Editing Bruce Lee (section)

===1964-1965: Oakland===
Lee dropped out of university in early 1964 and moved to [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] to live with [[James Yimm Lee]].{{sfn|Polly|2018|p=134}} James Lee was twenty years senior to Lee and a well-known Chinese martial artist in the area. Together, they founded the second Jun Fan martial arts studio in Oakland.{{sfn|Polly|2018|p=137}} James Lee was responsible for introducing Lee to [[Ed Parker]], an American martial artist. At the invitation of Parker, Lee appeared in the 1964 [[Long Beach International Karate Championships]].{{sfn|Polly|2018|pp=145-146}} He performed repetitions of two-finger push-ups, using the thumb and the index finger of one hand, with feet at approximately shoulder-width apart.<ref name="Two Finger Pushup">{{cite web |access-date=May 30, 2008 |url=http://www.maniacworld.com/bruce_lee_3.htm |title=Two Finger Pushup |publisher=Maniac World|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521195049/http://www.maniacworld.com/bruce_lee_3.htm |archive-date=May 21, 2008}}</ref>

In the same Long Beach event, he also performed the "[[one-inch punch]]".<ref name="Two Finger Pushup" /> Lee stood upright, his right foot forward with knees bent slightly, in front of a standing, stationary partner. Lee's right arm was partly extended and his right fist was approximately {{convert|1|in|cm|spell=in}} away from the partner's chest. Without retracting his right arm, Lee then forcibly delivered the punch to volunteer Bob Baker while largely maintaining his posture. This sent Baker backward and falling into a chair placed behind Baker to prevent injury, though Baker's momentum caused him to fall to the floor. Baker recalled, "I told Bruce not to do this type of demonstration again. When he punched me that last time, I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable".{{sfn|Vaughn|Lee|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/legendarybrucele0000unse/page/20/mode/2up 21]}} It was at the 1964 championships that Lee first met [[Taekwondo]] master [[Jhoon Rhee|Jhoongoo Rhee]]. The two developed a friendship— a relationship from which they benefited as martial artists. Rhee taught Lee the [[side kick]] in detail, and Lee taught Rhee the "non-telegraphic" punch.<ref name="Nilsson">{{Cite journal |last=Nilsson |first=Thomas |date=May 1996 |title=With Bruce Lee: Taekwondo Pioneer Jhoon Rhee Recounts His 10-Year Friendship With the "Dragon" |journal=[[Black Belt Magazine]] |volume=34 |issue=5 |pages=39–43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9oDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39 |access-date=November 19, 2009 |archive-date=May 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523004023/https://books.google.com/books?id=H9oDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the Long Beach event, he also publicly criticized a number of classical [[karate]] and [[kung fu]] styles and argued for modernizing martial arts. This was a highly controversial presentation that convinced some spectators, while offending others.{{sfn|Polly|2018|p=147}} Subsequently, he appeared at the Sun Sing Theatre to present his new approach to the [[Chinatown, Oakland]], community. More traditional kung fu practitioners took Lee's claims as an open challenge.{{sfn|Polly|2018|pp=148–151}}

In 1964, Lee had a controversial private match with [[Wong Jack-man]].{{sfn|Polly|2018|pp=154–157}} Jack Man was a direct student of Ma Kin Fung, known for his mastery of [[Xingyiquan]], [[Northern Shaolin (martial art)|Northern Shaolin]], and [[tai chi]].{{sfn|Polly|2018|p=152}} According to Lee, the Chinese community issued an ultimatum to him to stop teaching non-Chinese people. When he refused to comply, he was challenged to a combat match with Wong. The arrangement was that if Lee lost, he would have to shut down his school, while if he won, he would be free to teach white people, or anyone else.<ref name="ReferenceB">''Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon'', January 29, 2002, A&E Television Networks</ref> Wong denied this, stating that he requested to fight Lee after Lee boasted during one of his demonstrations at a Chinatown theater that he could beat anyone in San Francisco, and that Wong himself did not discriminate against whites or other non-Chinese people.<ref name="Dorgan">{{harvnb|Dorgan|1980|p=}}</ref> Lee commented, "That paper had all the names of the [[sifu]] from Chinatown, but they don't scare me".<ref>''Black Belt: Bruce Lee Collector's Edition'', Summer 1993 Rainbow Publications Inc, p. 117</ref> Individuals known to have witnessed the match include Cadwell, James Lee (Bruce Lee's associate, no relation), and William Chen, a teacher of tai chi.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Wong and William Chen stated that the fight lasted an unusually long 20–25 minutes.<ref name="Dorgan" /><ref name="Mental Floss">{{cite web |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/67108/time-bruce-lee-was-challenged-real-fight |title=Bruce Lee: The Time Bruce Lee Was Challenged to a Real Fight |last=Rossen |first=Jake |date=August 10, 2015 |work=Mental Floss |access-date=July 10, 2016 |location=New York |archive-date=July 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711225623/http://mentalfloss.com/article/67108/time-bruce-lee-was-challenged-real-fight |url-status=live}}</ref> Wong claims that although he had originally expected a serious but polite bout, Lee aggressively attacked him with the intent to kill. When Wong presented the traditional handshake, Lee appeared to accept the greeting, but instead, Lee allegedly thrust his hand as a spear aimed at Wong's eyes. Forced to defend his life, Wong asserted that he refrained from striking Lee with killing force when the opportunity presented itself because it could have earned him a prison sentence, but used illegal cufflings under his sleeves. According to Michael Dorgan's 1980 book ''Bruce Lee's Toughest Fight'', the fight ended due to Lee's "unusually winded" condition, as opposed to a decisive blow by either fighter.<ref name="Dorgan" />

However, according to Bruce Lee, [[Linda Lee Cadwell]], and [[James Yimm Lee]], the fight lasted a mere three minutes with a decisive victory for Lee. In Cadwell's account, "The fight ensued, it was a no-holds-barred fight, it took three minutes. Bruce got this guy down to the ground and said 'Do you give up?' and the man said he gave up".<ref name="ReferenceB" /> A couple of weeks after the bout, Lee gave an interview claiming that he had defeated an unnamed challenger, which Wong says was an obvious reference to him.<ref name="Dorgan" /><ref name="Mental Floss" />

In response, Wong published his account of the fight in the ''Pacific Weekly'', a [[Chinese-language]] newspaper in San Francisco, with an invitation to a public rematch if Lee was not satisfied with the account. Lee did not respond to the invitation despite his reputation for violently responding to every provocation.<ref name="Dorgan" /> There were no further public announcements by either, though Lee continued to teach non-Chinese people. Lee was unhappy with the outcome of the fight, and the experience led him to pursue further innovations in his personal style of martial arts.{{sfn|Polly|2018|p=161}}

Lee had abandoned thoughts of a film career in favor of pursuing martial arts. However, a martial arts exhibition in Long Beach in 1964 eventually led to the invitation by television producer [[William Dozier]] for an audition for a role in the pilot for "Number One Son" about Lee Chan, the son of [[Charlie Chan]]. The show never materialized, but Dozier saw potential in Lee.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Aarons |first=Leroy F. |date=October 2, 1966 |title=Color Him Green |volume=83 |work=Tampa Bay Times}}</ref>