Birth of the Dragon Page #3

when you screw up.

-He says he's gonna be here?

-Yes.

Good.

Then it starts and ends today.

And please welcome

wing chun master, Bruce Lee!

Come on, Bruce Lee!

-How you doing, Vince?

-I'm good.

How long have been knowing karate?

Twenty-two years.

Almost as long as I've been alive.

-Try not to hurt me.

-All right.

Ladies and gentlemen,

this is going to be a contest

between kung fu and karate.

Now, Vince here is a world champion.

So, I'm gonna have to ask him

not to be so tough on me.

That was just a lucky shot.

I'll go a little bit slower this time.

How about this, Vince?

I tell you when it's coming,

so you can show your boys how to block it.

You ready?

Here it comes.

It's coming.

One...

Two, three.

That's not working.

How about this, Vince?

Now, you show me what you got.

Ladies and gentlemen,

this is the famous wong Jack man,

master of the Shaolin temple.

He's come all the way

to San Francisco to see what I can do.

Well, master wong,

are you satisfied?

Yes.

Thank you.

Aren't you gonna share

some Shaolin wisdom with us?

I have seen what you can do.

I have also seen what you cannot do.

What is that supposed to mean?

Whatever you choose it to mean.

Don't give me your Shaolin navel-gazing,

say what you mean.

Your technique is impressive.

Indeed, it is almost perfect.

But it has one limitation.

Oh, really?

What?

You.

You fight from ambition and pride.

But you do not fight from your soul.

And no matter how great

the skill you possess,

nothing will make up for that.

You want to show me what you mean.

How do you suggest I do that?

Fight me.

Right here and right now,

so everyone can see who has the limits.

No. Thank you.

That is not why I came here.

Then why did you come?

Because your student invited me.

And now, with your permission, I will leave.

I told him to invite you.

I didn't think you'd turn down a challenge

in front of all these people.

There's no need to fight.

You have made your limitation clear

in front of all these people.

You don't settle things with words, wong,

you settle them with your fists.

You're irrelevant, wong.

I'm the future,

you're the past and you know it.

Why didn't you fight him?

I came here to subdue my pride,

not to indulge it.

But you can't walk away

from a public challenge.

You must know when it is necessary to fight

and when it is not.

And how...

How do you know when it's necessary?

When you find something so important,

you would give your life for it.

Then you must fight to protect it.

When you have found that,

then perhaps, I would teach you.

So this is where you pray?

Yes.

For my family

and my ancestors...

That they'll all be safe.

-Do you pray?

-No.

Not even for your family?

I don't have a family.

No one?

Well, my mom died six months ago...

And my dad's been in prison for...

Twelve years.

I'm sorry.

So, what do you do for fun?

You know, something for fun?

What would I do for fun?

Come on.

Come on. Come on, come here.

- I got it.

- No, I got it.

I got it.

Okay. Yeah, good. Then you watch the ball.

Swing through it just like this.

All right, good. Good, good.

Yep. That was good. That was good.

-Like that?

-Yeah.

Okay, I'm gonna toss a couple to you, ready?

Okay, you ready?

No.

Well, too bad. Here it comes.

It's okay, it's your first time ever.

I cannot do this.

Look, just focus. Just watch the ball

all the way into the bat.

And keep your feet on the ground

when you swing.

-Ready?

-Yes!

Oh, my god.

Is that better?

Um...

Yeah, it is. It's amazing.

How do you do that?

This is the pressure point for...

That area.

When the ball hit you, your chi...

Was disturbed.

-My chi?

-Yes.

This brings it back into balance.

You will feel better now.

How do you know how to do that?

I studied Chinese medicine at home.

I came here, hoping to learn western medicine

at a great university.

It's my dream.

Wait, wait, wait!

You changed, didn't you?

Where is the money?

How bad?

He's in bad shape but they said he'll live.

They busted up his mom's business.

Why?

Because he didn't want to pay

any boss any street tax.

This is chenghu town, that was dumb.

He did it because of you,

because you don't pay.

Well, that's different, they don't bug me for it.

Why not?

When I was a kid in Hong Kong,

i got in fights all the time.

That's why my dad started me in kung fu.

When I was 16, I got in a fight

with this bad-ass kid at school.

I beat the crap out of him, I broke his leg.

Turns out he's the son

of a chenghu town boss.

They tried to put a contract on me,

so my dad had to make a deal with them.

Sent me to America.

If they leave me alone,

I leave them alone.

Auntie blossom has these girls at China gate.

-Her bi nus they're called.

-Yeah, I know.

The triads trick 'em into coming to America,

they never let 'em go.

I met one of them.

And I don't want that happening to her,

can you help me?

You want my advice?

Leave her alone.

What do you think I should do?

You should speak about this with your sifu.

Yeah, sifu Lee said she's not his problem.

Master wong, I know this is not your fight.

But, maybe they'll listen to someone like you.

I'm sorry, Mr. mckee.

I told you...

I came to wash dishes.

Yeah, how long you gonna do that?

Until they're all done.

But they're never gonna be done.

Precisely, like your bi nu.

My debt will never be repaid.

Every dirty dish reminds me of my sin.

But I must wash them until my soul is clean.

You know, sifu Lee was right,

you are irrelevant.

You're supposed to be some great teacher

but all you care about

is yourself...

And penance.

Once...

In China,

there was a demonstration match

between myself...

And a tai chi master.

I knew I was losing...

In front of all the monks.

My pride overcame my discipline.

I used a very lethal kick

called the mong shan.

I nearly killed him.

He will never fight again.

You were just defending yourself.

It was a demonstration!

Full contact was prohibited.

But I could not bear to be humiliated.

You were just following your style,

using your technique.

Technique is a trap.

Style is a prison.

That is what I tried to tell Lee jun-fan.

Kung fu is meant to liberate.

If it's meant to liberate,

help me liberate xiulan.

Are you prepared to risk your life to help her?

Show me your attacks.

Right here?

Yes.

Attack me.

Okay.

You are expending a great deal of energy,

I'm expending none.

Because you keep moving.

Because I don't want to be hit.

Now, I will stand still,

you punch me in the face.

-I can't.

-Why not?

'Cause you're wong Jack man,

i won't be able to hit you.

Lesson number one:

Know your opponent.

I promise I will not defend myself.

Now, hit me.

-No.

-Why not?

'Cause it won't be fair.

Lesson number two:

Know yourself.

If you know yourself

and then you know your opponent,

you need not fear the outcome

of a thousand battles.

In those two principles

you have the whole of kung fu.

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