IP MAN TONG – WING CHUN LEGACY OF IP MAN
by
Hian Qui
Kho,
FSMA |
This article will appear in the August issue of Martial Arts
Illustrated
The writer is an instructor of Ip
Man wing chun who travelled to
Fut Shan to discover how the
Ip Man Museum came into
existence by having an interview with the deputy curator of
Ip Man Tong, Miss Wong Hung.
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1. Lion dance welcomes you to
Ip Man Tong
(Photo copyright of
H.Q.Kho)
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Fut
Shan or ‘Buddha Hill’, 20 kilometers
from Kwong
Chow(Guangzhou or Canton)’ is the home of Wing Chun.
You would wonder why.
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Magnetic Fut Shan
Fut
Shan (Foshan) has a recorded
history dating from 628 AD in the Tang dynasty. It became
famous for its ceramics, silk, metalwork and woodcarving as
well as herbal medicine. The wealth of the city
created wealthy merchants. According to the national
trait of the Chinese, the wealthy tended to enhance their
prestige by hiring a famous martial artist in residence for
protection as well as to teach their children the fighting
skills. A call by the wealthy would attract all
top-notch martial experts from the four corners of China.
As a consequence it is no surprise that the three most
famous Chinese fighting systems practised around the world
came from south China, specifically from
Fut Shan. These are Hung
Kuen, Choy Lee
Fut and the unique Wing Chun.
They were martial arts created elsewhere in China but
nurtured and blossomed in Fut
Shan.
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2. Beauties of Jo Miu
architecture
(Photo copyright of
H.Q.Kho)
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3. Entrance to Ip Man Tong
(Photo copyright of
H.Q.Kho)
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Spirit of the sons
It is commonly accepted that Wing Chun kung fu is one of the
most popular Chinese martial art now practised around the
world. The two sons of Ip
Man, Ip Chun and
Ip Ching,
now in their seventies and eighties, recognised the global
recognition of their father’s contribution to the world of
Chinese martial arts.
They made a series of visits from Hong Kong to
Fut Shan to meet with the
Councillors of the city’s Cultural Council to discuss the
worldwide influence of Ip Man’s
Wing Chun. They agreed that his teaching had spread
from China, through Hong Kong and then the world and had
earned recognition in its home town. The
Ip Man Tong Development Council
was formed and fund raising was started. The Agreement
was signed between the Cultural Council of
Foshan and
Ip Chun and Ip
Ching on behalf of
Ip Man Tong Development Council
in April 2000.
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Jo Miu, the Ancestral Temple
Jo Miu was the first temple
built in Fut Shan in 1078-1085
and thus described as the Ancestral Temple. It is a
large complex which also contains the theatre for performing
opera, of which Fut Shan is
considered the birthplace of Cantonese Opera. Hung
Kuen kung fu is also represented
here with their museum to Wong Fay Hung. The disciples
frequently display lion dancing and martial arts in the vast
courtyard. Material for the buildings came from local
industries including the glazed roof tiles with assemblies
of frolicking lions and characters from local tales made in
Sai Wan, the famous ceramic
production centre on the outskirts of
Fut Shan.
I was shown a garden in Jo Miu
in 2000 purported to be the site of the memorial structure.
I later learned that the structure envisaged was too small
and insignificant to be worthy to represent the enormous
international cultural heritage as Ip
Man’s Wing Chun. Subsequently, the impetus to find a
location faltered.
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4. View into Ip Man room
(Photo copyright
of
H.Q.Kho)
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5. Ip
Ching and Samuel Kwok at the bust of
Ip
Man
(Photo copyright of H.Q.Kho)
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The project remained in limbo until 2001 when Samuel Kwok
visited Fut Shan with a large
group of students to train with Ip
Ching. During their stay
they visited Chairman Leung of the Fut
Shan Jo Miu Committee.
They discussed the lack of progress and
Ip Ching proposed a
temporary site in the interim. The next day the
Chairman met Ip
Ching and Samuel Kwok on short
notice. The Chairman agreed that
Ip Man’s teaching is so widespread it had to be
recognised. The recognition can affect the fame and
tourism of Fut Shan. In
late November 2001, Ip Chun and
Ip Ching
representing the Ip Man Tong
Development Council was invited to Fut
Shan to discuss an appropriate location within Jo
Miu to build the
Ip Man Tong museum and then a
date of 9 November 2002 was given as the official opening.
Amidst great fanfare Ip Man’s
followers from all over the world were invited to celebrate
this auspicious inauguration to commemorate that great man
of wing chun,
Ip Man.
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Relics of Ip Man
Ip
Man came from a wealthy merchant family in
Fut Shan. Through the
political upheavals in China he was obliged to leave
Fut Shan and started his new
life in Hong Kong in 1950. He had few possessions on
arrival at his new hometown and did not prosper in the
teaching of martial art. Fortunately for his
descendants there are a few treasured relics left by the
great man to remember him by. Most of the personal
mementos were kept by his son, Ip
Ching, in the same apartment
that Ip Man lived in before his
passing in 1972.
A major link that the descendants have to share with this
great man was a movie film that he made weeks before he
died. In it he performed the Siu
Nim Tau
and Chum Kiu hand-forms.
He knew his end was approaching but his determination and
strength to perform came through in the film so that
posterity would have a factual reference to his teaching.
At that same time he was also filmed performing the wooden
dummy or the Muk
Yun Jong.
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6. Samuel Kwok display Bart Jarm
Do outside
Ip Man Tong
(Photo copyright of H.Q.Kho)
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Wooden Dummy Chamber
The Jong Fong or Wooden Dummy
Chamber is on the right side of the museum, leading from the
entrance hall. On the walls on each side of the
chamber hang the hundred odd photographs of
Ip Man performing every move of
the wooden dummy set as performed in the
Ip Man system. Switch on
the overhead projector and one can watch
Ip Man performing the Dummy
Form. To reflect the age of the film and the
technology of amateur cinematography at that time his moves
were jerky like the old Charlie Chaplin movies but
unmistakable and precise nonetheless. Together
with the Siu
Nim Tau
and Chum Kiu hand forms, the
film of the three forms together have been commonly referred
to as the ‘8 Millimetre Movie’. As this film
recorded Ip Man’s last thoughts
and testimony it must be considered that his presentation
was his last review of his teaching of Wing Chun during his
lifetime. In an opposite alcove, stood the original
wooden dummy that the Grandmaster used in his training.
It was donated by Ip
Ching where it used to stand in
his apartment, the same where Ip
Man used to live in. On display with the wooden dummy
in the alcove is an exact replica of his pair set of Bart
Jarm Do or Eight Chopping
Knives, which are a pair of cutlasses made of stainless
steel and a replica of a long wooden pole or lance which is
eight and a half feet long ( 2.60M)
called Luk Dim Boon Guan or Six
And A Half Point Pole.
Death Touch and Healing
In one of the display cases are three books made from the
traditional rice paper. One book is on General Medical
Cure, the other is on Cure of Complex Illnesses and the
third is on Dim Muk or Death
Touch. The hand-writing is by no less a person than
Dr. Leung Jarn who was the
oldest traceable historic ancestor of Wing Chun kung fu.
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7. Author
in the Wooden Dummy Chamber
(Photo copyright of H.Q.Kho)
Again, the fact that these books were inherited by
Ip Man from his teacher Chan
Wah Shun who in turn inherited
them from the Doctor shows the esteem he was held by his
teachers. The book of Dim Muk
being in the possession of Ip
Man should dispel any belief that death touch is not known
by Wing Chun practitioners. As a matter of fact, if
one examines some of the techniques in the third form,
Biu Jee,
one should identify the function of some of the moves for
this intention. However, in conversation with Samuel
Kwok and Ip
Ching, they explained that Ip
Man did not place strong emphasis on the deadly moves in the
forms to avoid fatalities or crippling injuries to life to
those at the receiving end. This reflects the morality
of that gentle person and the humanitarianism in his soul.
These original books were also donated by
Ip Ching
from his inheritance.
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8. Author interviewing the deputy curator,
Miss Wong Hung, in front of the Ip
Man bust
(Photo copyright of H.Q.Kho)
The Museum
The site of Ip Man Tong was
previously the home of a resident in the grounds of Jo
Miu. The renovation work
was closely supervised by the Foshan
heritage department from the inception of the design by the
architects to the final reconstruction. The panels and
carvings were in harmony with similar
Ching period architectural decor in other buildings
on the grounds. Black lacquered picture frames
displayed the many memorable photographs of Wing Chun
practitioners from Ip Man’s
first students to the international followers in far flung
corners of the world.
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The main hall was appropriately named as
Ip Man Tong. It was
dedicated to Ip Man and his
lifetime. It represented his martial art, his family
and the legacy of his teaching. Overlooking the room
from a commanding view was a bronze bust of
Ip
Man. Miss Wong said that it was recreated from
photographs but the working mould was meticulously and
constantly reviewed by the two sons, Ip
Chun and Ip
Ching, during the sculpting stage bringing out the
character and spirit of their father.
The immediate adjoining room was dedicated to his direct
students. The photo gallery along the walls included
photos of his two sons, Ip Chun
and Ip
Ching, displaying their skills of Wing Chun.
There were also photographs of his first students Kwok Fu
and Lun Guy who are now in their
eighties. On a panel we can see action photos
of a very young Bruce Lee matching
skills with his equally young teacher,
Ip
Man. There were other notable students as well like
Chu Sheung
Tin, Wong Shun Leung, Chow Tze
Tsuen, Chiu Wan,
Lok Yiu,
etc. |
9. Bruce Lee and his teacher, Ip
Man
(Photo copyright of
H.Q.Kho)
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The third room was dedicated to the second generation and
beyond. It was here that we can see how widespread
Ip Man’s teaching has influenced
martial arts around the world. This fact was also
shown on a lit map hung from the wall showing dots and
patches where Wing Chun has made its mark.
Photographic record of Wing Chun practitioners of all shapes
and colours displaying their martial art moves and proudly
gathered around their sifu in
group photo for the album.
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On the way out one passes the corridor of memories. On
one wall in the corridor leading to the exit is a 10 metre
long life size mural of a street scene from the
Ching period imprinted on the
plaster wall. This photograph is a very appropriate
image of how Fut Shan probably
looked like at the time of Ip
Man’s youth and perhaps not far from the days of Leung
Jarn as well. Visitors can
endorse approval of the museum before they go home by
signing their name on the mural. They would have paid
their tribute to the memory of the great man,
Ip Man, at
Ip Man Tong.
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10. Author and Miss Wong in the corridor of
memories(Photo
copyright of H.Q.Kho
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11. Students of Samuel Kwok displaying
outside Ip Man Tong
(Photo copyright of
H.Q.Kho)
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Second World Conference 2005
The First Conference in November 1999 saw a congregation of
close to a thousand participants from all over the world
merging into Hong Kong and then the onward journey to the
home of Wing Chun, Fut Shan.
The two sons of Ip Man,
Ip Chun and
Ip Ching, showed their
intimate knowledge passed on to them by their father and
talked about their father’s effort to promote Wing Chun.
Second generation students also displayed.
26 to 29 November 2005
- have been set by the executive committee of the
Ving Tsun
Athletic Association as the date for the Second World Wing
Chun Conference. It will take place in both Hong Kong
and Fut Shan. Persons
interested can contact VTAA in Hong Kong for more
information and bookings. You are advised to make your
arrangements as early as possible as a large number is
expected at this Conference.
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(Chinese names are spelled as pronounced in Cantonese with
the more official spelling in bracket. People’s names
are spelled with the surname preceding the name in the
manner used in China.)
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Contacts:
Ving Tsun
Athletic Association (Hong Kong)
Tel:(852)2381-6044
e-mail:
vtaa@vingtsun.org.hk
website:
www.vingtsun.org.hk
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