Culture Club | The fighter Bruce Lee was scared about his future before he was a star
Robert Lee, 66, Bruce Lee's younger brother reveals a tender moment about the fighter
“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
He looked very worried, not knowing what he’s facing. It was the first time I saw his vulnerable side
“Be water, my friend” is one of the most famous Bruce Lee quotes. The kung fu legend, born 75 years ago today, is remembered not only for movies like Enter the Dragon and his unique martial arts style. The philosophy of the founder of Jeet Kune Do is what makes him an irreplaceable icon who no action star today can compete with.
But before the late star came up with the motto that has inspired millions of people around the world, he had a struggle that few people knew about.
Just before Bruce’s 75th birthday, the legend’s younger brother Robert Lee shared with me little known stories about the man who put Hong Kong and kung fu on the world map.
While we remember Bruce as a fighter, 66-year-old Robert told me his brother had a vulnerable side.
“I can still remember the day he left,” Robert said on the phone from Los Angeles.