My father, Ip Man.

My late father, Master Ip Man, actively promoted the art of Wing Chun after coming to Hong Kong in 1949. In a brief period of 22 years (1950–1972), the art blossomed in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and the seeds of Wing Chun were spread throughout the world. During his life, excellent disciples such as Leung Sheung, Ip Bo-ching, Chiu Wan, Bruce Lee, Lok Yiu, Chu Shong Tin, Wong Shun-leung and Ho Kam-ming were cultivated, and they inherited Master Ip's wish to further develop the art.

My late father was humble and prudent throughout his life; he never claimed himself the Master of Wing Chun, nor the elder of any school. He was born in Foshan at the end of the Ching Dynasty — a prosperous hub of trade where culture, art and Chinese martial art all flourished. Well-known masters of the South School came from Foshan. With talent and persistence, and teaching by famous masters — Chan Wah-shun first, and later Leung Pik, son of Leung Jan — my father's achievement could be envisaged.

I came to Hong Kong in 1962 and followed my father to learn the art, later assisting him in teaching until he passed away in 1972. I learned a great deal from the way he taught. As it is the 100th anniversary of his birth, I would like to put forward a few points I learned from his way of teaching, in the hope that all Wing Chun disciples may study them.

The Master placed great emphasis on the selection of talent. He always said: "No doubt it is difficult for a disciple to select a teacher. But it is even more difficult for a teacher to select a disciple." Throughout his life he never hung up a signboard nor advertised for enrolment — just to reserve the right to select his disciples. He adhered to this principle strictly for twenty years.

Wing Chun is practical, simple and direct, without any fancy element. The Master emphasised the basic training of new disciples. When he taught Siu Nim Tau, he imposed no time constraint on learning the correct stance, the coordination of the waist and the stance, and the use of strength. He would teach a new topic only after the disciple proved he could meet the requirement — never perfunctorily. This was, in fact, a kind of reward to those who worked hard.

Another characteristic of his teaching was teaching each disciple according to his aptitude. He would analyse the mentality, character, physical fitness, physique, education and power of absorption of the disciple first, then teach according to individual needs, so that everyone could absorb and learn easily. In the course of teaching he placed great importance on practising and free combat, to nurture a disciple's love of and confidence in Wing Chun, guiding him to study its rules and the wooden dummy.

Apart from his great attainments, the Master received an advanced education in his youth and continued to absorb modern scientific knowledge. He could use the theories of mechanics and mathematics to explain the rules of Wing Chun, and even set aside the unintelligible terms of metaphysics — the Five Elements, the Eight Diagrams, mutual promotion and restraint. This purification of the art was a secret of his high attainment. He detested anyone who claimed to have met a genius or hermit who taught them some unique secret move to cheat disciples and promote themselves; such a person, he thought, had no real confidence in what he had learnt.

The secret of the Master's way of teaching is not limited to these points. I hope that fellow disciples will explore more meaningful points in the future.