What happened to Ip Chun and where is he now?

Reading time: 3 minutes

06/08/2022

Many of our readers keep asking "What happened to Ip Chun?". In the following article, we're going to answer the most asked questions about Ip Chun.

Ip Chun started teaching Wing Chun in 1967 in Hong Kong where he started his professional career as a Kung Fu teacher. He taught and organized Wing Chun seminars in different countries, such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He dedicated a big part of his life to spreading his beloved heritage from his father Ip Man.
In fact, in 2020 Ip Chun has been honored with a professor title and doctoral degree from Lingnan University for his commitment and results in spreading and warding the Wing Chun teachings worldwide.
So, what happened to Ip Chun? After teaching and spreading Wing Chun worldwide for several decades, Ip Chun retired from active and frequent teaching some years ago.

Who is Ip Chun?

Ip Chun is a very popular Wing Chun master in the Wing Chun world. He is mainly known for being the eldest of Ip Man's sons.
He was born in Ip Hok-Chun in Foshan, Guangdong on July 25th, 1924.
In 1949 his father Ip Man was forced to move to Hong Kong due to the establishment of the Communist Party. Ip Chun, together with his younger brother Ip Ching, remained in Foshan to pursue his University studies. However, in 1962, they were both forced to leave Foshan due to the Cultural Revolution and join their father in Hong Kong.

In 1950, while he was in Foshan, Ip Chun had finished his studies in Chinese history, philosophy, poetry traditional music, and Buddhism. After his studies, Ip Chun decided to become a music, science, and Chinese history teacher. In addition, he also collaborated in the organizing of Opera Plays with the Chinese Foshan Entertainment Department. During this period his knowledge and commitment to music research were awarded the "The Person with the most potential in Chinese Art" award.
His popularity in the last years has increased after he starred in some Wing Chun movies.

Ip Chun and Dennis Tp in Ip Man: the legend is born — Ip Chun (right) and Dennis To (left) in Ip Man: the legend is born

How old is Ip Chun?

He was born on July 25th, 1924 according to the lunar calendar. This means that nowadays (2022) he is 98 years old.

Does he still teach Wing Chun?

As mentioned before, he retired from active teaching years ago. However, in 2010 Ip starred in "Ip Man: the legend is Born" as Leung Bik, in collaboration with Dennis To, Sammo Hung, and Louis Fan.