Ip Man, also known as Yip Man,[2] (Chinese: 葉問; 1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972) was a Chinese martial artist and a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun. He had several students who later became martial arts masters in their own right, the most famous among them being Bruce Lee.
Early life[edit]
Ip Man was born as Ip Kai-man (葉繼問) to Ip Oi-dor (葉靄多) and Ng Shui (吳瑞) as the third of four children. He grew up in a wealthy family in Foshan (Fatshan), Guangdong (Kwangtung), and received traditional Chinese education, alongside his elder brother Ip Kai-gak (葉繼格), elder sister Ip Wan-mei (葉允媚) and younger sister Ip Wan-hum (葉允堪).[3]
Ip started learning Wing Chun from Chan Wah-shun when he was 9[4] or 13.[5][6] Chan was 57 at the time, and Ip became Chan's 16th and last student.[7][8] Due to Chan's age, he was only able to train Ip for three years before suffering a mild stroke in 1909 and retiring back to his village. Ip learned most of his skills and techniques from Chan's second most senior student, Ng Chung-sok (吳仲素).[9]
At the age of 16, with help from his relative Leung Fut-ting, Ip moved to Hong Kong and there he attended school at St. Stephen's College, a secondary school for wealthy families and foreigners living in Hong Kong.[3] Six months after moving to Hong Kong, a classmate of Ip's named Lai told him that a friend of Lai's father who was an expert in Kung Fu techniques was living with them, and had offered to have a friendly sparring match with Ip. At the time, Ip was undefeated so he eagerly accepted the challenge. He went to Lai's house on a Sunday afternoon and, after exchanging brief pleasantries, challenged the man to a duel. The man was Leung Bik and he easily overwhelmed Ip Man. Incredulous at the speed with which he had been countered, Ip requested a second duel and was beaten again, just as soundly. Discouraged by his defeat, Ip left without a word and afterward was so depressed that he did not dare mention that he knew Kung Fu. A week later, Lai told him that the man he had fought was asking after him. Ip replied that he was too embarrassed to return, at which point Lai told him that Leung Bik had highly praised his Kung Fu techniques and that he was the son of Leung Jan, who trained Ip's master Chan Wah-shun. Ip proceeded to train with Leung Bik,[10] until Leung's death in 1911.[11]
Ip returned to Foshan in 1917 when he was 24 and became a police officer there for the Nationalist government.[3] He taught Wing Chun to several of his subordinates, friends and relatives, but did not officially run a martial arts school.
Ip was a notorious member of the Kuomintang, and according to rumors, he joined the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics in its academy in Guizhou in 1938, after which he would have returned to Foshan as an undercover intelligence officer. However, the veracity of this has been disputed.[12]
He later married Cheung Wing-sing and they had several children: sons Ip Chun and Ip Ching and daughters Ip Nga-sum (葉雅心) and Ip Nga-wun (葉雅媛).[13]
Ip went to live with Kwok Fu during the Second Sino-Japanese War and only returned to Foshan after the war, where he resumed his career as a police officer. Ip found some time to train his second son Ip Ching during the year 1949. At the end of 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party won the Chinese Civil War, as Ip was a member of the Kuomintang, Ip, his wife and their elder daughter Ip Nga-sum left Foshan for Hong Kong.[14]
Life in Hong Kong[edit]
Ip, his wife Cheung and their daughter arrived in Hong Kong through Macau in 1950. His wife and daughter would later return to Foshan to retrieve their identity cards. However, due to the closure of borders between China and Hong Kong in 1951, Ip and Cheung were separated for good, with the latter remaining in Foshun until her death.
Initially, Ip Man's teaching business was poor in Hong Kong because Ip'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 were able to start their own schools. They would go on and spar with other martial artists to compare their skills, and their victories helped to increase Ip's fame.
Around 1955, he had a mistress from Shanghai, who was referred to by his students simply as Shanghai Po (上海婆). Ip and this mistress also had an illegitimate son named Ip Siu-wah (葉少華). Meanwhile in Foshan, his wife Cheung died of cancer in 1960. Ip never formally introduced his mistress to his other sons, who eventually arrived in Hong Kong to reunite with him in 1962.[15]
In 1967, Ip and some of his students established the Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) also pronounced as "Ring Chun" Athletic Association (詠春體育會).[16][17] The main purpose of the Ving Tsun Athletic Association was to help Ip tackle his financial difficulties in Hong Kong,[18] which was due to his supposed regular use of opium.[19] One of his former students, Duncan Leung, claimed that Ip used tuition money to support his opium addiction.[20] Ip's mistress died of cancer in 1968, and their son later became a Wing Chun practitioner like his half-brothers.
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