An Interview With Grandmaster Yip Man from 1972

Posted by Wooden Dummy on July 10, 2013

If you are a beginner when it comes to fighting, that concept itself for you is likely no more
than throwing a punch here or giving off a kick there. However, if you manage to have
someone who cares to explain to you the essence of Wing Chun, it is highly likely that within
5 minutes, youll learn about the unique way in which a Wing Chun practitioner pushes
enemies back. You will also learn about the standards used in Chi Sao (sticking hands), and
the secret behind defeating enemies using the shortest path and the fastest of speed.
That is what Wing Chun is all about- using simple, practical moves to defeat enemies. Over a
mere 23 years, the aging Master Yip Man has made Wing Chun hugely popular in Hong
Kong, and has recruited many enthusiasts under his wing. Surely theres ample reason behind
the popularity of the sport and the diligence of many of his students.

To introduce the art of Wing Chun, I have conducted a

special interview with Master Yip Man. The 76-year-old is still in his physical prime; he is
sharp, energetic, and offered a response to every single one of my questions. I have learnt
much from this interview.
Those who are avid readers of martial arts novels are surely familiar with the story of Fong
Sai Yuk challenges the defender of the ring. One of the most notable characters in the story
is the monk Zhi Sin; the nun Ng Mui trained under the same master as Zhi Sin, and she was
actually proclaimed as the founder of Wing Chun. Looking back, this story takes us back
some two hundred years. If Wing Chun was founded by a woman, surely the style will be
notably smoother and more subdued. Contrary to such popular belief, however, Wing Chun is
actually much more aggressive than other martial arts styles. This stemmed from the fact that
the founder is a woman, whose stamina is no match if she opposes a man in a fight; if she is
not able to take down him down right at the start of the match, it will be impossible for her to
continue on.

Along that same tangent, the first rule of Wing Chun is therefore focused on aggression and
speed; one must be able to inflict harm on an enemy at the wave of a hand, so that the enemy
will know that he must retreat. Wu Mei passed on her skills to yet another woman, whose
name gave birth to this particular school of martial arts. Her name was Yim Wing Chun, and
she then taught what she had learned to her husband, Leung Bac Chou. When it was Leungs
turn to teach his disciples, since the art itself was yet to be named, Leung named it in memory
of his wife and aptly called it Wing Chun.
Wong Wa Bo, one of Leungs student and who worked in a performance troop, then taught
the art to Leung Yi Tai. Yi Tai then taught Leung Zan. We all now familiar with the fact that
Leung Zan rose to fame in the city of Foshan (in the province of Guangdong, China). His star
disciple, Chan Wa Shun (whose nickname was Loose change Wa), eventually became the
Master of Master Yip Man himself. Chan operated his martial arts school for thirty-two years,
but only taught sixteen disciples; Yip Man was the last of his students.

Yip Man is presently 76 years of age. He started practicing

Chinese martial arts at thirteen years of age, and moved to Hong Kong from Mainland China
in 1949. Few residents of Hong Kong knew of Wing Chun back then; after twenty-three years
of hard work, the result of Yip Mans work is now visible. Master Yip has stopped taking on
new students years ago. Leung Ting, an instructor who hosts Wing Chun classes in various
schools such as Baptist College, Zhuhai College and Chinese Baptist Student centre is one of
the last of his closed-door students.
When talking to Master Yip Man, it was clear that he acted nothing like his age. He spoke
with a clear, strong voice, and was not at all boastful. To satisfy our readers curiosity, I asked
Master Yip to speak of his heroic acts back in the day, but was curtly refused. Master Yip was
not willing to boast about his past, which frankly was a lost on our part.
From what I had heard, however, Master Yip is known for two major acts back in the city of
Foshan. Many residents back then were well aware of the tale. It was said that the master, in
the prime of his hot-headed youth, had an argument with a military officer while attending a
Piaose event (Parade of Childrens Float). The officer took out a pistol and pointed it at Yip
Man, all the while attempting to shoot him. Seeing the danger in front of him, Yip lunged

forward and grabbed hold of the pistol. He then gave it a strong shove and the barrel actually
broke under his force. It hit the ground and had everyone at the scene utterly shocked. To this
story, Master Yips explanation was that the axis within the barrel was already a bit loose, and
it was no thicker than a toothpick. For this reason he could easily dismantle the part with
force, and that this incident should really be heard with a grain of salt. He was being very
modest indeed.
Another story recounted Master Yip standing on the ground in a standing asana pose
(where one folds one leg and the entire body is supported by one leg rooted to the ground).
Several people pushed him with force at the same time but were not able to make him budget.
It can be seen that he has some very strong stamina. When asked about this story, Master Yip
responded with a smile: I dont have the same kind of strength anymore.

In Master Yips school I saw an oddly-shaped wooden post.

the post is surrounded by a square frame, and on the post three planks are affixed
horizontally. Under the actual post a crooked piece of plank can be seen. I asked what this
structure is all about and was told that this is the Muk Yan Jong ()(wooden dummy).
The four planks act as the four limbs of the human body ; when practicing, fists or kicks land
on these limbs to simulate an actual fight.
To start practicing Wing Chun implies practicing routines or forms. The most basic routine
is Siu Lim Tao ( ) (little idea/thought), and its the start to all training. It is then
followed by Chum Kiu ( ) (search for the bridge), an intermediate routine which
focuses on sidelong and shoulder close-range attacks. The last routine is Biu Jee (
) (darting fingers), the most advanced routine of all. One fixates itself to the ground by
spreading legs to a bit less than shoulder width and then sits down on an invisible chair.
This form takes up little space, but the tip of the toes of both feet turn inwards, which marks
its uniqueness in pose. This is to accompany routines which do not require lots of jumping,
but ones where one glides along the ground. However, while the limbs are focused on
gliding, one is able to firmly root itself to the ground and do not appear to be afloat.
Chi Sao () (sticking hands) is one of the key learning to practicing Wing Chun. Chi
Sao is useful for a variety of reasons; other than strengthening and ones elbow and

increasing its stamina in attacks, one can also use it to train oneself in defensive moves.
These are inclusive of freestyle boxing moves. Chi Sao is, in essence, key to any self-defense
practice!
When we speak of the variety of routines Wing Chun, we are essentially looking at three
forms: Fuk Sao, Tan Sao and Bong Sao. Compared to your regular martial arts routine
(punches and kicks), you are essentially looking at three types of defense acts. According to
Master Yip, these three routines have merged all of the multiple formations of Wing Chun
within. Essentially, all of Wing Chuns movements are combinations of three types of
movements made by the arms, the flipping of the forearm, and the lowering of arms. Regular
defense moves used in other martial arts routines are typically characterized by the move
where, when someone throws a punch at you or delivers a kick, one defends oneself by
blocking the move with one arm, and then striking back with the other arm or using both legs
to launch an attack. In terms of the order of movement, the blockage always occurs before the
actual attack; similarly, the defense and the attack usually cannot occur at the same time.
Wing Chun, on the other hand, is entirely different; when one faces a punch, upon receiving
that punch, a Wing Chun practitioner is able to attack at the same time. Simultaneous
dissolution of an attack, or turning an oncoming attack into a defense, is the most unique
concept of Wing Chun. This effectively calls for the slogan (in memorizing and practicing the
move), whereby an attack is a defense.

Master Yip Man demonstrates Tan Sao, Fuk Sao and Bong Sao during the interview. The
person whose back is facing the camera is his student, Leung Ting.
One more thing to note is the concept of centerline. What does it entail, exactly? Master
Yip mentions that all moves targets the core center; in other words, turning ones bridge
hands into a core, so that when an opponent strikes, one is too always ensure that their
bridging hands are outside of ones own bridging hands, so that you may hang onto the
advantage of being able to both attack and defend. Citing an example, Master Yip says that
all punches thrown are in a rectangular shape, resembling the Chinese character for the
sun; we start from the heart and throws a straight-lined punch, acting in the form of the

string on a bow. If the opponent throws a punch in the form of a hook or a hyperbole, that
attack comes in the formation of a curve, much like the shape of the actual handle on a
bow. We call these moves riding along the bow (anyone with a slight understanding of
algebra will know that the curved line is longer than the straight line). Simultaneously,
even compared to a straight punch that starts from the waistline, Wing Chuns version is
still of a shorter distance; therefore, all of our punches move strictly from the area near
the heart.
Other than using the example of a string and a bow to illustrate this example in Wing Chun
movements, Master Yip also talked of Wing Chun as bamboo and hammer. In theory, a
bamboo stick, a hammer and a bow string have nothing in common and are not comparable.
However, what makes Wing Chun indicative of a bamboo stick is that when the opponent
strikes close, if one uses Tan Sao, Fuk Sao or Bong Sao to receive the attack, that actual strike
will be as if hitting on a bamboo stick ones defence will, at that moment of attack, becomes
pushed back as a result of the force, just like bamboo. When that strike retreats, however, one
immediately strikes back at top speed, much like a bamboo stick will bounce back after with
great force.
In terms of the example concerning a hammer, this is speaking of the way one exerts force
in Wing Chun movements. The force exerted should be exactly like the way one strikes a
hammer into the wall. Everyone who has used a hammer to hit a nail knows that if you struck
it with brute force, not only does the nail fail to penetrate the wall, it might actually becomes
deformed. One must strike the nail cautiously, using the wrist as an axis and lightly
hammering it in. This is what Wing Chun is all about.
Many of you might think now that Wing Chun is all about softness, with the focus on using
flexibility and softness to overcome strength. I posed this very same question to Master Yip.

+ Master Yip Man and his student Leung Tin demonstrate Fuk Sao; when the opponent
attacks with a punch, Master Yip firmly blocks the attack with Fuk Sao, then dissolute the
attack and moves forward with an attack of his own, all of which aptly captured by the force

of the opponents attack.

+ Master Yip holds onto the opponents wrist, and immediately raises his right leg for a kick
aimed at the small of the opponents stomach.
Master Yip replied: Wing Chun is in some sense a soft school of martial arts. However,
if one equates that work as weak or without strength, then they are dead wrong. Chi Sao in
Wing Chun is to maintain ones flexibility and softness, all the while keeping in the
strength to fight back, much like the flexible nature of bamboo.
Master Yip then mentioned the slogan used in Wing Chun keeping in the incoming strike,
sending away the strike-back; drop it all and go straight ahead. He then points out that the
use of Tan Sao, Fuk Sao, Bong Sao is not about pushing a move to the side or moving ones
arms back and forth between the right and the left. Sending away refers simply to sending
ones move forward; going straight ahead refers to, well, moving ahead, and keeping it
in simply means receiving and elbowing onto the opponents punch, instead of pushing
away that attack with sheer force.
Many individuals who are familiar with boxing have told me that these days crimes are on the
rise. When you are on a flight of stairs you might run into robbers who grab you from behind;
in public washrooms no one is immune from robbery. Likewise in restaurants, one look in the
wrong direction might leave you beat up and bruised at the hands of gang members. In tight
spaces as these, nothing works better to defend oneself than practicing Wing Chun.
I believe that theres more than an ounce of truth to this declaration. With the various schools
in the field of martial arts, each one boasts of an unique edge; some are more about attacks,
some are particularly well-suited for defense. Some have simpler movements, some have
complicated ones. Some schools require a large amount of space so you can hone your skills,
but some are particularly well-suited to tight spaces. Wing Chun definitely falls into the latter
category.
When asked this question, Master Yips response was to each his own.
Other than fists, Wing Chun also has the Luk Dim Boon Kwun ()(6.5 point pole)
and the Baat Jaam Do () (Eight slash sword). Before moving onto practicing Wing
Chun with weapon, one must first learn the pole squat, then move onto nailing the pole onto
the ground. It then moves onto closing in the poles, as well as darting, closing in and firing
the pole. After all these moves one then is qualified to learn the actual routine. As for the
Eight slash sword, its core concept comes from fists routines.
Another thing worth mentioning is that another martial arts school, the school of Yong Chun
()(Weng Chun) is also very apt at using the 6.5 point pole, but the moves are entirely
different. Additionally, the dialect spoken in the Foshan area pronounces Yong and Wing
as the same, which has led to manys confusion and believing that these two schools are one
and the same.
Master Yip has asked me to pass on the following message to our dear readers: Yong Chun
and Wing Chun both stem from Shaolin, but if you were to believe that they are one and
the same, than you will be far from the truth!
Photo Captions

1. Master Yip Man demonstrates Tan Sao, Fuk Sao and Bong Sao during the interview.
The person whose back is facing the camera is his student, Leung Ting.
2. Master Yip Man and his student Leung Tin demonstrate Fuk Sao; when the opponent
attacks with a punch, Master Yip firmly blocks the attack with Fuk Sao, then dissolute
the attack and moves forward with an attack of his own, all of which aptly captured
by the force of the opponents attack.
3. Master Yip holds onto the opponents wrist, and immediately raises his right leg for a
kick aimed at the small of the opponents stomach.
Sources:
[1] Lixi(?), New Martial Hero Magazine, Hong Kong, 1972(?)

An Interview with Grandmaster Yip Man

Article by Ip Man added on 22 Jan 2014. Last updated on 23 Jan 2014.
From Martial Hero magazine

The Following interview comes from an old

issue of Hong Kong New Martial Hero magazine it is one of the two ever published
interviews with Yip (Ip) Man sifu.
It was originally posted in KFO discussion forum by user k gledhill and Phillip Redmond
who has posted it on Facebook, so all credit goes there Like others, I'm just reposting the
interview so more readers can enjoy it.

Firstly, Some History

When Ip Man was thirteen years old he started learning Wing Chun from Chan Wah-shun.
Because of his sifu's old age, Ip Man had to learn much of his skills and techniques from his
master's second eldest disciple Ng Chung-sok. Three years into Ip Man's training Chan Wahshun died. One of his dying wishes was to have Ng continue training Ip, which he did.
Ip later moved to Hong Kong and had a chance meeting with Leung Bik who taught Ip Man
the rest of the Wing Chun system.
At around the age of 24 Ip Man returned to Futshan. Being from a well-to-do family, he didn't
need to work and was able to devote the next years to refining his Wing Chun skills and
passing them to others. Yuen Kay Shan, who was from a different linage of Wing Chun spent
much time training with Ip Man at this time. This interview presents a slightly different
interpretation of history to the one laid out by his son with regard to meeting Leung Bik.
Read a an alternative bibliography of Ip Man here.
The Interview

When Grandmaster Yip described his past, he did so with great warmth. Here is a segment of
the interview in its original format.
New Martial Hero: "Did Chan Wah Shun have the nickname Jau-Chin Wah (Wah the
Money-Changer)?"

Yip Man: "This nickname does not represent my instructor's character. Other than 'Wah the
Money Changer', he had also a less graceful nickname. 'Ngau-Chin Wah' of 'Wah the Bull'.
He was the head student of Dr Leung Jan".
New Martial Hero: "This name indicates that Wah the Money Changer was a very bad
tempered person who liked fighting all the time, right? How many students did Wah the
Money Changer admit? How were you ranked amongst your kungfu brothers?"
Yip Man: "Including me, Wah Kung only admitted 16 students since opening his kungfu
school. I was 11 years old when I became his student during his later years."
New Martial Hero: "We Chinese have a saying that the last son is the most beloved one.
According to the Chinese custom, since you were his last kungfu son, you must be the most
beloved student of his. Right?"
Yip Man, smiling: "You're right. When I learnt under Wah Kung, he was already 70. He was
a bit weak at that time. However, he still corrected my mistakes with great patience.
Furthermore, he also told his other students to teach me. As a result, my techniques improved
at high speed."

"It's a good question. Let me tell you why. In

olden days, people were very strict concerning the teacher/student relationship. Before they
admitted a student, they had to know the character of this would-be student very clearly. This
is what is called 'to choose a right student to teach'. Secondly, it also depended on whether the
student could afford to pay his school fees or not".

Grandmaster Yip stopped for a while. He then talked in a rather low tone: "The fact is, not too
many people could afford to pay for such a high school fee. For example: at the time I paid,
the red packet for the 'Student-admitting Ceremony' had to contain 20 taels of silver. And I
had to pay 8 taels of silver each month as my school fee."
A Lot of Money for Learning Kungfu
New Martial Hero: "How much was 20 taels of silver worth, in terms of your living
standards?"
Yip Man, after thinking for a while: "For 20 taels of silver you could marry a wife, say if
you did it economically. Also, with no more than 1 and a half taels of silver you could buy 1
picul [around 60kg] of rice." The Grandmaster continued: "That was why, at that time, most
of the people who learnt kungfu were rich people. These people could leave their jobs and
live in the old temples in deep mountains for training. It is not the same as today when people
can easily learn kungfu anywhere."
New Martial Hero: "After the death of Wah the Money Changer, you left Fatshan and came
to Hong Kong to study in St. Stephens's College. Did you learn Wing Tsun kungfu again
when you were in Hong Kong?"

Yip Man, smiling: "Of course I did! And I can

say that it was because of a highly proficient Wing Tsun expert whom I met that I learned the
most advanced Wing Tsun techniques."

New Martial Hero: "Who was that highly proficient expert?"

Yip Man: "It was Leung Bik, the eldest son of Dr Leung Jan. The story of how I came to
meet my teacher Leung Bik was really quite dramatic. It's a long story."
After repeated requests by the writer, Grandmaster Yip Man started telling this story in detail:
At the time Grandmaster Yip left Fatshan to go to study in Hong Kong, was already very
skilled in the basic wingchun fighting techniques. He always fought with his classmates at the
school. Although Yip Man was not tall, he was very skillful in fighting techniques. Therefore,
he could defeat all his classmates, even those that were much taller and stronger than he. For
this reason, he became arrogant for he believed that nobody could match him.
Meeting Leung Bik in Hong Kong

After six months, one of Yip Man's classmates, surname Lai, whose father ran a big silk
company named "Kung Hang Silk Company" in Jervois Street of Sheung Wan, told Yip that
there was a friend of father's living in their house. He was in his 50s. This man knew some
kungfu techniques. He offered a friendly sparring with Yip Man.
At that time Yip had never been defeated, and so he wasted no time in accepting the
challenge. Lai made an appointment to introduce them to each other on one Sunday
afternoon.
On that Sunday, Yip went to the house of his classmate. After being introduced to
this middle-aged man, Yip looked at him appraisingly. To Yip's eyes, he looked
more like a typical slim-gentleman than someone who really knew kungFu.

After a short, Yip Man frankly challenged the man to a sparring match.
With a smile, the middle-aged man said: "Well, Yip Man, so you are interested in doing some
sparring with me. Before your fight me, I can tell you not to worry about me. All you need to
do is attack me to any part of my body with your full strength and that's all!"

On hearing this, the arrogant Yip Man, though

apparently still unruffled, was actually so mad that all he wanted to do was to beat this man
up!
No sooner did the middle-aged man give Yip Man a hand-signal inviting him to attack than
he was subjected to Yip Man's aggressive rain of punches. However, this man was so quick
that Yip Man could not match his counter-attack movements. In an instant, Yip Man was
forced to withdraw into a corner. The man stopped at the same moment.
After the first contact, and already defeated, Yip Man could not believe that this man had
gained the upper hand so quickly. Therefore, he asked the man if he could try again. Once
again, Yip Man was completely controlled by this man. He could not do anything against
him! This time, Yip Man knew that he had surely been beaten by a real kungfu expert.
Without saying a word, Yip Man went away with great disappointment.
After that friendly sparring match, Yip Man was so depressed that he did not even dare to
mention that he knew kungfu.
One week afterwards, Yip was told by Lai that the middle-aged man wanted to see him again.
At that time, Yip Man rather afraid and too ashamed to see the middle-aged man again. He
told Lai: "I feel too embarrassed to see him again. I am not his match at all."
However, to Yip Man's surprise, Lai told Yip that his father's friend actually praised Yip's
kungfu techniques highly. That was why he wanted to see Yip and talk to him again. Lai
started telling Yip Man the secret of his father's friend. In fact the one who had fought with
Yip Man was none other than Leung Bik, the son of Dr. Leung Jan!

After learning the truth, Yip Man thought to himself: "Gosh! That is why he is so good in
kungfu techniques. Actually this time I w as fighting with a high-rank Wing Tsun expert!"
Immediately Yip Man's realized what an opportunity this was. He was still not that highly
skilled in the kungfu techniques taught to him by his si-fu Wah the Money Changer. This
would be the best chance for him to learn the more advanced Wing Tsun techniques.
Therefore, he wasted no time in asking Lai, his classmate, to take him to the Kung Hang Silk
Company to meet Leung Bik.
Since Yip Man was a genius in terms of learning kungfu, Leung Bik was very happy to teach
all he knew to Yip Man.
A few years later, Leung Bik got tired of living in Hong Kong and was thinking of going back
to Fatshan. At that time Yip Man had already attained the highest proficiency in kungfu
techniques.
Back to Fatshan. At that time Yip Man had already attained the highest proficiency in kungfu
techniques.