Issue 65 - Tse Qigong Centre

The 9 th and 10 th of November 2002 will be etched in thememory of all the Wing Chun practitioners who were fortunateenough to be able to make the trip to Foshan in the province ofCanton, South China. The two days were a celebration of themartial art of Wing Chun with the express purpose of openinga memorial exhibition to one of its most famous ex-residents,the legendary Ip Man.For those who may not be aware a few words about the subject of thisunique event. Grandmaster Ip Man passed away on the 1 st December1972 and his death came at a time when the world outside China wasbeginning to hear about him as the man who had taught Bruce Lee hisKung Fu. Because of the timing of his death and having had their interestawakened many felt disappointed and cheated that they could not discover moreabout the art of Wing Chun from the source. The burden of expectation andresponsibility fell to his sons and senior students who over the ensuing yearsdispersed throughout the world to make their way in life and to continue theperpetuation of the art of Wing Chun. In the early seventies I was involved in themartial arts and remember well the magazines and some of the newspapers ofthe time talking about the boom and the growing interest in the Martial Arts.Opening ofIp Man ToI had started training a year or two before the film, Enter the Dragon, hit thecinemas in the UK. The class I was attending went from ten to a class of seventyalmost overnight, such was the heat created by the Bruce Lee effect and I wasn’teven studying Kung Fu! Although Bruce Lee was an obvious factor in the spread ofhis fameOpeningthere was much to the character of Ip Man and his approach to Kung Fuofwhich indicated a man who took the responsibility that went with his ability veryseriously. His skill was obviously considerable but he was also an intelligent man