Despite Ip Man’s reputation as Bruce Lee’s kung fu master, he is not actually the person responsible for much of the actor’s martial arts training. It is well documented that the kung fu legend was a student of Ip Man in the 1950s. The training he received at Ip Man’s school laid the foundation for the kung fu techniques he became so famous for later in life.
Yip Man was a highly respected Wing Chun Grandmaster who lived most of his life in Hong Kong. During this time, he took on the teenage Lee as an apprentice and paved the way for Bruce Lee to become a martial arts expert. Their relationship was highlighted in the Ip Man films starring Donnie Yen. Lee attended the Ip Man School for several years before being sent to the United States where he completed high school.
Largely due to the knowledge and experience he gained at the Wing Chun Ip Man school, Lee was able to open his own martial arts schools and create a unique style of kung fu called Jeet Kune Do.
While it is true that Ip Man played an important role in Bruce Lee’s journey to becoming a kung fu legend, it is worth noting that Wong Shun Leung, who actually played a much more active role in Lee’s development as a Wing Chun practitioner, does not receive enough attention. . . Because Yip Man was understandably too busy to personally oversee each student’s learning, he delegated one-on-one private lessons to his older students. The person assigned to train Li was Wong Shun Leng. During his Wing Chun training, Li spent most of his time learning from Wong, and only occasionally received lessons from Yip Man himself.
Bruce Lee’s Relationship With Wong Shun Leung Explained
In a letter Lee wrote to Wong years after leaving Hong Kong, the actor acknowledged the fact that it was Wong Shun Leung who taught him kung fu (and not Ip Man). In the letter, Lee said, “Even though I am (technically) a student of Ip Man, I actually learned my kung fu from you.” What Lee conveyed to Wong in his letters reflects how much he appreciated the guidance Wong gave him as a teenager and shows that they maintained a certain degree of contact after Lee’s kung fu film career began. Lee even invited him to the set of Enter the Dragon to watch the fight scenes.
According to Matthew Polley’s Bruce Lee: A Life, Lee’s respect for Wong was accompanied by a desire to one day surpass him. Years after training under Wong, Lee challenged his mentor to a friendly sparring session to see if the student could finally defeat the master. According to one of Wong’s students, Lee won the fight (although neither Lee nor Wong could agree on the outcome of the fight). Looking at how far Bruce Lee was able to go and the skills he displayed in his five kung fu films, it’s undeniable that Wong Shun Leng trained Yip Man’s student well.
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