Gene on Bruce:
"I met Bruce Lee on the set of the Green Hornet when the stunt coordinator Benny Dobbins called me and told me he needed me to take some falls. He also mentioned there was a guy there named Bruce Lee who was unbelievably athletic and stealing all the scenes from the star because he was doing ALL the fighting. Benny said he couldn't believe this guy, he was kicking like a jumping bean! You have to understand; they had never seen anything like Bruce Lee s fighting style in showbiz yet.
"When I got to the set Benny pointed Bruce out and told me to go put him in a headlock or something Well, I m a good employee and I always listen to the boss, so I went over to grab Bruce and he starts making all those crazy noises he became famous for. As a joke, I picked him up and put him on my shoulder in a fireman's carry kind of thing, then I ran down the length of the set and back again. Bruce says "put me down or I'll kill you". So I run down the set again and he says, "put me down" and I say "I can't put you down or you'll kill me". After that I sat down and talked to my boss and the other crew members for a couple minutes with him up on my shoulder. He finally crawled off, we all had a good laugh, and we went and shot our scenes.
"Bruce called me for a few shows because he liked the way I took falls for him - being a judo man made me pretty good at breakfalls. We ended up becoming friends and would work out together and teach each other techniques. I liked working out with Bruce, but I kept getting sick from that stinky incense he burned in his gym. I told him I wouldn't go there because his dojo smelled worse than a Chinese laundry house. Of course, I was only kidding with him, and once Bruce learned that my teasing was all in good fun he started to joke around too. Bruce came to my dojo after that. He was a great guy, and I loved him.
"Bruce loved to learn grappling, he ate it up! He said that people would never go for it in movies or TV because the fights are over too fast and most of the good stuff was hidden from view. He said they wanted to see fancy kicking, acrobatics, and weapons -- he was a savvy showman who knew how to give 'em exactly what they wanted. I wish he could be around now to see how well grappling is doing these days. I remember one time he kicked me really hard. I remember thinking it was a good thing he only wore a size 6 shoe instead of a 14 like me, otherwise that kick would have sent me to China! He was strong for his size, lemme tell ya.
"He used to take me to these authentic Chinese restaurants that had really weird looking food that I just couldn t bring myself to eat it. I don't eat anything that doesn't have horns. He used to tease me about it - which was progress because he used to get offended at my ribbing when we first started hanging out (especially that Chinese laundry bit). He had two students that I remain good friends with to this day, probably because they don't make me eat that weird food. Danny Inosanto, who is every bit as good as Bruce was if not better, and Richard Bustillo. Richard has carried on Bruce's philosophy of cross training and peak physical condition in order to become the best fighter you can.
"I miss both Bruce and Brandon and wish they were still around today."
