Note;
Jun Fan Gung Fu was apparently the first academy Bruce Lee ever founded. By the way, in this chapter I learned that Bruce Lee's very first student was a Black man named Jesse Glover.
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Since the 1960s, humanity has felt a deep yearning for space. In 1962, NASA built the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston to design the Apollo spacecraft and other projects. "Man in the Space Age" naturally became the theme of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
Taking advantage of the weekend, Bruce and his group arrived in Seattle.
This was Catherine's third visit to the city.
Unlike last time, Catherine came with her companions, while Bruce was there on business. After all, Bruce was the company's CEO. The company needed to expand its influence, and he was also worried about his daughter, so he came along as well.
"Where are we going first?"
Lily asked, holding a map as soon as they got off the plane.
"This place looks interesting—look,"
Lisa said as she handed Lily the travel guide she had prepared.
"Wow! That tower is so tall! But it's completely different from the Eiffel Tower…"
"It's called the Space Needle," Jenny said as she flipped through the guidebook.
Visiting Seattle without seeing the Space Needle would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower—a real disappointment.
—Of course, that was for later.
At present, the Space Needle had just been completed. This future landmark of Seattle was part of the World's Fair.
"…The Space Needle was completed after a long period of debate. There were two main design concepts. The first, proposed by Edward, an exhibitor at the World's Fair, was essentially a giant balloon connected to the ground. The second design was simply architect John's 'flying saucer.' Although both Edward's and John's designs were well received, the Space Needle was ultimately designed by Weida. It was engineered to withstand strong earthquakes—even with a magnitude under 9, the structure would not be damaged. In addition, the Space Needle can endure strong winds; a wind speed of 10 kilometers per hour would cause the tower to sway only 16 millimeters…"
Jenny read aloud from the travel guide.
"It sounds pretty impressive."
"Should we go here first?" Lily asked.
"No, let's go here first."
Catherine pointed to a corner of the map.
"Washington State University?"
Everyone looked at Catherine in confusion; they didn't know what was so special about that place.
But only Catherine knew that Washington State University housed something even more famous than the Space Needle—the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, founded by Bruce Lee, the man known as the "Saint of Martial Arts."
That's right—during the same month the Seattle World's Fair opened, Bruce Lee also opened his first martial arts school. This marked the beginning of Bruce Lee's name spreading across the United States!
"You'll see when we get there,"
Catherine said mysteriously.
Because of the World's Fair, Seattle—a city that previously wasn't very crowded—suddenly became packed with people, and even normally smooth traffic began to clog.
Since many Americans owned private cars, plenty of people simply drove across the country to get there. Katherine's family also had a car, but she felt flying was better than driving.
Once Katherine had made her decision, everyone followed her in a large group toward Washington State University in Seattle.
It was honestly strange. The United States has a capital called Washington, named after President Washington, and yet there's also a state in the northwest named Washington. Katherine couldn't quite make sense of it.
Unfortunately, their taxi stopped after traveling a little over two-thirds of the way.
The reason was simple: traffic.
Even though Seattle had prepared for the World's Fair, this problem still occurred. Seeing the long line of cars ahead, Katherine decided they should all walk.
Their flight had landed at 10:00 a.m., so it was just noon at the time. By the time they arrived at Washington State University, it was already 2:00 p.m.
"Kate, what are you bringing us to see?"
"Just follow me!"
Katherine led them into the parking lot. In an inconspicuous corner stood a small building with the words "Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute" written in large characters, along with some smaller, hard-to-read lettering underneath. Catherine could read it, though—it was written in traditional Chinese, and it meant the same thing: "Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute."
—During his sophomore year in college, Bruce Lee rented a corner of the campus parking lot as a martial arts school and hung up a sign reading "Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute." He wouldn't move locations until a Japanese American named Kimura Takeyuki provided him with a proper venue. Kimura Takeyuki was quite well known.
"Hello there, beautiful young lady."
It was a Black man with a somewhat cautious look and a missing tooth.
Bruce Lee didn't seem to be there.
"You're… Jesse Glover!"
The name suddenly popped into Catherine's mind.
Yes—he was Bruce Lee's first student!
This Black man was a bit unusual.
In fact, it was a time of severe racial discrimination. Glover had lost a tooth after being provoked and assaulted by a white police officer, and because he was Black, he had no way to seek justice—unlike in the United States forty years later.
"Who are you?"
"We're looking for Mr. Bruce Lee… oh, Mr. Lee Jun-fan!"
Bruce Lee was his stage name; Lee Jun-fan was his real name.
"You know my Master?" Glover looked at Catherine in surprise.
"You…"
At that moment, someone else approached—a white woman.
If Catherine wasn't mistaken, it was Linda, Bruce Lee's future wife.
"Linda, what's going on?"
"There are three girls here."
"Girls?"
The voices drew closer, and then a woman with distinctly Asian features walked over.
"Excuse me, Mr. Lee—do you remember me? Thank you so much for saving me last time!"
When Catherine saw Lee Jun-fan approaching, she hurried over to greet him excitedly.
"You are… oh… you're the one from that Christmas…"
A year had passed, but Catherine still retained a vague memory of Bruce Lee.
"Kate, who is he?"
Lily suddenly asked in a low voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to solemnly introduce my savior—Mr. Lee Jun-fan. On Christmas Day in 1960, I was nearly attacked, and it was Mr. Lee who saved me. His Chinese kung fu is incredible!"
Unfortunately, the English word "kung fu" wouldn't become common until a few years later, when Bruce Lee rose to fame; at that time, people didn't really understand what "kung fu" meant.
Even so, Catherine's opening words alone were enough to shock everyone.