- Adam James
- Dec 26, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 26, 2024
During the 10 years Leo Fong knew Bruce Lee, the two shared countless discussions about martial arts. Lee was particularly fascinated by Fong’s boxing skills, which he used to win numerous bouts in college, in the National Guard, and in AAU events.
One day, during such a discussion, Lee asked Fong why he trained in so many martial arts, including choy lay fut, sil lum kung fu, judo, and taekwondo.
Fong replied that he was looking for the ultimate. Lee smiled before he responded, “Man, there ain’t no ultimate. The ultimate is in you!” With that last bit, he pushed his index finger against Fong’s chest.
Fong admitted that he was confused, so Lee elaborated: “With your boxing skills, learn a little grappling, learn how to kick, and learn some trapping, and you will have the ultimate.”
As Fong reflected on Lee’s words, he—an ordained Methodist minister—remembered a phrase from the Bible, where Jesus says, “The kingdom is within you.” Little did Lee realize how much that concept would influence Fong’s journey in the martial arts.
The Awakening
Not long after that conversation, Fong had an incident at the choy lay fut school where he had recently started training, which nudged him a bit closer to martial arts liberation. He had traveled from Stockton, California, to San Francisco for his weekly class.
Once there, a senior student named Willie asked Fong if he would like to spar. Unfamiliar with the rituals associated with the art, Fong wasn’t sure what to expect. Willie explained that they would free-spar.
Fong confessed that he didn’t know how to spar according to the art’s traditions, but he said he would just do what he knew best—rely on his boxing.
The two began moving around the room. Willie was in a hard horse stance, trying to land sweeping choy lay fut punches. Meanwhile, Fong moved laterally and stuck Willie with his left jab. Occasionally, he threw a hook off the jab, again making contact.
After the session, Fong wasn’t convinced he had dominated Willie. He suspected the kung fu man was holding back. When Fong recounted the event to Lee, Lee was blunt: “Hey, man, he wasn’t holding back. He didn’t know what to do. Do you think a ‘dry land swimmer’ can beat a boxer, wrestler, or judo man?”
That observation was an epiphany for Fong. He began to look inward rather than outward for answers. He slowly realized that learning a bunch of different arts wouldn’t help him find the ultimate.
In subsequent discussions, Lee encouraged Fong to seek his own truth, reminding him that a good teacher is one who points his finger at the door but doesn’t go in with the student. The student must enter and discover for himself what truth is.
A Two-Way Street
In true give-and-take fashion, Fong also had an impact on Lee and his jeet kune do. This occurred while Lee was experimenting with adding boxing punches to his fighting method.
One day in James Yimm Lee’s garage, Bruce had everyone get into a classic wing chun stance, with their lead hand high and their rear hand low near the solar plexus.
Fong commented that he didn’t like that position. Lee asked, “What do you prefer?”
Fong assumed an American boxing stance, with his lead hand low and his rear hand near his cheek. Lee looked at him and said, “I like it because I can’t trap your lead hand.”
At that, Lee walked away, allowing Fong to continue using his preferred stance. Over the next few years, Lee altered his primary fighting stance until it closely resembled the posture Fong had shown him.
Wei Kuen Do: A New Path
Fong later developed his own expression of martial arts called wei kuen do, or “Way of the Integrated Fist.” He describes it as a combination of kung fu, boxing, and Filipino martial arts—an extension of Lee’s jeet kune do.
Fong emphasizes that both wei kuen do and jeet kune do represent a process and are not styles per se.
For this reason, Fong does not teach skills from a specific period in Lee’s process, such as the Jun Fan phase. Instead, he continues his own journey, evolving his martial arts practice as he goes.
