Tuesday, July 21, 2009

GRaNdMasTeR iP MaN (1893-1972)...


The father of modern Wing Chun is acknowledged to be the late Grandmaster Ip Man, who lived from 1893 until 1972. Ip Man was born and lived in Foshan China where he started his Wing Chun training at the age of 6 under his Sifu Chan Wah Shun, who was taught by the legendary Leung Jan. Ip Man studied Wing Chun for six years until Chan Wah Shun passed away in 1905. Before Chan Wah Shan died he asked Ng Chung Sao to help Ip Man complete the Wing Chun System.

In 1909 while studying at St. Stephen Collage in Hong Kong, Ip Man, through classmates, came to know Leung Bik, the second son of the legendary Leung Jan. Ip Man studied with Leung Bik for about four years.

Many years passed, by which time Grandmaster Ip Man had returned to Foshan where he married Cheung Wing Sing and had four children, sons Ip Chun, Ip Ching and daughters Ar Sum and Ar Wun.

In 1949 Grandmaster Ip Man left China for Hong Kong and it was around May 1950 that Grandmaster Ip Man first started to teach Wing Chun. The first class opened with only eight people, but it was not long before more schools where opened and the name of Wing Chun spread to the outside.

It was between 1955-1957 that one of Grandmaster Ip Man's more famous students Lee Siu Lung (Bruce Lee), started to learn Wing Chun.

In 1962, Grandmaster Ip Man's two son's, Ip Chun and Ip Ching, came to Hong Kong from Foshan. It was not long after their return they started to resume their Wing Chun training under the guidance of their father. Grandmaster Ip Man moved to live in Tong Choi Street around 1964, where he mainly teached private tuition. Sadly Grandmaster Ip Man passed away at his home in 1972; he was 79 years old.





-aRJuNa-

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