Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Martial Arts Master Review : Yip Man


Yip Man (1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972), also spelled as Ip Man, and also known as Yip Kai-Man, was a Chinese martial artist. He had several students who later became martial arts teachers in their own right, including Bruce Lee. Yip was born to Yip Oi-dor and Ng Shui, and was the third of four children. He grew up in a wealthy family in Foshan, Guangdong, and received a traditional Chinese education. His older brother was Yip Kai-gak, his older sister was Yip Wan-mei and his younger sister was Yip Wan-hum. Yip started learning Wing Chun from Chan Wah-shun when he was 13. Since Chan was 70 at the time, Yip was Chan's last student. Due to his teacher's age, Yip learned most of his skills and techniques from Chan's second oldest disciple: Ng Chung-sok. Chan died three years after Yip's training started and one of his dying wishes was to have Ng continue teaching Yip. At the age of 15, Yip moved to Hong Kong with help from his relative Leung Fut-ting.