Ip Man facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ip Man
Ip Man
Born	Ip Kai-man (葉繼問) (1893-10-01)1 October 1893 Fatshan (Foshan), Kwangtung (Guangdong), Qing China
Died	2 December 1972(1972-12-02) (aged 79) Mong Kok, Kowloon, British Hong Kong
Native name	葉問
Other names	Yip Man Yip Kai-man Ye Wen
Residence	British Hong Kong
Nationality	Republic of China
Ethnicity	Chinese
Style	Wing Chun
Teacher(s)	Chan Wah-shun Ng Chung-sok Leung Bik
Rank	Grandmaster
Years active	1916–1972
Occupation	Martial artist
Spouse	Cheung Wing-sing ​ ​ (m. 1916; died 1960)​
Children	Ip Chun (son) Ip Ching (son) Ip Nga-sum (daughter) Ip Nga-wun (daughter) Ip Siu-wah (son), with Shanghai Po
Notable relatives	Ip Oi-dor (father) Ng Shui (mother)
Notable students	Bruce Lee Leung Sheung Wong Shun-leung Ip Chun Ip Ching Victor Kan William Cheung Moy Yat Lo Man-kam Leung Ting Chu Shong-tin
Notable club(s)	Ving Tsun Athletic Association
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	葉問
Simplified Chinese	叶问
Cantonese Yale	Yihp Mahn
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yè Wèn Bopomofo ㄧㄝˋ ㄨㄣˋ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Yeh Wenn Wade–Giles Yeh⁴ Wên⁴ Tongyong Pinyin Yè Wùn IPA [jê wə̂n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yihp Mahn IPA [jìːp̚ mɐ̀n] Jyutping Jip6 Man6 Canton Romanization Yip6 Men6
Ip Kai-man
Traditional Chinese	葉繼問
Simplified Chinese	叶继问
Cantonese Yale	Yihp Gai Mahn
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yè Jìwèn Bopomofo ㄧㄝˋ ㄐㄧˋ ㄨㄣˋ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Yeh Jih Wenn Wade–Giles Yeh⁴ Chi⁴-wên⁴ Tongyong Pinyin Yè Jì-wùn IPA [jê tɕîwə̂n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yihp Gai Mahn IPA [jìːp̚ kɐ̄imɐ̀n] Jyutping Jip6 Gai3 man6 Canton Romanization Yip6 Gei3-men6

Ip Man, also known as Yip Man, was a famous Hong Kong martial artist. He was a grandmaster of the martial art called Wing Chun. Ip Man was born on October 1, 1893, and passed away on December 2, 1972. He taught many students who later became martial arts masters themselves. His most famous student was Bruce Lee.

Ip Man's Early Life

Ip Man was born as Ip Kai-man in Foshan, Guangdong, China. His parents were Ip Oi-dor and Ng Shui. He was the third of four children in a wealthy family. He received a traditional Chinese education. His older siblings were Ip Kai-gak and Ip Wan-mei, and he had a younger sister named Ip Wan-hum.

Learning Wing Chun

Ip Man started learning Wing Chun when he was about 9 or 13 years old. His first teacher was Chan Wah-shun, who was 57 at the time. Ip became Chan's last student. Chan could only teach Ip for three years before he became ill and retired. Ip learned most of his Wing Chun skills from Ng Chung-sok, who was Chan's second-best student.

Moving to Hong Kong

At 16, Ip Man moved to Hong Kong with help from a relative. He attended St. Stephen's College, a school for wealthy families. One day, a classmate told Ip about a friend of his father who was a Kung Fu expert. Ip, who had never been defeated, eagerly agreed to a friendly sparring match.

The expert was Leung Bik, and he easily defeated Ip Man. Ip was surprised and asked for another match, but he was beaten again. Feeling discouraged, Ip left without saying a word. A week later, his classmate told him that Leung Bik had praised his Kung Fu skills. Ip also learned that Leung Bik was the son of Leung Jan, who had taught Ip's own master, Chan Wah-shun. Ip Man then trained with Leung Bik until Leung's death in 1911.

Returning to Foshan

Ip Man returned to Foshan in 1916 when he was 24. He became a police officer there. During this time, he taught Wing Chun to friends, relatives, and people he worked with. He didn't open a formal school yet. Some of his notable students from this period included Lok Yiu and Kwok Fu. Kwok Fu and Lun Kah later helped spread Wing Chun in the Foshan area.

Ip Man married Cheung Wing-sing, and they had several children. Their sons were Ip Chun and Ip Ching, and their daughters were Ip Nga-sum and Ip Nga-wun.

During the second Sino-Japanese war, Ip Man lived with Kwok Fu. He returned to Foshan after the war ended. After the war, Ip Man worked as a captain for the Foshan police patrols for a few years. He also trained his second son, Ip Ching. In late 1949, Ip Man, his wife, and their elder daughter moved to Hong Kong.

Life in Hong Kong

Ip Man, his wife Cheung, and their daughter arrived in Hong Kong in 1950. His wife and daughter later went back to Foshan to get their identity cards. However, the borders between China and Hong Kong closed in 1951. This meant Ip and Cheung were separated permanently. Cheung stayed in Foshan until she passed away.

When he moved to Hong Kong, Ip Man was 56 years old and struggled to find work. His friends helped him get a job at a restaurant. This led him to meet people from the Hong Kong Restaurant Workers' Association.

Teaching Wing Chun in Hong Kong

To earn money, Ip Man began teaching Wing Chun in the early 1950s. His first students were often young men looking to become tougher in the challenging environment of Hong Kong. At first, not many students stayed for long. Ip Man moved his school twice to different locations in Hong Kong.

As some of his students became skilled in Wing Chun, they started their own schools. They would also spar with other martial artists to test their abilities. Their victories helped make Ip Man more famous.

Around 1962, Ip Man's sons, Ip Chun and Ip Ching, came to Hong Kong to live with him. In 1967, Ip Man and some of his students created the Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) Athletic Association. This organization helped Ip Man with his financial needs.

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  The original Ip Man Wing Chun Association in Hong Kong, around 1960

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  Ip Man and Bruce Lee

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  Ip Man and William Cheung

Death and Legacy

Ip Man's gravestone at Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery, Hong Kong

Ip Man passed away on December 2, 1972, in Hong Kong, from laryngeal cancer. This was just seven months before his most famous student, Bruce Lee, also died. Ip Man was buried at Wo Hop Shek in Hong Kong.

Ip Man's lasting impact is the worldwide practice of Wing Chun. Many of his students became well-known martial artists, including Chu Shong-tin, Wong Shun-leung, Bruce Lee, and William Cheung.

Ip Man also wrote a history of Wing Chun. Many items from his life are displayed at the Ip Man Museum in Foshan. His life story has been told in many films.

Martial Arts Lineage

This table shows the Wing Chun lineage according to Ip Man:

Media Portrayals

Further information: Ip Man (film series)

Ip Man has been shown in many movies and TV shows.

• In the 1976 film, Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth, Ip Man's eldest son, Ip Chun, played his father.
• Wang Luoyong played Ip Man in the 1993 American film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, which was about Bruce Lee's life.
• In the 1999 film, What You Gonna Do, Sai Fung?, Ip Chun again made a special appearance as his father.
• Yu Chenghui played Ip Man in the 2008 Chinese TV series, The Legend of Bruce Lee.
• The Hong Kong film Ip Man, starring Donnie Yen, was released in 2008. It focused on Ip's life during the 1930s and 1940s. Ip Man's son, Ip Chun, was a consultant for the film.
• The sequel, Ip Man 2, showed Ip's early days in Hong Kong and his students, including Bruce Lee.
• Another Hong Kong film, The Legend Is Born – Ip Man, was released in 2010. Dennis To played Ip Man, and Ip Chun appeared as Leung Bik.
• In the 2010 film, Bruce Lee, My Brother, Ip Man was played by Wong Chi-wai.
• The Grandmaster (2013), starring Tony Leung, focused on the end of an era in Chinese martial arts history.
• The 2013 Chinese TV series Ip Man starred Kevin Cheng as Ip Man.
• The 2013 Hong Kong film, Ip Man: The Final Fight, starred Anthony Wong as Ip Man and focused on his later life in Hong Kong. Ip Chun also made a cameo.
• Donnie Yen played Ip Man again in Ip Man 3 (2015) and for the last time in Ip Man 4 (2019). Ip Man 4 showed Ip Man in San Francisco as he dealt with cancer.
• In the 2018 film Kung Fu League, Dennis To returned as Ip Man.
• In the 2019 film, Ip Man and Four Kings, he was played by Michael Tong.
• In the 2019 film, Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, Dennis To again played Ip Man during his time as a police officer.
• In the 2022 film, Ip Man: The Awakening, a young Ip Man was played by Miu Tse.

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See also

In Spanish: Ip Man para niños