What Bruce Lee Was Like As A Kid, According To His Sister

There isn't anyone in the Hollywood martial arts scene as famous as Bruce Lee, and we doubt there ever will be. His talent as a martial artist was recognized around the globe. He was so fast it was nearly superhuman. Lee is one of the few martial artists of the 20th century to create his own martial art form and see it spread throughout the world. Many martial artists have tried, but the attempt often ends in a rundown mall dojo that hardly anybody visits after a couple of years.

Lee was also a movie star. His kung fu films were game-changing in America. Beyond that, he was an author and a philosopher. His merchandise still sells — seriously, you can find it on nearly any martial arts supply website. Lee touched people's hearts. He was a happy, lovable man who was seen smiling anytime he was doing an interview. This world-renowned martial artist made his name and excelled in his career through discipline — a discipline that took time to develop.

Lee might have been affable as an adult, but he wasn't the most pleasant baby — absolutely "nasty," according to an interview at Wing Chun News with his older sister, Phoebe Lee. Apparently, Bruce couldn't stay in one place and was constantly running around. That's about all his sister had to say about her brother as a baby, but she had plenty to say about other times in his childhood.

According to Phoebe, Bruce was a mischievous child. He liked to make jokes, and he equally liked, as it seems, to get into trouble. She recalled a time when Bruce, around 9 or 10 years old, decided to scale a tree to steal a mango. At other times, she says Lee would drop ice cubes from their home on to the heads of passersby, and she occasionally joined in. They'd drop the ice – Plunk! – then run and hide.

If you haven't guessed, Bruce was always getting into fights as a kid. He had a "hot temper" but a "good heart," Pheobe said. As you'd expect from a talented martial artist — at least, if you buy into cliches — Bruce would constantly challenge other kung fu students to bare-knuckle throwdowns. Luckily, the martial arts eventually would impart some discipline on young Bruce Lee.