10 Kick Ass Facts About Bruce Lee

Neatorama have a nice little post about Bruce Lee with 10 facts we might not have known about him.

Bruce-Lee-Enter-The-Dragon

Here’s the first one:

Bruce Lee’s Family Gave Him a Girl’s Name: “Little Phoenix”

Bruce’s family never called him “Bruce.” They preferred to call him by his nickname “Sai Fon” or “Little Phoenix.” It was a girl’s name, deliberately chosen by his parents because they believed that evil spirits did not like boys in the family (their firstborn was a son who died in infancy). So, by giving Bruce a girl’s name, they believed they could fool the demons into sparing his life!

Actually, “Bruce” was a name given by a nurse at the Jackson Street Hospital, San Francisco, where he was born (Bruce’s father was traveling with an acting troupe at the time). The nurse thought that giving the baby an English name would help avoid any confusion with his American birth certificate (yes, Bruce was an American by birth - he never had any other citizenship).

There’s quite a storm brewing up through the comments as well. I did think (comment 34) “all your bruce are belong to us” was funny in the context of all the other (serious?) comments. But I guess you had to be there..

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