The story goes that a Shaolin Nun named Ng Mui escaped the fire of the Shaolin Temple and went into hiding in Southern China. She was asked by a young girl named Yim Wing Chun to teach her martial arts in order to fight the local warlord who has challenged her to a fight as she has rejected his marriage proposal. After learning the form of kung fu that Ng Mui taught her she then taught it to her future husband who named the form "Wing Chun". Her husband then went on to teach Wing Chun and Ip Man was one of the most prolific students who, when he moved to Hong Kong, he brought Wing Chun to the world. He is considered to be the first person who openly taught Wing Chun as it was said to have been passed down through families prior to this.
The story of Ip Man is less familiar to me. Many people know that he was the teacher of Bruce Lee and that Lee studied Wing Chun but went on to create his own martial art Jeet Kun Do. Ip Man is a legend in China and the current obssession with him in Chinese cinema and tv is definitely showing the Chinese love of the legend. Ip Man, starring Donnie Yen has been released and Ip Man 2 has been announced and will see Donnie Yen again but this time he will face Sammo Hung. The legendary Tsui Hark is also set to make a film about Ip Man called The Great Master starring Tony Leung Chui-Wai. (There has been a recent Hong Kong TV series called Wing Chun starring Nicholas Tse, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, which I will be watching asap, and of course the lovely Michelle Yeoh starred in Wing Chun in 1994 again with Donnie Yen.)
Now, back to the main event. I have just watched Ip Man starring Donnie Yen and Simon Yam and I was really impressed. I spent most of the film grinning madly to myself in awe of the amazing skill of Donnie Yen and the sheer perfection of his Wing Chun.
The story is set in the 1930's before and during the Sino-Japanese Invasion. It depicts Ip Man as a wealthy but quiet man who spends most of his time at home with his family in Fo Shan, training and occasionally sparring with rival masters. (Ip Man came from a wealthy family and was educated in Hong Kong where he also continued his Wing Chun training, returning to Fo Shan in his early 20's.)
He is seen as the greatest fighter in Fo Shan, which is famous for having many different kung fu styles and clubs. When a Northern group of fighters appears in town and defeats the other masters, Ip Man is the only one who can restore honour to the town, which he does with ease, further cementing his reputation as the greatest master in the area.
The more serious storyline develops when during the Japanese invasion Ip Man's home is taken, leaving his family almost destitute and Ip Man working in the coal factory. The Japanese General demands local fighters show their skills against his Japanese fighters in order to win a bag of rice. When a fight goes sour Ip Man is enraged and fights 10 japanese fighters, only bringing himself to the attention of the General who asks him to teach the Japanese soilders Wing Chun. When Ip Man refuses he challenges the General to a match, which he wins. In an outrage the General's closest lieutenant shoots Ip Man in the shoulder causing the watching Chinese to revolt. Ip Man and his wife and child escape to Hong Kong with his long time friend (Simon Yam.) (This part of the story has not been documented as far as I can tell and seems to be for effect rather than a real part of his history)
I am a huge fan of martial arts films and I especially love the folklore epics such as the stories of Wong Fei Hung and Fong Sei Yuk. I have always watched legends like Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, who tend to be the names that resonate overseas but people tend to forget the skill that Donnie Yen and Yuen Biao along with newcomers like Nicholas Tse bring to the Kung Fu genre. Donnie Yen is one of the best movie martial artists of our time but hasn't been able to really move into international films. He has shown himself to be skilled and talented but also one of the better character actors of the big martial arts stars. He is also one of the better english speakers having lived in the US as a child.
In this film he perfectly shows the calm and serenity that Ip Man seemed to always exude, especially whilst doing Wing Chun practice or fighting. He highlights the softness that is essential for Wing Chun to be successful and he also is able to express the anger that the character feels and sadness that he is overcome with.
His Wing Chun in the film is beautiful. His fluidity and skill is amazing to see translated onto the screen. The speed of his chain punching was stunning! I remember the pain of chain punching drills and Donnie Yen just showed me what happens when you really keep doing those drills!
Donnie Yen is one of, if not the best martial arts action star in Hong Kong at the minute and I can't wait to see what he does in Ip Man 2. No doubt I will be giggling like a child who just got a big bag of sweets while I watch it!
He is a clip of one of the fight sequences for you from the first film to let you see what I mean about the skill that he shows.
