James W. DeMile (1938 – August 15, 2021Insideeko James W Demile passed away
) was an American martial artist and author. He was among the first group of students 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 that ...

, whom he met in 1959, as they both attended

Edison Technical School The Edison Career and Technology High School (also known as the Rochester Factory School, the Rochester Shop School and the Thomas Alva Edison Technical and Industrial High School) was a public high school in Rochester, New York, part of the Roches ...

. In 1963, DeMile appeared in Lee's only book, The Philosophical Art of Self Defense. He was an inductee in the AMAA Who's Who in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame and Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame.

Training with Bruce Lee

DeMile was of mixed race ancestry. He reportedly experienced a difficult childhood in an orphanage, with a history of teenage gang fights and petty crimes. In 1959, a year after arriving in America,

decided to share his martial arts knowledge. What started as informal sparring sessions between friends turned into a three-school business that cemented Bruce's pioneering approach to the art of hand-in-hand fighting. Lee attracted DeMile into his first group of students from a public display of his talents when he attended Edison Technical School in Seattle. Looking for a volunteer in the audience, the 18/19-year-old Lee discovered DeMile, 20/21, a former

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

heavyweight

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

champ. Bruce noticed DeMile's athletic build and called him on stage. DeMile thought it would be easy to stop Lee because his opponent was only 5'7" tall and weighed no more than 140 pounds, but Lee soon beat him. Impressed, DeMile turned to Lee after the demo to ask if he could learn from him. These public demonstrations attracted a small following. The group practiced outside

Ruby Chow Ruby Chow (June 6, 1920 – June 4, 2008; ) was a Chinese American restaurateur and politician in Seattle, Washington. Early life On June 6, 1920 Chow was born on a fishing dock in Seattle, Washington. Her given name was Mar Seung-gum. Chow's ...

's restaurant where Lee waited tables. After a long shift taking orders and serving customers DeMile introduced Lee to one of the three men he would later certify as an instructor, 38-year-old Taky Kimura. In the book ''Disciples of the Dragon'', DeMile stated that they were all dummies for Lee's training. One of the reasons Lee modified his

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is ...

techniques and created

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee. Overview and philosophy Jeet Kune ...

, was because the westerners were bigger and stronger than he was and once they would learn the basics of Wing Chun, they could become a real threat to him.

Martial arts achievements

James DeMile was the creator of Wing Chun Do. Virgin Australia Airlines Airlines contracted DeMile to create a program to train its in-flight cabin and ground crew staff with the tactics to disarm and immobilize a threatening passenger or terrorist. DeMile has trained United States Secret Service operatives,

FBI agents The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Federal marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

s and police officers specializing in riots.

Bibliography

* ''Tao of Wing Chun Do, Bruce Lee's Chi Sao'' * ''Tao of Wing Chun Do: Mind and Body in Harmony'' * ''Bruce Lee's 1 and 3 Inch Power Punch''

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeMile, James 1935 births 2021 deaths American Jeet Kune Do practitioners People from San Francisco