Shannon Lee...

...needs to get a job.

Like, a real job, like the rest of us have.  She used to have one - her IMDB page  shows that she has been both an actress and a producer; according to her Wikipedia page she has been a professional singer and is currently married to a lawyer.  The point is that she's not untalented and should, by all rights, be able to secure gainful employment somewhere.

The reason why I bring it up is because I recently saw this and my head just about exploded.

To go back a few steps:  I'm sure you all (you who read this) know that I'm an avid martial artist, and as such, I happen to idolize Bruce Lee both as a man and as a martial artist.  His work was unparalleled before and since, and he continues to inspire people to this day, despite the fact that his films are now 40 years old.

(You know why there are Chuck Norris jokes but no Bruce Lee jokes?  'Cause Bruce Lee ain't no joke...)

(When Chuck Norris goes to bed at night, he checks the closet for Bruce Lee)

(Chuck Norris's tears cure cancer, which is a shame 'cause Chuck never cries...  Not since Bruce Lee MADE him cry)

(I could go on and on because Chuck Norris is an embarrassment to both America and the martial arts world, but you get the idea)

So I follow The Bruce Lee Foundation on Facebook and am on their mailing list.  I joined because I genuinely respect and revere the man and am always looking to learn more about the legend who altered the course of martial arts forever. 

The Bruce Lee Foundation is, unsurprisingly, run by his daughter Shannon.

Now at first I didn't think anything of it.  I honestly figured who would be better suited to carry on his legacy than his only living child?  Certainly she would have access to his friends and her mother, Bruce's wife Linda, that would allow her to glean knowledge and information about the man that so many of us all idolize, and then share that knowledge.  After all, if you read any of Bruce's texts you'll see that it was one of his greatest desires to share the martial arts with the world around him.  To encourage more people to take advantage of the immense benefits of study and practice, and enjoy the beauty of the arts themselves as well as the beauty they bring out in their practitioners.  He truly was an advocate for the common man because he knew very, very well that the study and practice of martial arts made ordinary men extraordinary, and he thought that we all had limitless untapped potential within us, if only we were willing to work to achieve it.

So yeah, I'm a fanboy.  What can I say? 

So I was all excited to be on the mailing list and follow the site on Facebook and I anxiously awaited some bit of knowledge or obscure quote that was previously lost or hidden, or maybe even word on when (if?) there was ever going to be an official Bruce Lee Museum...

Then I got an ad for a sweatshirt with the Bruce Lee, Jeet Kun Do logo on it for sale for "only" $55.

($55!?  For a SWEATSHIRT!?  Maybe it's a fundraiser to make money for the museum...  Well, it does say that "A portion of the proceeds from all orders benefits the Bruce Lee Foundation," so that's cool...)

(Wait, no, that's almost surely intentionally vague.  Shannon runs The Bruce Lee Foundation -- she practically IS The Bruce Lee Foundation.  She could easily just be pocketing that shit and making money riding her father's coattails.  And how much of "a portion," exactly, is going to the foundation and how much is going into Shannon's bank account?  Questions without answers...)

I stayed on the group and checked the website for more information about the Bruce Lee Action Museum only to find that the site itself is incomplete and they're not really any closer to actually getting to work on, y'know, BUILDING THE MUSEUM.

(I also began to take note that all of the Bruce Lee websites were registered as dot-coms and not dot-orgs...  A minor thing, to be sure, but important to note as my understanding goes that dot-orgs are reserved for nonprofit organizations while dot-coms are for everything else...)

As time went on, I kept getting more and more products pushed on me.  Hoodies for $79.  Medallions  for $140. (Although you can get the medallion itself with no chain for only $90...  Wait, what the holy fuck is that chain made out of!?  Bruce's bones?!)  T-shirts ranging in price from as low as $35 up to $45.

I'm no stranger to corporate branding and the idea that a logo or brand is worth cash.  I know I'm going to pay extra for shoes that have a Jordan logo on them than I would for a pair that has a Batman logo on them.

(to be fair, though, I actually BOUGHT the shoes with the Batman logo on them because Batman would kick the shit outta Jordan at 1 on 1.  Hell, Batman could beat the entire lineup of the 1991-1998 Chicago Bulls all by himself.  He's the goddamn Batman, that's what he does)

But it's one thing to charge double or even triple for a piece of clothing, or work with a jeweler to craft a custom, one-at-a-time-made piece of jewelry...

This is something completely different.

If you didn't click the link, don't feel bad - I'll just tell you where it leads.  What you see there is a notebook.  Commonly referred to as a "moleskine," pocket-sized at 3.5" by 5.5", and this one features a gold-colored Bruce Lee silhouette jump-kicking, and his autograph below it.

(not his real autograph, just a reproduction.  I'd happily pay that price and more for a REAL Bruce Lee autograph)

Inside you will find white paper, lined, and on the first page is an inspirational quote from Bruce himself that I will now print for you here:

"Learning is a constant process of discovery - a process without end."

The inside of the notebook also features a Bruce silhouette on the first page, and this fabulous notebook is yours for only $27.

Twenty Seven Dollars.

For a NOTEBOOK.

Now you could just as easily go here on amazon and buy THREE of those exact same notebooks, then go here and buy a gold paint-pen and draw your own jump-kicking Bruce silhouette, and then donate the remaining $15 directly to The Bruce Lee Foundation and you'll STILL GET MORE FOR YOUR MONEY because you'll have THREE notebooks instead of one.

So yeah, this shit's gotta stop.

I've been a fan of Bruce Lee since I first learned who he was, and his philosophies and teachings have largely shaped not just my martial arts life, but my personal life as well.  There are no end of wonderful stories from the people who knew him best (which doesn't actually include Shannon - more on that in a second) about what a kind, and actually gentle man he was (when he wasn't kicking the shit out of someone).  I'm not going to paint him as some kind of saint - he had his demons like the rest of us do.  Hell, I'd be willing to wager that his demons were larger and more powerful than most ordinary peoples' because he did so much and went so far.  But I genuinely feel that what he gave to the world and how he helped shape and influence countless individuals far outweighs the pain he brought upon people.

(I know, it's easy for me to say that because I didn't know him, I wasn't married to him, and I never had the opportunity to work with him, so please take all this for what it's worth as a fanboy talking about an idol)

And I genuinely have ZERO problem with Shannon trying to promote her father's work and his influence on the world.  I think it's wonderful that (in theory, anyway) there's going to be a museum devoted to him -- we need one.  But spend a bit of time reading around the myriad websites that she owns in her father's name and she comes across (to me, at least) as "the keeper of the keys," like she somehow had this incredible connection and knew him best.

Um...  She was FOUR YEARS OLD when he died.  My own father passed away when I was NINE and I openly admit that I barely knew him.  It saddens me to this day that I didn't get more time with him, and I bug the hell out of my family as much as I think they'll put up with for stories about my father because I fully accept the fact that THEY KNEW HIM BEST.

Now granted, I'm sure Shannon's getting a lot of input from her mother, Linda, and that counts for a lot.  But where's the input from Dan Inosanto, Terry Glover, or Ted Wong?  How about Jerry Poteet, Patrick Strong, Steve Golden or Richard Bustillo?  Those guys were Bruce's first students and knew him for years, as both students and contemporaries.  These are the men who helped Bruce build his legacy and refine his art.  These men are all still alive today and would have invaluable knowledge to pass on, and (I think) they all do already as instructors of their own schools. 

So in the future, for those readers of mine who are martial artists themselves, I urge you to be very wary of anything that has the "Official Bruce Lee Stamp of Approval" on it.  Spend your money however you want, but just be aware of the fact that less of your dollar might be going to the museum or his legacy than it is to Shannon's pocket, and making money really wasn't Bruce's style.

 

"Sure money is important in providing for my family and giving us what we want.  But it isn't everything."

"Money is an indirect matter.  The direct matter is your ability, or what you are going to do that counts.  If that comes, the indirect things will follow."

"A child must be taught early that money is only a means, a type of usefulness, an implement.  Like all instruments it has certain purposes, but it will not do everything.  One must learn how to use it, what it will do, but above all what it will not do."

"At one time I wanted all the indirect things; money, fame, the big opening nights...  Now I have it, or am beginning to get it, the whole thing doesn't seem important anymore.  I have found that doing a thing is more important.  I am having fun doing it.  Money comes second." 

All quotes from Bruce Lee, from the book "Striking Thoughts"