IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 654 
Recognizing the immense impact that Bruce Jun Fan Lee had on American 
and global popular culture and the important role he played in creating 
a bridge between cultures, championing values of self-respect, self-dis-
cipline, and tolerance in our Nation, and pioneering and cultivating 
the genres of martial arts, martial arts films, fitness and philosophy 
in the United States and the world. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2012 
Mr. HONDA (for himself, Mr. CLARKE of Michigan, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. 
SABLAN, and Ms. RICHARDSON) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the immense impact that Bruce Jun Fan Lee 
had on American and global popular culture and the 
important role he played in creating a bridge between 
cultures, championing values of self-respect, self-dis-
cipline, and tolerance in our Nation, and pioneering and 
cultivating the genres of martial arts, martial arts films, 
fitness and philosophy in the United States and the 
world. 
Whereas Bruce Jun Fan Lee was born in the hour of the 
Dragon, between 6 and 8 a.m., in the year of the Dragon 
on November 27, 1940, at the Jackson Street Hospital 
in San Francisco, California’s Chinatown; 
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•HRES 654 IH 
Whereas Bruce Lee returned to his family’s homeland at a 
young age and experienced firsthand the occupation of 
Hong Kong by the Japanese during the World War II 
years of 1941–1945, and the subsequent hostility and 
war that shook the continent; 
Whereas Bruce Lee was motivated to learn and master the 
martial art style of Wing Chun Gung Fu in order to gain 
self confidence and overcome repeated instances of taunt-
ing, racism, and gang activity during his youth; 
Whereas Bruce Lee’s athletic prowess, and his traits of self- 
discipline and determination, yielded him success in many 
other competitions, including the 1958 Crown Colony 
Cha Cha Championship in Hong Kong and the 1958 
Hong Kong Inter-School Boxing Championship; 
Whereas, in April of 1959, with only $100 to his name, 
Bruce boarded a steamship in the American Presidents 
Line and began his voyage back to San Francisco in the 
lower decks of the ship, demonstrating unbelievable cour-
age and belief in America’s ability to prosper through 
hard work; 
Whereas Bruce Lee understood the value of education and re-
turned to the United States to fulfill the requirements for 
the equivalent of high school graduation at Edison Tech-
nical School in Seattle, Washington, in 1960 while bus-
sing tables and washing dishes to support himself, subse-
quently enrolling at the University of Washington; 
Whereas Bruce Lee respected and honored the culture of 
America, and undertook learning colloquial English with 
the same dedication as he had his martial arts training. 
With a goal of absolute mastery, he applied himself to 
learning the idiosyncrasies of speech, becoming proficient 
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and fluent to the point of helping American students with 
their English papers; 
Whereas, at the University of Washington Bruce majored in 
philosophy, his passion for Gung Fu having inspired a 
desire to delve into the philosophical underpinnings of the 
arts, and he subsequently lectured on Eastern Philosophy 
at local high schools and wrote many essays during those 
years that relate philosophical principles to martial arts 
techniques; 
Whereas Bruce taught the art of Gung Fu to support and 
pay for his education and he established the Jun Fan 
Gung Fu Institute in a friend’s basement before expand-
ing to a bigger location in 1963; 
Whereas Bruce looked beyond race and background by engag-
ing in an interracial marriage with Seattle local, Linda 
Emery, in 1964 and later fathered 2 biracial children in 
a family he supported and cared for until his death; 
Whereas, in 1965, Bruce’s willingness to teach martial arts 
to non-Chinese individuals as a way to bridge the cul-
tures angered many in the field, and forced him to de-
fend himself and his freedom to teach, but victory in this 
contest paved the way for a spectacular and revolutionary 
discovery of blending physical fitness, Gung Fu and 
street combat into what is now called Jeet Kune Do; 
Whereas the artistry and beauty of Jeet Kune Do led Bruce 
to Hollywood, where he became an authentic face for Chi-
nese Americans and an inspiration to youth across the 
world, but despite rampant racism, Bruce’s strong, intel-
ligent, and powerful persona was a means for optimism 
and hope for immigrants and fans alike; 
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Whereas, during the years of 1967–1971, Bruce read and 
wrote extensively his thoughts about physical combat, the 
psychology of fighting, the philosophical roots of martial 
arts, and about motivation, self-actualization and libera-
tion of the individual, teachings that are the foundation 
of Jeet Kune Do, and of his legacy that is studied inter-
nationally to this day; 
Whereas after suffering a back injury in 1970 and being told 
he would never do martial arts again, Bruce worked him-
self back into peak physical and mental condition using 
his own program of self motivation and physical therapy 
to recuperate; 
Whereas, in the summer of 1971, due to hardships in over-
coming stereotypes in Hollywood, Bruce decided to con-
tinue to pursue his dream of being an actor and sup-
porting his family by going back to Hong Kong, where 
he had gained immense fame from his previous work on 
shows like ‘‘The Green Hornet’’ and became a hero in 
Hong Kong and a representative of a success story for 
the Chinese community in America and of the honor of 
both cultures; 
Whereas, in 1972, Bruce created his own production com-
pany, Concord Films, using the Hollywood studio model 
for the first time in Hong Kong and began writing, di-
recting, producing, acting in, and choreographing his own 
films; 
Whereas, in 1973, due entirely to his relationships and suc-
cesses in both nations, Bruce became a household name 
through the making of ‘‘Enter the Dragon’’, the first film 
ever to bridge the Hong Kong and United States film in-
dustries, while overcoming language problems and pro-
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