| Ip Man was the second son of a wealthy and | | | | support himself ran a school on behalf of the Hong |
| influential family. His early years were set against a | | | | Kong Restaurant Workers Association. At that time |
| backdrop of civil unrest and conflict. A bloody conflict | | | | Wing Chun was an obscure style of kung fu |
| with Japan was lost and China was forced to cede | | | | practiced by a minority. However as his school grew |
| territory and money to Japan A coup d'etat followed | | | | and his pupils took part in and usually won the many |
| three years later and for the following few years the | | | | illegal rooftop fighting competitions of the day, Ip |
| country was thrown in to further turmoil by the | | | | Man's reputation grew across the island, and students |
| "Boxer rebellion" (a bloody uprising of martial artists | | | | flocked to his school. He never advertised , feeling |
| against foreign influence in China). By the time he was | | | | that this would not give him the option of turning |
| 12 the uprising had long since been quelled and the | | | | away potential students that he thought would be |
| remaining martial artists who hadn't been put to | | | | unsuitable, but as a result of the fighting prowess of |
| death were maintaining a very low profile.It was at | | | | his students he was never short of people who |
| this time that Ip Man started to take an interest in | | | | wanted to train with him.Ip Man made a point of |
| Wing Chun, after watching classes run in the Ip family | | | | teaching Wing Chun to each student in a way that |
| clan hall by Chun Wa Shun. Although Ip Man was only | | | | was adapted to their personality, profession, |
| able to train for three years before Chan passed | | | | education and body build. One example that he gave |
| away. At 15 Ip Man moved to Hong Kong to attend | | | | was when he taught a professional hairdresser, |
| high school. Ip Man described himself as an arrogant | | | | because of her job she found it very difficult to keep |
| youngster quick to get into fights. After a fight with | | | | he elbows in, spending her entire working life with her |
| a policeman he found beating a Chinese woman, | | | | elbows pushed out. So rather than try to correct |
| during which he impressed those around by | | | | this, he taught her techniques to compensate for this |
| dispatching the much larger and older man armed | | | | poor elbow position.It was this constant adaptation |
| with a baton, he came to the attention of Leung Bik | | | | and variation in teaching that led to many disputes |
| a student of Chun Wa Shun's own teacher.Their first | | | | following his death about the "correct" way to |
| meeting went very badly. He was unaware of why | | | | perform particular techniques. In one case one of his |
| he had been summoned to meet Leung Bik, but | | | | students claimed that he was the only person Ip Man |
| turned up as requested, as the tradition in those | | | | had ever taught the "true wing chun" to. Not |
| days was that young people were expected to | | | | surprisingly most of these squables and grandiosed |
| respect the wishes of their elders. Leung Bik asked | | | | claims came after Ip Man's so that he couldnt' refute |
| Ip Man to demonstrate his Wing Chun, which Ip Man | | | | them.It was during this period in the fifties and sixties |
| was initially happy to do and then pointed out a | | | | that Ip Man trained some of his most famous |
| number of deficiencies in his skills. Ip Man was | | | | students. Amongst these was the young child actor |
| enraged and when he was finally asked to practice | | | | and son of an opera star Bruce Junfan Lee. Bruce |
| Chi Sau (a form of sparring used in Wing Chun | | | | aged twelve had been beaten up by a local gang and |
| training) thinking that he now had an opportunity to | | | | wanted to learn how to defend himself. Initially Ip |
| teach the old man a lesson, Ip Man immediately | | | | Man was reluctant to take the young boy on, and |
| threw a punch which was blocked, with Ip Man | | | | only agreed as a result of his persistance, a character |
| thrown effortlessly to one side, two more attempts | | | | trait that he was legendary for having in abundance. |
| both left Ip Man lying on the floor wondering what | | | | Bruce Lee studied with Ip Man for two years before |
| had just happened. Ip Man was furious and stormed | | | | moving back to his country of birth the united states |
| out, it was only the next day when he had calmed | | | | only having learned a small part of the Wing Chun |
| down and asked who Leung Bik was that he realised | | | | system. As there was nobody in the US qualified to |
| that he had a lot to learn from this man. He went | | | | further his training he took an interest in Karate and |
| back to see Leung Bik, apologised and asked him to | | | | taekwondo to supplement his trainning. Eventually he |
| take him on as a student. For the next four years, | | | | merged all these systems into his own hybrid system |
| until his death, Ip Man refined his Wing Chun skills | | | | called Jeet Kune Do.The story of Bruce Lee's rise to |
| under Leung Bik's guidance.In 1912 Ip Man returned to | | | | stardom is well known, within a few years of making |
| Foshan, being from a priveleged and wealthy | | | | his first martial arts film, he had become a household |
| background he didn't need to work and was able to | | | | name in the West. The fact that Lee had learned |
| devote the next few years to refining his Wing Chun | | | | Kung Fu from Ip Man created a demand for Ip Man's |
| skills and passing them on to others. Challenge | | | | students to teach wherever they went. As a result |
| matches between kung fu schools were an | | | | schools quickly sprang up across Europe and the |
| everyday reality of Chinese Martial Arts culture and | | | | United States.As is the tradition in Chinese Martial |
| Ip Man quickly acquired a reputation that made him | | | | Arts schools senior students (Si Hing's) are expected |
| the target for many of these challenges. He was | | | | to take an active role in teaching their younger "kung |
| however, able to despatch all his challengers. One of | | | | fu brothers" (Si Dais). The temptation to distort this |
| these more famous encounters involved a master of | | | | to a claim that they had taught kung fu to Bruce Lee |
| Praying Mantis, who, when laying down the challenge | | | | and gain a lot of kudos with his army of fans, proved |
| smashed his fist through a brick wall. The fight was | | | | too much for many of Ip Man's students. Hence |
| held on a stage and watched excitedly by the whole | | | | today there are many conflicting claims about who |
| town expecting an evenings entertainment, their | | | | Bruce Lee's instructor was, although non dispute the |
| evening was cut short as Ip Man managed to finish | | | | fact that he studied under Ip Man during his time in |
| the fight within a few seconds of it starting by | | | | Hong Kong. This more than any other disagreement |
| throwing his opponent off the stage and breaking | | | | has been a significant factor in the many splits and |
| three of his ribs in the process.In 1937 following the | | | | political divisions that have occurred between the |
| invasion of China by the Japanese Empire, Ip Man's | | | | schools of the Ip Man lineage.Ip Man died of throat |
| fortunes changed radically. The family wealth was | | | | cancer in 1972, almost certainly as a result of the 20 |
| confiscated and Ip Man was obliged to find a job to | | | | camel cigarretes a day that he famously smoked, |
| support himself. As a result of his reputation not only | | | | sometimes whilst stood at the side of his classes |
| for martial skills, but for his honour and honesty, Ip | | | | watching his students train. Ip Man's two sons |
| Man was offered the job of police chief for Foshan. | | | | maintain the family tradition to this day and head up |
| He carried out this job dilligently using much of his | | | | his "Hong Kong Ving Tsun Association" with satellite |
| spare time to teach wing chun, until the communists | | | | schools in every country in the world, maintaining Ip |
| took power in China in 1949. He joined the exodus of | | | | Man's no-nonsense approach to teaching a fighting |
| nearly a million Chinese to Hong Kong, to escape the | | | | system based on simplicity, speed and |
| forced reformation of Chinese culture.Ip Man spent | | | | efficiency.Daniel Land is a student of Wing Chun Kung |
| the rest of his life teaching in Hong Kong. He arrived | | | | Fu and an editor of the Martial Arts Open Directory. |
| in Hong Kong without a penny to his name, so to | | | | |