Ip Ching

Ip Ching (born Ip Hok-ching; 7 July 1936 – 25 January 2020) was a Hong Kong martial artist, co-author for various short books, and a technical consultant for most movies related to him. He was one of five Grandmasters of the Ip Man (Yip Man) family of Wing Chun Kung Fu.^[1][2][3]

He was born Ip Hok-ching in Foshan in 1936^{[4][not specific enough to verify]} as the second son of Ip Man and his wife Cheung Wing-sing. Soon after, his parents and his sister, Ip Nga-sum, left and traveled to Hong Kong in around 1950 in search of a better life for the family. Only his mother and sister returned home.^{[5][not specific enough to verify]}

In the first years of the Cultural Revolution, Ip Ching "was sent to the countryside for an extended period of labor and reeducation with the peasantry."^[3] In 1962, Hong Kong's borders were briefly reopened, so Ip Ching and his older brother, Ip Chun, moved from Foshan to Hong Kong to join their father.^[6]

His father, Ip Man, taught from his home. In addition to learning Wing Chun at his father's home, Ip Ching had been an avid observer of his father teaching other students and gained valuable insight into his father's teaching methods.^[3] At one point, his father left home to live elsewhere due to a dispute between him and Ip Chun over his Shanghai mistress^[3] and his illegitimate son Ip Siu-wah.^{[citation needed]} After that, his father rarely would interact with him or his brother outside of their training lessons.^[7]

Ip Man passed away in 1972, and Ip Ching left the training hall but continued to reside in his father's home. He later ran a textile manufacturing business in Lam Tei, New Territories, and continued to teach Wing Chun privately to his disciples in his home. In 1994, he retired from his business and devoted himself to teaching Wing Chun.^[3][7]

He served as a Wing Chun consultant alongside his brother Ip Chun on the films Ip Man 3 and Ip Man 4: The Finale, however, Ip Ching did not want to be credited nor interviewed.^[3] Jim Liu portrayed the character of Ip Ching in Ip Man 3, and Ye He portays Ip Ching in Ip Man 4: The Finale.

Ip Ching died on 25 January 2020 due to an illness and was cremated at Cape Collinson Crematorium in Hong Kong on 8 February 2020.^[5]

• The Wing Chun School – Grand Master Ip Ching: A Short Biography at the Wayback Machine (archived April 11, 2015)
• Ip Ching (Grand Master) Archived 2021-01-27 at the Wayback Machine, profile at the Int'l Wing Chun Combat & Eastern Arts Council site
• Ip Ching at IMDb