CHINATOWN, Calif. – Bruce Lee lives. That is the motto at Eric Carr’s Jeet Kune Do class which, is held once a month in the rather non-descript building in Chinatown that Lee himself taught at more than 46 years ago.

As L.A.’s Chinatown is experiencing some significant changes, the space where Bruce Lee taught his unique brand of martial arts called Jeet Kune Do, or “way of the intercepting fist,” remains mostly unchanged. The building is used by many different groups for things like yoga and dance classes. But Carr, a second generation Lee disciple, has returned to the space to help keep Lee's legacy and philosophy going.

“People want to know, What do I do,” said Carr. “I like to take it as how to think, you know what I mean? Instead of copying Bruce, look at his thought process, and follow that.”

RELATED l Former NFL Player Finds New Life in MMA Fighting

Carr grew up in a tough neighborhood and had to learn to fight to survive. Studying with one of Lee's original students, Jerry Poteet, taught Carr that the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do could be applied to one's life on a larger scale, not just in fighting.

“Leave the ego at the door,” said Carr. “Whatever you think you know, whoever you think you are, forget about it. Jerry used to say to me. Make yourself disappear. If you go into something thinking you're like [makes big head gesture], I mean, that's not real, you know. What’s real is substance like being able to do something and working hard and achieving. This is something you can look at Bruce for, if you put your mind in your opponent's sword you die. You die by his sword. If you put it your own, you die by your own.”

Carr teaches a diverse group of students. Jamal Harper is the youngest at 16 years old. He and Carr have the tough neighborhood thing in common. That is what brought Harper here.

“My dad started so I kept coming with him,” said Harper, as he practiced some moves outside the studio. “So, then I got interested because most of the time kids would pick on me and I didn't know how to defend myself.”

Also, like Carr, Harper says the training has helped him in other areas, like improving his concentration and self-confidence, the underlying principles being to remain fluid and end the fight quickly.

Lee died tragically in 1973, but Carr says interest in his films and his teachings only seems to increase over the years.

“You look at things that he wrote, his work ethic, how hard he worked, the things that he did, the things that he overcame, it gives people something to shoot for,” said Carr. “That’s something Bruce used to say, something to shoot for.”

Although Carr has plans to develop a larger space with a wider range of training facilities, he still enjoys bringing a class here to Lee's former studio in Chinatown, if only to feel a little closer to the master martial artist who changed his life.