Striking Distance, Charles Russo
Striking Distance, Charles Russo
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Striking Distance
Bruce Lee & the Dawn of Martial Arts in America

Author: Charles Russo

Narrator: Dan Woren

Unabridged: 6 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/01/2016


Synopsis

In the spring of 1959, eighteen-year-old Bruce Lee returned to San Francisco, the city of his birth, and quickly inserted himself into the West Coast’s fledgling martial arts culture. Even though Asian fighting styles were widely unknown to mainstream America, Bruce encountered a robust fight culture in a San Francisco Bay area that was populated with talented and trailblazing practitioners such as Lau Bun, Chinatown’s aging kung fu patriarch; Wally Jay, the innovative Hawaiian jujitsu master; and James Lee, the no-nonsense Oakland street fighter. Regarded by some as a brash loudmouth and by others as a dynamic visionary, Bruce spent his first few years back in America advocating a more modern approach to the martial arts and showing little regard for the damaged egos left in his wake.In the Chinese calendar, 1964 was the Year of the Green Dragon. It would be a challenging and eventful year for Bruce. He would broadcast his dissenting view before the first great international martial arts gathering and then defend it by facing down Chinatown’s young ace kung fu practitioner in a legendary behind-closed-doors, high-noon-style showdown. The Year of the Green Dragon saw the dawn of martial arts in America and the rise of an icon.Drawing on more than one hundred original interviews and an eclectic array of sources, Striking Distance is an engrossing narrative chronicling San Francisco Bay’s pioneering martial arts scene as it thrived in the early 1960s and offers an in-depth look at a widely unknown chapter of Bruce Lee’s iconic life.

About Dan Woren

Dan Woren is an American voice actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator. He has worked extensively in animation, video games, and feature films. He is best known for his many roles in anime productions such as Bleach and as the voice of Sub-Zero in the video game Mortal Kombat.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian on September 06, 2017

While the Ultimate Fighting Championship is institutionally responsible for mixed martial arts' incredible growth in popularity over the past two decades, perhaps no one individual was more instrumental in laying the groundwork for our collective curiosity and enthusiasm than film star Bruce Lee. In......more

Goodreads review by Muhammad on September 01, 2024

The chronology of the book was a mess. However, the book was a decent read. It was very interesting information. I kind of wish that he went in to more detail with some of the events, especially the establishment of Martial Arts in America before and after Bruce Lee.......more

Goodreads review by J.C. on August 31, 2019

This book is a surprisingly well told story of San Francisco's Chinatown in 1964 and the rise of martial arts in America (for the most part). It is an enjoyable story that comes in at a brisk (and padded) 150 pages. It would make a great movie. Those seeking a history of Martial Arts in America or a......more

Goodreads review by Simon on April 14, 2022

A good overview of the impact and innovation of Bruce Lee and how martial arts “hitL the Bay Area of America in the early 60s.......more

Goodreads review by Martyn on July 30, 2023

Social history of the emergence of martial arts on the west coast of America. Heavily focussed on Chinese disciplines and weaving in Bruce Lee's story. It has some very interesting stories and potted histories of styles, but does suffer from a structure that skips back and forth in time too much.......more


Quotes

“Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America is one of those rare martial arts volumes that is likely to be widely read by individuals practicing a variety of styles.” Ben Judkins, Kung Fu Tea