Yip Man

Ip Man
Born	(1893-10-01)1 October 1893 Foshan, Guangdong, Qing Dynasty
Died	2 December 1972(1972-12-02) (aged 79) Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong Throat cancer
Other names	Yip Man, Yip Kai-man, Ye Wen
Residence	Hong Kong
Nationality	Chinese
Style	'Wing Chun
Teacher(s)	Chan Wah-shun & Wu Chung-sok (吳仲素), later Leung Bik
Rank	Grandmaster
Occupation	Martial artist
Spouse	Cheung Wing-sing (simplified Chinese: 张永成; traditional Chinese: 張永成; pinyin: Zhāng Yǒngchéng; Cantonese Yale: jēung wíhng sìhng)
Notable relatives	Ip Chun (son; b. 1924), Ip Ching (son; b. 1936)
Notable students	Bruce Lee, Ip Chun, Ip Ching, Chu Shong Tin , Lok Yiu, Leung Sheung, Wong Shun Leung, William Cheung, Moy Yat, Lo Man Kam, Leung Ting

Ip Man
"Ip Man" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	葉問
Simplified Chinese	叶问
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yè Wèn Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yihp Mahn Jyutping Jip6 Man6
Yip Kai-man
Traditional Chinese	葉繼問
Simplified Chinese	叶继问
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yè Jìwèn Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yihp Gai Mahn Jyutping Jip6Gai3Man6

Ip Man, also known as Yip Man, (Chinese: 葉問; 1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972), was a Chinese martial artist, and a master teacher of Wing Chun. He had several students who later became martial arts masters in their own right. His most famous student was Bruce Lee.

Ip was born to Yip Oi-dor and Wu Shui. He grew up in a wealthy family in Foshan, Guangdong, and received a traditional Chinese education. His elder brother was Yip Kai-gak, his elder sister was Yip Wan-mei and his younger sister was Yip Wan-hum.

Ip started learning Wing Chun from Chan Wah-shun when he was 7. Chan was 64 at the time, and Ip became Chan's last student. Due to his teacher's age, Ip learnt most of his skills and techniques from Chan's second eldest disciple, Wu Chung-sok (吳仲素). Chan lived three years after Ip's training started and one of his dying wishes was to have Wu continue teaching Ip.

At the age of 16, Ip moved to Hong Kong with help from his relative Leung Fut-ting. One year later, he attended school at St. Stephen's College—a secondary school for wealthy families and foreigners living in Hong Kong. During Ip's time at St. Stephen's he saw a foreign police officer beating a woman and intervened. The officer attempted to attack Ip, but Ip struck him down and ran to school with his classmate. Ip's classmate later told an older man who lived in his apartment block. The man met with Ip and asked what martial art Ip practised. The man told Ip that his forms were "not too great". The man challenged Ip's Wing Chun in chi sao (a form of training that involves controlled attack and defence). Ip saw this as an opportunity to prove that his abilities were good, but was defeated by the man after a few strikes. Ip's opponent revealed himself to be Leung Bik, Chan Wah-shun's senior and the son of Chan's teacher, Leung Jan. After that encounter, Ip continued learning from Leung Bik.