Ip Man

葉問
Hong Kong
Born 1893-10-01, Foshan
Died 1972-12-02, Hong Kong
23.7

Also known as

Yip Man · Yip Kai-man

Description

Ip Man (1893–1972) was a Hong Kong martial artist and grandmaster of Wing Chun. He is best known for training Bruce Lee and for systematizing the teaching of Wing Chun in Hong Kong. His students included Wong Shun-leung, Chu Shong-tin, and Bruce Lee.

Teachers (2)

  • Chan Wah-shun
    sports_martial_artsWing Chun Probable
    Probable
    Ip Man became Chan Wah-shun's 16th and last student at age 9 or 13 in Foshan; documented in multiple biographical sources
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    (1905–1908)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Ip Man became Chan Wah-shun's 16th and last student at age 9 or 13 in Foshan; documented in multiple biographical sources
    “Ip Man began learning Wing Chun from Chan Wah-shun when he was 9 or 13; Chan was 57 at the time, and Ip became Chan's 16th and last student”
    — Ip Man (Wikipedia EN)linkhistory info
  • Leung Bik
    sports_martial_artsWing Chun Probable
    Probable
    Wikipedia only.
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    (1910–1911)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Wikipedia only.
    “Ip proceeded to train with Leung Bik, until Leung's death in 1911.”
    — Wikipedia contributors. (2025). Ip Man. Wikipedia (English)linkhistory info

Lineage

Students (2)

  • Bruce Lee
    sports_martial_artsWing Chun Confirmed
    Confirmed
    Extensively documented relationship; Bruce Lee studied Wing Chun under Ip Man from 1953 to 1958 in Hong Kong
    The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.
    (1953–1958)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    2 sources expand_more
    fact_check
    Extensively documented relationship; Bruce Lee studied Wing Chun under Ip Man from 1953 to 1958 in Hong Kong
    “Lee's early martial arts experience included Wing Chun (trained under Ip Man)”
    — Bruce Lee (Wikipedia EN)link history info
    “Lee's teacher, Grandmaster Ip Man, received complaints from Lee's classmates about teaching someone (viz. Lee) of mixed ethnicity”
    — Jennings (2019) - Bruce Lee and the Invention of Jeet Kune Dolink history info
  • Wong Shun-leung
    sports_martial_artsWing Chun Confirmed
    Confirmed
    Independent sources state it.
    The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    2 sources expand_more
    fact_check
    Independent sources state it.
    “Wong Shun-leung [...] was a Hong Kong martial artist who studied Wing Chun kung fu under Yip Man (葉問)”
    — Wikipedia contributors. (2025). Wong Shun-leung. Wikipedia (English)link history info
    “Wong Shun Leung, one of his most senior pupils, came from this first generation of students”
    — Maeda, Daryl Joji. (2022). Like Water: A Cultural History of Bruce Leelink info

Sources

Ip Man (Wikipedia EN)linkhistory info

Identifiers

https://martial.is/entity/01KYD5XMNM4DH8KAWBC1TE9BDJ
Wikidata VIAFISNI

Cite and reuse

CC BY-SA 4.0expand_more
Plain text
Muñoz, Frederico (YEAR_PLACEHOLDER). Ip Man. In Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database. https://martial.is/entity/01KYD5XMNM4DH8KAWBC1TE9BDJ - CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER.
BibTeX
@incollection{martialis_01KYD5XMNM4DH8KAWBC1TE9BDJ, author = {Muñoz, Frederico}, title = {Ip Man}, booktitle = {Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database}, year = {YEAR_PLACEHOLDER}, url = {https://martial.is/entity/01KYD5XMNM4DH8KAWBC1TE9BDJ}, urldate = {ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }
data_object JSON-LDdata_object Turtle

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