Ip Man

Bruce Lee's teacher

Ip Man (1893-1972) taught wing chun in Hong Kong from the 1950s, and Bruce Lee was among his students. Wilson Yip's film does not claim to be a faithful biography: the duels with Japanese fighters were written for the story. Ip Chun, the master's eldest son, still advised the crew on the story and the fights. The film won Best Film and Best Action Choreography at the 2009 Hong Kong Film Awards and spawned three sequels, in 2010, 2015 and 2019.

Fights by Sammo Hung

The choreography is by Sammo Hung, assisted by Tony Leung Siu-hung. Hung had already put wing chun on screen in Warriors Two (1978) and The Prodigal Son (1981). Donnie Yen, introduced to tai chi and wushu by his mother, the teacher Bow-sim Mark, spent months training in wing chun on a strict diet.

If you train, you will recognise the core principles: guarding the centreline, defending and attacking at the same time, chain punches, wooden dummy drills and short steps that keep contact. The film also pits wing chun against the other Foshan schools and then against Japanese karate. General Miura is played by Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, a judo black belt with no background in Chinese martial arts.

What to know before you watch

Wing chun on screen is stylised: exchanges last longer and opponents absorb more than they would in reality. Even so, the scene where Ip Man takes on ten karateka at once remains one of the most rewatched fight sequences of its decade, because it shows the logic of the style, its economy of movement and its search for the shortest line.

The film grossed about $22 million, mostly in Asia. It holds an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Kenji Kawai's score stays understated, and Simon Yam, as Ip Man's industrialist friend, gives the historical drama more depth than many kung fu films manage.