by Robert W. Young

Black Belt started working with Bruce Lee before he was a star — witness our October 1967 issue, which featured him on the cover at a time when his name was deemed less attention-getting than the phrase “Green Hornet’s ‘Kato’: Does he really practice kung fu?” Since he passed away, the magazine has continued to work with the Lee family to keep readers up to date on all the projects that are in the works. In that vein, we present our annual interview with his daughter Shannon Lee, who has her hand in so many projects that it’s hard to imagine her ever resting.

First of all, could you make a few comments about Bruce Lee in Black Belt, the book that Black Belt Publishing is about to release?

I think this is going to be a real treat for people, even for myself, to have all this content in one place. We have such an amazing long history with Black Belt. The magazine gave a voice to my father way back in the 1960s and ’70s, and we continued this relationship over 50-plus years. There’s been a lot of content, and now for all that to be in one place — I just think it’s exciting.

The exciting thing for us is that it also deals with those iconic first generation students who became well-known masters — like Dan Inosanto and Richard Bustillo. It’s a continuation of the work your father started.

It’s like a tree. It starts with the seed from him, and then it sprouts out from there. All those people are part of his legacy.

Could you comment on the Bruce Lee app? Is it the vehicle that people use to access your “Be Water” membership program, or is it something else?

Yes, it’s about the “Be Water” membership. The reason it’s changed to an app is so we could offer it internationally. When we launched the program, it was just within North America, and it was a texting-based program, which was great, but there were so many people from other countries asking, “How do I get this?” We didn’t have the technology quite yet, but now we do. I have the app on my phone, and it’s great when I get a text message — Ihave the number saved as “Baba,” which means “father.” That’s what I used to call my dad, so it’s like getting a text from my dad five times a week. (laughs) They’re great daily reminders. When you sign up, you are entered into a monthly giveaway, also — and

we give away some pretty cool stuff. (laughs) They are random thank-you prizes for continuing to be a part of my father’s legacy.

It’s amazing to read your father’s quotes because they seem timeless, as well as concise and meaningful. They will be relevant forever. There are teachings from different people that continue to be popular for centuries because they’re based on essential life practices and wisdom, which his are. One thing I’ve noticed is that whenever I read a Bruce Lee quote, it has an impact, but then if I watch a video of your father saying that quote, it’s even more memorable and more powerful because of the way he delivered it. On our website and on our social media, we love to post those videos because they’re just so inspiring. At this point, would you say your father is still better known as a martial artist or is he better known for his philosophies, the kind of wisdom that comes from a culture that goes back thousands of years?

That’s an interesting thing. He’s probably still best-known as a martial arts action-movie person. That said, I do think that most people know that he had at least some quotes such as “Be like water,” and that he had other inspirational things to say. But I don’t think he’s quite reached the level of having people understand the depth of his research and philosophical practice, which is part of what I tried to present in my book Be Water, My Friend. And that’s really the foundation that made him the impactful human

being that he was.

The reason I asked that question is the example set by people like Miyamoto Musashi, whose writings initially gained popularity in the martial arts world but then moved into the business world and many other fields. I’m wondering if you’re seeing that same thing happen with the wisdom your father was presenting through martial arts. I believe that it is. But we have to remember Musashi lived how many hundreds of years ago, so I think it takes time to make that transition. But I think we’re very much in the midst of it now. Are there still a lot of philosophical writings that you have not released

yet?

In terms of the actual words, most of them have been technically released, but I don’t know if they’ve been released in a way that puts them in the proper light to be consumed and fully graspable. There’s still a lot to be done.

And you probably feel compelled to tie certain quotes and philosophies in with what’s happening now in the world, just to make them more relevant.

Totally. The thing is, his philosophies are so relevant to the condition of being a human being (laughs) — from which we all suffer — that they’ll be relevant for a long time to come.

How is your podcast going?

We took a break for almost a year — for no reason other than we wanted to focus on different things. But we just started recording a new season, and it’s going to be really interesting. We’re focusing on the efforts of the Bruce Lee Foundation, which is in a mode of expansion and reinvention. We’re in a lot of active conversations with incredible partners, and we want to shine a light on that.

Could you briefly mention the different websites and who they’re designed to appeal to? I know you have BruceLee.com — is that the basic place where all fans should start? Is there still a Bruce Lee Foundation website? If so, whom does that target?

So BruceLee.com is our fan website. You can access the podcasts and general information about Bruce Lee, our social media handles and their links, and our online store. There are announcements about

things that are happening in the world of Bruce Lee, so it’s a great place to start. Then there is BruceLeeFoundation.org, which is for the Bruce Lee Foundation. Some people think that the whole thing is the foundation, but the foundation is our 501(c)(3) public charity. That website focuses on the work of the foundation, the camps we run, the museum exhibits, and different talks and events that we participate in. We would love to have more people following it. You can donate at the Bruce Lee Foundation because we are a public charity. We have to raise a good portion of our funds from the general public in order to remain a charity.A really great place to stay in touch with everything that’s going on is

our social media channels.

Are the big three for you Facebook, Twitter and Instagram?

Yes. Maybe this is a good time to quickly mention that we’re really taking my father’s teachings and practices and creating a new curriculum to put into people’s hands — in particular, youth hands —

to work in “youth mental wellness.” We’re calling it Mind Body Spirit Wellness tools. It helps young people navigate their mental-emotional landscape a little better. We’re using my father’s teachings to help people with the inner conflicts they’re struggling with.

Were young people a group your father was interested in addressing when he was alive, or are they a group that you have decided to help with your father’s teachings?

I’m of course interested in helping all people with my father’s teachings. That said, the youth of today — I guess what I would say is my father was a youth. (laughs) Youth is really a category that goes all the way up to age 24 or 25. Today, these people are coming into such a complicated world with so many difficulties. The tools are available to everyone, but this is a way to try to put those tools in the hands of people who are in the process of molding themselves and their lives within this world — in particular, in

communities of color and marginalized communities that have a lot of struggles and challenges already. We want to help kids navigate life’s storms before they’re at a point of crisis.

That’s very noble.

The foundation is also focused on community building and bridge building. It’s about focusing on culture, care and community. We have our exhibits, and we have things that we do to gather people together to help promote the message.

Earlier you mentioned your book. What has the reaction to it been?

The book is doing great. Actually, I’m in Seattle right now, meeting with the Wing Luke Museum, who we opened an exhibit with in July of this year. They have an exhibit focused entirely on my father’s book collection. And it happens to be called “Be Water, My Friend.” We sent my father’s books up to the Wing for care and housing and display. My father had over 2,800 books in his collection.

I’ve seen that black-and-white photo of him sitting in front of a wall of books.

And that’s not even the half of it. (laughs) My mom says he loved to go to bookstores, especially old bookstores, and hunt through editions of books on all manner of subjects. It’s an interactive exhibit up here, which is really cool. You get to see some of the influence that those books had on him and

how that was turned into what he did in his life. I’m also meeting with a school up here that has been teaching my book to their high-school seniors as a way to help orient them for the journey

they’re about to go on when they leave high school. It’s such an honor. A friend of mine from high school decided to teach this book, and it’s led to us using the book as a template for a lot of the curriculum and programming we’re doing.

In a few weeks, I’m going to launch my own website separate from the whole Bruce Lee thing, dedicated to my own writings and teachings that connect to my book.

Do you have plans for any more books?

I do love to write. (laughs) I have more plans, but they’re not in concrete form just yet.

You mentioned the Wing Luke Museum and its permanent exhibit. Does it change according to what you and they want to focus on at different times?

We’ve had an exhibit here for several years that has rotated a few times, and right now it’s focused on the books. It’s interactive, which is a new thing for the space and the museum. The difference is that the space has become a dedicated permanent Bruce Lee gallery. Different exhibits will flow through. The exhibit that’s here now will remain for at least a couple of years. We will work on it and expand the existing exhibit because we can add to the interactivity, and we want to put more of the original books into

the space, as well. We’re very excited about this because we’ve long wanted to have a permanent museum exhibit here in Seattle.

It seems like there’s a lot of interest in your father in Seattle.

There is. We also have an endowed scholarship at Seattle Central College. Seattle Central used to be Edison Tech, which is where my father got his GED. It is a Bruce Lee Foundation scholarship.

With all these things going on, are you still involved in Warrior?

Yes. In fact, I was in South Africa in July for the kickoff of our third season. That’s where we film — in Cape Town. Everyone was so excited to be back to do a third season. The show has been on a bit of a roller coaster. Cinemax’s original programming got canceled, and our show got canceled. We felt

like all hope was lost, but we continued to fight to get it back on air, and we were able to. Season 3 will be on HBO Max probably mid- to late next year. We’re excited that everyone at HBO saw the merit of our show and decided to keep it going. You can watch Season 1 and Season 2 on HBO Max now.

What’s your role with Warrior?

I’m an executive producer. I help oversee the creation of the show and the scripts and storylines.

That must be fulfilling because you have the ability to focus on what was important to your father and what’s important to continuing his message.

It really is a rewarding and creative job. Even though I definitely have my input, making sure it stays within a certain energetic imprint, I have to say that Jonathan Tropper, our show creator, and Justin Lin, my executive producing partner, and all the people who are running the show now — they do the hard work and the heavy lifting. (laughs)

Knowing that it affects so many people around the world, does carrying on the Bruce Lee legacy ever weigh on you? Is it stressful to make sure things are disseminated carefully and accurately to his fans and his potential fans?

There is definitely a lot of care taken. We try our best to do things in the way that we feel fits with what my father was all about. We’re not perfect. Sometimes we partner with people who end up not being great partners, or we have a difference of opinion or get involved in something and then

we’re like, “This is way more difficult than we thought it was going to be.” (laughs) We’re human beings just like everyone else. But I have to say that we have a very strong foundation of integrity with everything we try to do. So even when it doesn’t turn out how we would’ve liked, we at least feel good about the thing we tried to do and what our initial goal was. That helps me sleep at night. (laughs)

I would really like to encourage people to follow Bruce Lee and the Bruce Lee Foundation because this is where we’re doing some really impactful social work, and it all comes from the goodness of my father’s teachings and practices.

Stay tuned to see all the amazing stuff that’s coming. The year 2023 is the 50th anniversary of my father’s legacy, so there’s going to be some fun celebrations and lots of things going on.

Bruce Lee, the Bruce Lee image, likeness and all related indicia are trademarks and copyrights of Bruce Lee Enterprises LLC and are used herein with its express and prior permission. All rights reserved. brucelee.com

This article was originally published in the November 2022 edition of Black Belt Magazine.