Ip Man - the Man who Taught Bruce Lee Kung Fu

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