Ip Man

Ip Man: Grand Master And Hero

Most people have never heard of the name, "Ip Man." But many people have heard of "Bruce Lee," or the martial art "Wing Chun." Ip Man was a grand master of Wing Chun arts who taught many other masters, like Bruce Lee. Ip Kai Man (1893-1972) was a Wing Chun practitioner born in Foshan, China. He became the first master to openly teach Wing Chun. He spread Wing Chun all over the world. His most famous students are Bruce Lee, Kwok Fu, and his sons Ip Ching and Ip Chun. He learned Wing Chun from grand master Leung Bik. He then became a police man in Foshan at the age of 24, and then got married and had two children. He moved from Foshan, after the Japanese invaded, to Hong Kong with his family in 1962. He then opened a Wing Chun martial arts school in Hong Kong. He started teaching Bruce Lee in 1954.  In 1972, He recorded videos of him performing forms of Wing Chun on the verge of death. He then died in the same year. Ip Man is a hero because he was persistent, humble, and inspirational. He also spread Wing Chun all over the world. He was honorable by his traits and he is also very accomplished. I feel a hero needs to be honorable and needs to have a great achievement. Ip Man fills both of these characteristics. 

Ip Man came from a rich family and had a good life, but when the Japanese invaded he was thrusted into poorness and bad economic times. Throughout this hard time he stayed hard working and persistent for his family, and also for martial arts. "Ip Man Synopsis" supports my claim that Ip Man is persistent can be seen when "The Japanese invasion in 1937 adversely affects the life of everyone in Foshan. Ip's house is claimed by the Japanese and used as their Foshan headquarters. Ip and his family lose their wealth and are forced to move into a decrepit house." (Karan Singh) The Japanese invasion forced Ip Man and his family out of their home. They had to leave all of their possessions behind and Ip Man was forced to work to support his family. He stayed strong and persistent to strive though the bad economy, and higher power. This shows how hard Ip Man worked for his family, and how he came back from a horrible time.  Shadow, in his article "Ip Man 2 Synopsis," maintains that Ip Man never gives up "Hung Chun-nam, arrives to break up the fight. Ip introduces himself, and Hung informs him that before setting up a school, he needs to attend a special fighting ceremony to test his skill." (Shadow) Ip Man was faced with many obstacles, like rival martial arts masters such as Hung Chun-nam, before he could really fulfill his goal to teach Wing Chun to others. Even though he had rivals, he stayed strong and persistent. He had to fight other masters of Hong Kong to really be able to teach martial arts. He finished all of the trials and became one of the most famous practitioners in China. As you can see, Ip Man didn't start off as a master practitioner. He faced many trials before he could teach in Hong Kong, but he stayed strong and never gave up in teaching Wing Chun. His never give up attitude and ascent from hard times makes him a great hero.

Another characteristic of Ip's was his humbleness. Throughout Ip Man's life he was humble, and accepted what he had. He was never prideful or arrogant about his skill or accomplishments. A good illustration of this is, "Wing Chun master Ip Man is the most skilled martial artist in Foshan, he is unassuming and keeps a low profile. As an independently wealthy man, he feels no need to accept any disciples and instead spends his days training" (Karan Singh) Ip Man was a humble person who didn't proclaim he was the best in the world. He was relaxed and modest in his skill and his life. He didn't need much to live a comfortable, honorable life. He had his family so everything in his life was good. He was always happy and as long as he had his family he looked up in the midst of hard times to come. Shadow similarly summarizes, "Ip then gives a speech to the audience, stating that despite the differences between their races, he wishes for everyone to respect each other." (Shadow) Ip Man defeated the Twister, a racist English boxer who killed Ip man's friend/ rival Hung Chan-nam in a challenge, and then gave a speech. Even after the Twister and the English people slandered him and his tradition, Ip man said that the Chinese and Americans should respect each other and have equal dignities. He was calm and humble towards the Twister and the English people. Ip Man was always a humble man in his life. He never spoke ill of any one, and never boasted about his skill. He was unassuming and humble, making him an honorable grand master, good example, and hero. 

All in all Ip Man is a hero because if his great accomplishment of spreading Wing Chun, and also for his traits as a person. He was a persistent and humble; a very honorable grand master and hero. Ip Man is an inspiration because of the legacy that he left. He taught Wing Chun to the most iconic martial arts master, Bruce Lee. He also set a great example for life; by living his life as a master, he shows us that we should never be prideful, and we should never give up. Ip Man teaches us the importance of having good personal qualities as well as achieving greatness throughout life, and that's why he is my hero.

Works Cited

Ching, Ip. "Ip Man Wing Chun Kung Fu." Kwok Wing Chun. Samuel Kwok Wing Chun Association, n.d. Web. 07 May 2013.

Knight, Dan. "Ip Man's Biography." Ip Man's Biography. Samuel Kwok Wing Chun Association, n.d. Web. 07 May 2013.

Och, Sifu. "Lakeland Wing Chun Martial Arts Training | Sifu Och Wing Chun Teaching Wing Chun Kung Fu in Lakeland Florida." Lakeland Wing Chun Martial Arts Training Sifu Och Wing Chun. Sifu Och Wing Chun, n.d. Web. 07 May 2013.

Karan_singh8888. "Ip Man (2008)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 09 May 2013.

Shadow20-83-8055. "Ip Man 2 (2010)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 09 May 2013.