Taky Kimura: The Dragon’s Legacy (2000)

Taky Kimura: The Dragon's Legacy (2000)Mellissa Tong’s Taky Kimura: The Dragon’s Legacy (2000) is a documentary about Taky Kimura, Bruce Lees first student and best friend. The documentary was produced by Quentin Lee.

This documentary tells the story about Taky Kimura and his friendship with Bruce Lee, and how the philosophy behind martial arts and Taky’s martial arts training with Bruce Lee changed Taky’s life. This is a story about emotional healing and growth.

At 90 now, Taky still teaches Jun Fan Kung-Fu in the basement of his supermarket, for free.

Taky Kimura: The Dragon’s Legacy (2000) explains how Taky Kimura was taken into the Japanese American Internment Camp before he even graduated from high school. He emerged from the camp after the war completely dispirited and a broken young man. Taky wanted to go to college, but he had no money and was Unable to find a job. He went to work for his family who began to operate a local supermarket store.

In his mid-thirties, Taky Kimura met the eighteen year old up-and-coming martial arts expert, Bruce Lee. Joining Bruce’s early kung-fu club, Taky became Bruce’s best friend. Bruce Lee and Taky Kimura would train and spar together and eventually together they found Bruce Lee’s first Jeet Kuen Do Club in the basement of Taky’s supermarket. The rest is history.