Yip Man 葉問


Yip Man
Born 1 October 1893
Foshan, Guangdong, China
Died Hong Kong
2 December 1972 (aged 79)
Throat cancer
Other names Ip Man, Yip Kai-man (葉繼問)
Residence Hong Kong
Nationality Chinese
Style Wing Chun
Occupation Martial arts teacher
Notable students Bruce Lee
Yip Man (1 October 1893 - 2 December 1972), also spelled as Ip Man,[1] and also known as Yip Kai-Man, was a Chinese martial artist. He had several students who later became martial arts teachers in their own right, including martial arts film actor Bruce Lee.

Yip Man
Traditional Chinese 葉問
Simplified Chinese 叶问
[show]Transcriptions
alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 葉繼問
Simplified Chinese 叶继问

Contents

[hide]
1 Early life
2 Life in Hong Kong
3 Death and legacy
4 Popular culture
5 Martial arts lineage
6 References
Early life

Yip was born to Yip Oi-dor and Ng Shui, and was the third of four children. He grew up in a wealthy family in Foshan, Guangdong, and received a traditional Chinese education. His older brother was Yip Kai-gak, his older sister was Yip Wan-mei and his younger sister was Yip Wan-hum.[2]

Yip started learning Wing Chun from Chan Wah-shun when he was 13. Since Chan was 70 at the time, Yip was Chan's last student.[3][4] Due to his teacher's age, Yip learned most of his skills and techniques from Chan's second oldest disciple: Ng Chung-sok. Chan died three years after Yip's training started and one of his dying wishes was to have Ng continue teaching Yip.

At the age of 15, Yip moved to Hong Kong with help from his relative Leung Fut-ting. One year later, he attended school at St. Stephen's College -- a secondary school for wealthy families and foreigners living in Hong Kong.[2] During Yip's time at St. Stephen's, he saw a foreign police officer beating a woman and Yip intervened.[2] The officer attempted to attack Yip, but Yip struck him down and ran to school with his classmate. Yip's classmate later told an older man who lived in his apartment block. The man met with Yip and asked what martial art Yip practiced. The man told Yip that his forms were "not too great".[2] The man challenged Yip's Wing Chun against the man in chi sao (a form of training that involves controlled attack and defence). Yip saw this as an opportunity to prove that his abilities were good, but was defeated by the man after a few strikes. Yip's opponent revealed himself to be Leung Bik, Chan Wah-shun's senior and son of Chan's teacher, Leung Jan. After that encounter, Yip continued learning from Leung Bik.

Yip returned to Foshan when he was 24 and became a policeman.[2] He taught Wing Chun to several of his subordinates, friends and relatives, but did not officially run a martial arts school. Some of his better known informal students were Lok Yiu, Chow Kwong-yue (周光裕), Kwok Fu (郭富), Lun Kah (倫佳), Chan Chi-sun (陳志新) and Lui Ying (呂應). Among them, Chow Kwong-yue was said to be the best, but he eventually went into commerce and stopped practicing martial arts. Kwok Fu and Lun Kah went on to teach students of their own and they passed down art of Wing Chun in the Foshan and Guangdong region. Chan Chi-sun and Lui Ying went to Hong Kong later but neither of them accepted any students. Yip went to live with Kwok Fu during the Second Sino-Japanese War and only returned to Foshan after the war, where he continued his career as a police officer. Yip left Foshan for Hong Kong in 1949 after the Communists established the People's Republic of China on the Chinese mainland.

Life in Hong Kong

Yip was known to be an opium addict,[5] and he obtained opium illegally from the black market. The cost of opium was considered high at that time and Yip needed a dependable source of income to support his opium smoking habit and his family members, who were still living in Foshan.[6] So he opened a martial arts school to teach Wing Chun. Initially, business was poor because Yip's students typically stayed for only a couple of months. He moved his school twice: first to Castle Peak Road in Sham Shui Po and then to Lee Tat Street (利達街) in Yau Ma Tei. By then, some of his students had attained proficiency in Wing Chun and they were able to start their own schools. Some of his students and descendants sparred with other martial artists to compare their skills and their victories helped to increase Yip's reputation. In 1967, Yip and some of his students established the Hong Kong Wing Chun Athletic Association (香港詠春拳體育會).

Death and legacy

Yip died on 2 December 1972, from throat cancer.[7]

Yip's legacy is the global practice of Wing Chun. Some of his notable students include: Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Leung Ting, Chu Shong-tin, Wong Shun Leung, Wong Kiu (王喬), Yip Bo-ching (葉步青), William Cheung, Hawkins Cheung, Bruce Lee (李小龍), Wong Long, Wong Chok, Law Bing, Lee Shing, Ho Kam-ming, Moy Yat, Duncan Leung, Derek Fung Ping-bor (馮平波), Chris Chan Shing (陳成), Victor Kan, Stanley Chan, Chow Sze-chuen, Tam Lai, Lee Che-kong, Kang Sin-sin, Simon Lau, his nephew Lo Man-kam, and his sons Ip Ching and Ip Chun.

Yip also left behind a written history of Wing Chun.[8] Many artifacts of his life are on display in the "Yip Man Tong" museum in Foshan, China.[9]

Popular culture

Ip Man, a film loosely based on the life of Yip Man, was released in theaters in 2008 and starred Donnie Yen as the martial arts master. The film takes a number of liberties with Yip's life, often for dramatic effect. Yip's oldest son Ip Chun appears in the film and served as a consultant for the film. The film focuses on Yip's life during the 1930s to the 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The film is the first to be based on the life of Yip. The sequel to the film focuses on Yip's beginnings in Hong Kong and his disciples—including Bruce Lee.

Another film based on Yip Man's biography called The Legend is Born – Ip Man was released in theaters in June 2010. Herman Yau directed the film and it starred Dennis To as Yip Man. Ip Chun makes a special appearance in the film as Leung Bik.

Amid a surge of Yip Man-related film projects in production, Donnie Yen told the Chinese media in March 2010 that after Ip Man 2, he will no longer play the Wing Chun master anymore. He stated, "I would never ever touch any films related to Ip Man. This will be my final film (Ip Man 2) on the subject. Whenever something becomes a success, everyone would jump on the bandwagon, this is very frightening. Did you know how many Ip Man films are in production? Under such condition, we would not progress, it'd only lead to over-saturation of the subject matter."[10]

Yu Chenghui played Yip Man in The Legend of Bruce Lee,[11] a 2008 TV series based on the biography of Bruce Lee who was one of Yip's students.

Martial arts lineage



Yip Man's gravestone
See also: Branches of Wing Chun
Wing Chun Lineage according to Yip Man[8][12]

Ng Mui (one of the Five Elders of Shaolin Monastery)
Yim Wing-chun (taught Wing Chun by Ng for self-defence[citation needed])
Leung Bok-chau (Yim's husband)
Leung Lan-kwai
Wong Wah-bo (taught the pole form by Leung Yee-tai)
Leung Yee-tai (added his pole form to the system he learnt from Wong)
Leung Jan (also taught his son Leung Bik)
Chan Wah-shun
Yip Man (also learned from Ng Chung-sok and Leung Bik)
Known students: See Branches of Wing Chun
References

^ As written in Romanised text in his passport which is on display in the Yip Man Tong museum in Foshan in China.
^ a b c d e Title: Yip Man - Portrait of a Kung Fu Master, Page:3, Author(s): Ip Ching and Ron Heimberger, Paperback: 116 pages, Publisher: Cedar Fort (23 January 2001), Language: English, ISBN 1-55517-516-3, ISBN 978-1-55517-516-0
^ Sam kwok Wing Chun – Yip Man Family Tree
^ Mastering Wing Chun, By Samuel Kwok
^ Title: Wing Chun Warrior, Author: Ken Ing, Page: 109, Publisher: Blacksmith Books (16 June 2010), Language: English, ISBN 988-17742-2-5, ISBN 978-988-17742-2-4
^ Title: Wing Chun Warrior, Author: Ken Ing, Page: 110, Publisher: Blacksmith Books (16 June 2010), Language: English, ISBN 988-17742-2-5, ISBN 978-988-17742-2-4
^ Title: Complete Wing Chun: The Definitive Guide to Wing Chun's History and Traditions, Author(s): ~ Robert Chu, Rene Ritchie,Y. Wu, Page:9, Paperback: 160 pages, Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; 1st edition (15 June 1998), Language: English, ISBN 0-8048-3141-6, ISBN 978-0-8048-3141-3
^ a b external copy of the History of Wing Chun Written by Yip Man.
^ Ip Man tong virtual tour
^ "Donnie Yen Has Had Enough of Ip Man - Wu-Jing.org". Guangzhou Daily. 8 March 2010. http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archi ... p-Man.html. Retrieved 4 Feb 2011. "Donnie Yen ... has made up his mind, "After Ip Man 2, I would never ever touch any films related to Ip Man. This will be my final film on the subject. Whenever something becomes a success, everyone would jump on the bandwagon, this is very frightening. Did you know how many Ip Man films are in production? Under such condition, we would not progress, it'd only lead to over-saturation of the subject matter.""
^ "Ip Man (Character)". http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0143340/. Retrieved 4 Feb 2011. "TV episode, Played by Cheng-Hui Yu (as Ye Wen)"
^ History and Philosophy of Ip Man including family tree

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yip_Man