HOW KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR MET BRUCE LEE

AND DISCOVERED JEET KUNE DO He ducked his head as he walked through the door. When he stood up straight, his head almost touched the ceiling. Everyone in the office paused as the well-known figure nonchalantly strolled into the display room to browse through our books. "He's tall!" I murmured.

- M. UVEHARA

"Are you Lew Alcindor?" I asked. He nodded sheepishly.

I felt foolish afterward. How could he be anyone else? But then, what else could I have said to start a conversation? I'd seen him many times on television as he led the UCLA basketball team to the NCAA championship, but he didn't seem awesome until I was face to face with him. (Back then, he was known as Lew Alcindor, but he later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) The basketball star had just returned to Los Angeles from New York to finish his last year at UCLA. He'd studied aikido in New York from Yoshimitsu Vamada and wanted to continue with the martial arts.

"Do you have any book on tai chi?" he asked.

"Sorry, we don't," I answered. "But if you'd like to know about any Chinese martial arts, I know someone who can help you."

"Who is he?" 

"Have you heard of Bruce Lee?" I asked. 

"He was Kato on The Green Hornet TV series." 

"No, I've never watched those shows," Abdul-Jabbar responded. I said that if he wanted to meet Lee, he should call me again. 

THE BALLER

Later, during a visit with Lee at his Culver City, California, home, I discovered that the martial artist didn't know about the basketball player, either. "You mean to say that you haven't heard of Lew Alcindor?" I asked. "Gosh! Everyone has heard of him. He's the most sought-after college athlete in the country right now." "How would I know him?" Lee replied. "I don't know anything about basketball, baseball or football. The only time I ever got close to an American sport was when I had to walk across a football field when I was attending the University of Washington." After a long pause, Lee looked at me and asked, "What is so special about this Alcindor guy?" "He'll be the highest-paid athlete coming out of college," I replied.