Work online, have freedom!

Bruce Lee: Fact or Fiction?

Myth, rumour and innuendo come hand-in-hand when an actor dies tragically young. But in the case of Bruce Lee, who died at the peak of his career aged just 32, this is unusually amplified, perhaps because he appeared so physically, indomitably fit. 

From the manner of his death to the authenticity of his martial arts skills, we look at some of the more outlandish claims out there…

The mafia killed him…

This is the big one, and depending which version you favour, it began circulating soon after Lee’s death in 1973. It was said that the Chinese mafia murdered Lee and covered it up because he was exposing too many martial arts secrets in his films. Rather more dramatically, but for much the same reason, some said it was Shaolin killer monks that did the deed. 

In fact, he died from a cerebral oedema – a massive swelling of the brain – which was deemed to have been caused by an allergic reaction to Equagesic, a strong aspirin and muscle relaxant given to him by a colleague, Taiwanese actress Betty Ting Pei, after he complained of having a headache. He was in Hong Kong to have dinner with James Bond actor George Lazenby, with whom he was planning to make a movie, but never made it to the engagement. He died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong. He had been hospitalised for seizures and severe headaches just a couple of months previously.

The Triads had a grudge against his son…

The Triads were said to be angry with Lee for refusing to work in movies that they had funded. To add further distaste, it’s rumoured that they held the grudge they harboured against Lee and passed it on to his son, Brandon, who is also the subject of conspiracy rumours after he too died young, aged 28. Brandon was accidentally shot dead on the set of the film ‘The Crow’ when a real bullet was loaded into a prop gun instead of a blank.

A punch killed him…

Further speculation about Lee’s death came many years after his death, courtesy of Black Belt magazine. It ran a story suggesting that Lee may have died as a delayed reaction to a 'dim mak’, or 'touch of death’ punch, that he had sustained some weeks prior to his collapse. 

Such a technique has been referenced in many martial arts films, including 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and 'Kill Bill Vol. 2’. Others have suggested it could have been a deadly 'quivering palm technique’ that killed him, a similar proposition to the dim mak but involving a wave of Qi or 'life energy’. In 1997, the United States National Institutes of Health said that such things 'are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information’.

The 'Paper Dragon’…

It is widely rumoured that despite Lee’s prowess on screen, he was a 'paper dragon’, and his fighting skills had never been put to the test in tournaments – rather they were based on private sparring and theory. It’s thought such rumour may have been started by tournament fighters. Others maintained that Lee was a teacher rather than a fighter. 

In contrast, many cite the fact that Lee was brought up in Kowloon, and grew up fighting on the streets, which was among the reasons his parents ushered him into learning martial arts, beginning his Wing Chun training at 13. One story tells of how he defeated the son of a feared Triad family and it was at that point his father sent him to study in America because it was thought there may have been a contract out on his life. It’s said he eschewed tournaments because in the 1960s they were either no or light contact affairs, and deemed a waste of his time. Martial arts forums are split on whether he was a true fighter, and the debate will likely rage on for years to come.

The power of the 'One-inch Punch’…

The so-called 'one-inch punch’ was popularised by Bruce Lee, but is thought to have derived from the 'southern school’ of Chinese martial arts, or Nanquan. As it sounds, it’s a blow delivered from an incredibly short distance (from 0 to 15cm) using a technique called 'fa jin’, rather brilliantly meaning 'explosive power’. 

Lee learned it during his Wing Chun training, and often demonstrated it, but was it much cop? Discovery Channel show 'Mythbusters’ once put it to the test using a force gauge. It was compared to a normal punch thrown, and compared unfavourably – the normal punch weighed in at 325 pounds, while the one-inch punch was measured at 153 pounds. But as it wasn’t tested against a human subject, the punch was deemed a 'plausible’ combat technique nonetheless. Whether it would be feasible in a fight situation remains a subject for much debate, and many deem it a 'push’ rather than an actual punch.

The 330lb punch bag…

It is claimed Lee had such strength that with a single sidekick he could batter a 300lb punchbag so hard it would swing up from its hanging position and hit the ceiling. This is widely disputed as an exaggerated urban legend, simply because of the enormous weight involved. There is footage of him battering a 70lb bag, but the 300lb claims are entirely unsubstantiated.

Join ECA Program!

Would you dare go up in the world’s tallest lift? (It’s 1,070ft tall)!

For people with vertigo, getting on a elevator is never easy, and getting onto this one will be nigh impossible. After all, it is all of 326m, or 1,070ft, tall!

Yes, you read that right. A series of images of China's 326m-tall glass Bailong Elevator, situated on the side of a cliff, have gone viral online, and people can't get enough of it.

This is the world's tallest outdoor lift, that can get passengers to the top, or the ground, in just 2 minutes. Made of glass, the lift can hold up to 50 people at a time.

Located in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, in China's Zhangjiajie Forest Park, the elevator is known as the 'hundred dragons sky lift'. No wonder!

Work from Home!

Solar-powered plane completes a risky flight!

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — The two Swiss pilots taking turns to fly a solar-powered airplane around the world said Sunday the endeavor is not only a demonstration of the importance of renewable energy but also of the many challenges the human body can endure.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard completed a risky, three-day flight across a great expanse of the Pacific Ocean while sleeping only 20 minutes at a time inside the plane's tiny cockpit with no heat or air conditioning and while having to keep constant contact with the Europe-based control center.

"You have interviews, navigation control, communications with the control center in Monaco. You have health checks, a lot of health checks," Piccard said. "It's very active, there are a lot of things to do, but you can nevertheless enjoy it."

Piccard said he uses self-hypnosis to keep his energy up and puts heating pads inside his shoes and gloves for warmth. He said he has no complaints about the ready-made meals he can warm up with a special heat packet and that can include risotto, chicken curry and potatoes.

On Sunday, special guests, many of them with Google, which is sponsoring the project, had a first look at the plane inside a huge white tent at Moffett Airfield. The guests also mingled and took photos with Piccard and fellow Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg.

Piccard landed the Solar Impulse 2 in Mountain View, in the Silicon Valley south of San Francisco, on Saturday night following a 62-hour, nonstop solo flight from Hawaii without fuel.

The landing came hours after Piccard made a fly-by over the Golden Gate Bridge as spectators below watched the narrow aircraft with extra wide wings.

Piccard and Andre Borschberg have been taking turns flying the plane on an around-the-world trip since taking off from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, in March 2015. It made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China, Japan and Hawaii.

The trans-Pacific legs were the riskiest part of the plane's travels because of the lack of emergency landing sites.

"We have demonstrated it is feasible to fly many days, many nights, that the technology works" said Borschberg, 63, who piloted the plane a five-day trip from Japan to Hawaii and who kept himself alert by doing yoga poses and meditation.

The project has helped to show that "as a human being you can be sufficiently sustainable to be able to fly at least five days in such a plane."

The aircraft faced a few bumps along the way.

The Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii in July and was forced to stay in the islands after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan. The team was delayed in Asia, too. When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii, the crew had to divert to Japan because of unfavorable weather and a damaged wing.

A month later, with better weather conditions, the plane left Nagoya in central Japan for Hawaii.

The plane's ideal flight speed is about 28 mph, though that can double during the day when the sun's rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs over 5,000 pounds, about as much as a midsize truck.

The plane's wings, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.

Solar Impulse 2 will make three more stops in the United States before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Europe or northern Africa, according to the website documenting the journey.

Borschberg said the plane will again take flight this week, and the next stop could be Phoenix. But that will depend on weather.

The project, which is estimated to cost more than $100 million, began in 2002 to highlight the importance of renewable energy and the spirit of innovation.

"I think innovation and pioneering must continue," Piccard said. "It must continue for better quality of life, for clean technologies, for renewable energy. This is where the pioneers can really express themselves and be successful."

Solar-powered air travel is not yet commercially practical, given the slow travel time, weather and weight constraints of the aircraft.

"Maybe it will be boring in 20 years when all the airplanes will be electric and people will say 'Oh it's routine.' But now, today, an airplane that is electric, with electric engines, that produces its own energy with the sun, it can never be boring," Piccard said.

Amazing Wave3 Program!