__NOTOC__ James Yimm Lee (January 31, 1920 – December 30, 1972) was an American martial arts pioneer, teacher, author, and publisher. James Lee is known for being a mentor, teacher and friend of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...

Early life

Lee was born on January 31, 1920, in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. He was a welder by profession. He joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in August 1944.Campbell, Sid and Lee, Greglon Yimm. ''Remembering the Master: Bruce Lee, James Yimm Lee and the Creation of Jeet Kune Do'', Blue Snake Books, Berkeley, California, 2006, pages 162-163. . After basic training, he was stationed at

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold r ...

, Kentucky for radio operator school. In January 1945, he was deployed to the Philippine Islands for about a year while part of the 716th Tank Battalion and fought in the Luzon and Mindanao campaigns. In January 1946, he was sent to the

Letterman Army Hospital The Letterman Army Hospital, established around 1898 and redesignated as the Letterman Army Medical Center (LAMC) in 1969, was a US Army facility at the Presidio of San Francisco in San Francisco, California, US. It was decommissioned in 1994. ...

, San Francisco, California due to recurring bouts of Malaria. He became a private first class and was assigned to 801st Military Police Battalion in San Francisco, California.

Career

He was one of

's (no relation) three personally certified 3rd rank instructors and co-founded the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

where he taught Jun Fan Gung Fu in Bruce's absence. James was responsible for introducing Bruce Lee to

Ed Parker Edmund Kealoha Parker (March 19, 1931 – December 15, 1990) was an American martial artist, actor, senior grandmaster, and founder of American Kenpo Karate. Life Born in Hawaii, Parker began training in Judo at an early age and later studie ...

, the organizer of the

Long Beach International Karate Championships The Long Beach International Karate Championships is an International karate and martial arts tournament in Long Beach, California that was first held in August 1964 by Kenpo Grandmaster Ed Parker. The tournament is still in existence. Many g ...

where Bruce was first introduced to the martial arts community. James Lee became well known for his

Iron Palm Iron Palm or Iron Hand (Chinese: 鐵掌功) is a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts. It is originally one of the 72 arts of the Shaolin temple. These conditioning techniques are typically meant to condition the hands ...

specialty, and would routinely break bricks at demonstrations. He was the first to publish an Iron Palm book in America in 1957. He and Linda Lee were eyewitnesses of the fight between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack-man held privately at Chinatown, Oakland in 1964.

Books

Lee was a well-established author and was one of the first to publish martial arts books in English in America. He also helped

publish his first book, " Chinese Gung-Fu: The Philosophical Art of Self Defense." James Lee's published books include: ''Modern Kung-Fu Karate: Iron Poison Hand Training, Book 1 (Break Brick in 100 Days)'', ''Wing Chun Kung-Fu '', and ''Secret Fighting Arts of the Orient''.

Personal life

Lee married Katherine Margaret Chow on October 13, 1951, in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, they had at least two children, a daughter Karena Lee and a son Greglon Yimm Lee.

Jesse Glover Jesse Raymond Glover (October 15, 1935 – June 27, 2012) was an American martial artist. He was Bruce Lee's first student and first assistant instructor in the United States. He met Lee in 1959, as they both attended Edison Technical College ...

was introduced to Chinese

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

by James Lee during a trip before meeting

in 1959. His wife Katherine died in 1964.

Death

James Lee died aged 52 on 30 December 1972 due to lung cancer caused by welding fumes,Gary Dill, (April 21, 2014)

Black Belt Magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Valencia, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine wa ...

,
Meet James Yimm Lee, the Man who Helped Make Bruce Lee a SuccessArchived
at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and s ...

'' only about 7 months before the death of Bruce Lee.

Notable students

* Robert Baker * Howard Williams * Gene Snelling * Al Novak

References

External links

In Memory of James Yimm LeeJames Yimm Lee biography

(

copy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, James Yimm 1920 births 1972 deaths American martial arts writers Sportspeople from Oakland, California Writers from Oakland, California 20th-century American non-fiction writers Sportswriters from California Deaths from lung cancer in California United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II