas (and at a few “things”) that were not entirely appropriate.
Whoops… perhaps that is what your specific question about “gun-slinging” is
referring to -- in which case I would need to check on “statutes of limitations”
before answering any more questions [just kidding, man].
Anyway… it
seemed like we always had some sort of “justification” for shooting even if the
conditions were not particularly appropriate. Sometimes, we would even target
practice on Capital Hill in the middle of Seattle – using my nine-shot revolver
that could shoot very quiet 22 shorts. I still have that revolver, and there is
probably a picture of it on my website.
The three of
us would often use cap-guns to practice “disarming” each other. I could be
standing 2’ away from Bruce -- cock a cap-gun – point the gun at Bruce’s chest
(with his hands in the air) – and he could still deflect the gun and disable me
before I could successfully shoot him. Once he made his move, it was obvious
that I could successfully pull the trigger almost every time – and it was
equally obvious that my bullet would have missed him every time – and
everyone could clearly see that that by the time I pulled the trigger both of my
eyes would have been dug out.
JESSE GLOVER:
In my own mind and heart, Jesse Glover is like a brother to
me. I would gladly trust him with my life. My house is his house (at any
time) – my car is his car (at any time) – and the list goes on. I get a great
deal of security in my life just from knowing that Jesse is “there” as a best
friend that I can always rely upon for honest advice, intelligent counseling, or
anything else.
In my
opinion, Jesse was the best student that Bruce ever had, and he was instrumental
in helping Bruce move forward into the Martial Arts Field in America. That probably sums it up.
MIKE LEE:
I would say that Mike Lee
is the third baddest dude I have ever met in my entire life – with Jesse
Glover being the second baddest – and with Bruce Lee being the first
baddest.
One thing is
for sure… Mike Lee marches to the beat of his own drummer in every possible
way. For example, he once disappeared for seven years. None of us knew where
he was. Some of us were afraid that maybe he had been shot and killed by some
guy who’s ass he had previously kicked. Then one morning, my phone rang, and it
was Mike. The short version is… he had been living in some guy’s double garage
for seven years while he invented a new combat technique. His exact words to me
were, “I want to show this new technique to you, man, because you are one of
the only guys I can think of that won’t be afraid of me after you see it.”
[An explanation is as follows: Mike started practicing with us when he was only
nine (?) years old. The rest of us were ten to twenty years older. Since that
time, it always seemed to me that Mike was stuck in an “historical time zone”
regarding the original pecking order that existed when he was hanging out with
us at the age of nine. In other words, even in later years Mike always seemed
to think that us older guys were still better than him – or that he had to
respect us -- which always greatly amused me.] After Mike and I talked on the
phone, he came out to visit me right away. It was a tearful reunion, because
after seven years I had actually accepted the fact that he might be dead. After
we talked for awhile, he finally got around to showing me what he could do with
the new technique he had developed. I do not feel that I am at liberty to
discuss the system that he showed me. However, when he was through
demonstrating the system, I could only laugh and say, “You were wrong about one
thing, Mike… because I “am” afraid of you.” He laughed as though I was
kidding. It makes me smile now when I think about it.
A few years
later, Mike called me from San Francisco, because he was out of money. He
wanted me to wire some money to him, but he was afraid it would not work because
he didn’t have any Identification at all – as in none. Therefore, I went
to my Seafirst Bank in Monroe, Washington and explained the problem to my
banker. At my suggestion, I paid for a long distance call to a downtown San
Francisco Seafirst Bank. I told the banker that I would wire money to my
friend Mike Lee; AND that Mike would be coming to her bank to get the money; AND
that Mike did not have any I.D.; AND that Mike could be identified by simply
examining his forearms. I told the San Francisco Banker that she should deliver
the money only if the guy had the largest and hardest forearms
that she had ever seen. I told her that I would write a “Hold Harmless
Agreement,” in which I would hold their entire banking system harmless from any
Legal Liability for the loss of the money under those circumstances. My own
banker then got on the phone and spoke in my behalf -- explaining that I was a
good friend of hers, and that I really would accept total responsibility for any
loss.
The next day,
my own banker told me that when the teller at the San Francisco bank saw Mike’s
forearms she poked at them with her fingers – giggled out loud – called all of
her co-workers over to her teller-window for a “look” and a “poke” – and she
immediately gave Mike the money. Mike called me afterwards (reversing the
charges, of course), and he was quite amused by the “I.D.” system I had come up
with.
BRUCE'S APPROACHES TO GUNG FU:
Some people infer that there
are "different approaches" to Bruce's own personal Gung Fu. In my opinion, that is like saying there are various
approaches to “Leonardo DaVinci’s art. Personally, I think Mr. DaVinci would say that his art could
NOT (as in "NOT") be altered by using different "approaches" (e.g. “changes”) and still be considered “his” art.
Mr DaVinci would probably
suggest that if you were to change his art via different "approaches," then it
would become “your” art – not “his” art. Frankly, I can not form any
further opinion about this without first knowing specifically how much the
art was altered.
In my own
personal opinion, Bruce’s Jeet Kune Do is not a specific way of fighting.
Instead, it is a “process” whereby a fighter tries to learn enough about
fighting so that he can (hopefully) win under any circumstances. In a sense,
the process is a never ending journey – with a “personal” destination that is
always elusive and never firmly in one’s grasp. The best path is for each of us
to devise our own system based upon such things as our height, weight, strength,
speed, age, physical handicaps, personality, culture, etc.
In analogy, I
might say this: As a log home builder I want to have every tool in my tool box
that I might ever need when I am building a log home. Once those tools are in
my box, and their use has become "second-nature" to me, I never need to “think” about which tool I will select in order to get a
specific job done. I “automatically” know which tool to use – without even
thinking about it. Essentially, under those circumstances I can “win” every
time (at least when dealing with log home problems).
It seems to me that a lot of guys who only spoke with Bruce for a
total of two or three minutes are eager to tell us exactly how Bruce felt
about this… or that… or the other thing. In my opinion, those types of people
should each try to get a “life” of their own.
LIFE IN THE
PHILIPPINES:
Not surprisingly, a lot of American guys are
writing to me about the possibility of moving here.
In my own case, I am currently writing to you from my beautiful beach-front
home, which is located on one of the most beautiful tropical islands in the
world. There are 7,000 of these islands here, and more than half of them are
“not” inhabited.
Our home is
located at (and part of) our resort which is called SKIP’S
BEACH RESORT. At our resort, we have a cozy beach-front hotel – a
restaurant – a videoke-bar – and a totally beautiful beach.
Also, as part of
our facility, I have built the only totally free public campground in all of
Southeast Asia. The use of our free campground also includes the free use of
our permanent camp-shelters -- free use of our small sail-boats -- free use of
our ten-speed bicycles -- free use of our wireless internet connection -- free
use of our “open-fire” cooking facilities -- free use of our beach-front gazebos
-- free use of our beach (for swimming and snorkeling) -- etc.
Our resort is
located in a relatively primitive area where many of our neighbors are fishermen
and farmers that live in small grass shacks -- with no electricity, no running
water, no NOTHING. Their average monthly income (per family) can be less than
$30. U.S. per month.
However, as
ironic as it might seem, here at our resort we have all of the modern
conveniences, including cable TV – telephones -- a DSL line – a municipal water
supply – air conditioning in every room – an excellent access road, etc.
Fortunately, Cebu City is only three hours away from here, and it is the second
largest city in the Philippines. It has huge shopping malls, five star hotels
(for people that want to “hide” the beautiful Filipino culture), excellent
restaurants, many movie houses, and lots of western culture of all kinds. In
other words, we are living in a place where we can easily enjoy the best of both
worlds.
My wife Belle
owns and manages the resort, which leaves me free to take care of the really
important stuff, such as hanging out with our hotel-guests – swimming –
snorkeling – sailing – fishing – island-hopping -- jeeping – motorcycle riding –
exploring – writing – doing legal research – putting up with all of these
beautiful girls -- etc. Help !!!
MY VISITS TO THE
STATES:
In the past I would usually return to the states once every
five to seven years. However, the last time I was in America I could hardly
wait to return to the land of the free. In other words, I only stayed in
America for a very short time.
I hesitate to go to America at all now, because
I do not want my two young children (Chip is 13 years old, and Flip is 21 months
old) to experience life in a “police state.”
Essentially, I am troubled by the
following types of facts:
#1) America has more people in prison (per capita of
population) than any other country in the world – times
two.
#2) It has more prisons (per capita of population) than any other country – times two.
#3) It has more police than any other country except England – times two.
#4) Every
American child is a ward of the state until it reaches the age of majority,
which means that “your”
American children are not really “your” children.
#5)
The Supreme Court recently ruled in a 5-to-4 decision that Federal Law
Enforcement Officers are immune
from lawsuits for mishandling, losing or even
stealing personal property that comes under their control in
the course of
their official duties.
#6) In America they can arrest you without a warrant –
put you in jail without a trial – keep you in jail
“indefinitely” (which is
simply another word for “forever”) – forbid you from having visitors
and/or legal
council forever – and torture you on a daily basis until you confess
to something.
#7) If you don’t believe it, then I highly suggest that you read the “Patriot Act.”
#8) Canada just placed America on the very short list of
countries that use torture.
What more do I need to know about life in America
???
As a parent, I can not in good conscience, allow my children to experience
that kind of a life.
Of course, if my country ever needs me, I will do anything
within my power to help it. However, as a responsible parent my primary
obligation (at least for now) is to safeguard my family and my two young
children, from an exposure to "life in a police-state."
Therefore, I have no alternative but to keep
my children here in Southeast Asia (the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos,
Burma, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.) where they can live in relative
“freedom” and “safety.”
MY INVOLVEMENT WITH
LOG HOMES:
The following photo of me on
the cover of "THE LOG HOUSE BUILDER'S JOURNAL" was taken when I was a
very young man. Frankly, I can not remember the year this photo was taken
-- and the date does not appear on the front cover. However, I am guessing
that this photo was taken more than half a century ago.
My own personal background regarding log homes is as
follows: I am a fifth generation log home builder. My great-great grandfather,
Ruben Jones Ellsworth, built the first log home in Nashua Iowa in 1853. An
article about Ruben and his home is included in the book, THE HISTORY OF
BUTLER AND BREMMER COUNTIES, 1853. [I will gladly pay $500. U.S.
Dollars for a good copy of the book.] My father started to take me on log
home jobs with him when I was only two years old. I grew up working on log
homes with my dad and his workers. We worked “on” and “near” the Indian
Reservation that we lived on. By the time I was twelve years old I knew more
about building log homes than any of the other guys that worked on our crew –
even though some of them were as old as my dad. At that age I started to
supervise the crew whenever my dad could not be there.
I built my
current personal log home at my current ranch near Seattle in approximately 1982. It is
a relatively large home (7,000 sq. ft), and it was used by Universal Studios to
film the “log mansion” scenes for the TV Series called NORTHERN EXPOSURE,
which was on TV for many years. My home is the log mansion that was “lived in”
by the character named Maurice (played by the actor Barry Corbin).
My friends
and I personally cut all of the logs that were used to build my 7,000 sq. ft.
home (and also my 1,500 sq. ft. log guest home, and also several other log
structures on the same property). We skidded all of the logs out of my own forest – peeled
them – seasoned them – prepared them – and built the home at a “fraction” of
what the normal costs would be for a home of that size.
My main home
has been featured in many major magazines, newspapers, Architectural
Publications, on television, etc. For example, it was last featured on TV via KOMO TVs NORTHWEST AFTERNOON, (Channel 4 in Seattle) in a documentary
called PREMIER NORTHWEST HOMES – showing local homes that are worth five
million dollars to fifteen million dollars.
Looking back
on it, I was totally not aware of how important my log home knowledge
could eventually be to me until I started teaching people how to build them. I
was also totally not aware of how much I could eventually help other
people (socio-economically) by passing my knowledge on to them.
Approximately
five years after I started teaching, I created a process for passing this
knowledge on to others via a 22 hour class (11 hours on Saturday, and 11 hours
on Sunday) in which I taught people everything they needed to know in order to
build the best possible log homes – in the fastest possible time – for the least
amount of money.
I ended up
teaching my two-day (e.g. Saturday and Sunday) log home building course via the
University of Washington for 108 consecutive terms. I also taught the same
two-day class at many other schools, such as Central Seattle Community College –
North Seattle Community College – South Seattle Community College – Shoreline
Community College – Highline Community College – Bellevue Community College –
Everett Community College – Redmond Parks Department – Issaquah Parks Department
– Seattle University -- and many other institutions. All of my classes
were taught at my log homes at my ranches near Redmond and Monroe, Washington
(25 minutes from Seattle City Limits). After attending my two-day class, my
students built some of the best log homes in the world (hundreds of photos are
on my website). Upon reflection, maybe I was teaching the Jeet Kune Do of log
home building. <Smile…>
As for me, I am still excited by (and in awe of) the fact that I can build a beautiful log
home for less money than it costs to buy a trailer house; AND that I can build a
nice log home in less than twelve weeks.
I always recommended that my students
build “mortgage-free” log homes, so they can live the rest of their lives in
relative socio-economic freedom.
In fact, I used to confess to my students that
my classes were not really about log homes – instead they were only about using
log homes as a tool for achieving “socio-economic” freedom.
In my
opinion, learning how to build log homes can have a much better socio-economic
effect upon a person’s life than obtaining an “average” college education.
I have now
been retired for many years. However, my same two-day classes (which are no
longer connected to any college or university) are still being taught at my
ranch near Seattle by my youngest American son, “Ellsworth” who has no first
name or middle name – and my good friend Steve White. You can check out the
website which contains a lot of information about log homes – photos of them –
photos of my NORTHERN EXPOSURE home – etc. In my opinion, the website contains
information that can allow someone to save up to half of the cost of a proposed
log home.
Fortunately,
it is possible to retire on the rental income from only one small log home in
America, “IF” once can be happy living like a king on a beautiful tropical
island here in Southeast Asia. Is that cool… or what ???
LIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES:
A BETTER LIFE:
At this point I have lived in Southeast Asia for many
years – including such places as Thailand – Cambodia – Laos – Burma – Indonesia
– Malaysia – Singapore – Kowloon – Hong Kong – Macau – China – the Philippines –
various islands in the Sulu Sea and the South China Sea – etc. In my opinion,
the Philippines is the best country in the world in which to live. During my
first five minutes of living here, I experienced more personal freedom than I
had experienced in America during the past [almost seventy] years. If a
police-state is at one end of the spectrum, the Philippines is definitely at the
“opposite” end of the same spectrum.
THE COST OF LIVING:
It is possible to live very well here for almost nothing. For
example, here is a direct quote from the National Statistical Coordination
Board [2007] -- as follows:
“The average FIVE MEMBER FILIPINO FAMILY living near the
National Capital Region in Manila [one of the most
expensive areas in the
Philippines] spent P8,254 a month [$206. U.S. Dollars per month at the
current exchange-rate of 40
to 1] last year to sustain its minimum basic
food and non-food needs. Of this amount, P4,920 (60 percent) [$123. U.S.
Dollars] would have been allocated for basic food needs and P3,334 (40
percent) [$83. U.S. Dollars] would have been
allocated for basic non-food
needs of the family. At the national level [including populations that are
living in every socio-
economic area] a family of five needed to spend P204 daily
[$5. U. S. Dollars] to buy its minimum basic food and non-food
needs.”
FINDING THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE:
If you are a single man (e.g. not married), then I suggest that you to come to
the Philippines at least twenty years ago. Whoops… I guess it's too late
for that.
Anyway… I would at least
come here as fast as you can. No matter when you come here, you will probably
kick yourself for not having come here YEARS ago. This is because the women
here make perfect wives if a guy goes through the right selection process.
There are several reasons for this, as follows:
ANOTHER EXAMPLE;
MY
CURRENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE MARTIAL ARTS:
The physical aspects of martial arts
no longer interest me. Although I still have a large amount of respect for
people that do that sort of thing, I personally have moved on from it.
At
this time in my life, I only resort to the use of Gung Fu when the “bad-guys”
leave me no alternative. However, rather than use
Gung Fu, I would greatly prefer to buy the “bad-guys” a beer -- become friends
with them – and part on friendly terms.
My
above-mentioned feelings about martial arts is greatly exacerbated by the fact
that I now live in Southeast Asia where disputes are more likely to be settled with
knives in the back -- or with long range sniper-rifles -- or with shorter-range
semi-automatic rifles -- or with short range shotguns -- or with hand-guns
(often home-made) -- or even with hand-grenades or dynamite.
In my area, these guys hardly ever want to "fight" each other... they only want
to "kill" each other. For example, it is very common for ten guys that EACH
have a machete to attack one guy that has NO machete. Frankly,
bringing Gung Fu into most of my neighborhoods would be like bringing a child’s
sling-shot to a serious gun-fight.
Because
of the above-mentioned cultural phenomenon, "fighting" (as in "one against one")
is generally considered to be an extremely stupid thing to do here.
In other words, unless we are talking about
“professional” fighters” these guys almost NEVER fight each other in order to
prove who is the best fighter -- or the baddest dude -- or the bravest -- or to
get a pat on the back from their peer group -- or to get credit for a win.
Instead, the guys that I hang out with here only become involved in the "situation" in order to eliminate a
problem that exists in their lives. It is more like, "strictly business." In a strange and
perhaps somewhat amusing sense, this usually eliminates the involvement of
"personal ego" when it comes to fighting. Obviously, this involves a different
“cultural” way of looking at things. Anyway…because of my experiences here in Southeast Asia, I have personally
lost interest in the physical aspects of martial arts.
BRUCE'S IMPACT ON MY LIFE:
Frankly, it was not Bruce Lee’s “life” that impacted my life
for the better. As far as I am concerned, how Bruce lived his life was his own
private business, AND how I live my life will always be my own private
business. In other words, Bruce lived his life the way he wanted, just as I am
still doing.
However, I must say
that my life was definitely impacted for the better by Bruce’s “friendship”
– and to a lesser extent by the fact that he gave me a small part of his “knowledge”
regarding Gung Fu. Those two great gifts will impact my life forever.
CURRENT "MARTIAL ARTS" POLITICS:
Frankly, I have never paid much attention to politics.
However, I do remember being pleasantly surprised by how nice everybody was at
any of the BRUCE LEE meetings that I ever attended. Linda Cadwell is one of my favorite
people in the Universe – as is Taky Kimura (a perfect gentleman in every
sense of the term). John Little Is an awesome dude, and I will always
remember him as we would sit
around my kitchen table with Jesse Glover -- Sonny Umpad [R.I.P.] the Escrimador
and knife fighter -- Renato Alfonso (Sonny’s protégé) -- Jim DeMile, etc.
Of course, I have my own opinion regarding why the Nucleus
was disbanded, but I do not feel that I should discuss it because that was
their business – not my business. In other words, if they had the
right to “start” the group (which o course they did), then they should also have the
right to “stop” the group (which of course they did) without other people interfering or
even commenting.
Frankly, one
of the most important things I learned from my association with the martial arts
sub-culture is this:
I learned how to immediately tell the difference between
things
that “are” my business and things that “are not” my
business.
THE FIRST "PRACTICE" TAKY KIMURA ATTENDED:
As I recall, the first meeting
that Taky Kimura attended
(and also perhaps that Pat Strong attended) was held in the covered parking lot of the “Blue Shield Insurance Company
Building,” which was located on Broadway – a few blocks to the South (?) of Ruby
Chow’s Restaurant, and on the West side of the street. The meeting was on a
weekend, so we had the entire parking lot to ourselves except for a few workers
that probably thought we were “nuts.” If I remember correctly that was the time
Bruce had four or five new students (including Taky and Pat) that were coming for the
first time.
For some
reason I arrived at the meeting an hour late. At first when I got there I
walked past the group, as though I was a stranger. Then I stopped, turned
around, and in a challenging voice I said to the group, “Hey… is that stuff
supposed to be a ‘fighting technique’ ???”
Bruce and our
“regular” friends pretended that they did not know me, and Bruce said something
like, “Get out of here and leave us alone.” I said something about kicking
Bruce’s ass, and things accelerated verbally from there. Some of the new guys
were obviously getting worried. They were looking at each other – looking at
Bruce – looking at me – etc.
Finally,
Bruce and I (and the regular gang) burst out laughing, and all of the new guys
became aware of the joke. I was then introduced to the new guys, and everybody
was still laughing. Were you there, Taky... Pat.... ???
J
FAVORITE
MEMORIES OF THE PAST:
OUR
EXHIBITION IN CHINATOWN IN VANCOUVER B.C.:
Because of
Bruce’s growing reputation, we were asked to give a Gung Fu exhibition at the
Chinatown in Vancouver, Canada. We drove up to Canada in Jim DeMile’s car. In
the car, there was Bruce Lee, Jesse Glover, Jim DeMile, LeRoy Garcia, Ed Hart,
and me. In dealing with the border guards, we got into Canada with no problems
at all, and we gave our exhibition as planned. Afterwards, Bruce and his gang
(that was “us”) were taken to dinner at the Ho Ho Restaurant. The Chinatown
officials had reserved the entire second floor of the restaurant for our party
(perhaps 150 people). However, we were the guests of honor, and therefore we
sat at a HUGE round table with a large revolving circular tray in the center of
it. Our circular tray was loaded with dishes of food, and the rest of our table
had 10 or 20 bottles of booze on it. Bruce Lee was sitting on my left, and
Jesse Glover was sitting on my right. It was then that I made a terrible mistake
– a mistake I will be forced to live with for the rest of my life.
Specifically… I made the mistake of challenging Jesse Glover to a drinking
contest. As I recall, we started with a newly opened bottle of Cutty Sark and
two shot glasses. Unfortunately, that is the last thing I remember about the Ho
Ho Restaurant.
The next thing I knew, they were trying to wake me up at the
border. The windows of the car were rolled down, and a border-guard was shining
his flashlight in my face. Apparently, he kept asking me where I was born.
Apparently, I kept saying, “I don’t know.” They tell me that we all had to get
out of the car while the guard questioned me. They tell me that I didn’t know
the answers to even ONE of the guard’s questions. They tell me that I was very
polite, and that I was smiling constantly – but I couldn’t even tell the guard
my own name. They tell me that the guard was actually laughing as he questioned
the other guys about me – and as Bruce got my wallet out of my pocket and showed
him my I.D., etc. They tell me that the guard finally let me cross the border
and return to my fatherland. I assume that he really did let me cross the
border because I definitely woke up at my girl friend’s apartment in
Seattle the next morning. One thing I know for sure is this; I will probably
NEVER be able to convince Jesse that I was the winner of our drinking contest.
BRUCE LEE EXPERIENCING FEAR:
Another incident that ended up being amusing to both Bruce
and I involved the “only” time I ever helped Bruce Lee deal with fear. Hey… I
might be the only man in the world that ever saw Bruce be afraid of something.
It happened like this:
Bruce called me at my girlfriends apartment one afternoon. He spoke calmly, but
he appeared to be somewhat excited. In fact, he was stuttering. He was
saying, “Skip I’m in Chinatown and I want you to come here right away. It
involves an emergency. It’s my eyes. I think I’m going blind, Get
here as fast as you can, Bring somebody with you. Bring Jesse if you
can, but just get here immediately…,” etc. I literally broke a speed record
getting from the U. District to Chinatown. I parked in an alley, and ran as
fast as I could to our clubhouse.
At the clubhouse, Bruce was sitting in a chair with his eyes
closed as I burst through the door. However, in less than one second he was on his feet and talking
to me. He explained that just before he called me he had been sitting in a
chair on the sidewalk – and he was staring up at the sky. As he was staring up
at the blue sky, he suddenly saw spots in his eyes. The spots were
“everywhere.” Sometimes he could see them clearly, but sometimes they would be
hard to see. He thought he was going blind, and therefore he was quite
concerned (e.g. obviously, "blindness" would be a major disadvantage for a
martial artist).
I questioned Bruce about the spots for two or three
minutes before I suddenly realized that he had only seen the “floaters” that normally exist in
the thin layer of fluid that coats the eye-ball. I explained that floaters are
perfectly NORMAL. However, he had a hard time believing it because he had never
seen them before. It was only after I thoroughly explained what they are like –
how they move – how they “float” – etc. -- that he realized I was describing the
exact phenomenon he had experienced. Therefore, he finally accepted what I told
him. Needless-to-say, Bruce was very happy to hear that there was nothing wrong
with his eyes. Of course, we had a good laugh about it.
A SOCIAL SITUATION INVOLVING MONKS FROM TIBET:
In the early
Seattle years, Bruce believed that Gung Fu originated in India, and worked its
way across the Himalayas (through Tibet) into China. In approximately 1959 or
1960, the University of Washington brought a huge number of Tibetan refugees
(religious dignitaries) to Seattle for the purpose of studying their culture,
giving them refuge from the Chinese invaders, etc. Professor Ekvall at the U.
of W. was responsible for the Tibetans.
At Bruce’s request, I contacted Ekvall,
and made arrangements for us to give a Kung Fu exhibition for the Tibetan monks
– so we could determine if they had anything similar to Kung Fu in their
country. Arrangements were made for Bruce and me to drive my car (a powder blue
1957 Chevrolet Convertible with a white top) to the U. District, pick up the
monks and take them to our Kung Fu Club in Chinatown. When Bruce and I arrived
at the home where the monks were staying we were advised by an interpreter that
the monks were among the most important Tibetan dignitaries in the world.
When
we met them in their home near University Village, I became aware of the fact
that their long robes made them look very serious, dignified, and religious. I
also became aware of the fact that it was a nice, warm sunny afternoon.
Suddenly, my sense of humor got the best of me, and before we got into my car I
motioned for the monks to wait just one moment -- as I proceeded to put the
top down. I knew that the monks had just arrived in America, and I was sure
that they had never seen an “electric” convertible top go down. They were
totally amazed when they saw the electric top go down all by itself. They got
very excited, and they started talking to each other very quickly in Tibetan.
At that time, I’m not sure that Bruce knew what I intended to do. However, it
became obvious when we loaded the monks into the car, and I started driving
toward Chinatown. As I was speeding through the streets of Seattle, and the
wind was blowing robes, hair, sashes, etc., the monks got so nervous that they
started to chant in unison. To me, it looked like they thought we were all
going to die.
To me, as a punk kid with a weird sense of humor, it was amusing
that our two cultures were “coming together” in such a strange way. Now that I
am more than a half a century older, I am embarrassed that I gave them a ride
like that. I have no excuse for it except that I was only a punk kid at the
time, and I was too stupid to realize that I was being a jerk. In my limited
(e.g. “stupid”) perception, I was only having some fun. When we arrived in
Chinatown the monks stopped chanting, and they piled out of my car as fast as
they could. At that time they were (thankfully) laughing about the ride,
obviously talking about it, etc. Also, they might have been laughing because
they were relieved to have lived through the experience.
Anyway…
Professor Ekvall was already waiting for us at our Kung Fu Club, with some of
our other guys. Inside our club, we proceeded to give a Kung Fu exhibition for
the monks. Suddenly, when they saw what we were doing, the monks became very
serious and somber. They seemed to be somewhat upset by what they saw. They
appeared to be surprised and perplexed that we were doing Kung Fu.
After we
finished our exhibition, Professor Ekvall asked the monks if they had anything
like “Kung-Fu” in their country. The monks made it clear that they did have
something similar to what we were doing – but they were not at liberty to
discuss it. Professor Ekvall spoke to them in their own language, and he told
us they refused to talk about it because it was related to their religion in
some way. Bruce was disappointed that we did not learn more from them. A short
time after the exhibition, Ekvall left with the monks. They were obviously
relieved to be riding home with Ekvall.
Later on, I often visited the monks at their home near University
Village, and surprisingly they were always very friendly towards me in spite of
the ride we gave them. I got to know them quite well even though the language
barrier made it impossible for me to communicate with them verbally.
Essentially, they were extremely nice people.
Three months later, another
smaller group of monks arrived in Seattle, I met them at the University Village
home of the “first” group. A month or so later, I ended up taking three
members of the “second group” to meet Bruce in Chinatown, and where we put on
another (smaller) exhibition for them. Their reaction was pretty much the
same as the first group, in the sense that they apparently didn’t want to
discuss what they saw us doing.
BRUCE'S FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN SEATTLE:
The Tai Tung Restaurant is still located at 655 S. King St., in Seattle’s
Chinatown. The telephone number is (206)-622-7372 – and they are open from 10
AM to 1 AM. Physically, the place has been dramatically remodeled since the
“good old days” but they still have the best (authentic) Chinese Food in town.
In fact, it is where the “real” working-class Chinese people ate – with lots of
good food at a low price. One of the major advantages for us is… we could
always find “something” on the menu that we could afford. Whenever possible, we
would go there after practice – often including Bruce, Jesse, Jim, Taky, LeRoy,
Me, etc. It gave Bruce a chance to discuss “verbally” what we had just done
“physically.” It gave him a chance to get “philosophical.” I probably ate at
the Tai Tung almost every day. The head waiter there became a personal friend
of mine. His name was Eddie Woo (Eddie Muy), and I hope he is still
alive and well, because he was a very nice guy and a good friend to one and
all.
For example,
When my mother had an operation at the Northgate Hospital (where she was the
hospital administrator), Eddie sent the largest bouquet of flowers that had ever
arrived at the hospital. In fact, the bouquet had to be modified temporarily in
order for it to fit through the door to her room. Every employee in the
hospital came to see it.
Also, the
Thai Tung guys were very much into horse-racing, and therefore they always
leased a private box at Longacres Racetrack. My girlfriend, Judy (from Alpha Chi
Omega) and I were often invited to share their box.
In other words, as far as Bruce’s “gang” is
concerned, the Tai Tung restaurant became an important part of our lives at that
time. Really... forever.
MEMORIES OF THE
FUNERAL SERVICE AND BURIAL:
The funeral service was at
Butterworth’s Mortuary on East Pine Street, near the west-central part of the
business area of Capital Hill in Seattle. Essentially, the funeral service was
by “invitation only” but there was a huge crowd of people there, and it appears
that a lot of people “gate-crashed.” At the service, I sat between Jesse Glover
on my right and his half-brother Mike Lee on my left. Mike had two black
hard-rubber balls (one in each hand), and he “power-squeezed” them rapidly all
through the Service. Jesse and I just sat there and listened to the minister as
he delivered the Service.
The glass-topped casket had been placed at the front of the
room, and at the appropriate time, each of Bruce’s original students got into
the long line to “take turns” approaching the casket. Jesse was directly ahead
of me in line, and Mike was directly behind me. When it was our personal turn
to reach the casket each of us saluted our Brother Bruce for the final time.
When the
funeral service was over, it seemed like everyone was just milling around
looking lost and dazed in our sadness. It was like no one knew what to say to
anyone else. It was a very sad time. Eventually, we were advised that the
casket was loaded in the hearse, and we could then get into our cars and follow
it to the cemetery for the Burial Service. The burial was at the
Lake View Cemetery,155415th Avenue E., on North Capital Hill in Seattle.
At that time, I had a 1956 Porsche Speedster (a roadster with a very
low-profile convertible top). It is designed to accommodate only a driver and
one passenger. At the back of the two seats, there is only a small luggage
shelf, where two kids under the age of 8 could sit. As things turned out, when
we left for the cemetery we managed to squeeze six of our biggest guys into that
car. I drove sitting sideways, to make room for someone to sit between me and
what should have been the only passenger – and the other three guys in the back
were folded almost in half. [Hey… we could never do it now, at our ages.] When
we drove into the cemetery, people in general were looking at the Speedster as
it drove up and stopped. Several people smiled as the first big guy got out.
There were even more smiles as a second big dude got out. By the time six big
guys got out of that little car, come of the on-lookers were actually laughing
out loud. I guess this is what Shakespeare calls “comic relief” as it pertains
to tragic situations. As I recall, the guys who rode in my car were Jesse
Glover, Mike Lee, Ed Hart, Jim DeMile, Le Roy Garcia, and me.
As Bruce was being buried, I took two hands-full of dirt –
threw one on top of the casket (as everyone else was doing) – and I put the
other in my suit-coat pocket. That dirt is now in a special urn in the BRUCE
LEE ROOM of my Northern Exposure log home.
LEE'S GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO THE MARTIAL ARTS:
My feelings regarding that issue can be summed up as follows:
#1) Bruce Lee did more to make people aware of martial arts than any person who has ever lived.
#2) Bruce Lee is probably one of the four most famous men that has ever lived on this earth.
#3) I
personally believe that at least half of the martial artists in the world today
would not be practicing martial arts if it were
not for Bruce Lee.
#4) Bruce had a very positive “ripple-effect” upon an amazingly high percentage of the current population of the world.
#5) The effects of what Bruce did are still growing exponentially.
#6)
Because Bruce greatly increased the popularity of martial arts, I believe that
he almost single-handedly created a new
industry throughout the world; AND this
new industry has had a very positive socio-economic impact on the world’s
martial arts schools – martial arts teachers – the martial arts movement --
etc.
EVEN MORE IMPORTANT:
Ironically, what Bruce Lee did to promote martial arts throughout the world is
NOTHING compared to what he did to promote China and the Chinese culture.
Essentially, the respect that people previously had for China and its culture
was increased beyond belief because of Bruce’s influence. Therefore, at least in
my opinion, China should feel very indebted to Bruce, and it should honor him in
some way.
Personally, I think that China should build an extremely large
statue of Bruce (perhaps similar to the Statue of Liberty in New York). This
statue could be built as the main attraction at a brand new “BRUCE LEE WORLD
CENTER,” that could be built at Hong Kong. Such a center would undoubtedly
become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world – even more so
than Hong Kong’s Disneyland. A center of that type -- with a statue of that
size – including the huge collections of Bruce Lee paraphernalia that could be
accumulated (purchased or borrowed) from all over the world -- would attract
more than enough tourists to pay for itself (via admission fees) within five
years. Also, it would pay for itself many times over by bringing tourists to
the surrounding hotels, restaurants, etc. Also, even before such a center was
fully completed it would easily pay for itself in the form of free publicity for
the Chinese Tourist Trade.
Let’s do it
!!!
THE REST OF MY BOOK WILL BE ADDED AS SOON AS WE LEARN HOW TO RUN A SCANNER -- MAKE PHOTOS LARGER -- MAKE PHOTOS SMALLER -- MAKE SKIP LOOK HANDSOMER IN THE PHOTOS <SMILE> -- ETC.
GIVE US UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR... (???)
MARTIAL ART FRIENDS THAT RECENTLY VISITED US HERE:
This year my good friend, Bill Bremmer (one of Bruce’s original students in California) recently came to visit US here at Skip’s Beach Resort. His dad, Bob Bremmer (currently approximately 80 years old) was also one of Bruce Lee’s original students in California – and he too is an awesome guy (do a Google Search on the name Bob Bremmer). Bill stayed with us here for a few days, and we had a wonderful time talking about the “good old days.” We are hoping that Bill will return soon. Here is a photo of Bill and Skip, hanging out in Skip's beach-front office.
This year, Renato Alfonso also visited with his awesome son, Sebastian. We are hoping they will return and live here permanently. We would love to have them as neighbors. Here is a photo of Renato and his son at the Daanbantayan Public Market -- and another photo of them in the kitchen at Skip's home in Daanbantayan.
Photos of other guests will be added within the next few days.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE "PART TWO"...
OUR THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY ARE AS FOLLOWS:
“None are more enslaved
than those who falsely believe they are free.”
Goethe
"Whoever undertakes to
set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter
of the Gods."
Albert Einstein
"There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are
scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy. All information is
imperfect. We have to treat it with humility."
J. Bronowski
"The things that will destroy us are: politics [power] without principle; pleasure
without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business
without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice."
Mahatma Mohandas K.
Gandhi
“There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
Albert Einstein