Ip Nga Sum is one of the daughters of the famous martial artist and grandmaster of Wing Chun. Ip Man, also called Yip Man was popular for having several students who later became martial arts masters. Bruce Lee is one of the students who became martial arts masters of their rights after getting trained by Ip Man.
Ip man was born Ip Kai-man in 1893 in Foshan, Guangdong, China. Ip Man was married to Cheung Wing-sing, and they had several children, including their daughter Ip Nga-sum.
Early Life of Ip Nga Sum’s Father
Ip Nga Sum’s father was born into a wealthy family in Foshan. Coming from a wealthy family enabled him to get the best education based on traditional Chinese education. Ip Man was educated alongside his elder brother and two sisters.
When Ip Man was nine years, he started learning Wing Chun from Chan Wah-shun. Chan was 57 when he was training Ip Man, and Ip man became his 16th and last student. Chan was becoming old, and he would not train Ip Man for long because of suffering from a stroke.
Three years after Ip Man got training from Chan, Chan retired to his village, leaving IP Man to be trained by Chan’s second student.
Ip man was helped by one of his relatives when he was sixteen and relocated to Hong Kong to attend school. IP Man joined St. Stephen’s College, a secondary school that wealthy families and foreigners in Hong Kong attended.
Ip Man met one of his friends in secondary called Lai, and Lai introduced him to his father’s friend, a Kung Fu expert. Lai told Ip Man to go over for a friendly and accepted the challenge because he believed he was undefeated.
Ip Man went for the challenge one afternoon on Sunday, and a man named Leung Bik challenged him easily. Ip Man was not convinced that he was defeated and requested a second match. Again, Ip Man was beaten, making him discouraged that he left without a word.
Ip Man was discouraged by the defeat and did not mention again that he knew Kung Fu. After one week, Lai informed Ip Man that the man he had fought was asking for him. Ip Man expressed his embarrassment, but Lai informed him that the man was the son of Leung Jan, who had trained Chan Wah, Ip Man’s master. Ip Man agreed to train with Leung until he died in 1911.
Ip Man returned to Foshan in 1916 when he was 24, and he became a police officer for the Nationalist government. Ip Man taught his subordinates and friends Kung Fu, but he was yet to start a martial arts school.
Ip Man married Cheung Wing Sing, and they had four children: Ip Sun, Ip Ching, Ip Nga-sum, and Ip Nga-Wun. Ip Nga-Sum was the eldest daughter of Ip Man, and she left with her mother for Hong Kong.
Ip Nga-Sum’s Departure with Her Mother
In 1950, Ip Nga Sum and her mother arrived in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, they returned to Foshan to get their Identity cards, but because borders were closed in 1951, Ip Nga Sum’s parents separated for good. Ip Nga-Sum’s mother remained in Foshan until she died of cancer in 1960.
