STAND BY ME
American martial artists have always shared a special bond with the Asian and Asian-American communities because without these folks, the martial arts wouldn’t exist in our country. These warriors have poured their hearts and souls into teaching millions of Americans their arts for more than 70 years. Whether you’ve learned from someone who hails from Asia or who trained under an Asian-taught instructor, you can’t deny how your life has been enriched by knowledge from the East.
Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco but raised mostly in Hong Kong, and from that background, he became a cornerstone of martial arts growth in America and the world. Apart from giving Chinese people an identity, instilling pride within Asian-American communities and legitimizing martial arts cinema, he was a hero to all races.
Even Dana White, president of the UFC, acknowledged the role Lee played when he said he considers him the father of MMA. The unspoken message there is that the UFC might not exist without the contributions of Lee and, in fact, all our Asian martial
