Connie Chung, Bruce Lee, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tony Taguba inducted into Asian Hall of Fame

Bruce Lee, martial arts master

By Louis Chan
Reprinted from AsAm News

THE ASIAN HALL OF FAME inducted a stellar class of four new honorees this month in Seattle.

News anchor Connie Chung, martial arts legend Bruce Lee, Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and General Antonio Taguba received the honor from the Robert Chinn Foundation before a crowd of several hundred.

“I’ve always considered myself Chinese - not Chinese American, as I’m not a hyphenated person,” said Chung during her induction speech.

Connie Chung

Chung became just the second women to anchor a network newscast when she co-anchored the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in 1993. Her career in broadcast journalism spanned 30 years during which she worked with NBC, CBS, ABC and CNN as well as the CBS station in Los Angeles.

“In 1969, there were so few women in journalism, the biggest barrier was being a woman and secondary was being Chinese. It was a male dominated profession. I would think and conduct myself as a White male. Today I stand before you no longer thinking I’m a White male. I stand before you thrilled and honored to be just a Chinese girl,” she declared.

Perhaps no one is responsible for popularizing martial arts in the United States more than Bruce Lee. He not only taught Jeet Kune Do, a form of martial arts in the United States, he wowed the world with his martial artistry in five feature length films. His most famous was Enter the Dragon from Warner Brothers which was released six days after his death in 1973. His wife Linda Caldwell accepted the award on behalf of her husband.

Kristi Yamaguchi

“One of his goals was to show the world the beauty of China’s culture and martial arts,” she said. “He raised the esteem of Chinese men and women. He had passion, energy and belief in self and fulfilled his purpose. He influenced people to be confident in their goal setting, and be motivated ot take action in their lives.”

Kristi Yamaguchi won the Olympic Gold Medal for the United States in figure skating in 1992 in Albertville, France. She is also a children’s author, philanthropist and producer of her own fashion line, Tsu Ya.

“I am Asian American at my core,” said Yamaguchi. Sometimes I don’t feel Asian enough. Sometimes I didn’t feel Caucasian enough. The Asian work ethic is a connecting link between Asian groups. We are taught by parents and grandparents who enabled us to succeed. They ingrained in us not to complain, to respect mentors.”

Retired General Antonio Taguba is only the second U.S. Army General from the Philippines. He served in the military for 35 years beginning in 1972. He authored the report on abuse of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib Prison in 2004 and later in 2008 accused the Bush administration of committing war crimes.

Gen. Antonio Taguba

“Being truly successful means doing good for the community and settling a standard of community giving, said Taguba who has been an advocate for the AARP and a big proponent of mentoring young leaders. “As a Pacific Isander, I felt on top of the world for being honored. Maybe my story may have possibly had an impact on young or old. I felt honored and respected to share our story to raise future leaders.”

The induction of Chung, Yamaguchi, Lee and Taguba brings to 22 the number of people inducted into the hall since 2004.

UFC: Anderson Silva training with Dan Inosanto

Anderson 'The Spider' Silva with 79-year old Master Dan Inosanto.

AT almost 41-years of age, Anderson Silva is still a force to be reckoned with in the mixed martial arts cage. But lately, despite a record of 33-7, the wins haven't come as frequently.

Following his controversial defeat to Michael Bisping, UFC's Silva, hoping to hone up on his fighting skills, has returned to the ring for a training session with Dan Inosanto - the legendary kung fu Master who was one of the top students of Bruce Lee.

Silva thought he had beaten Bisping in London on Feb. 27 with a flying knee in the third round only to have the fight continue leading to an eventual loss.

That is when the Brazilian MMA fighter sought out Inosanto who is a master of several martial arts styles, including the style developed by Bruce Lee, Jeet Kune Do. Silva is a fan of Lee and Inosanto, a Stockton-born Filipino/American.
Once almost unbeatable in the middleweight division, superstar Silva has gone 0-3 in his last four fights with one no-contest after he tested positive for banned substances.

Silva is preparing to fight fellow middleweight Uriah Hall at UFC 198 on May 14 in his homeland Brazil where he hasn't fought in three years.

Kristi Yamaguchi, Bruce Lee inducted into California Hall of Fame

Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi was inducted into the California Hall of Fame..

TWO ASIAN/AMERICANS were inducted into the California Hall of Fame yesterday (Oct. 28).

Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and First Lady Anne Gust Brown joined the California Museum to award the Spirit of California medal to eight Californians inducted into the California Hall of Fame this evening including Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi and superstar martial artist Bruce Lee.

“There’s a lot of open-mindedness to encourage people to dream big and to go after their dreams no matter how crazy they may be,” Yamaguchi said about California.

Yamaguchi and Lee join only three other Asian/Americans in the hall: prominent AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, author Amy Tan and professional golfer Tiger Woods.

Besides Yamaguchi and Lee, this year's inductees, who exemplify California's spirit of innovation, are: acclaimed actor Robert Downey Jr., celebrated artist David Hockney, journalist and news anchor Lester Holt, space pioneer Ellen Ochoa, country music icon Buck Owens, legendary cartoonist Charles M. Schulz.

"California continuously reinvents itself and the people we honor have that combination of tradition, innovation and, of course, creativity," said Brown at the ceremonies held at the California Museum. 

Inductees and family members of posthumous inductees received the Spirit of California medal from the Governor and First Lady in the official state ceremony this evening at the California Museum in downtown Sacramento.

In addition to receiving the Spirit of California medal, California Hall of Fame inductees will be commemorated with an exhibit of personal artifacts highlighting their lives and achievements, which opens to the public at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, 2015 at the California Museum.

This year's medal recipients join 88 Californians previously inducted into the California Hall of Fame for making remarkable achievements across a variety of California industries and areas of influence, including science, philanthropy, sports, business, entertainment, literature, technology, activism and politics.

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Enter the Dragon: Bruce Lee, El Niño

Like Bruce Lee, this year's El Nino will pack a wallop.

EMILY BECKER, who blogs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, proposed - lightheartedly - that the current El Niño event taking shape in the Pacific Ocean be named after martial artist  Bruce Lee. Here's her reasoning:

What’s in a name?Tropical storms and hurricanes have been given names since the early 1950s, which helps to clarify communications. In recent years, the Weather Channel has attracted attention by naming winter storms, perhaps with similar intentions. “So why don’t we name ENSO events?” you ask. Excellent question! I propose we do name them, starting this year. Since I think we should have a theme to the names, and the theme should be action movie stars, I hereby designate the 2015-2016 event as El Niño Bruce Lee.

Now, NASA scientists are saying the warm weather cycle is expected to unload its biggest punch early this year.

According to its latest satellite imagery, the strong El Niño that’s been brewing in the Pacific Ocean has shown “no signs of waning” and is on pace to match or even surpass the 1997–98 El Niño event—the biggest ever recorded.

Becker's very readable blog appears in the organizations climate.gov website. If you want an easy to understand reason for weather events without the political or too-scientific jargon beyond most of us, go to Climate.gov, It provides science and information for a climate-smart nation.

Since this year's El Niño is expected to have a "strong" impact, that's how she makes her connection to Bruce Lee; or perhaps this year's El Niño will kick some ass.  I might add that one of Lee's most quoted pieces of advice, "Be the water," has an application to this topic.

The name seems to have stuck. Climatologists refer to the current weather phenomenon as  the Bruce Lee El Nino.

In that same vein that she proposed the naming of El Niño, she sparked some reaction which were pretty amusing:

Who says scientists don't have a sense of humor?

So what's up with the weather? It doesn't take a scientist to note the higher temps, the drier climate (in the western U.S.), the melting glaciers, the rising sea levels and the spate of superstorms, hurricanes and typhoons that are ravaging our globe.

For California residents, Becker notes that even a strong El Niño is not a sure-fire drought-buster for California, so it’s not time to stop conserving water, especially given how entrenched this drought is (i.e. it will likely take more than one good year to erase). However, a strong El Niño does increase the chance of more precipitation overall during the winter, and also brings the potential for extreme rainfall. This may help alleviate the drought, but also can also lead to mudslides and flooding.

So at the Climate Prediction Center they’re not spending a lot of time debating about if El Niño Bruce Lee will be the strongest El Niño in history, or the second-strongest, or the third, etc. A strong event increases the probability that the U.S. will experience weather and climate impacts, but the strength of the event does not indicate directly to the strength of the impacts.

RELATED: Paquio, Bruce Lee and the Asian male stereotype

With all the talk about climate change, Climate.gov is a good source for scientifically backed information about what's happening to the planets climate; not the hot air pulled out of a hat that climate-change deniers use.

NOAA Climate.gov is a source of timely and authoritative scientific data and information about climate.  Its goals are to promote public understanding of climate science and climate-related events, to make our data products and services easy to access and use, to provide climate-related support to the private sector and the Nation’s economy, and to serve people making climate-related decisions with tools and resources that help them answer specific questions.

For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, go to AsAm News.

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Pacquiao, Bruce Lee score TKOs vs. Asian American male stereotype

Manny Pacquio, left, and his hero Bruce Lee.

THERE'S A SCENE in the documentary I Am Bruce Lee, in which Manny Pacquiao expresses his idolization of Bruce Lee. As a fighter, albeit different styles, Pacquio says he tries to emulate Bruce Lee's lightning quickness and power-packed strikes. He admires Lee so much, he even had his (earlier) haircut modeled after the late martial artist.

A 2012 New York Times article further reinforced the link between Lee and Pacquiao:

(Pacquio was asked) to explain the way he fights, he settled on three words. 

“Like Bruce Lee,” he said 

Growing up in the Philippines, Pacquiao studied Lee, watching his movies on endless loops. He still often views his collector’s set. “Enter the Dragon” is his favorite. His conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, says he believes Pacquiao built his baseline movement off Lee’s template, the continual attacking, the feet drummed in and out.

“Bruce Lee jumped around and kicked his feet and shook his head and shoulders,” Ariza said. “His feet moved in concert with his hands. He could be choppy, but he was rhythmic. Manny does the same thing. It comes from that.”

In a more personal and perhaps more significant way, Pacquiao is carrying on the legacy of Bruce Lee: he is punching to the wayside the stereotype of Asian American males as meek, weak, unassertive, emasculated and invisible nonentities.

Asian American males grew up with that stereotype thrust upon us by television, movies and popular culture, Lee's emergence as a sleek fighting machine who didn't take insults or taunts from anybody was a revelation and a turning point for the denigrating image many had to endure.

In a world without strong Asian male role models, Lee's emergence was a godsend and a revelation. Suddenly, there was this charismatic, strong symbol, whom the girls swooned over and who could stand his ground and - if need be - beat up bigger opponents or rivals.

Geddes Watanabe as Long Duk Dong

With Asian American male portrayals so rare, the impact of the few that do exist is magnified in America's consciousness.

Lee's breakthrough role as Kato in the TV series Green Hornet, changed the world for Asian American boys growing up with the embarassing and demeaning images of buck-toothed, bespectacled Mickey Rooney in yellow face in Breakfast at Tiffany's. As we entered our teen years or as young adults, we were haunted by the one of the worst portrayals of Asian men: Long Duk Dong in the iconic Sixteen Candles. 

High-kicking Bruce Lee countered those images. His popularity opened the door for a spate of chop-socky films which inspired  kung-fu studios sprouting in the suburbs, all of which, in turn, gave rise to a new stereotype ... but at least a stereotype who could kick ass.

What Lee did for the baby-boomer Asian Americans, Pacquiao is doing for a new generation of Asian Americans, who are still saddled with the unassertive, not-suitable-for-management, quiet, unassuming Asian American male image still being perpetuated by popular media. Witness 2 Broke Girls' Han, the owner of the diner where most of the show takes place: He speaks in broken English, he's a short, sex-starved butt of racist innuendos and references to penis size;  or who can watch the Hangover movies without cringing when the Leslie Chow character is on screen? He, too, is neutered, repulsive and speaks broken English.

Pacquiao's popularity with entertainment figures has helped boost his acceptance and idolization among America's non-Asians and populace. He's everywhere: turn on the TV and the PacMan is on the late night talk shows; go to a Giants game and he's throwing the first pitch; here he is on an HBO reality series leading up to the Pacquiao/Mayweather fight; here he is walking to the boxing ring, smiling, waving at his fans, clearly enjoying the moment.

There are recent signs this stereotype may be on shaky ground (about time, I say) with sports figures like the NBA's Jeremy Lin and baseball's Tim Lincecum and Kolten Wong, television's John Cho on the short-lived Selfie, Randall Park as the father in Fresh Off The Boat and Daniel Dae Kim in Hawaii 5-0, but its too early to say if they signal a trend or are simply aberrations. Nevertheless, these examples are still too few to undo generations of reinforced bigotry and prejudice.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquio will fight on May 2.

On May 2, Pacquiao will finally meet Floyd Mayweather in the ring to determine the best pound-for-pound fighter in what has been billed as the "fight of the century." Although both fighters are past their prime, the long-anticipated meeting of the pugilists will earn both men the highest purse in fight history and will be one of the most-viewed events in modern times.  No matter the outcome of the fight, Asian American males will come out ahead of the game.

What Pacquiao has been able to do is quite remarkable. He broke through the stereotype that mass media and pop culture applied to a race and gender. He stood out as an individual - a real person: a friendly, smiling guy who loves to sing, who's deeply religious and someone who can make jokes and laugh.

Like Bruce Lee before him, Pacquiao's ascendence as a star - a popular personality excelling in a sport that stresses strength, endurance and toughness - gives America a new view of Asian males. The Filipino fighter's prominence llightens that yoke draped around the necks of Asian American men. Perhaps, Asian American boys can stop apologizing, stop being ashamed, stop wasting their energy fighting a stereotype that haunts them throughout their lives - in school, career and in the heart.

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RELATED: 

Paquiao vs. Mayweather is boxing's Superbowl

Yay & Nay on Bruce Lee films

Yay & nay: Bruce Lee movies on the horizon

75th anniversary of a legend

Do I even have to identify who this is?

UNBELIEVABLE and as ridiculous as it may sound, a motion picture director wants to remake the ultimate Bruce Lee classic Enter The Dragon.

Additionally, besides Dragon, Bruce Lee's daughter is shopping around the idea of biopic of the fabled martial artist. It would be the second attempt in chronicling Lee and his journey to becoming the first Asian American matinee idol. The 1993 movie starring Jason Scott Lee, was not as successful as hoped for. You could possibly duplicate Lee's moves, you could speak his words, but you can't duplicate the charisma and sex appeal that emanated from the silver screen when Lee was present.

Remaking "Enter The Dragon" is tantamount to sacrilege. How could you improve on the original? Oh, I know - make the main character - the Bruce Lee role - a white guy. Are you kidding me? No way!!!!

But that's what Rush Hour director Brett Ratner suggested. Two names he floated were Scott Adkins and ... mixed martial arts champion Rhonda Rousey.

NO! NO! NO! NO! THAT WON'T DO!! NO! NO! NO! NO! 

Nothing against Adkins and Rousey, but it's not like white heroes are in short supply. Why take one of the very few Asian American heroic figures and ... oh, the horror!

There will never be another Bruce Lee. Don't even try!

Searching for heroes

Like a lot of other Asian American boys growing up in 1960s and 1970s America, Bruce Lee was an idol of mine. There's a bigger than life hero who looked a lot like me! Well, more or less. Getting Lee's fat-free physique is no easy task for someone who loves to eat.

I had been studying karate for a few years and loved going to martial arts movies. My friends and I would make the one-hour trip to San Francisco to watch samurai movies in Japantown and the kung fu movies in the old Great Star Theater in Chinatown. My world was peopled by the legendary director Akira Kurosawa and the Hong Kong producer Run Run Shaw.

Besides the costumes and complicated plot lines, those movies also provided a bevy of male role models beyond the white heroes offered by mainstream media. 

Who is that masked man? Bruce Lee as Kato.

Then came Bruce Lee - an Asian American! He was strong, handsome, principled and besides the boys needing someone they could look up to, equally important: the girls loved him.

Introduced to the American public as Kato, the Green Hornet's chauffeur and sidekick. He also demonstrated the deadly beauty of his style of fighting, jeet kune do, which he created out of a combination of different styles. Basically, he stole every scene he was  in. 

The day after the show was aired, my friends and I would talk about the episode: "Did you see what Kato did? Did you see that move?

He was so contrary to the stereotype of the emasculated Asian male - he oozed assertiveness, masculinity and sexiness - that unwittingly, he created another stereotype; that all Asians knew martial arts.

It was his off-screen heroics and persistence that made him more than just a movie idol. He knew he was bucking the odds in challenging Hollywood's perception of a leading man. So he conceived an idea so unique and unusual: A western with a Chinese monk wandering the American west.

Hollywood liked the idea - a lot - and as Hollywood tends to do, they cast a white guy in the lead role, makeup provided a heavier eyelid so that his eyes looked a little Asian and have him speak in Buddhist riddles. Ahh, Grasshopper, that's how the iconic TV show Kung Fu was born; stolen from Lee's idea.

Lee was fed up with the Hollywood system so he went to Hong Kong where he was very popular and began making his own movies. Enter The Dragon was the first of his overseas movies that Hollywood embraced and American audiences flocked to in droves. It was, in essence, an American production. Lee got American actors John Saxon and Jim Kelley, both real martial artists, to play opposite him, convinced one of his students, L.A. Laker center Kareem Abdul Jabar, to have a role. Robert Clouse directed and Lalo Schiffrin composed the music. 

Enter The Dragon was a huge commercial success and a real breakthrough for Asian Americans.  He knew he was a role model and of his impact on the Asian community. He fought for the little guy. He knew how important it would be - not just for him, personally, but for all Asians - for him to become a genuine American movie star. That film catapulted Bruce Lee into that stratosphere of celebrityhood reserved for only the exclusive few.

Most importantly to impressionable young Asian Americans searching for a role model ... he was one of us!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To learn more about Bruce Lee and activities surrounding the 75th anniversary of his birth, click here. The website includes a clip with Dan Inosante, a close friend who taught Lee and other Hollywood luminaries the Filipino martial art of escrima.

Here's a clip featuring Lee's wife Linda taken from the documentary I Am Bruce Lee.

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Cheering on Kei Nishikori

KEi NISHIKORI, rising tennis star.

PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER Kei Nishikori is the latest Asian male to defy the American stereotype of Asian men.He is the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final since Michael Chang in 1989. Even though Nishikori is ranked 10th in the world, he is a virtual unknown to America.

We're about to get to know him now though. The 24-year-old Nishikori stunned No. 1 Novak Djokovic to advance to the finals of the U.S. Open. He plays Marin Cilic today (Sept. 8) for the championship. He's a slight favorite. Tennis analysts will be talking about him, his back story and how he rose in the tennis world. At least they should. I hope they treat him the way the treat all the star players when they hit center court.

We'll cheer for him - yes, because he's Asian, and because he is one of us, he is me. His victory is a victory for every Asian man who has been tortured by the demeaning, weak, second-fiddle, neutered, invisible image that has been perpetuated by the dominant society. 

The Asian male's asexual stereotype is the exact opposite of the exotication (I made up that word) of Asian women in which they become objects of male fantasies.  

The Asian men's stereotype continues to exist despite so much evidence to the contrary starting with Lapu Lapu's attack on Magellan's crew which resulted in the Spanish explorer's death, warriors of Asian legends all the way to the 442nd Regiment of World War II, martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, basketball player Jeremy Lin and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

Few things tick me off more than someone saying that Asian men are not attractive, or a woman saying she is not drawn to Asian men because they don't fit the anglo, sharp nose, high cheekbone, jaw jutting picture of a white male model -- the reigning standard for attractiveness and sexuality according to our pop culture world.

The negative stereotype haunts every Asian male who wants to break the mold and be more than the businessman, the doctor or lawyer, the computer or math wizard, the technical nerd, or the Asian men who gets passed over for promotion because he is not "management material." 

There is nothing wrong with being doctors, lawyers and computer nerds, etc. They are all respectable professions, but there are artists, poets, actors, comedians, dancers, athletes, politicians and pop singers, too. A little balance when describing us would be nice.

In the meantime, I'll be rooting for  Nishikori ... and Steven Yuen (Glenn in the Walking Dead); and Daniel Dae Kim of "Hawaii 5-0;"and Jeremy Lin (even though he plays for the Lakers); and the host of players of Asian descent making an impact in Major League Baseball; and Prince, Bruno Mars, Apl.de.ap and Enrigue Yglesias. All of them - because in their own specialized field and with the brilliant spotlight where they have excelled - chip away at the pervasive, negative, weak stereotype of Asian men.

Tennis, anyone?

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UPDATE: Cilic wins in three sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Ironically, Nishikori will still probably get more money out of this match than Cilic due to the promotional contracts he has in Japan where he is viewed as a hero. Nishikori had the crowd with him as they chanted "Ni-shi-ko-ri!" but that wasn't enough to overcome Cilic who was playing the best tennis of his life. Ace after ace and perfect placement of his backhand and forehand smashes proved to be too much for our guy. Still ... (sigh!)