Ip Man (film)

I managed to catch this film, "Ip Man", yesterday. I didn't think very much about this film at first, thinking of just catching yet another action film about a martial art expert of the past, something like "Fearless". Making films like these must be the boom now. And to say the truth, I didn't know who Yip Man was in the first place... because Wing Chun was never something that I was interested in, even though I know that it does have something similar to taiji's pushing hands.

At the end of the day, I must say that the fighting scenes in the movie was very well choreographed, though some parts of the fighting was more for show rather than a true manifestation of how martials arts is applied. After all, real martial artists don't punch people repeatedly like they are training on a punching ball... rather, it is one shot, one kill. Each move is supposed to maime or kill an opponent outright, much like the scene in which Ip Man was fighting against the karate-ka of the Imperial Japanese Army's 5th Division.

The important message is like "Fearless", that there is no greatest form of martial arts, but rather how good the martial artist is (which means how hard he trains, and how well he understands). The other key message, even more important, is that a killing skill (which martial arts are) must be practised together with benevolence. With the power to kill or injure, comes the need to be responsible in using that skill. It does not mean not using the skill, but rather, being able to control oneself such that we do not use martial arts unnecessarily, and when we do use it, we only use enough to protect ourselves and those around us. If it means breaking someone's arm to stop him from slashing at someone, we should. But if pushing a person away is enough to deter him from trying to rob us, then there is no need to break his ribs or poke his eyes.

So do catch this if you are a fan of Wing Chun, likes to see fighting scenes, or enjoy listening about the morals of martial arts.

Official website