tofuwatch.com

His name is Bruce. He says, “Be like water.”

 

I’m grateful to LikeCool.com, which originally posted these eye-catching, cut-out images of Bruce Lee and his clothing.

And thanks to the crew at The Wing Luke Asian Museum, which posted the image links on Facebook.

As a journalist, I had the good fortune of writing about former Seattle resident Bruce Lee.

In researching his life, I interviewed his first student, Seattle resident Jesse Glover, and another pupil, Taky Kimura, who lives in the area.

Here are passages from my story last year about how these men became Lee’s students and friends.

Jesse Glover, who is in his 70s (Seafair is a summer festival in Seattle): 

After Glover saw Lee perform during a Seafair demonstration and realized Lee had stellar skills, he spotted him as the two walked to Edison Technical School (now Seattle Central Community College). Glover tried to get Lee’s attention by running in front of him and kicking telephone poles. ‘He probably thought I was nuts,’ he said. The two started practicing at Glover’s apartment. During their first session, Glover tried to attack Lee. But Lee countered the move and grabbed Glover’s arms, applying pressure to them. Before Glover could move his arms, Lee already knew which way his opponent was going to move. ‘Right away,’ Glover said, ‘I knew this guy was unique.’

 Taky Kimura, who is in his 80s:

Kimura…recalls one phrase Lee often uttered: ‘Be like water.’

Kimura believes Lee said that so his students could adapt — like water — to fast-changing situations. He realized Lee was fast when they once practiced together. Lee quickly had him on the ground. Lee’s controlled hits were so fast and fierce that Kimura felt a breeze hitting his forehead. But Lee was not physically touching him. ‘It scared the holy hell out of me,’ he recalled. Kimura, who is Japanese-American, said he long had low self-esteem. Lee told him to be proud. ‘I believe with all my heart that he left a tremendous message of righteousness and to feel good about yourself,’ Kimura said.

If you’re a fan, there’s the recently re-launched Bruce Lee Web site, which has videos, a blog and a link to Facebook.