Ip Ip Hooray
A friend highly recommended a martial arts movie to me a while back called “Ip Man.” When I say highly recommended mean highly! But even after hearing all that, I still didn’t go and watch it.
Why?
Well, I’ve gotta admit I’m not a big fan of that “type” of movies-maybe because I’m a girl- who knows.
Anyway, I put it off and put it off but I finally sat down and watched it the other night. And man, was he right; I loved it. I beat myself up for waiting so long.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Have you ever wondered who taught Bruce Lee kung fu? No? (just play along with me o.k?)
Well, somebody did and now you can find out who he was.
Hong Kong martial arts star Donnie Yen plays the legendary Yip Man, or what most call “Ip” Man”; that’s I pause P Man, teacher and grandmaster of Wing Chun a style of martial arts that involved close-range combat and trainer of Bruce Lee.
It is a semi-biographical movie based on the master’s life during the Japanese occupation of China.
But most people know him simply as the mentor to Bruce Lee. Still not a bad thing to be remembered as don’t ya think!
SideNote: One of Ip Man's famous quotes is "It is difficult for a student to pick a good teacher, but it is more difficult for a teacher to pick a good student".
Nothing Lost In Translation
Donnie Yen He's the first thing I want to talk about because I'm madly in love with him now. It being a subtitled foreign film it’s difficult to really know how well his acting really is. But based on what I saw in his facial expressions and mannerisms I will say his acting chops are on point with his karate chops.
“I wasn’t just acting the role – I actually lived it,” Yen said in an interview, ” I was totally in that world to come out as accurate as possible. My mind and spirit was all about playing Ip.I would wear his clothes all around the hotel, drink tea the way he used to, and even changed the way I walked and talked… Ip is a lot more laid-back, so I adjusted my tempo, and slowed everything down.” See Trivia Below
Yen’s devotion and affection to the character really shows in his acting that turn him into the Ip Man.
Much of “Ip Man follows the Rocky formula - sweet, touching story building up to a major climatic fight scene at the end. It’s actually a surprisingly tender story for an action film.
Sweet- touching- tender? Certainly not adjectives you hear about a martial arts movie are they?!
But for the rest of you that want the action,don’t go anywhere, the fight scenes in the film are (literally!) knockouts. Especially when Ip Man faces 10 karate experts.
The fight is one of the most intense one I have ever seen, Donnie Yen was so fierce and in the zone, the choreography of the scene was amazing.
In the end, I’m still not a fan of martial arts movies but that’s o.k. because it really wasn’t all about that. It was really a sweet story about an extraordinary man.
He respected his wife, he cared and protected his family, he didn't care much about fame,he was nice and helpful to his friends, he was fiercely loyal to his country, and throughout it all he was still very civilized and polite to people who purposely found trouble with him.
Oh and if you had any doubt after reading all this-yes I loved it and I too highly recommend it, even if you’re you are a girl and this isn’t your(air quotes) “type” of movie.
Trivia:
-Wing Chun was supposedly started by a woman, whereby it's possible to defeat your opponent even if you are smaller in size. It uses minimal strength than just senseless punching. It attacks in a straight line and has a center line concept- all punches are within short distances. It also uses the logic, "The shortest distance between you and your opponent is a straight line
-Ip Man’s oldest son Ip Chun, was one of the technical consultants for the movie.
- Ip Man was released in Hong Kong way back in December 2008 and was nominated for 12 Hong Kong Film Awards, winning awards for Best Film and Best Action Choreography.
- Donnie Yen described the role as the most emotionally and mentally difficult one of his career. Yen completely changed his life routines and spent much of his time with Ip’s sons to learn more about the iconic man.
He spent months preparing for it by going on a strict diet in which he ate only one meal a day.
- While rehearsing a fight scene, Yen was injured when an axe wielder accidentally cut the side of his left eye. Yen also had a masseur on the set because he could not raise his right shoulder due to an injury.
Rated R
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Posted by oxyjen on Aug 21, 2011
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