10-year-old Ryusei is a mini Bruce Lee. Photo / Ryusei Imai - Instagram
10-year-old Ryusei is a mini Bruce Lee. Photo / Ryusei Imai - Instagram
Enter the new (10-year-old) dragon.
Japanese primary schooler Ryusei Imai has become an internet sensation after seemingly devoting his entire childhood to becoming a mini Bruce Lee.
The youngster from Nara in south-central Honshu has been watching the martial arts legend's films since he was 1 and has become afrighteningly good replica.
"I want to be as cool as Bruce Lee," Ryusei says. "I want to move as fast as him."
His likeness to the film icon is uncanny. Photo / Ryusei Imai - Instagram
Ryusei's parents often played Lee's films for their son and it was when they noticed Ryusei perfectly copying his nunchaku scenes they knew they had something special on their hands.
"The phrase Bruce Lee used to say 'don't think, feel', I can see that feeling coming out of Ryusei's face," his father Ryuji Imai says. "It's the coolest. I love Bruce Lee and so does Ryusei."
Ryusei trains every day. He stretches and does floor exercises — including one-handed push-ups on his knuckles — each morning and runs outside.
Don't be surprised if he becomes a movie star. Photo / Ryusei Imai - Instagram
He's appeared on TV in his home country and obviously draws attention at school because of his muscular frame.
"In PE class, whenever I change my clothes, my friends say 'your muscles are great'," Ryusei says.
Don't mess with him on the playground. Photo / Ryusei Imai - Instagram
He's amassed half a million followers on Instagram — including surfing legend Kelly Slater — but his dad isn't putting any pressure on his young shoulders.
"I want him to devote himself to what he loves with an honest heart," his father told Barcroft TV. "And never give up. As long as he remembers that and enjoys himself."
