BRUCE LEE (1940-1973) is considered the greatest martial artist of the 20th century. A true renaissance man, Lee was a talented artist, poet, philosopher, writer and actor, apart from being a formidable fighter. His insights into philosophy, physical fitness, self-defense, and movie making, have been enjoyed and lauded by millions of people around the world for well over two decades. He is the founder of Jeet Kune Do, the first martial art to ever be predicated on total freedom for the individual practitioner. A learned man, Lee attended the University of Washington where he majored in philosophy. His personal library contains over 2500 books on topics ranging from Eastern Yoga to Western Psychoanalysis. His philosophy and example continue to inspire athletes and artists from around the world.

BRUCE LEE was born in San Francisco in 1940. He returned to Hong Kong with his parents at the age of three-months. While growing up in Hong Kong, Lee made a total of 18 films. At the age of 18, he boarded a ship that returned him to America. After staying briefly in San Francisco, Lee finally settled in Seattle where he went on to study philosophy at the University of Washington. Lee published his first book in 1963 entitled Chinese Gung Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self-Defense. After thoroughly researching the human sciences of kinesiology and physiology, Lee began to create his own method of self-defense - predicated for the first time in the history of combat on unconditional freedom of expression for the individual practitioner.

As a direct result of his personal applications of his research, Bruce Lee quickly emerged as the leading martial artist of his generation, eventually opening three schools located in Seattle, Oakland and Los Angeles. He married in 1964 to American Linda Emery, then a student in one of his Seattle gung fu classes. Together they formed a perfect example of yin-yang; with each one complementing the distinctive qualities of the other. Their union also brought forth two children; Brandon Bruce Lee, (born February 1, 1965) and Shannon Emery Lee (born April 19, 1969). Lee was a devoted family man, who much preferred staying home with his wife and children than attending parties, film premieres and the resulting celebrity trappings that attend a successful career in film.

During his lifetime, Bruce Lee cultivated a personal philosophy, a synthesis of Eastern and Western insights into the human condition, which helped him overcome many adversities and to achieve unparalleled greatness in his career. Lee passed away at age 32 on July 20, 1973, the result of hypersensitivity to a pain medication he had taken to alleviate a headache. Despite his passing, Lee's thought continues to inspire and influence thousands of individuals from all walks of life, while Lee's contributions to the action film genre opened the door for all of the action films and action film stars that have followed in the years since his passing.