The man who made Bruce Lee a legend

MANILA, Philippines - Bruce Lee is known for his fast fists and high-flying kicks. But behind his remarkable talent and skill lies a revered Kung Fu legend — IpMan. For the first time, the story of the esteemed master has been finally told in the new film IPman.

IPMan is adapted from the life story of Ip Man, grand master of the Wing Chun style of Kung Fu and sifu (master) of legendary martial arts superstar Bruce Lee. Wing Chun has a history of more than 200 years. It was founded by Yim Wing Chun, took root in the hands of Leung Chun and prospered with IP Man. The movie is the first important record of the master’s life.

The story of Wing Chun began in the ‘20s and ‘30s in war-torn China. IPMan was martial art’s unyielding follower, devoted wholeheartedly to the free learning of wushu. The fight to be top between the Wushu schools in the southern and northern regions of China did not stop him from having goodwill matches with other practitioners. However, Ip Man was ultimately forced to use his martial arts skills to defend his country’s honor against the invading Japanese.

IP Man was named Best Picture in the recent Hong Kong Film Awards and also took home the Best Action Choreography award.

Wong adds he came up with an initial concept and then told director Yi Wai-shun about the ideas. A huge Bruce Lee fan and deeply interested in the legend of Ip Man, Yip Wai-shun was excited about the project.

To make the role of Ip Man as convincing as possible, Donnie Yen started learning wing chun as soon as he received the script and shed more than 10 pounds to match Ip’s slim figure. To prepare for the trying role, he also read piles of books on Ip Man and Wing Chun. “I practised with wooden dummies every day to demonstrate Wing Chun properly. With a martial arts background, I had no problem picking up Wing Chun. The hardest thing was to put aside everything I’ve learned and clear my mind for pure wing chun practice. This was really challenging but I knew this was a must if I were to portray the essence of Wing Chun,” says Yen.

Bruce Lee may be considered the greatest and most influential martial artist of the 20th century. But he would not have reached this status without the teachings of Ip Man. IP Man, a Viva International Pictures release, opens May 13 in theaters.