Martial Arts Family Tree

Bruce Lee

Bruce, originally known as Jun Fan Lee, was born in San Francisco in 1940. At the time of his birth, his parents, both opera singers, were on tour with the Chinese Opera. The Lee family returned to Hong Kong in 1941, where Bruce Lee grew up.

Bruce Lee was a child actor who appeared in over 20 films. His youth was spent in street fights in Hong Kong. After studying various martial arts, he began training in Wing Chun Kung Fu at the age of 13 under the direction of renowned Wing Chun master Yip Man. By the age of 18, he had defeated a boxing champion and become a formidable fighter in the bloody alleyways.

Leaving Hong Kong at 18, Bruce Lee came to the United States, working in Seattle, Washington, at a family friend's restaurant. After completing high school, he earned a degree in philosophy from the University of Washington. In 1960, he began teaching Kung Fu to Americans who knew little or nothing about it in Seattle, and soon opened his first school, the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Two more schools followed in Oakland and Los Angeles. His students included prominent figures such as Dan Inosanto, Steve Marquin, Karem Abdul Cabbar, and James Caburn. He met Linda Emery during this period, marrying her in 1964. They had two children, Brandon and Shannon. By the mid-1960s, Bruce Lee was developing his own martial art, Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee grounded his art in a philosophical foundation and did not follow long-established martial traditions. Instead, he embraced the ideas of simplicity, immediacy, and freedom.

When he returned to Hong Kong with his family, he starred in the film Big Boss, which became a major hit, shattering all previous box office records in Asia. He then starred in Fist of Fury, where he extensively showcased his unique style. Bruce Lee, who became a major star with the films he shot in Asia, became very popular in the US and received numerous film offers from Hollywood.

In his third film, The Way of the Dragon, seven-time American Karate Champion Chuck Norris played the supporting role, while Bruce Lee played the leading role. The famous fight scene, filmed in the Colosseum, featured Kung Fu and Karate fighting for supremacy. In 1972, he founded his own production company, Concorde Pictures. While filming his fourth film, Game of Death, American producers offered him a starring role. Deciding to take up the offer, Bruce Lee abandoned the film midway through his filming to star in the Hollywood title role in the Sino-American co-production Enter the Dragon. The film, for which Bruce Lee created the fight choreography, has become a global landmark in martial arts films.

Bruce Lee recently suffered a serious back injury during training. Doctors advised him to refrain from martial arts and remain in bed. Bruce Lee, who was experiencing one of the worst periods of his life, remained on his back in bed for six months. However, during this time, he never gave up his passion for martial arts and began writing his book, "Tao of Jeet Kune Do." He was found dead suddenly and suspiciously in 1973; suspicious because he was found to have no health problems. The entire Hong Kong community was plunged into mourning after Bruce Lee's death. Linda Lee completed the Tao of Jeet Kune Do book after his death. The film Game of Death was also cut short by his death.

Dan Inosanto

He was one of Bruce Lee's four most senior students, his closest friend, and also Bruce Lee's Kali teacher. You will recognize him from the fight scenes in Game of Death, where he shared the same scene with Bruce Lee.

Dan Inosanto is a Filipino-American. Despite his family background in Filipino martial arts (Kali, Eskrima), he was not content with this and studied under many great masters. The most significant change in Inosanto's life was his encounter with the Chinese martial arts master Bruce Lee. He became a student of Bruce Lee and initially began learning Chinese martial arts. Later, when Bruce Lee developed his own martial art, Jeet Kune Do, he began studying Jeet Kune Do and became one of Bruce Lee's highest-ranking students. Dan Inosanto is a master of Silat (a Malaysian and Indonesian fighting system), Muay Thai, and Thai Boxing. He holds a 6th dan black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). He learned the art of BJJ from Rickson Gracie, a member of the system's founding family. Inosanto is a master of many martial arts and is considered a legend in the martial arts. Many of Dan Inosanto's students have also produced the majority of fight scenes in Hollywood films.

Ron Balicki

An expert in fighting systems from all over the world, Balicki is considered one of the world's greatest instructors, particularly Bruce Lee's martial art, Jeet Kune Do. Sifu-Guro Ron Balicki, a 35-year student and son-in-law of Dan Inosanto, travels to Turkey every year to teach. He has a 45-year experience in martial arts. Ron Balicki is a Full Instructor in Kali, Silat, and Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto. He is one of the top students of Edgar Sulite, founder of Lameco Escrima, and one of the top students of Yori Nakamura, the world's number one ranked Shooto Wrestling champion, and he teaches in all of these disciplines. In addition to these disciplines, Balicki also teaches Thai Boxing, Savate, Wing Chun Kung Fu, and Latigo y daga (a Filipino martial art). He has participated in numerous cage fights in Japan and has trained special forces, the military, secret services, and counter-terrorism units in various countries, including the United States and France. The master, who teaches at the Shaolin Monastery in China, has also gained a prominent place in the film industry as a choreographer and actor. He is the trainer of world-renowned Hollywood and film stars such as Steven Seagal, Aaron Eckhart, Lucy Liu, Milla Jovovich, Ellen Holman, Rosa Salazar, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Bren Foster.

Sifu-Guro Ron Balicki has written numerous articles for magazines worldwide and is also the author of a book, Jeet Kune Do: The Principles of a Complete Fighter.

Adnan Erzen

Adnan Erzen is the founder and head coach of Sifu, Red Corner Martial Arts Academy, İMA Academy (Istanbul Martial Arts), and Jeet Kune Do Turkey.

He began his sports career in karate in 1992. He achieved various successes in karate in Türkiye and abroad. He also served on the National Karate Team.

He graduated from Kırkpınar Physical Education and Sports School, Trakya University, between 2006 and 2010.

He trained in various martial arts and later studied Jeet Kune Do Concepts, Kali (Filipino martial arts), Silat (Indonesian and Malaysian martial arts), Shooto Wrestling, MMA, and BJJ.

He received extensive training in these disciplines both domestically and internationally to specialize in these disciplines.

He studied under Dan Inosanto, one of the few top-level disciples of Bruce Lee.

He has been receiving training from Ron Balicki, a martial arts master and well-established actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, stunt coordinator, and director in the Hollywood action film industry, since 2015.

Sifu – Guro is the Turkish representative and head coach of Ron Balicki's MARS (Martial Arts Research Systems) organization.