Interesting
- Thread starter Tames D
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Interesting but not surprising!
Unfortunately would not play for me on the phone, but at the outside, seems a little bizzare after this amount of time. Then again, with Ip Man 3-D imminent, that in my current view is not surprising either.
Its kind of silly to want to pick one guy to be the representative for ALL of Wing Chun. That would be like Japan wanting to pick one guy to be the representative of ALL of Karate. The results would be the same. Wing Chun is now so diverse that there isn't one person that could legitimately represent all of it.
Unfortunately the page doesn't display for me.
I don't think Yip Man even wanted a "successor," but if we want to play this game, then logically wouldn't it either be:
A. Yip Man's two sons
or
B. Yip Man's most prized student (Leung Sheung) and then whoever Leung Sheung's most prized student is/was?
I don't think Yip Man even wanted a "successor," but if we want to play this game, then logically wouldn't it either be:
A. Yip Man's two sons
or
B. Yip Man's most prized student (Leung Sheung) and then whoever Leung Sheung's most prized student is/was?
Kwan Sau
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For those of you who can't load the page...here is some copied/pasted text from the article:
A controversy has erupted in Chinese martial arts circles over who will be chosen as the officially sanctioned inheritor of the legacy of Wing Chun-style kung fu.
Nine martial arts groups from Guangdong province have signed a letter contesting a suggestion by the provincial department of culture to list Ip Chun, the son of kung fu legend Yip Man, as an official standard bearer of the martial art.
The 90-year-old Hong Kong-resident has to this day continued to give lessons in his fathers’ teachings.
Chinese provinces have been creating lists of “intangible culture heritage representative inheritors” ranging from practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to opera singers and mooncake bakers.
This year’s list for Guangdong province was released for public consultation earlier this month until Monday.
Ip was among the 113 people included in the document. The two other Wing Chun representatives are Kuok Wai-jarm and Leung Wai-wing from Foshan.
Ip’s father Yip Man was the teacher of actor and Hong Kong kung fu legend Bruce Lee.
Two recent biographical blockbuster movies rediscovered the master’s story and introduced it to a global audience.
Though born into a rich family in Foshan, Guangdong in 1893, Ip later endured poverty and repression in the warlorlds' period and Japanese occupation until he immigrated to the then-British colony of Hong Kong, where he popularised his style of Wing Chun kung fu until his death in 1972.
Two days after a public review period ended, a leading Guandong newspaper said nine martial arts groups opposed the province’s selection of Ip and two other men as representatives of Wing Chun.
The choice was “completely inconsistent with history and the reality of the situation” the opponents wrote, according to their letter seen by the Southern Metropolis Daily.
Ip had lived in Hong Kong for too many years and had not contributed to the development of Wing Chun in its hometown Foshan, the report said.
The groups named in the report on Wednesday could not be reached for comment.
A spokesman for the Guangdong provincial martial arts association also declined to comment.
A member of the Martial Arts Association in Guangzhou’s Conghua district, which signed the letter opposing Ip’s selection, said the Wing Chun style of kung fu dated back to imperial times and had by now developed into different styles.
He said he opposed the selection of Ip and the two other nominees, saying they could not represent Wing Chun in its entirety.
Ho Kay, chairman of Wing Chun Ip Chun Academy and a student of Ip for three decades, rejected the accusation that Ip had not contributed to Wing Chun in Foshan. He said Ip’s students had built an Ip Man museum on the outskirts of Foshan and have been teaching summer classes in the city for years.
An expert commission will study Ip’s nomination and objections raised by the nine kung fu groups, a staffer at the Guangdong Province Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre said.
A controversy has erupted in Chinese martial arts circles over who will be chosen as the officially sanctioned inheritor of the legacy of Wing Chun-style kung fu.
Nine martial arts groups from Guangdong province have signed a letter contesting a suggestion by the provincial department of culture to list Ip Chun, the son of kung fu legend Yip Man, as an official standard bearer of the martial art.
The 90-year-old Hong Kong-resident has to this day continued to give lessons in his fathers’ teachings.
Chinese provinces have been creating lists of “intangible culture heritage representative inheritors” ranging from practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to opera singers and mooncake bakers.
This year’s list for Guangdong province was released for public consultation earlier this month until Monday.
Ip was among the 113 people included in the document. The two other Wing Chun representatives are Kuok Wai-jarm and Leung Wai-wing from Foshan.
Ip’s father Yip Man was the teacher of actor and Hong Kong kung fu legend Bruce Lee.
Two recent biographical blockbuster movies rediscovered the master’s story and introduced it to a global audience.
Though born into a rich family in Foshan, Guangdong in 1893, Ip later endured poverty and repression in the warlorlds' period and Japanese occupation until he immigrated to the then-British colony of Hong Kong, where he popularised his style of Wing Chun kung fu until his death in 1972.
Two days after a public review period ended, a leading Guandong newspaper said nine martial arts groups opposed the province’s selection of Ip and two other men as representatives of Wing Chun.
The choice was “completely inconsistent with history and the reality of the situation” the opponents wrote, according to their letter seen by the Southern Metropolis Daily.
Ip had lived in Hong Kong for too many years and had not contributed to the development of Wing Chun in its hometown Foshan, the report said.
The groups named in the report on Wednesday could not be reached for comment.
A spokesman for the Guangdong provincial martial arts association also declined to comment.
A member of the Martial Arts Association in Guangzhou’s Conghua district, which signed the letter opposing Ip’s selection, said the Wing Chun style of kung fu dated back to imperial times and had by now developed into different styles.
He said he opposed the selection of Ip and the two other nominees, saying they could not represent Wing Chun in its entirety.
Ho Kay, chairman of Wing Chun Ip Chun Academy and a student of Ip for three decades, rejected the accusation that Ip had not contributed to Wing Chun in Foshan. He said Ip’s students had built an Ip Man museum on the outskirts of Foshan and have been teaching summer classes in the city for years.
An expert commission will study Ip’s nomination and objections raised by the nine kung fu groups, a staffer at the Guangdong Province Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre said.
Their citation over Ip being based in HK as an issue is preposterous. Thanks for posting the excerpt.
If you look at WC as a whole, Yip Man was just one branch off of a much bigger tree.
So I can see them on the mainland not wanting the HK group representing the entire "family".
It gets down to why do we even need a figure head at the top? We've seemed to have done ok for the past century or two without one.
While we all have common ancestry and (hopefully) share common traits and principles, there is too much diversity within all the different lineages...good grief, look at how much divisiveness we have coming down out of Yip Man's HK lineage alone....without even mentioning his Fotshon students.
Then you go back a generation to all of Chan Wah Shun's people...of whom Yip Man was only one of some 18 or so.
Then a generation back before that to Leung Jan's students, of whom Chan Wah Shun was just one of many.
Then back a generation before that to Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tai...how many others did they teach besides Leung Jan?
Then you go back to their teacher...........And again this is only one branch from the tree!
How is one man supposed to be the Grand Poobah of all of this?
So I can see them on the mainland not wanting the HK group representing the entire "family".
It gets down to why do we even need a figure head at the top? We've seemed to have done ok for the past century or two without one.
While we all have common ancestry and (hopefully) share common traits and principles, there is too much diversity within all the different lineages...good grief, look at how much divisiveness we have coming down out of Yip Man's HK lineage alone....without even mentioning his Fotshon students.
Then you go back a generation to all of Chan Wah Shun's people...of whom Yip Man was only one of some 18 or so.
Then a generation back before that to Leung Jan's students, of whom Chan Wah Shun was just one of many.
Then back a generation before that to Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tai...how many others did they teach besides Leung Jan?
Then you go back to their teacher...........And again this is only one branch from the tree!
How is one man supposed to be the Grand Poobah of all of this?
Yes would probably start a world wide bun fight on who's Wing Chun is the best. Besides it is not a stretch to imagine that plenty of usurpers will be lurking in the shadows.
good points Yak.
And then theres this: even IF a grand poobah was named...who, of all the different entities and practitioners out there, would follow him?
His students...until the day came to name a new Grand Poobah, then it would faction off again as everyone argued that they were the rightful successor and then it would become even more fragmented than it already is.
Kwan Sau
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Exactly. And what would be the point? How is that any different that how it is today? I.E. Leung Ting...he heads his own organization. If he were to be annointed...probably only HIS followers would pay it any attention.
Vajramusti
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Kwan Sau
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Vajramusti - I agree. I think there must have been a good reason in Yip Man's mind as to why he did not appoint a successor before he died.
Maybe he realized that wing chun was growing and would soon be too large and diverse a family for one successor to manage. Or, he just didn't care...
Maybe he realized that wing chun was growing and would soon be too large and diverse a family for one successor to manage. Or, he just didn't care...
Yeah he probably did not bother to worry. I would imagine that he felt that his teachings were secure at least.
Vajramusti
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Often imitated??
Realize guys that they are not proposing a head of Ip Man Wing Chun, they are proposing a head of ALL Wing Chun! Why would someone like say...Wong Nim Ni....acknowledge Ip Chun as any kind of "head"? His branch of Wing Chun has nothing to do with Ip Man.
I've heard some speculate that the reason he didn't name a successor is because he didn't consider himself the lineage holder.
Danny T
Senior Master
I speculate it doesn't matter at this point. No one was or is the so called successor. Was there ever a single successor?
Wing Chun is now larger than any one person or family and I don't believe there should be a single person. Stay true to the principles, train smartly, train for practicality, pressure test, and be honest in what you learn. Form, Drill, Apply. Wing Chun will be alive.
Wing Chun is now larger than any one person or family and I don't believe there should be a single person. Stay true to the principles, train smartly, train for practicality, pressure test, and be honest in what you learn. Form, Drill, Apply. Wing Chun will be alive.
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