Martial Art Institute

This article is an excerpt from the archive webpage of wingchunkuen.com
Notes: Compiled from oral and written accounts of Yip Man Wing Chun Athletic Association

Although Master Wai-Po Tang is not regarded strictly as Yip Man's lineage, it is also important to acknowledge and pay tribute to a Grandmaster of great achievement and recognition. Grandmaster Yip Man's worldwide fame and the popularity of Wing Chun was the due to one of his former student 'Bruce Lee'. Thus, latter Wing Chun generations benefited and continued to promote Wing Chun to it's present day popularity.

Grandmaster Ip Chun was one of the prominent masters to date, he has positively promoted Wing Chun in the UK around early 1980's and all over the world. Master Wai-Po Tang met Grandmaster Ip Chun at an opening of a Wing Chun club in London in 1981/2. In 1987 Grandmaster Ip Chun invited Master Tang to his home for research-exchange, afterwhich Ip Chun accompanied Wai-Po Tang to Foshan and introduced him to Grandmaster Yui Kil. It is the appreciation of Ip Chun's generosities that Master Tang wanted to dedicate a tribute to Grandmaster Ip Chun on this webpage

Below is an article from wingchunkuen.com

Grandmaster Ip Chun, eldest son of the late Grandmaster Yip Man, was born in 1925 in Foshan in the Zheyieng Delta region of the Guangdong province of Southern China. He began studying Wing Chun with his father when he was 7 years old, however he admits that he did not really want to learn at that time and he remembers relatively little from that early tuition

When the communists took over China, they began to persecute the wealthy, the influential and anyone connected to the Kuomintang (the political party founded by Sun Yat-Sen, the first president of the Republic of China). Since Yip Man was both wealthy and a Captain of Local Police patrols of Namhoi he felt forced to leave China, finally settling in Hong Kong after a short stay in Macao with friends. However being only 24, Ip Chun stayed behind to continue his studies at a University studying Chinese history and traditional Chinese music, he also read a lot of books researching Chinese Philosophy, Buddhism and Chinese Poetry

In 1950 Yip Man began teaching Wing Chun in Hong Kong to make a living and over the following 22 years he taught hundreds of students, some of whom trained to an exceptionally high standard such as Wong Shun Leung, Lok Yiu, Leung Sheung and Tsui Shun Tin. Ip Chun meanwhile finished his studies and chose to teach as a profession, teaching Chinese history, music and science, whilst during his leisure time he helped the Chinese Foshan Entertainment Department organize Chinese Operas. During this period he was awarded 'The person with the most potential in Chinese art' for music research. Unfortunately Mao Tze Tung's policies and campaigns meant that in 1962 Ip Chun and his younger brother Yip Ching were forced to leave China for Hong Kong where they lived with their father

During the day Ip Chun worked as an accountant and newspaper reporter, at the same time he restarted his Wing Chun studies with his father,maintaining the Chinese tradition of passing down the Kung Fu skills from father to son. Master Ip Chun trained with his father most evenings and since Grandmaster Yip Man's home in Tung Choi Street, Mong Kok was also his Wing Chun school, Master Ip Chun was able to witness and study his fathers Wing Chun and his teaching methods every evening

In 1967 Master Ip Chun began teaching Wing Chun in Hong Kong with his father's blessing and it is testimony indeed that some of those first students such as Ho Po Kai and Leung Chung Wai still train with him today. Later between 1970 and 1971 he and Sifu Lau Hon Lam taught a class of around 20 students in Ho Man Tin. Students in that class included Leung Ting Kwok (Patrick) who now teaches for Master Ip

On 1st December 1972 Grandmaster Yip Man passed away aged 79. Six weeks before, knowing he had not long to live he made the supreme effort to commit the Siu Nim Tao, Chum Kiu and Muk Yan Jong forms to 8 mm film in order to record and preserve the pure Wing Chun system, this crucial piece of film footage he entrusted to his two sons for posterity, and true to his fathers wishes Master Ip Chun has carried on his father's teachings, keeping the Wing Chun pure and maintaining its principles and concepts.

Today at almost Seventy Five years of age Master Ip Chun is one of the most successful Wing Chun teachers in Hong Kong teaching five days a week to individuals at his home or to small groups at the Ving Tsun Athletic Association as well as teaching a class in Sha Tin once a week. Some of his senior Hong Kong students now teach at several locations around Hong Kong including several of the Universities.

In 1992 Master Ip Chun decided to set up the Ip Chun Wing Chun Kuen Martial Arts Association