Ip Man

I first discovered this movie from a recommendation of a martial arts student I train with. I must admit, I am usually very hesitant and reluctant to watch martial arts movies since many are just action pact with no plot. If there happens to be a plot, it is generally the same, one character insults or damages the hero's family, they fight, then at the end laugh and say what a good component the other is.

IP Man is not typical martial arts movie at all. This is the story of the man that was Bruce Lee's mentor before and during the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930's. Ip (played by Donnie Yen) is a well to do merchant and Wing Chun practitioner in Hong Kung in the 1930s. He becomes very well established and continues to prove himself and strengthen relationships before the Japanese invasion.

After the Japanese invasion, he finds that his wealth is gone, his students have gone, and he is barely surviving to keep his family and himself alive. He maintains his legendary Wing Chun skills a secret until he retaliates for the death of one of his friends by fighting 10 karate practitioners at once. This gets the attention of the Japanese general (Hiroyuki Ikeauchi) who then has a final fight with Ip Man in the town square to try to prove Japanese superiority.

Whether the story is true in a biographical standpoint is irrelevant to me. Ip Man is a great story of a good man doing the best he can to protect his family, his friends and himself in the worst of times. That story in itself is timeless. This is perhaps the best martial arts movie since Enter The Dragon.