Dear Mr Taky Kimura, Thank you for kindly participating in this interview and for taking the time and effort in answering our questions. Every member of the Bruce Lee Tribute Forum sends their best wishes to you. I've found that you are the most liked person in the BL world and that says a lot about you as a human being. Best, Nick Clarke
1. What was it about Bruce Lee that first caught your eye and made you want to become his student ?
2. We know that Bruce liked to play jokes on people, is there one that you could kindly share with us ?
3. What should we expect from your upcoming book? Is it basically your memoirs of the years you knew Bruce? Or does it contain Jun Fan fighting techniques?
4. Is Jun Fan JKD particularly practical for females? Did Bruce have many female students? Did any of them stick with it long enough to become advanced students or reach instructor level?
5. How did Bruce's style change between Seattle & L.A? Was his martial art constantly evolving from the time you first met Bruce to the end of his life? Was Bruce constantly adding techniques, as well as refining what he'd already learned?
6. Have you met other martial artists who've made as strong an impression on you as Bruce Lee? If so, who, if not, what made Bruce so unique as a martial artist?
7. Where do you stand on the whole original JKD (Jan Fan JKD)/JKD concepts issue?
8. How many of the Longbeach Internationals tournaments did you attend with Bruce? Do you remember which years you helped Bruce with his demonstrations there? Were you nervous being centerstage with Bruce at such big public events? Did the two of you rehearse your demonstrations much? Also, did you spend much time with Ed Parker? What kind of an impression did he make on you?
9. Was there a definite plan to continue & finish filming Game of Death? Can you confirm that Bruce still wanted you to fly to Hong Kong so he could finish filming Game of Death? Was there a date set for you to do so, were flight arrangements made? How did you feel about the idea of playing an onscreen opponent for Bruce?
10. What was it like for you seeing Bruce's image everywhere after he'd passed away? You knew Bruce, of course, as a friend & teacher, a real person; was it strange for you initially seeing his "king of Kung Fu" kind of image on T-shirts, posters, magazine covers, etc. after he died & started to become as much myth as man? It's amazing to me that I still see Bruce Lee T-shirts at stores as common as K-Mart or Target; what do you think has kept people interested in him after all these years?
11. Did Bruce meet Hidetaka Nishiyama? The shotokan karate master Bruce was initially impressed by when he saw Nishiyama at a demo in Seattle? Were you with Bruce when he watched this demo? Did Bruce introduce himself to & talk with him?
12. What did Bruce tell you about his fight with Wong Jak Man? I personally found Wong Jak Man's version very unconvincing, perhaps you can offer some clarification.
13. Was Bruce ever difficult to get along with for you? we've all heard Bruce could be a bit cocky, that people sometimes saw him as egotistical, and, by his own admission, had a violent temper. You knew him from his late teens to the end of his life, did you notice him maturing and/or mellowing much as he aged?
14. Did you know Brandon Lee well? What was he like as a person?
15. What did you think of the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story?
16. Where abouts is your store in Seattle? I tried to find it but could not. I thought it would be in the international district but could not find it. Ive not been to Seattle since 2002 so maybe it was not there then?
17. How is the petition for a statue of Bruce in Seattle coming along?
18. Do you believe Bruce discarded trapping before he passed away or did he still practice it? How important was the skill of trapping to Bruce?
19. What did you think of the book "Unsettled Matters" by Tom Bleecker?
20. Do you know of any footage of Bruce that the public has not seen? It is said that Dan Inosanto has some?
21. Rumor has it that Bruce was a very good magician. Did you see him do any of his magic?
22. Do you remember the letter Bruce wrote to you from Astor Hotel in 1967/68...was he going to a MA event there or was he promoting Green Hornet...prolly maybe just saying hello to some friends perhaps ?
23. You were the best man at Bruce's wedding. Could you please tell us about his wedding day when he married Linda? Was it a small event? Was there a big celebration?
24. Are you still the caretaker for Bruce and Brandons graves? Some have said that Bruces body is not buried there. You were at the Seattle service. Your thoughts on this? Thank you.
25. Lastly, what is your fondest memory of Bruce?
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