?He?d Get Really Mad and Chase Me?: Bruce Lee?s Close Friend Once Teased the Martial Arts Legend, Despite Everyone Fearing Him

Before making it to Hollywood, Bruce Lee was a martial arts student under the late grandmaster Yip Man. His prowess in the said art form preceded his reputation in Hong Kong, even before the Westerners were exposed to him. This created an aura around him, regarding his fighting skills, which still exist today. However, one other student of Yip Man was a close friend of Lee who attended high school with him. Such was their bond, that Lee, who everyone feared, was often the subject of his ridicule, albeit in friendly banter. He would often call Lee by a nickname, mocking his legs.

One of the early advocates of a more combative approach to Taijiquan (Tai Chi), he and Lee would together restlessly seek to master Wing Chun. Otherwise, whenever they had fun, he never passed up the opportunity to call Bruce Lee by this name. Let’s find out about it.

Bruce Lee and Hawkins Cheung shared a bond like no other

Hawkins Cheung, an expert in Goju-Ryu Karate who achieved a Fourth Dan, together with Lee took lessons under Yip Man. In the 1950s, the two would roam around the streets of Hong Kong, get into fights (sometimes deliberately), and constantly evolve their martial arts techniques in this way or another. Cheung lived a couple of blocks away from Lee and would find any occasion to hang out with Lee. Their friendship grew so close that he became comfortable in calling Lee a ‘Gorilla’.

As reported by wingchunkungfu.eu, Cheung told Robert Chu in 1991, in the November edition of Inside Kung Fu, “Bruce’s nickname at school was Gorilla because he was muscular and walked around with his arms at his sides. Everyone feared him, but I was the only one who called him Chicken legs. He’d get really mad and chase me all over the schoolyard. Our friendship was very close”.

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Despite his lean physique, Lee carried an air of confidence around him. Confidence, that his body language exuded, actualized in the form of putting his arms by his sides when walking. However, Lee’s intimidation wasn’t just born out of thin air. He trained relentlessly for it. But none of this made any difference to his close friend.

Even when Lee went to Hollywood, Cheung was Lee’s biggest supporter

Cheung would call him ‘Chicken Legs’ in spite of knowing well that no one else would’ve dared to say that to him. Lee would then make his way into Hollywood and have a good run till his last film Enter the Dragon (1973). On the sets of the film, Lee and his on-screen student John Saxon aka Roper developed a close bond with each other. Fans were nostalgic when a photo of the two of them together resurfaced online.

Although Lee went on to develop close friendships with several others throughout his career, such as Chuck Norris and Steve McQueen, the bond he shared with Cheung was special. Cheung may have called Lee ‘Chicken Legs’, but he always made sure to introduce him as ‘Gorilla’ to his opponents during fights. He was an ardent supporter of his friend Bruce Lee.

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