Seattle 35 year commerative event

By STEVE KERRIDGE. Seattle Event photographs by GREG RHODES

When the rain lets up for summer in Seattle, the cascade mountain range to the south provides the backdrop to this beautiful setting at the northern-most part of the USA’s west coast. Branded the Emerald City by many, the green surroundings flourish through the typically mild winters and summers that are cooler than much of the west coast. Only when witnessed for real, can one start to comprehend why Bruce Lee had plans to ultimately settle in this picturesque land, although as destiny would decide, in his tragic passing.

So with July almost upon us, plans were made and bags were packed for a 4000 mile journey to not only honour the memory of a man who passed away some 35 years ago, but also to observe first hand the unity he created amongst the many diverse races and cultures attending the pilgrimage throughout this world of ours. With similitude to ripples in a pond that continuously expand, the influence Bruce Lee created will keep growing for generations to come, and upon arriving in Seattle the most noticeable and diverse aspect in all this, is how he is perceived by the different factions of those that were in attendance. Some were attending as followers of the movie icon that certainly started the modern trend in action cinema. Others were there to broaden their education and understanding of his applied philosophy on life, whilst many came to train with first and second generation Jeet Kune Do instructors in the many seminars held throughout the weekend event. Guests in attendance read as a who’s who in the Bruce Lee World, and to top it all, the opportunity given to speak and greet the graciousness of Linda Lee Cadwell and Shannon Lee, added real substance and a ‘family feel’ to the whole event.

From the opening preliminaries on the Friday afternoon, it was apparent that the weekend ahead would create a positive feel of being part of this great big Bruce Lee family, with an outsiders perception nowhere in sight. On that Sunny Friday afternoon in the depths of the highly impressive Seattle Art Museum, the memories and anecdotes of true friends of the Little Dragon were reeled off one after another. These stemmed from the early days in Seattle, when as a young man Bruce Lee first immerged amongst the population of the Emerald city. Close friends such as Taky Kimura, George Lee and Allen Joe, Jesse Glover, Ted Wong and Doug Palmer all recalled stories that were not only amazing to hear, but also amusing in content with a true sense of ( as Bruce would often write) Peace, Love and Brotherhood. All around, you could witness the attentive faces of all colours and creed as the recollections of his martial art prowess from first hand eye witnesses were relayed in succession. I remember prior to the talks what I can only describe as a feeling of total magnetism when Taky Kimura first entered the venue on that Friday afternoon. Whilst standing and talking to him, a true sense of humbleness radiated from this living legend. His discerning communicative skills held philosophical warmth and well being, which in turn displayed his imminence with his closest friend Bruce Lee. Taky, along with George Lee and Allen Joe, had seen the embryonic development of the Little Dragon first hand in Seattle and Oakland during the early 1960s, and the sorrow of losing such a close friend was still visibly etched in their faces even after all these years. With a great start to the day and the various accompanying demos by the JKD fraternity, the evening was soon upon us all. The exclusive preview night included a tour of the 35th anniversary exhibit containing many personal belongings and written matter provided by the estate of Bruce Lee. These included personal letters and correspondence between Bruce and Warner Brothers, as well as various script notes on Golden Harvest headed paper. Sadly, a letter addressed to his lawyer Adrian Marshall, which proved to be the very last he ever wrote was on display. Dated July 20th 1973, the contents of the letter made interesting reading, and made one ponder upon what could have been had he lived. A number of personal items were also provided by top collector’s Jeff Chinn, Yori Nakamura and Perry Lee. These included the three piece suit worn in Enter the Dragon and a sun design kaftan Bruce had purchased whilst on location in Thailand during the filming of The Big Boss.

This whole exhibit, I personally felt brought a sense of the humanistic side clearly evident in his life, and a sense of the amazing journey he made throughout. I remember thinking how poignant this was, when during the gathering Linda Lee said, -“It’s not the destination that’s so important, but it’s the journey that counts.” Next on the agenda for the ensemble of guests, plans for the proposed Bruce Lee museum were unveiled for the very first time with architect Tom Carson at the helm. The evening rounded off with a special screening of Enter the Dragon of which preceded an audience with Bob Wall (Oharra) and Enter the Dragon producer Paul Heller. Some may ask or wonder why this showing was so significant. The audience in attendance were taken back in vivid time capsule mode by not only Bob Wall and Paul Heller’s memoirs of the Hong Kong of 1973, but Linda Lee who brought real sentiment to the gathering by recalling in detail the thoughts and emotions of the man we were all there to honour at a turning point in his life before, during and shortly after the filming of this martial arts masterpiece. Having relayed such feeling to the proceedings, her honest and fully open recollections brought a new lease of life to this special event. As I sat next to Paul Heller in a kind of surreal vision which made me feel like I was watching the movie for the very first time, I couldn’t help but sense a magic on the screen that I truly believe was just the start of what could have been had Bruce Lee lived.

With Saturday now upon us, the seminar sessions were order of the day. Taky Kimura and his son Andy opened the day of instruction, and were soon followed throughout the day by a variety of interesting tuition from such names as Richard Bustillo, Tim Tackett and Yori Nakamura. Scotsman Tommy Carruthers had also taken the ten hour plane journey to dazzle the participants and spectators with his amazing speed and economy of motion so reminiscent of the Little Dragon. So we came to Sunday July 20th, which marked the date on which Bruce passed away 35 years ago. The day, which would conclude with a memorial held at Lake View Cemetery, the resting place of both Bruce and Brandon Lee, firstly saw an instructors summit take place that morning in the Plestcheeff Auditorium at this highly prestigious Art Museum. Shannon Lee in my opinion was very open to the suggestions put forward of which I’m sure would have made her Dad proud. She held the audience together with a skill on par with any top T.V. . Leaving the auditorium, I truly felt the future was bright for the Bruce Lee Foundation and Bruce Lee’s art was in safe hands. These weren’t men in suits, these were people that cared, people that weren’t afraid to evolve, and people that were prepared to (in Bruce’s words) hack away at any unessential’s. With an estimated 200 people in attendance, and a beautiful blue sky above, the memorial at Lake View cemetery was a sight to behold. An endless line of people with joss sticks in hand, slowly passed by the resting place of both Bruce and Brandon Lee with the customary three bows of respect. The softness of a slight breeze making its path through the big trees behind us, gave a tranquil backdrop to a moving dialogue by Linda Lee as the countless listened intensely to every word. Faces full of joy, full of sorrow, and gentle tears were seen by many races of people in attendance. Bruce Lee was once asked whether he thought of himself as a Chinese or a North American, he answered... “Honestly I want to think of myself as a human being, under the sky there is but one family, it so just happened man people are different” -and this whole event just brought that very message home.

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