Lee was the first Asian star to show that heroes can come in any shape or form – a notion most recently, and wildly, celebrated by the runaway Oscar hit Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The film paid homage to Lee in its fight scenes, like many other action movies that are made to this day. From Hollywood to Bollywood, the fast and flowing and somehow purely natural-looking martial action Lee helped develop has become part of the language of global cinema.
As a martial artist, he was a one-of-a-kind talent, combining freakish physicality with sage-like words of wisdom that struck a chord in the US in the freshly free-thinking 1960s. He was an ardent advocate for one to use exercise as a way to strengthen both the body and the mind, which drew the attention of regular folk everywhere as well as the stars.
Once Lee found himself on the fringes of Hollywood, he started to show studios how exciting martial arts could be, when blended into movies of any genre. Sports stars, too, soon picked up on how martial arts could help change the way you think, as much as how you move.
A TRUE CHAMPION OF THE UNDERDOG
Lee’s rise was the very stuff of a Hollywood blockbuster – and that has also always been part of the attraction, and a source of inspiration people have taken from the Lee story.
From childhood star to youthful miscreant, fleeting fame abroad and finally on to superstardom once he made his triumphant return to Hong Kong, Lee took his blows – and he kept bouncing back.
Source: CNA
