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While in the United States , Bruce Leetaught kung fu to a large issue of people , including a few movie stars in Hollywood . Considered the most influential anatomy in martial nontextual matter , Bruce Lee ’s five kung fu movies made him a martial arts legend . Lee ’s fighting style and philosophy appeal to people of various backgrounds and kickstarted the kung fu craze of the seventies and 1980s .
Bruce Lee , who trained in Wing Chun and form his own school of kung fu called Jeet Kune Do , did n’t keep his skills to himself . After training withWing Chun grandmaster Ip Manand leaving Hong Kong for America , Lee learn kung fu to many students over the next several long time . Lee received a fortune of criticism for teaching kung fu to non - Taiwanese , but Lee ignored the pushback from Chinese kung fu masters , and his kung fu schools that were available to anyone who wanted to memorise . Before becoming a soldierly fine art pic star , Lee ’s ambitiousness was to open kung fu schools all over the state .
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Lee passed on his skills and ideas to a wide range of multitude , who used them to become accomplished martial artist in their own rightfield . Many of his former students learn Lee ’s Jeet Kune Do in their own schools , ensuring that Lee ’s kung fu cognition lived on . Among his most notable scholar are kung fu experts Dan Inosanto , Taky Kimura , James Yimm Lee , and Ted Wong . Lee also had a few celebrity students , include several Hollywood actors who trained under Bruce Lee .
Roman Polanski & Sharon Tate
In Quentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood , Sharon Tate ( Margot Robbie ) is briefly prove preparation with Lee . This was n’t just for the movie;Lee did develop Sharon Tatein real life . He also trained director Roman Polanski , who was her husband at the sentence . They met when Lee worked as the competitiveness choreographer for the 1969 movie , The Wrecking Crew , in which Tate starred . Lee instruct both Tate and her co - principal Nancy Kwan some of his kung fu skill and later touch to Tate as a “ skillful student . ” Tate introduced Lee to Polanski , who was so impressed with Lee that he at once hired him to be his kung fu teacher . Lee made regular visit to their theater to learn them kung fu .
Dean Martin
democratic thespian , member of the Rat Pack , and one of the most famous singers of his time , Dean Martin aim with Bruce Lee for a short time in the later sixties in preparation forThe Wrecking Crew . Lee had high congratulations for Tate , but not so much for Dean Martin , who he said was too “ otiose ” and “ clumsy ” to properly learn the kicking technique Lee had hoped to teach him .
James Garner
Well - known picture show and idiot box histrion James Garner met Lee on the hardened ofMarlowe , a Hollywood picture which saw Bruce Lee play a bit function , while Garner play the main character reference . After the motion picture was made , Garner look secret lesson where he ascertain Jeet Kune Do from Lee .
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Though best known for his life history as a star basketball actor in the NBA , the 7’2 ” Kareem Abdul - Jabbar was also boast in several moving-picture show and TV shows , includingAirplane!His biggest role was inGame of expiry , a film he made with Bruce Lee that was never really discharge . Together , Lee and Abdul - Jabbar filmed a now - celebrated fight scene . Abdul - Jabbar has since talk publicly about his relationship with Lee , whom he has described as both his instructor and his friend . They encounter when Abdul - Jabbar was still at UCLA , and Abdul - Jabbar says that Lee taught him “ the discipline and spirituality of warriorlike arts . ” According to Abdul - Jabbar , Lee ’s didactics helped him avoid injuries and run competitively in the NBA .
James Coburn
James Coburn was an A - leaning actor who starred in film likeThe Magnificent Seven , The Great Escape , andMidway . Coburn , who appear in several westerns , was see as one of the “ tough guys ” of Hollywood and was often mentioned in the same sentence as actors such as Clint Eastwood , Charles Bronson , and more . He was introduced to Bruce Lee at a party in short after the tone ending of his movie , Our Man Flint , a film made in response to the James Bond cult . After talking to Lee about his opinion on the choreography , Coburn convinced Lee to demonstrate his famous one - inch punch on him . As the story goes , Coburn was amazed by Lee ’s speed and force after being knocked back . The two became flying Friend and were often check in public together . Coburn became a student of Lee ’s and developed a deep taste for kung fu . Lee has said that he view Coburn as one of his two honest fame students and that Coburn really understoodthe “ philosophic part ” of kung fu . The strength of their relationship is mull by the fact that Coburn was one of bearer at Bruce Lee ’s funeral in 1973 .
Steve McQueen
Another renown pallbearer at Bruce Lee ’s funeral wasSteve McQueen , who was a Brobdingnagian star in Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s , known for such films asBullitt , The Great Escape , The Getaway , andThe Sand Pebbles . His onscreen persona and real - life story personality earn him the title of “ King of Cool , ” and standardized to Coburn , McQueen shared a long and storied friendship with Bruce Lee . In 1967 , when McQueen was already a vainglorious name in Hollywood and Lee was out of piece of work , asThe Green HornetTV serial had just stop , McQueen began training under Lee .
Their family relationship was a common one , with McQueen learning about kung fu from Lee and Lee getting advice about act from McQueen . Lee has spoken a few times about how impressed he was with McQueen . He feel that there was a great “ toughness ” in McQueen , who he said “ does n’t know the meaning of quitting . ” The only problem was that McQueen had other commitment – such as his acting jobs – and that got in the direction of his warlike arts training . That being said , Bruce Leestill range McQueen up there with Coburn as his best renown students . While Coburn was superior when it come to the philosophical elements of kung fu , Steve McQueen was said to be the best in price of fighting ability .
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