Master Ip Ching with Grandmaster Ip Man

Born in Foshan in 1936, Ip Ching began learning the Fundamentals of Wing Chun Kuen from his father at the age of 7. Ip Man had been teaching a small group of students at this time including Kwok Fu, Chow Kwong yue and a servant boy of the Chow family named Lun Gai. Unfortunately for Ip Ching his training was cut short in 1949 when Master Ip Man left Foshan. After Ip Man left Ip Ching occaisionally got together with Lung Gai to practice Siu Lim Tau as they are close in age.                  

                                    Kwok Fu, Ip Ching and Lun Gai

Mr.Fung Kam Shing a boyhood friend of Master Ip Ching dating back to Junior secondary school recalls how Ip Ching would constantly talk about his father and how he hoped to become a martial artist like him. Upon graduating college in Canton , In 1962 Ip Ching and his elder Brother Ip Chun moved to Hong Kong to Reconnect with their father.

                      Master Ip Ching, G.M. Ip Man, Master Ip Chun

Moving in with his father Ip Ching had the chance to resume his training and gain enormous insite into his fathers thoughts and theories on the Wing Chun System due to daily training and interaction. After a couple years of training under his fathers careful eye, Ip Ching began to assist his father when he taught private lessons in their home. Three such students who trained privately with Ip Man at the time Ip Ching was assisting his father were Master Moy Yat, Master Fung Hon and Master Wong Ki Man (Francis) with all 3 receiving instruction up to and including Wing Chun's highest form the Bok Jom Dao.(1) In 1965 Ip Man began mentioning the formation of an association to over see the development and promotion of the Wing Chun System as many of his senior students were already out on their own teaching. In 1967 Ip Ching and his brother Ip chun were among the founding members of the Ving Tsun Athletic Association with Ip Chun serving in the roll of treasurer. In 1968 Ip Ching was installed as an instructor alongside Wong Ki Man and Fung Hon and others at the V.T.A.A. under the supervision of Grandmaster Ip Man. This however was not to last long as Ip Man became engaged in a dispute with Tang Sang the acting president of the association and walked out ordering his instructors to follow suit and not to return until Tang Sang left. On December 2, 1972 Ip Man passed away leaving his home, Seals and prized manuels passed down from Leung Jan, to Ip Ching.

                                                    Ip Ching with Leung Jan's texts

In 1973 a number of Ip Man's students decided to Immigrate and Ip Ching found himself teaching a small group at Qn. Elizabeth Hospital when his Gung fu brother Fung Hon moved to Canada, teaching this group until 1974 when he decided to no longer teach publicly and focus on his factory business. As many of the Wing Chun seniors were either overseas, teaching out on their own for many years or themselves no longer involved a small group of seniors such as Chan Chee Man and Siu Yuk Men (2) would come to the VTAA to keep themselves sharp by doing Chi sau with Ip Ching, Ip Chung and Wong Shun Leung. Although Ip Ching did not teach publicly at this time, He did however continue to teach privately and students such as Lee Yun Tung (Eric Lee) currently of canada who began instruction under Master Ip Ching in Sept, 1973 continued to train. In 1974 Ip Ching and his brother began working on a book convering Master Ip Man's Muk Yahn Jong, and this was published in two parts in 1976 and were the first books on the subject. Upon retiring from Managing his factory Master Ip Ching once again decided to resume public instruction giving many the opportunity to experience his intricate knowledge of his father's Gung Fu and reuniting with his old Gung Fu brothers once again in other countries for the purpose of instructing Wing Chun. In the Words of the Late Master Moy Yat who trained beside him under Ip Man's instruction, which were spoken at a joint seminar at the Wing Chun Museum , He advised a number of his students to take the opportunity to Learn from Ip Ching as "His Ving Tsun is Very Pure!"(3) In fact he personally refered Sifu Meng to Master Ip Ching and in whose opinion "Of the ten years he lived with his father probably no one got a greater Idea of his fathers application of Wing Chun".

footnotes:

1) I have been able to verify with students of all of these gentleman Fung Hon (canada) Francis Wong (Hong Kong) as well as those of the late Master Moy Yat that Ip Ching was present and did assist in his father teaching the Knives and in further answer to a controversial question in the Wing Chun world that Flipping of the blades was at this time taught by Ip man himself. In a discussion with one source who was a special student of Moy Yat under Moy Yat's disciple Benny Meng, Moy Yat Stated to them both "I have no doubt Ip Ching possesses all the knowledge of his father's Knives."

2)Ip Ching's understanding of his fathers gung fu was held in high regard and Chan Chee man and Siu Yuk men would get together with him, Ip chun and Wong Shun Leung at the V.T.A.A. in an interview with Sifu Darryl Jordan contained on page 50 in his excellent book  "The Sound of Ving Tsun" Ip Man 1950's student Siu yuk men states "Do you know chinese? You Can see when Yip Man Sifu named his two son's Yip Ching and Yip Chun, Chun means correct, Ching also means correct, ching also means perfect or accurate, Chun and Ching is quite similar.I believe that he used the names of his two sons it came from Ving Tsun. So that he wanted his two sons correct. Chun, Ching, there for it is good."

3)This in private email correspondance with Master Richard Loewenhagen (which can also be seen at the following url's :

 www.mengsofaz.com/currentarticles/Discipleship%20Is%20Not%20About%20Blind%20Loyalty.htm

http://home.vtmuseum.org:80/articles/loewenhagen/vtmecca.php

Master Loewenhagen , Formerly a Special Student of the late Master Moy Yat is now of the Hung Fa Yi Lineage and has no vested interest in repeating the comments he and Master Meng (A former Direct Disciple of the Late Master Moy Yat) were told Personally and in the presence of others by Master Moy Yat. They are but two of four individual's I can confirm were told this by Master Moy Yat.