Ip Man (Yip Man) Movie!

[Zhang Wuji]

Newsflash!

For all those in Asia, the movie "Ip Man" will be out tomorrow. Ip Man for those who don't know (???!!!) is Bruce Lee's Wing Chun master, and a legend in his own right.

I watched the trailers and was blown away. Donnie Yen, the star, obviously put in a lot of work to be as authentic and realistic.

I just hope it is better than Fearless, which was terrible, in my opinion.

Here's the official site, in English:

http://www.ipman-movie.com/main_en.html

[Casper]

Wow, it looks awesome!

Will definitely be heading for the Cinema to catch this one.

[Andy]

I liked Fearless but my brother has seen the Ip Man movie and says it is even better!

Looking forward to it...

[Omar]

Ip Man was a good movie. Very well played by Donnie Yen.

[Wu Jing]

Enjoy

http://www.zshare.net/video/5366131489e271ee/

enjoy guys

[yasminejade]

Agree

Hi Omar,

I agree with you, very nice movie,

Hi Wuji,

Quickly watch it if you have not yet. And Happy Chinese New Year.

I visited a Wingchun class immediately after watching Ip Man. The class was taught by Sifu Yip Fook Choy, which Sifu did mention once in his webpage. Very nice, friednly, talkative Sifu in his 60s.

The purpose of my visiting is just want to see their characteristic narrow stances and active bridges in real. Their Chikung is also much focus on the training of "Jing", if comparing to Taijiquan. But if I did not take course by Sifu Wong before, I think I may not be able to realize this.

[Ray]

Hello family,
I watched it and enjoyed it immensely. What's great about this movie compared to "Fearless" is that they invited Yip Man's son as a consultant so the moves are authentic Wing Chun. Donnie Yen did a great job with the film, I seriously think this is the best film he's ever done to date.

Best,

Ray

[Zhang Wuji]

I managed to find an uninterrupted 2 hours last night to watch the DVD, which just came out last week. It was (is) a fantastic movie. It was great to see back-to-basics kungfu fighting, instead of wire-fu and flying, not only by Ip Man but also all the "masters".

There was the usual Japanese bashing, although I notice that these days, the Japanese soldiers tend to be portrayed with shades of evil, rather than as outright monsters in the older movies. What I liked was how the movie also showed how a good karate practitioner can apply karate effectively in combat. It was clear though that General Miura was so good only because of his force, rather than techniques. Funny that until today, so many people think that karate is a Japanese martial art - it was from Okinawa. The truly Japanese martial art is Jujitsu, used by the samurai.

[Zhang Wuji]

wasn't able to edit out the last line of my post above - I recall other Japanese arts such as those used by the ninja (can't recall the Japanese term), so that last line is incorrect.

The mass fight scene at the cotton mill was very, very instructive. If you watch carefully, you would see how many of the workers started out with the correct Wing Chun poise, and managed to get off a couple of typical Wing Chun strikes, but once any of them got hit, or overwhelmed by the gangsters' superior force or aggression, they reverted to wild flailing of their arms and legs. A good lesson for all of us - kungfu forms and techniques can easily degenerate into a dog's breakfast when one is not prepared for real fighting.

[Ray]

wasn't able to edit out the last line of my post above - I recall other Japanese arts such as those used by the ninja (can't recall the Japanese term),

I take Ninjutsu for 500 Alex (Jeopardy reference)

I wanted to ask if the kicks used by the northern shaolin fighter were actual shaolin moves or flashy kicks?

Shaolin Salute,

Ray

[Andy]

Dear Wuji Sihing,

Glad you enjoyed the movie! Im looking forward to it

What I liked was how the movie also showed how a good karate practitioner can apply karate effectively in combat.

A good example of this was the UFC fight between Thiago Silva and Lyoto Machida at the weekend.

Silva is the archetypal aggressive cage fighter - Muay Thai, Brazilian Ju Jitsu master.

Machida is half-Japanese, half-Brazilian, thoroughly cross trained (west. boxing, B. jujitsu, muay thai) as all modern UFC fighters are, but he uses Shotokan Karate as his base: including traditional stances, and the powerful striking techniques and sweeps.

During the fight (undefeated) Machida completely took apart the (previously undefeated) Silva -> his elusive movement and counter striking were simply devastating. The one-sided nature of the contest has posed a question to many in the MMA regarding their opinion of traditional arts.

Best

Andy

[Adam Kryder]

Machida Vs. Silva

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjkyMjIwNzI=.html

Enjoy!

[Zhang Wuji]

wasn't able to edit out the last line of my post above - I recall other Japanese arts such as those used by the ninja (can't recall the Japanese term), so that last line is incorrect.

I was thinking more of "taijutsu" but I realised when I saw the Kanji characters that the word just means "body art" which is as general as the term "kungfu".

About the northern Shaolin master (Jin Shan Zhao), I can't tell if the kicks were Shaolin or not, but the actor is quite a well-known expert and the star of "Nan Quan Bei Tui" (where he played Huang Qiying, Wong (Huang) Fei Hong's father). Again, I learnt a lot from Jin Shan Zhao's fights with all the masters - against a ferocious fighter like that, it is all too easy to lose your cool and abandon your training to use force against force. That would be a sure route to defeat because you would be playing to his advantages - of his brute force and aggression (coupled with his internal force). Sometimes, to beat someone faster and stronger, you have to go slower and be more relaxed.

I will try to watch the UFC match when I have some time. I have always admired MMA fighters for their skills and dedication, but it was not until I watched the Fight Science series that I realised how powerful the elite MMA fighters are.

[Peterminator]

According to Raymond Wong - the "Ip man" movie producer, they will start making sequel in 2010. This is going to include Sifu Yip's trip to Hong Kong, where he begins to teach. Bruce Lee will be mentioned, and probably starred by Danny Chan.

Yupeeeee

[AlexBaranosky]

This was an excellent movie, even with the terrible sound quality and sparse subtitles. And despite all that I'd like to watch it again!

The Wing Chun course can't come soon enough