Picture the scene in your head. Bruce Lee has just landed on the mysterious island, wearing what seems to be regular clothes, and hundreds of members of a strange martial arts cult are wearing full, traditional karate dress. Some guy is smashing planks of wood to demonstrate his power, and Bruce Lee is not intimidated. Then comes the famous line: “Boards don’t hit back.”
The whole scene is a metaphor, and an obvious one for those who love Bruce Lee and his message.
Bruce Lee, as much a philosopher as a martial artist, made no secret of his desires to break from tradition. His craft, Jeet Kune Do, is that break made real. Real techniques made practical. Form without form, right? Just real-life, practical use, executed to great effect. And even the clothes are a part of that revolutionary thought. Bruce Lee’s wearing of the Kung Fu/Wing Chun style (uniform would be the wrong word) in that scene is a part of that metaphor. Free-flowing and more like clothes than the karate counterparts in the scene… it even has pockets...Bruce Lee shows that it’s not the show you put on—wear a uniform and break as many boards as your knuckles can handle—it is what you can really do that matters.
Shannon Lee, the daughter of the Dragon herself, has taken the Bruce Lee Foundation and partnered with Century to remind the world of that message.
**A portion of the proceeds from all merchandise purchased in the Bruce Lee Family Store benefits the Bruce Lee Foundation.
