Bruce Lee’s Seattle dojo: first integrated kung fu school in 1960

Bruce Lee’s Revolutionary Multicultural Dojo in Seattle

The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle holds the story of America’s first truly integrated martial arts school.

In 1960, a young Bruce Lee started teaching kung fu to anyone willing to learn, breaking every rule in the traditional Chinese martial arts world.

His first student was Jesse Glover, an African American judo champion who needed self-defense skills after facing police brutality.

Lee’s assistant was Taky Kimura, a Japanese American who’d been torn from high school graduation and sent to an internment camp.

Together they built something revolutionary in basements and parking garages across the city. The traditional Chinese community hated Lee for teaching “foreign devils,” but he kept going anyway.

Here’s how this unlikely group changed martial arts forever in the Pacific Northwest.

A Judo Champion Became Bruce Lee’s First Student

Jesse Glover met Bruce Lee at Edison Technical School in 1959. Glover was an African American judo champion and psychology student who faced police brutality.

He wanted to learn self-defense. They trained in parking lots and basements around Seattle’s Chinatown.

Their team grew into America’s most racially mixed Chinese martial arts group. Glover’s life stories gave Lee his first real look at American race issues.

Basement Training Began With Bare Lightbulbs And Cement Walls

Lee opened his first Jun Fan Gung Fu school in 1960 in a basement on South Weller Street. The space was basic – cement walls, bare lightbulbs, and room to move.

Students wore regular clothes instead of uniforms. Lee took whatever payment students could afford.

Word spread about the young Chinese teacher who welcomed everyone.

The Chinese martial arts community started questioning Lee’s choice to teach non-Asian students, breaking old traditions.

Taky Kimura Survived Internment Before Becoming Lee’s Right-Hand Man

Japanese American Taky Kimura joined Lee’s group in the early 1960s.

Kimura lived through Japanese internment during World War II, getting taken to camp just before finishing high school. Years of unfair treatment left him with low self-esteem.

Lee saw something special in Kimura and helped rebuild his confidence through training. Kimura became Lee’s helper and close friend.

Their friendship grew so strong that Kimura later stood as best man at Lee’s wedding.

Students From All Backgrounds Trained Together In Makeshift Spaces

Between 1961 and 1962, Lee’s student group grew more mixed.

His classes included Black Americans, Japanese Americans, whites, and various Asian Americans training side by side. They moved between parking garages, church basements, and public spaces.

Lee shared Chinese culture with his students, taking them for dim sum and to Chinese movies.

New students like Leroy Garcia, James DeMile, Ed Hart, and Skipp Ellsworth joined, creating a mixed martial arts family.

The University District Location Gave Lee A Professional Home

Lee moved his school near the University of Washington in 1963.

This bigger 3,000 square foot space let him run a real business charging $22 monthly for adults and $17 for kids. Lee lived in a small room at the back of the studio, putting everything into his teaching.

The college location helped him meet more people and find new students.

The school became a place where folks from different backgrounds came together to learn martial arts.

Love Crossed Racial Lines When Linda Walked Through The Door

Linda Emery joined Lee’s school in 1963 through her friend Sue Ann Kay from Garfield High School. Their relationship broke major cultural barriers during civil rights times.

Dating across races was so frowned upon they kept their relationship secret from Linda’s family. Lee also built bridges by showing his martial arts at Garfield High School in Seattle’s mainly Black Central District.

He crossed racial lines in both his love life and work.

Chinese Elders Pushed Back Against Teaching "Foreign Devils"

Old-school Chinese martial arts teachers strongly objected to Lee teaching non-Chinese students between 1963 and 1964. Asian elders saw it as betraying centuries of keeping martial arts knowledge within ethnic groups.

They called his non-Chinese students “gwai lo” (foreign devils) and pushed Lee to stop teaching them. Lee refused to give in, welcoming students of all backgrounds.

He believed: “No matter if your color is black or white, red or blue, I can still make friends with you without any barrier.”

Their Wedding Made Headlines While A Challenge Brewed

Bruce and Linda married at University Congregational Church in August 1964 with Taky Kimura as best man. Their mixed-race marriage got attention because some states still banned such unions.

While they celebrated, trouble started in Oakland. Chinese martial arts leaders sent fighter Wong Jack Man with a challenge.

The terms were clear: if Lee lost, he must stop teaching non-Chinese students or close his school. The challenge tried to force racial limits on martial arts training.

Fighting For The Right To Teach Anyone

Lee beat Wong Jack Man in Oakland in December 1964, winning his right to teach students of any race. The victory proved his approach worked but also showed him limits in traditional Wing Chun moves.

This fight pushed Lee to create his new martial arts style beyond old boundaries. His win broke down racial barriers that had limited who could learn these fighting systems for centuries.

Kimura Kept The Seattle School Going In A Grocery Store Basement

Taky Kimura took over the Seattle school when Lee moved to California in 1964. Kimura taught in his family grocery store basement, keeping Lee’s open-door policy.

He charged nothing, teaching purely for love of martial arts and to honor Lee’s memory. The school became a private club with the motto “keep numbers low but quality high.”

Kimura kept the mixed-culture environment Lee had created.

Fifty Years Of Teaching Crossed Generations And Racial Lines

The Seattle school became a model for integrated martial arts training nationwide.

The federal government eventually recognized Jeet Kune Do as a uniquely Asian American innovation that blended cultural influences.

Kimura taught until his death in 2021, training students across racial lines for over five decades.

The institute continues today under his son Andy Kimura, preserving the multicultural martial arts legacy that began in those Seattle basements.

What started as a controversial break from tradition became a lasting example of how martial arts could bring people together rather than keep them apart.

Visiting Bruce Lee’s Seattle Memorial

You can explore Bruce Lee’s Seattle legacy at the Wing Luke Museum at 719 S King St, which has a permanent Bruce Lee exhibit requiring museum admission.

Take a Chinatown-International District walking tour to see the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute’s original basement location and grab lunch at Tai Tung Restaurant (655 S King St), where Bruce’s back booth table remains.

The Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute still runs group classes today. Bruce’s gravesite is at Lake View Cemetery on 1554 15th Ave E.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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