The story of Bruce Lee’s mentor, Yip Man
There is no doubt that no matter your age, you will have heard of the martial artist, iconic film star and popular philosopher Bruce Lee. The influence of the actor and cultural figure may better any sportsperson who’s ever lived, rubbing shoulders with similar cultural icons such as boxer Muhammad Ali and Brazilian footballer Pelé — but what of Yip Man, the icon’s mentor who helped him reach prominence?
A grandmaster of Wing Chun, Yip Man was born Ip Kai-man on October 1st, 1893, to wealthy parents and began training in the fighting art form at just nine years old. From here, his unquantifiable legacy would spark, introducing generations of young people to the physicality and philosophy of the martial art, passing on much of his own personality to his student, Bruce Lee, during his training.
Brought up in a household that fostered strict discipline, Yip Man received his first lesson in Wing Chun from Chan Wah Shun, who overcharged the family, hoping that it would prompt the young boy to quit. This only invigorated Yip Man to work harder, however, moving to Hong Kong in 1909 to attend St. Stephen’s College. Here, in all his cocky boyish youth, he challenged a kung-fu-taught classmate named Leung Bik to a fight, only to lose miserably.
Though he was dejected by the loss, Bik was rather impressed and revealed to Yip Man that his father was Leung Jan, a skilled martial artist who had trained under Yip Man’s former master. Having a change of heart, he chose to train with Bik for seven years until the age of 24, when he would return home and provide private Wing Chun lessons.
Many years later, following the Second Sino-Japanese War, Yip Man was forced to escape to British Hong Kong after the rise of the Communist Party in 1949. Leaving behind any remnants of wealth, he was eventually given refuge at the Restaurant Workers’ Union Hall. Here, he witnessed a kung-fu master giving lessons, only for Yip Man to scoff at the quality of his teaching.
“All you do is have your students punch air,” he told the man, adding: “But the air doesn’t hit back. What happens when you face an enemy who will?…If you are going to practice kung-fu, you should do so seriously — or not at all”. Comfortably defeating the master, in 1952, Yip Man became the leader of the young school, teaching students to an iron grip and a surprising sense of humour.
When his classes became too big, he opened up his own school in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Shortly after, he met a 16-year-old Bruce Lee, who was eager to improve his fighting ability after being beaten up by a gang.
Sharing many similarities, Lee quickly grew to become the master’s greatest student, fondly recalling his experience working alongside Yip Man. As Lee stated back in 1961, “My instructor, Professor Yip Man, head of the Wing Chun school, would come up to me and say: ‘Relax and calm your mind. Forget about yourself and follow your opponent’s movement. Let your mind, the basic reality, do the counter-movement without any interfering deliberation. Above all, learn the art of detachment”.
Teaching the young martial artist to be “calm” in moments of great intensity, it is likely that Yip Man was the inspiration behind Lee’s iconic “be like water” speech, in which he promotes the importance of adaptability and strength in the face of adversity. Seeing the young prodigy grow from a sportsman to a movie star, Yip Man witnessed the fruits of his labours and passed away seven months before Lee himself met his untimely demise.
The life of the influential grandmaster was memorialised in the 2008 martial arts movie Ip Man, telling the story of his struggles during the Japanese invasion of China, in which he was forced to adapt in order to survive. Starring the likes of Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Ka-Tung Lam, Siu-Wong Fan and Lynn Xiong, take a look at the trailer for the celebrated movie below.
