The boy asked me “Is Bruce Lee afraid of the dark?”  I said probably not, but he was afraid of something.  We all are.  He also said once unprompted, “When you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle.” Appropriate for someone who has one of Bruce’s Chinese name’s characters in his own (振 or Zhen, meaning vibration or riser).  When he was born, I wore a Bruce Lee long sleeve T-shirt under my hoodie (No way as way, No limitation as limitation) with my Air Jordan Ones.  Dreams of a father.

Bruce’s teachings and example have affected me profoundly.  Such a difficult life and tragic end.  He was more than a man in so many ways.  A thinker, warrior, scholar, teacher, artist.  His movies aren’t half bad either.

I read somewhere that some people found him to be sometimes difficult to work with.  Racist undertones aside, are you kidding me?  The creator of Jeet Kune Do is expected to not be sometimes difficult?  A man who changed the world wasn’t easy?

I even quoted him once in a high level meeting – specifically his concept of the intercepting fist – strike when your opponent is striking.  My superiors wanted to play defense against another underhanded incursion into our business.  I told them to strike back instead.  It worked.

A closing fun fact, the other character in Bruce’s name (藩 or Fan (while not the same character as my last name (樊 also Fan) has the same meaning – barrier or fence.  Also, a few years ago, I learned that my maternal grandfather’s original last name was Lee (he was forced to change it after his mother remarried).  While there are a gazilion Lees in this world, still a nice connection.

Thank you God for creating such a great life.