学文网死啃理论是不够的，要学会应用；光有梦想也是不够的，必须行动起来，梦想才能变为现实。
――李小龙
Knowing is not enough, you must apply; willing is not enough, you must do.
――Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee died at 32 years old in 1973. He is an iconic figure to the world, particularly to the Chinese, as he portrayed Chinese national pride and Chinese nationalism1 in his movies. People will never forget his movies and his contribution to Kung Fu. However, he was a so-called villain2 in his childhood, who liked fighting and often was beaten. When he was on the way to be a Kung Fu star, he suffered serious back injury, which nearly destroyed his career.
Bruce started training in the martial3 arts mainly to overcome his fear of being humiliated4 in a street fight. As a teenager he began to get into more and more fights for no reason at all. And if he didn't win he was furious. As a result, under the great master Yip Man's Wing Chun(meaning "beautiful springtime") teachings, Bruce became a proficient5 martial artist.
He was young, energetic and competitive. He soon became acquainted with Wing-chun's basic Kung Fu. Since he was very clever, Mr. Yip loved him very much and taught him many secret techniques in Win Chun Kung Fu. He became an expert in Wing Chun Kung Fu. As time went by, Bruce grew. His enthusiasm towards martial arts was more apparent.
At the age of 19, Bruce was becoming more and more involved in street fighting. So his parents decide to send him to live with friends in the United States ,where he would finish high school. While he was staying in Seattle, Bruce was allowed to live in the restaurant's attic6 in exchange for his services as a busboy and waiter. Bruce finished high school and went on to college. By day he attended the University ofWashington and nights he was working in the restaurant. After a fewmonths of this, he decided that this lifestyle was not for him. He quit hisjob at the restaurant and began teaching Kung Fu. At the age of twenty two, Bruce authored an extremely unique text which he titled CHINESEKUNG-FU: the Philosophical Art of SELF-DEFENSE. This book reflectedhis preoccupation7 with Kung Fu.
When Bruce debuted to the world giving a demonstration of MartialArts at Ed Parker's 1964 internationals, Ed was getting it all down on film. Later William Dozier ( the producer of Batman 1966 TV series), who appreciated his talents, had invited Bruce to act the supporting role Karo in the film Green Hornet( 1966), in which Bruce introduced millions to the beauty,creativity and power of the martial arts.
Bruce felt certain that The Green Hornet was going to be his Big Break, but after the series went off the air after only one season, Bruce found that parts calling for Orientals were few and far between. He landed small roles in some movies, but for the most part his career was going nowhere.
At this time, tragedy happened. In 1970, Bruce Lee sustained a rather severe injury to his back. His doctors ordered him to discontinue the practice of martial arts and to remain in bed to allow his back to heal. "This was probably the most trying and dispiriting time in Bruce's life" ( Linda Lee Commented). Bruce stayed in bed, virtually flat on his back for six months, but he couldn't keep his mind from working--the result was the book of Tao of Jeet Kune Do. The bulk of these writings were done at that time, but many scattered8 notes were recorded at earlier and later times.
During this period, he was worried about whether the back injury would impact his ability to practice martial arts. While writing the book, he meditated on the ways to be more professional in Kung Fu. Also, he pondered how to make his martial arts in movies more attractive. It seemed that the backache turned out to be not bad. He became more mature.
Not happy with his supporting roles in the U. S. , Lee returned to Hong Kong and signed a film contract with legendary director Raymond Chow to star in films produced by the production company Golden Harvest. Lee played his first leading role in The Big Boss ( 1971 ) which proved an enormous box office success across Asia and catapulted him to stardom. He soon followed up his success with two huger box office successes:Fist of Fury(1972) and Way of the Dragon (1972). For Way of the Dragon, he took complete control of the film's production as the writer, director, star, and choreographer9 of the fight scenes. Later, he made a lot of movies, and became a super star.
李小龙1973年逝世，年仅32岁。他是全世界人们心中的偶像，对中国人而言尤其如此。借助电影，他向世人展示了中国人民的民族自豪感和民族主义。人们不会忘记他的电影和他对功夫发展所作的贡献。然而，少年时的李小龙却是个小混混，喜欢滋事打架，常常被人打得鼻青脸肿。在星途刚刚起步时，背部又遭受重伤，差点将他的事业毁于一旦。
有谁能够想到，一代宗师李小龙练武的初衷竟是为了在街头打架时能逞英雄。少年时的李小龙四处寻衅打架，一旦输了，就会咆哮怒吼。13岁时，在名师叶问的调教下，他开始学习咏舂拳，武艺精进不少。
年轻气盛的李小龙凡事不甘落后，很快掌握了咏春拳的基本套路。叶问很喜欢这个聪明的小徒弟，向他传授了许多咏春拳的秘密招式。这样，李小龙成长为了咏春拳大师。随着时间的推移，李小龙慢慢长大，他对功夫的兴趣越来越浓。
19岁时，李小龙还是整天在街上打架斗殴，不务正业。由于害怕李小龙学坏，他的父母决定送他去美国念高中，并让他和他们在美国朋友们住在一起。在西雅***求学期间，李小龙其实并没有住到父母的朋友家，而是住在一家餐馆的阁楼里，他在这家餐馆做勤杂工兼服务生。高中毕业后，他考入了华盛顿大学，晚上仍然在餐馆打工。几个月后，李小龙觉得这种生活不适合他，他辞去工作，开始教人武功。22岁那年，他出版了一本不寻常的书，名为《中国功夫：自卫的哲学艺术》，这本书反映了他对武术已经达到如痴如醉的地步。
1964年埃德・帕克(美国空手道的奠基人，同时也是“肯波’流空手道的创始人)举办第一届长堤国际空手道锦标赛时，李小龙获邀表演中国功夫。帕克将李小龙的表演录成电影播放。电视剧《蝙蝠侠》(1966)制作人威廉・多兹尔十分赏识李小龙的才华，邀请他出演《青蜂侠》(1966)配角“加藤”。在影片中，李小龙向几百万观众展示了功夫的美、力量和创新性。
李小龙一开始认为《青蜂侠》肯定可以让自己在事业上取得重大突破。但是该剧播出一季后就停播了。李小龙发现需要亚洲演员的电影不多，虽然后来也拍了几部电影，但是都是跑龙套，李小龙的事业没有丝毫起色。
然而，就在这个时期悲剧发生了。1970年，李小龙后背受了重伤，医生叮嘱他不能再练功夫，要一直躺在床上直到伤口痊愈。李小龙的妻子琳达说，那一段时间是李小龙这辈子最沮丧、最消沉的时候。他只能直躺在床上，并且一躺就是六个月。但是李小龙闲不下来，他开始写作。《截拳道之道》一书主要写成于这段时期。当然他在前期和后期还做了许多零散的笔记。
在此期间，李小龙担心背部的伤会影响他的身手。他一边写作，一边思考怎样才能提高功夫水平，变得更加专业。李小龙甚至还为使武功在电影里看起来更具吸引力而冥思苦想多时。似乎背痛并没有带来不好的后果，李小龙更加成熟了。
不甘心一直做配角的李小龙从美国来到香港，与香港的传奇导演邹文怀签订了电影合约。根据合约，他可以在嘉禾娱乐有限公司出品的电影中出演主角。1971年，李小龙在电影《唐山大兄》(1971)首次单挑大梁。该片大获成功，在亚洲取得了不俗的票房成绩(创下了香港开埠以来电影的最高票房纪录，达到300万港元。)李小龙一跃成为影视红星。第二年他出演了两部更卖座的电影：《精武门》(1972)和《猛龙过江》(1972)。《猛龙过江》完全由他一手包办，他既担任了该片编剧，同时又是导演、主演和武术指导。此后，他又拍了很多电影，成为一代巨星。
注释：
①nationalism：n.民族主义；国家主义
②villain：n.流氓；地痞
③martial：adj．好战的；尚武的，martial arts，武术
④humiliated：v.被羞辱；使遭受耻辱
⑤proficient：adj.精通的；熟练的
⑥attic：n．阁楼；顶楼
⑦preoccupation：n.全神贯注；盘算；一门心思
⑧scattered：adj.散乱的；散布的
⑨choreographer：n.舞蹈指导；武术指导
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