36. BRUCE LEE: There are no limits
BRUCE LEE WEEK: PART 1, PART 3
The story goes like this: In 1964, Bruce Lee had moved to Oakland from Seattle and opened his own martial-arts school named Jun Fan Gung-Fu (Bruce’s Chinese name is Jun Fan). Lee was an expert in Wing Chun, a style of Chinese kung-fu he learnt as a teenager in Hong Kong. He was teaching a modified version of this Wing Chun style to a variety of students – Chinese, Japanese, black, white – whoever wanted to learn was welcome. However, Oakland and nearby San Francisco had a very large and traditional Chinese community who weren’t too pleased that Lee was teaching non-Chinese students. At that time, kung-fu still had an mystical aura surrounding it, and the different schools were very protective of their fighting techniques. They passed down their secrets from generation to generation like a precious family heirloom and always kept it among their own people. So for Lee to be teaching non-Chinese students was a serious offence.
The old guard issued an ultimatum to Lee: stop teaching to non-Chinese or we’ll visit your school and beat the crap out of you. Lee refused. He had been the victim of racism his whole life (he grew up in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, got teased as a kid for having caucasian heritage and most likely got teased when he moved to America for having Chinese heritage), so he was going to teach whoever the hell he pleased. And that’s where this comic starts: A posse turns up to Lee’s school with their number one fighter, Wong Jack Man, to challenge Lee to a fight.
The duel was a life-changing event for Lee. Although he won, he didn’t beat Wong as quickly or efficiently as he liked. It was messy and over 3 minutes long, with Lee having to run around the school chasing his opponent and bruising his hands from punching the back of Wong’s head. After the fight Lee, out of breath and despondent, faced a harsh reality: he wasn’t in the best shape and Wing Chun was nowhere near a complete fighting system.
This isn’t easy to do for a lot of people, to look at yourself critically and admit that you still have a lot to learn, even if others have already labeled you a ‘master’. But Lee was willing to look as his performance objectively and make the necessary changes.
From then on, Lee took his training to a new level. He began serious aerobic and strength training and also studied different fighting styles. Now when I say ‘took it to a new level’, I mean he was freakin’ OBSESSED. He lived, breathed and probably dreamed about martial arts. Lee was fanatical about training, sometimes to a fault as he seriously injured his back during a workout. He refined his fighting style into a system he named Jeet Kune Do, which translates into The Way of the Intercepting Fist. Lee became something like a martial-arts celebrity in California, with experts in other styles (like Karate champ Chuck Norris) coming to train with him. Over the years he transformed himself from a pretty fit, Wing-Chun expert into an almost super-human, half-human, half-dragon, cyborg fighting machine, capable of incredible demonstrations of speed and strength. All it took was dedication, hard work and having the determination to never stay on a plateau.
- The woman in the comic is Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce’s devoted wife. It was Linda who worked a steady job during this time to pay the bills that allowed Bruce to concentrate on his martial arts training. And the baby Bruce is shoulder pressing is his son, Brandon, who also died way too young.
- The yin-yang symbol in the final shot is the Jeet Kun Do logo Lee came up with.
- The official Bruce Lee website.
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Wohoo! Awesome job Gav!
His first punch wasn’t a Wing Chun punch. Just my two cents.
Inspirational Gav! And don’t listen to that troll, the toon is excellent!
Thanks Alex
Keep the inspiration coming ^_^
Just a general comment to say Congratulations and thanks for sharing. I enjoy not only the “cartoons” but the additional information you provide on the quote and the author. It’s really inspiring, informative and enlightening. Thank you for sharing your passion with us.
Thanks mate, sometimes I find writing the posts harder than drawing the comics!
Another personal favorite, great work Gav!
AWESOME!!!!
It came out a million times better than I hoped it would
Very nice one. Loved the panel saying “There are no limits” and the final panel. The “Eyes only” panels are cool, too, remind me of movie fight scenes . Way to go!
Just watched some videos of his speed and strength. He was a BEAST. I’m really interested in reading more about his philosophy.
Thanks
You won’t be disappointed Luis
I have been visiting this website regularly ever since I came to know about it. I’d like to say – amazing work! Keep it up. Each and every post is so well thought, so well created. This one’s the best, very inspiring.
Thanks a bunch
I really like your site… when I say really I mean it – for I can spend hours going over the comics while learning new things & get inspired. I think what sets your site apart is the description of the plot. Good work Gavin. You’ll go a loooong way.
Cheers Arin
Informative and inspiring
I love love love receiving these emails. Really brightens my day and the printed art brightens my work station!
Your work is Excellent!! I swear I post every new sketch on my Facebook wall. Huge Bruce Lee fan BTW.
Cheers
beautifull work!
every single drawing hits me.
I can’t wait for a hardcover with all your drawaings.
thanks
Can you add a random button? These are really inspirational.
Your enthusiasm for Bruce Lee translates well into the comics and into your explanation – I feel that I really missed out on something. Gotta go and watch some of his movies.
And the first panel is brilliant, with the mix of students and the menacing silhouettes.
Rear naked choke technique needs some work ha ha! Great site! Hope to see printable or downloadable copies soon and willing to pay. You produce these pretty fast – don’t burn out!
Lovin the panel with the face + five fists. It’s got ‘i’m gonna kick your ass’ written all over it. And awesome lats at the end too.
That was Bruce’s favourite attack, the ‘straight blast’
Thanks Gavin. Needless to say you just made my day
An event as contested, with as little hard evidence as this should at least deserve an airing of the other side’s position.
Hi! Been reading your comics for some time, but this one has definately became my favourite, and made me to finally write to you
I was never a big fan of Bruce Lee, I always thought of him as the asian guy, who kicks ass in his movies, but that’s all… and now you made me read a bit about him, and… well, I definately misjudged him, to say the least
Thank you for these great comics, I love reading them all over and over again, they are true pieces of art, and inspiration, something that is quite rare nowadays.
Keep up the great work!
Oliver (17) from Hungary
Beautiful, glad I made you do more research on him
I’d like to see a print of this one!
i posted this comic on 9gag and now it has gone to trending page…you will get a few more visitors than usual today
http://9gag.com/gag/3922308
Awesome thanks a lot!
THIS IS AWESOME!!! I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE!
Jun Fan… June Fan… Summer Rays… The Sun… Jesus…. Horus… Positive beings…. all universal law…
Nice work and well picked quote from a man I admired.
One thing though, he was the one who did the challenging.
And there were also two accounts of the story, the other one being a little more believable.
True – this story was retold by Linda Lee and has become almost a myth I imagine. Obviously Wong Jack Man has recalled it differently.
Printed it and have it in my place of work, let me know if you have it for sale printed, I’ll buy it.
Your idea is so great I might end up proposing you to work together for making a spanish version of it (my native language)
Thanks for everything
Awesome, incredible work Gav, these are damn good. p.s. I got the link to your blog from the blambot newsletter that arrived today, seems you’ve got fans all over the place
As a Jeet Kune Do instructor… i really compliment you on the Bruce Lee cartoons. I would like to hang up your artwork in our dojo. Can we arrange this?
Best regards,
Robin Vader
The Netherlands
Hi Gav,
This one is definitely my most favourite Cartoon. I would definitely like to be able to purchase this as an inspiriational poster.. It’s quite large though. I look forward to seeing how you will make this into a print.
You rock, keep it up.
Gavin, the attention to detail in each of these posts is amazing. Do you still have a day job or did you quit that to make these comics?
I quit my job to work on this site full time.
Dude, your work inspires me, it makes me feel more alive, glad i found your site, thanks!
Awesome comic!!
as mentioned, i love the information you put after you comics… keep up the good work ! All the best !
I love how much effort you put in your info,its always rich with new informations to explore.
Gavin… You do the man great honour. I pondered over each panel and re-read them all several times. I will share this with some of my friends.
hello. And a very fine piece of artwork you have there.Thank u for the art and the message.
Hello sir.
Since I was a young, I always looked up to Bruce Lee. He is the reason that I discovered Martial arts, which has become an integral part of my life. I want to thank you from the bottom of my soul, for making this fine piece of art. Many places don’t get the entire quote out, something that I think make this piece so Beautiful. I will be ordering a copy of this soon, If you have it for sale. Thank you again sir, it means a lot to me that you did just a fantastic job with this.
Nice!
Thanks for inspiring us in a creative way!
What a great story!
I came across zenpencils recently and what can I say, it was love at first sight. Thank you Gavin for such beautiful art. A lot of your work here resonates with my life and I try to draw inspiration from your work. Keep going.
This’ll only take a minute of your time.
Your website is very helpful; It often provides simple – yet powerful – comfort for those of us who suffer from stress.
Aside from the rhetorical content, your work as an illustrator is very clean and inspirational.
Thank you dearly.
Please keep up the good work.