UPDATE (27-01-2011):
We have attended the Memorial in Los Angeles. It was good to see everyone and to be able to talk about the loss of Sifu. There are stories told, slide shows and videos screened and Linda Lee has also commemorated Sifu in a speech.
Sifu Walk On!
Ted and his sister were born in Hang Kong, to the proud parents of Poi and Wei Wong . His father a native Californian, and graduate from Cal Berkeley school of Engineering. His mother a home coming queen from the prestigious University of Chong-Sun in Canton, China.
In 1953, his family moved back to San Francisco, California, where they stayed with his Auntie Betsy Wong Lau. Uncle Lau owned the Chinese newspaper publication. Ted got a part time job in that company, worked as a filing clerk. His job was to file back the metal type punch; Chinese characters that writers pulled out from the slots, to print the writing for the printing press. That job trained him be a patient man; to worked alone in any place and on any task
A year or
so later, his father employed by the US Navy as a civil engineer; moved the family
down at San Diego, California. Ted attended high school and college there until
he was drafted into the army. Soon after, he was stationed in Germany. During his
two and half years stationed in the army; he somehow was able to buy a car, as
only officers could. With that little VW, he toured Europe with friends whenever
vacation time allowed, countries like Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, etc.
After his discharged from the army, he shipped the little car back to the USA.
He drove from New York to San Francisco in three days to visit his Auntie Betsy
and Uncle Lau before he returned home in San Diego. The little car took him to
school; took him to work, took him sky diving, took Krina out on a date; took
Krina to his Chinatown JKD school where he taught Krina a few JKD moves; and
later took his children to school.
The family lived on the second floor of a Chinatown
apartment in Los Angeles. Bruce and Linda visited Ted every time they came back
from Hong Kong. One time, Bruce came by himself and the two did a little work out
on the balcony, the building shook. Next thing they knew, the neighbor knocked
on the door and inquired what's happening. They laughed so hard. When Ted's children
turned school age, Ted moved the family out of Chinatown. Herb Jackson helped Ted
put up the steel structure in his back yard to hang punching bags. They worked out
of ten in the 1970s and 1980s. He taught a student here and there, and a few of
workshops.
When you think life is going the way you wanted, it throws you a curve
ball. During that period, Ted's work place had sold, merged and then closed down. He had a choice of moving with the company to another state or
retired. Ted chose retirement. He began to teach Martial Arts-JKD. Ted was a kind
and generous soul. Since his retirement, he had more time to teach JKD. His fees were barely enough to cover his traveling expenses.
A humble, generous, and honest man; some may say to the point of being taken
advantage of. One funny story: this guy gave him a check after the workshop. He
tried to cash it the next day, the check bounced. He tried again the next week,
insufficient funds. The next week again, insufficient funds ... The fifth week,
he cashed the check. He was so happy, as soon as he got home and yelled out,
"I got it!"
Sometimes, private lessons, turned into free lessons because
the person said, 'I am poor'. It wasn't about the money, he was happy to teach.
People wanted to learn JKD and Ted had the love for teaching it. He saw the JKD
teaching out there was wrong. He saw the meaning was being lost if he's not correcting
it. His passion for the art later turned into his mission. He traveled all over
the world to teach JKD as his teacher, Bruce Lee, had taught him. Ted wanted to
show the younger generation the right way of doing JKD. Jeet Kune Do enriched
his life. His mission was for the preservation of the art. It enabled him traveled
al! over the globe to share his knowledge and experiences and to teach JKD the right way.
He was happy to see some of his
students catch on, not only the fighting techniques, but also other aspects of
the JKD teaching like: developing good moral standard, ethical conducts, honest,
integrity, and respect for ethers. Thank you for supporting him through the years,
on which, make it possible for him to perpetuate Jeet Kune Do as he had learned
from his SiFu Bruce Lee. Let his teachings continue to flourish onto the future.
His spirit lives on.
"TED, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED'!!" -Krina
