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

Yip Man (Ye Wen), sometimes rendered as Ip Man, was born Yip Gei-Man (Ye Jiwen) to a wealthy merchant family in Foshan in 1893*. He began learning Wing Chun Kuen sometime between 1906 and 1911* under Chan Wah-Shun who was said to have been teaching out of the Yip Family Ancestral Temple at the time. The old money-changer was nearing the end of his career and much of Yip Man's hands on instruction fell to seniors (most prominently Ng Jung-So), especially after Chan suffered a stroke in 1908 and retired

Most accounts suggest that, following Chan's death in 1911, Yip went to Hong Kong to attend St. Stephan’s College where met and apprenticed himself to his martial uncle, Leung Bik, polishing his skills to a very advanced level. Some of Yip Man's students, however, maintain that this was simply a story created by Yip Man's friend, Lee Man, for promotional purposes and that he refined his skills instead through hard work and personal insight in Foshan. There are also accounts of Yip Man exchanging with friends such as Chu Chong-Man, Cho On, and/or Yuen Kay-San

Although Yip Man developed an extraordinary reputation for his great Wing Chun Kuen skill, he did not teach for many years. In 1942, however, his resources grew severely depleated under the Japanese occupation and in order to repay a kindness, he took on some students in Yongan including Chow Ywong-Yiu, Kwok Fu, and Lun Gai

In November, 1949, Yip fled the Communist rise in China to Macao. He soon ventured over to Hong Kong where, in 1950, he began teaching his Wing Chun Kuen to members of the Restaurant Workers Union. To many of his students, his friendly nature and demeanor led him to be called Man Suk (Younger Uncle Man) in the early years and Man Gung (Grandfather Man) later on

Over his long career in Hong Kong, he taught many, many, outstanding students (with apologies, far to many to list here) who have gone on to teach generations of excellent students in their own right and have spread his style of Wing Chun Kuen around the world. Among some of Yip Man’s most famous students were/are, Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Tsui Seung-Tin, Wong Shun-Leung, Cheung Chuk-Hing (William Cheung), Lee Siu-Long (Bruce Lee), Ho Kam-Ming, Moy Yat, Leung Ting, and many, many others

Note: Although the 1893 birthdate, provided by Yip Man's son, Yip Chun, must be regarded as the official date for reference purposes, there is a second set of dates which come from a variaty of sources, including some of Yip Man's students. These dates mention Yip Man being born closer to 1898 (although some say as early as 1895)