James DeMile

DeMile was of mixed race ancestry. He reportedly experienced a difficult childhood in an orphanage, with a history of teenage gang fights and petty crimes.

In 1959, a year after arriving in America, Bruce Lee decided to share his martial arts knowledge. What started as informal sparring sessions between friends turned into a three-school business that cemented Bruce's pioneering approach to the art of hand-in-hand fighting.{{cite news |title=Bruce Lee's School of Hard Knocks |url=https://www.newsweek.com/bruce-lee-king-fu-martial-arts-390827 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |work=Newsweek |issue=Newsweek special edition |publisher=Newsweek Digital |date=November 15, 2015 |ref=Newsweek}}

Lee attracted DeMile into his first group of students from a public display of his talents when he attended Edison Technical School in Seattle. Looking for a volunteer in the audience, the 18/19-year-old Lee discovered DeMile, 20/21, a former Air Force heavyweight boxing champ. Bruce noticed DeMile's athletic build and called him on stage. DeMile thought it would be easy to stop Lee because his opponent was only 5'7" tall and weighed no more than 140 pounds, but Lee soon beat him. Impressed, DeMile turned to Lee after the demo to ask if he could learn from him.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S0MuDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA50|title=Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America|last=Russo|first=Charles|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0803290518|edition=reprint|page=50}}

These public demonstrations attracted a small following. The group practiced outside Ruby Chow's restaurant where Lee waited tables. After a long shift taking orders and serving customers DeMile introduced Lee to one of the three men he would later certify as an instructor, 38-year-old Taky Kimura.

In the book Disciples of the Dragon, DeMile stated that they were all dummies for Lee's training. One of the reasons Lee modified his Wing Chun techniques and created Jeet Kune Do, was because the westerners were bigger and stronger than he was and once they would learn the basics of Wing Chun, they could become a real threat to him.

James DeMile was the creator of Wing Chun Do{{cite magazine |last=Wong |first=Michael |date= March 1981 |title=Wing Chun Do and the Legacy of Bruce Lee |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=H9IDAAAAMBAJ |magazine= Black Belt |volume= 19 |issue= 3 |location= Burbank, California |publisher= Rainbow Publications |ISSN= 0277-3066 |access-date=July 11, 2024}} a modified version of Wing Chun. Virgin Australia Airlines Airlines contracted DeMile to create a program to train its in-flight cabin and ground crew staff with the tactics to disarm and immobilize a threatening passenger or terrorist. DeMile has trained United States Secret Service operatives, FBI agents, Federal marshals and police officers{{cite news |last=Watson |first=Emmett |date=March 14, 1993 |title=Former Gang Member Teaches Self-Defense To Police |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930314&slug=1690398 |work=The Seattle Times |location=Seattle, Washington |access-date=July 11, 2024}} specializing in riots.{{cite web |title=Next Evolution Martial Arts Training Course Developed By James DeMile |url=https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/about-us/media/2002/MARTIAL_ARTS_COURSE_BRUCE_LEE/|date=3 April 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421120302/https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/about-us/media/2002/MARTIAL_ARTS_COURSE_BRUCE_LEE/|archive-date=21 April 2020|website=virginaustralia.com |publisher=Virgin Australia Airlines}}

• Tao of Wing Chun Do, Bruce Lee's Chi Sao{{cite book |title=Tao of Wing Chun Do, Bruce Lee's Chi Sao |first=James |last=DeMile |year=1977|publisher=Self published |isbn=0918642035}}
• Tao of Wing Chun Do: Mind and Body in Harmony{{cite book |title=Tao of Wing Chun Do: Mind and Body in Harmony |first=James |last=DeMile |year=1988|publisher=Self published |isbn=978-0918642011}}
• Bruce Lee's 1 and 3 Inch Power Punch{{cite book |title=Bruce Lee's 1 and 3 Inch Power Punch |first=James |last=DeMile |year=1989|publisher=Self published |isbn=0918642027}}

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Category:1935 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:American Jeet Kune Do practitioners

Category:American Wing Chun practitioners

Category:People from San Francisco