James DeMile

James W. DeMile (Born 1935) is an American martial artist and author. He was one of Bruce Lee's original students.[1][2] He met Lee in 1959, as they both attended Edison Technical School and became early disciples and started training with him.[3] In 1963, DeMile appeared in Bruce Lee’s only book, The Philosophical Art of Self Defense.[1] He is an inductee in the AMAA Who’s Who in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame[1] and Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame.[4] He also authored the book of Bruce Lee's 1 and 3 Inch Power Punch and founded his own system Wing Chun Do derived from Jeet Kune Do, where he continues to teach some of Lee's early techniques and philosophies.[5]

James DeMile
Born1935
San Francisco
StyleNon-Classical Kung-Fu, Boxing
Teacher(s)Bruce Lee

Biography

DeMile is of mixed race ancestry. He reportedly experienced a difficult childhood in an orphanage, with a history of teenage gang fights and petty crimes.[6] He started boxing in the Air Force and trained hand to hand combat in the Special Forces Combative program in Fort Lewis from 1985 to 1986.[1] He was Deputy Sheriff with the Ottawa County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department until 2005.[5]

The Seattle Period

In April 1959, Bruce Lee's parents decided to send him to the United States. He moved to Seattle, Washington in 1959 to continue his high school education and started to teach martial arts. Lee called what he taught Jun Fan Gung Fu (literally Bruce Lee's Kung Fu).[1] It was basically his approach to Wing Chun.[7]

Lee started teaching friends in Seattle, starting with Jesse Glover and DeMile joined shortly after.[8][9] DeMile went back to school at Edison Technical School after being arrested for a petty crime, which according to him was a definite turning point in his life. Not only because of his meeting Bruce Lee, but because of his new found interest in psychology.[10] One day DeMile joined a crowd of spectators to watch the sharply dressed Chinese student perform a peculiar martial arts demonstration. The student was Lee and he billed the demonstration as “deadly Asian fighting techniques", DeMile was amused and skeptical.

At one point during the performance, Lee feared he was losing the crowds interest, so he called DeMile 
“You look like you can fight,” Lee said. “Hit me as hard as you can.” DeMile weighed close to one hundred pounds more than Lee. Being on probation at the time, DeMile was worried he might hurt him badly and get in trouble, but finally obliged. He threw a jab, but at the same moment, Bruce redirected the punch and trapped his hands using a lop sau and collapsed his arms on his chest. DeMile recounted years later:

“I felt myself being jolted as he flicked my jab aside, caught my other arm, and in flowing motion planted both arms crossed on my chest like I was dead. In an act of panic I tried to leap back and away from him. No matter how I moved, backwards or side to side, he stayed with me while maintaining pressure on my locked arms."

Bruce Lee then began tapping on DeMile’s head asking, “Hello? Is anybody home?” Humbled DeMile quickly realized he could learn from Lee.[6]

In the book Disciples of the Dragon, DeMile stated that they we’re all dummies for Lee’s training. One of the reasons Lee modified his Wing Chung techniques and created Jeet Kune Do, was because the westerners were bigger and stronger than him and once they would learn the basics of Wing Chung, they could become a real threat to him.[2][11]

Instructor lineage

Ip Man → Bruce Lee → James DeMile [12][13]

Written works
  • Tao of Wing Chun Do: Mind and Body in Harmony
  • DeMile, James W. (1989). Bruce Lee's 1 and 3 Inch Power Punch. Unspecified vendor. ISBN 0918642027.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1967 The Last Adventure N/A The Last Adventure on IMDb[4]
1993 Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon Himself The Curse of the Dragon on IMDb

References
  1. "BRUCE LEE VS PRO FIGHTERS: "HE COULD BEAT US ALL, WE HAD NO CHANCE!"". Wing Chung News. 18 December 2018.
  2. Bax, Paul (2008). Disciples of the Dragon: Reflections from the Students of Bruce Lee. Outskirts Pr. ISBN 1432722239.
  3. Paul Bax (2004). Bruce Lee's First Generation. Black Belt Magazine. p. 99.
  4. "Grandmaster James W. DeMile". UWaterloo. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  5. "Ambrose Academy of Wing Chun Do". Ambrose Academy of Wing Chun Do. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  6. Russo, Charles (2016). Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America (reprint ed.). U of Nebraska Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0803290518.
  7. "Wing Chung Gung Fu". Hardcore JKD. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  8. Bruce with Jesse Glover and James Demile. Pinterest. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. Rare Pictures: Jesse Glover and James DeMile 1961. Pinterest. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  10. "Prison, Street Punk to Student". JwDeMile. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. Tackett, Tim (2004). "Observing The Differences Between Stages In The Evolution Of Bruce Lee's Martial Art". The Jeet Kune Do Wednesday Night Group. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
  12. Tackett, Tim. "Chinese Boxing - Jeet Kune Do Lineage". The Jeet Kune Do Wednesday Night Group. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  13. "James W DeMile". eWingChun. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

Bibliography
  • Thomas, Bruce (2008). Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit. Pan Macmillan. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-283-07066-2.
  • Glover, Jesse R. (1976). Bruce Lee Between Win Chun and Jeet Kune Do. Unspecified vendor. ISBN 0-9602328-0-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Russo, Charles (2016). Striking Distance: Bruce Lee and the Dawn of Martial Arts in America. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803290518.
  • Thomas, Bruce (1994). Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit : a Biography. Frog Books. ISBN 978-1-883319-25-0.
  • Bax, Paul (2008). Disciples of the Dragon: Reflections from the Students of Bruce Lee. Outskirts Pr. ISBN 1432722239.
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