The role of the “authority” in Ip Man is one that perhaps best represents a “legalist”/ zero tolerance type of attitude which is in stark contrast with that of the protagonist Ip Man; the legendary teacher of Bruce Lee. In fact, Ip Man’s martial artist personality even diverges from that of Confucianism; his household is not male-centered at all. Rather, his somewhat submissive/mild-mannered way of being in relation to his wife (towards whom he is very loving and understanding, in some ways even more than she is towards him) is reflected in his martial arts as well. He is not one to show off his unparalleled fighting skills (as other martial artists have), let alone open a school of martial arts (also as other martial artists have), and only duels when others want to practice with him or when challenged to the point in which his dignity (national even more so than personal) is at stake.
One curious point is how the same authority figure in the movie becomes the intermediary/interpreter (or the “traitor”) between the Imperialist Japanese and the then-colonized Chinese. Though it would not be fair to draw exclusive parallels between legalism and opportunism, the film definitely makes the argument for this to be the case, at least until Ip Man introduces the concept of dignity to the film’s “authority” figure.
In the end, it is not only Ip Man’s fighting skills that triumph over that of the Japanese aggressors, but also, it is his philosophy (“Chinese martial arts is Confucius in spirit. The virtue of martial arts is benevolence. You Japanese will never understand the principal of treating others as yourselves because you abuse military power, you turn it into violence to oppress others. You don’t deserve to learn Chinese martial arts”), as well as the spirit of the Chinese people over their oppressors that triumph as well. A truly inspirational film that involves much more than senseless, fantastically-choreographed fighting scenes, and it is a great way to start the Ip Man film trilogy (though in my opinion, this film is the most enjoyable to watch and to share with others).
You are here
Ip Man
02/20/2013 05:54 AM
#1
Ip Man
My husband loves the Ip man trilogy and Donnie Yen, so I've seen the movies multiple times (unfortunately for me, since I'm not the biggest fan of Chinese martial arts movies). I think that elagua0's analysis of the film and reflection upon what we've learned in this course is very insightful and I agree with what he says. My insight is much simpler: I think there are clips of this movie that would be great to show to high schoolers in order to depict and bring to life the invasion of the Japanese in China. When we were learning about the Japanese invasion during this course, there were several parts of the lecture that would remind me of the movie.
Although many of the scenes and characters in the movie Ip Man were embellished or examples of creative license, the film was definitely fun to watch and relevant to the classroom on many levels. Just as in the depictions of Wong Fe Hung, the use of a well known martial arts master as a national hero is a very familiar approach. It makes for a good story line, but there are often many events that are left out or invented. In any case, the performance of Donnie Yen is worth the investment of time. I enjoyed the humility that Yen showed as an exponent of Wing Chun KF. The art itself is meant to be unassuming yet aggressive and opportunistic. I liked they way that the makers of the film balanced national pride, Chinese philosophy, and good fight scenes.
The movie has many action scenes that help support the main story that is being presented to the audience. THis movie took me to a time in my young life when my dad and I would watch Bruce Lee movies and enjoy each others company. While at the same time educating me about the particular struggles the people encounter in their everyday life. There was one particular scene that caught my attention, when the main character wanted to open a Karate gym but did not because he had not followed protocol. Something that would seem like nonsense to me is actually an unwritten type of code of ethics that is followed by those people that have learned to respect all those that have been part of past martial arts teachings.
The movie has many action scenes that help support the main story that is being presented to the audience. THis movie took me to a time in my young life when my dad and I would watch Bruce Lee movies and enjoy each others company. While at the same time educating me about the particular struggles the people encounter in their everyday life. There was one particular scene that caught my attention, when the main character wanted to open a Karate gym but did not because he had not followed protocol. Something that would seem like nonsense to me is actually an unwritten type of code of ethics that is followed by those people that have learned to respect all those that have been part of past martial arts teachings.
Hello guys,
The astonishing fight scenes are some of the most exciting ever filmed in a martial arts movie that raises the bar for the genre. For any martial arts fan, "Ip Man" is mandatory viewing.
So your from is very popular from and hard hitting topic . Thanks for shared.
While teaching about imperialism in China and Japan today, two of my students brought up this film. They gasped when I told them I had never heard of it. I definitely need to check this out. Thank you for providing the great descriptions.