Trip Through Time / Man behind a martial arts legend / Ip Man (1893-1972) in Foshan
By Seiichiro Takeuchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Corresponden
FOSHAN, China—Ip Man (Ye Wen in transliterated Mandarin Chinese), an expert in the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun, trained many notable fighters, including Hong Kong-American action movie star Bruce Lee. A museum in the southern Chinese city of Foshan, near Guangzhou, memorializes the legendary master.
Foshan is known to many as a major base of export-oriented manufacturing, but the city is also a mecca for martial artists with more than 500 “wu guan,” schools similar to the dojo training halls of judo and karate.
It is said that Wing Chun, characterized by an erect posture and making use of fists and elbows in compact movements, is said to have been invented by a female master. Wing Chun is not well known in Japan, but there are reportedly more than 2 million people who devote themselves to the martial art in more than 30 countries, including the United States and many European nations.
Ip Man is called the grand master of Wing Chun. He stood 1.65 meters tall with a slender build, but a number of episodes from his life show just how strong he was. According to one story, Ip Man was in a quarrel with a policeman, who, in the course of things, pointed a pistol at him. Ip Man calmly gripped the the gun, then tightened his fingers the slightest bit. The pistol’s magazine broke. The policeman was deeply impressed and asked the master to accept him as a disciple. According to the master’s family, this is a “true story.”
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