Bruce Lee: Deference

One step back for two steps forward.

A near-fatal case of cholera left him “weaker and smaller” than other boys his age. He was scared of water. Unable to ride a bike due to balance issues. “Severely nearsighted,” requiring him to wear “thick, horn-rimmed glasses.” Pair that with the earring he wore because of Chinese superstition along with a stutter, and you can understand why his presence “[invited] much teasing from his classmates.”¹

I’m, of course, talking about the one and only Bruce Lee.

If this is different than the picture you have in your head of him, good. That is exactly the point of the Hunting Mammoths series — to pull back enough layers that we begin to see what our icons were truly like.

What actually made them tick.

Why did they win.

For Bruce, the man he became has everything to do with the childhood he escaped.

Reversing the Power Dynamic

If I could only choose one story to illustrate the kind of kid Bruce was, it would be this one.

After a run-in with a local theatre guard, Bruce sought revenge a week later by spiking his soup with laxatives. Once the guard was in the bathroom, Bruce lit a firecracker stuffed in a bucket of feces, slid the concoction underneath the stall door, and listened as the foul mess exploded onto his target.

Wild.

Bruce’s early life made him hard. In every direction he turned, he was less than. Weaker, smaller, slower. That made him difficult, stubborn. Fully bent on proving his worth and strength by any means necessary. So, he fought. Wreaked mayhem. And bullied his way forward.

But it wasn’t long until Bruce bumped up against bullies bigger than him. First in the schoolyard. Then later, in his career. Upon meeting these barriers, Bruce had a decision to make. Engage in a fight he would most certainly lose or practice deference. Temporary submission.

I’d argue that the reason we know Bruce’s name at all is because he chose the latter.

“Most… are unable to subsume their egos and as a consequence never improve or grow. In contrast, Bruce cleverly chose to temporarily follow… In the short term, he had to be submissive; in the long run he planned to reverse the power dynamic. This strategy, which Bruce employed throughout his life, was key to his success.”
— Matthew Polly, biographer

He did this to learn from fighters who were many levels above him. He did this to ease the tension when white reporters peppered him with racist jokes during interviews. And he did it to climb the Hollywood ladder when no one would bet on an Asian actor.

Bruce saw how valuable soft could be in a hard world.

He understood the only way to open doors that couldn’t be kicked down was to be invited in.

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Challenge #21: Soft Power

1. All quotes are taken from Matthew Polly’s “Bruce Lee: A Life.”