Carefully! There are plot spoilers!
Three films about Ip Man were recently released, and everyone learned about Wing Chun. Why did you want to make another one?
Joe Cheung: Although there have been many different films about Wing Chun, including one from Yen Woo Ping, there is not one that talks about its origins. I've always wanted to create something like this since most of my friends practice Wing Chun. But there were difficulties with this: Wing Chun was invented by a young girl, and investors would have been reluctant to cast someone young and less famous in this role, so there were many problems. “Ip Man” turned out well. When I spoke to Ng See Yuen, who is nurturing new talent, he was very supportive.
The first and second Ip Mans, with big names like Donnie Yen, were commercial successes, but in Kung Fu Wing Chun you have two newcomers. Are you worried about the box office?
Joe Chung: I'd be lying if I said I didn't care. But I am confident in my films, and Ng See Yuen believes in this too. I thought - as long as I make good films, the audience will like them, and, accordingly, they will sell well.
How was Bai Jing chosen to play Yan Yun Chun?
Joe Cheung: When we decided to make a film about the development of Wing Chun, more than two hundred people took part in the auditions, of which, in the end, only six remained. After six months of training, some couldn't stand it and gave up, and based on various considerations, we ultimately chose Bai Jing.
Master Ip Chun, first of all, I would like to congratulate you on such a beautiful and capable student. I'm wondering, when was the last time you took on a student?
Joe Chung: Master Ip Chun accepts new students every day.
Master Yip, how many students do you have in total?
Ip Chun: I have no idea.
Joe Chung: One third of his students are Chinese, two thirds are foreigners. There are many foreigners, most of them from Europe. From 1982 to 2001, he traveled around Europe, in foreign countries, where he recruited many students, so he does not remember their exact number.
Ip Chun: I have students all over the world, except for South America, where I have not visited yet. I’ve even been to South Africa, but South America is too far, it takes a very long plane ride.
What do you think about your new student Bai Jing?
Ip Chun: I just met her last night, and I just watched “Kung Fu Wing Chun” today. When I met her yesterday, it turned out that she is a very energetic girl. Today, after watching her film, and seeing how high a level she demonstrates Wing Chun, given such a short training period, I realized how much effort and hard work she put in. I will say as a person who personally practices martial arts - to succeed in kung fu, you need to train daily. To reach such a level [like hers], you need to put in a lot of effort.
What can you say about Kara Hui, who also demonstrates Wing Chun in the film?
Ip Chun: Kara Hui is a little better, I taught her a little better.
For this movie?
Joe Cheung: Kara Hui is a martial arts star in her own right, so she's familiar with a lot of the moves. It’s not that he knows everything, but he knows the basics. For the sake of this film, she insisted on the mentorship of Master Ip Chun.
Did she become your student?
Ip Chun: No. Wing Chun was spread on such a wide scale by Ip Man. We did not pay much attention to such formalities.
Master Ip Chun, how do you feel about such films about Wing Chun: “Ip Man”, “Ip Man 2”, “Ip Man: Birth of a Legend” and “Kung Fu Wing Chun”?
Joe Chung: This is a very sensitive issue.
Ip Chun: I trained Donnie Yen. He trained very hard and thoroughly researched Ip Man's personality. He played Ip Man perfectly, this is the result of his efforts. The episode from “Ip Man: Birth of a Legend” in which I appear is the most reliable. I've seen a lot of kung fu movies, but I think Kung Fu Wing Chun is different from the rest. Director Joe Cheung managed to combine melodrama and kung fu very well in this film. Here, kung fu is not just kung fu, and love is not just love, it is life. A life that will reach larger proportions in the future.
In Kung Fu Wing Chun, when Bai Jin teaches Wing Chun, she learns it step by step, as if in a training video. Master Ip Chun, do you approve of this approach? Can anyone learn Wing Chun on their own using moments from this movie?
Joe Chung: Of course, this is the right approach.
Ip Chun: In fact, especially when it comes to Wing Chun, we prefer one-on-one individual training. You need another person to train with you, who would show you new movements.
Joe Cheung: When I was working on this film, I often communicated with Master Ip Chun, as well as with other masters, including the one who is currently teaching Tony Leung. Wing Chun was not so famous before. When you train, you need contact between two people. Why did I make such a film? No one has done this before. Many are considered experts in this field, but what makes a person an expert? That’s why I made “Kung Fu Wing Chun” to tell everyone about how the martial art came into being.
That is, after watching the film, a person will be able to independently learn Wing Chun, and this idea underlies the commercial success of the film?
Joe Chung: I hope so. In essence, I combined several genres. In the past, kung fu movies have been comedies, like those with Jackie Chan, but this one is very believable.
What style of martial arts does Yu Shao Qun use in “Kung Fu Wing Chun”?
Joe Chung: He's a Southerner, so he uses "Southern Fist."
And Ngai Sing? Is he using the snake sect style?
Joe Chung: Right, but then he goes into “Eagle Claw.” Why did I make his character a member of the Snake Sect? Because Abbess Wu Mei was from the White Crane clan. According to legend, be it Wing Chun or White Crane Fist, they were all inspired by the movements of white cranes. I assumed that Wing Chun came from the snake and crane movements, because if she constantly had to fight with her loved ones, she could combine these two skills.
Mother Superior Wu Mei hates Ngai Sing so much that she invents Wing Chun just to fight him?
Joe Chung: Actually, she still loves him. It’s just that after the death of her daughter, she turned all her anger towards the tree, as if the piece of wood was her rival. I used these metaphors in accordance with the legends of Wing Chun. Those who study Wing Chun will certainly notice this. Wing Chun is close combat, every move can be deadly, so there must be a particle of hatred there. That's why I came up with Yu Shaoqun's fake death. As a result, Bai Jin vents his emotions [on the tree].
Anything you would like regarding “Kung Fu Wing Chun”?
Ip Chun: It's not just a kung fu movie. “Kung Fu Wing Chun” is also a melodrama. It successfully combines martial arts and elements of romance. In addition, the origins of Wing Chun are perfectly explained there. Highly recommended viewing.
Joe Chung: I agree with Master Ip Chun.
The Chinese premiere of “Kung Fu Wing Chun” is scheduled to take place on November 2, 2010.
Source: wu-jing, news.cn
Translation: EvilDollaR
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Tags: Kung Fu Wing Chun, Bai Jing, Ip Chun, Kara Hui, Colin Chow
Tags: Kung Fu Wing Chun, Bai Jing, Ip Chun, Kara Hui, Colin Chow
I want to watch a movie.
Regardless of whether Ip Chun is arrogant or not.
“It’s strange why then his student named Leo Au Yeung was hired as a choreographer in the film “Ip Man”. After all, not for his beautiful eyes... And Sammo Hung would not agree to work with mediocrities.”
A fight choreographer and a martial artist are not the same thing. A person may know techniques, forms, beautiful movements, may have a rich fanaticism, but this does not mean that he will be able to apply it in battle and be a good fighter. And vice versa, I think Stovall also said that a good fighter does not equal a good choreographer.
Where does such accurate information come from? Maybe Ip Chun is just jealous
I read some comrades who have been practicing Wing Chun for a long time and have been to China. They argue that Ip Chun is not really the master he claims to be, there are many Wing Chun masters of much higher levels in China, and Ip Chun only stays on the surface because of his father's name.
I already want to watch it. But the master behaved somehow arrogantly - or is it just me that seems so?
Where exactly is it arrogant? In an interview or in "The Birth of a Legend"? If in an interview, then yes, there is a little...
It’s strange why then his student named Leo Au Yeung was hired as a choreographer in the film “Ip Man”. After all, not for beautiful eyes... And Sammo Hung would not agree to work with mediocrities.