masterwordsmith-unplugged

This evening, I took some time off my blog to buy some books, have tea and also to watch Ip Man 2 starring Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Kent Cheng and Simon Yam. It is a semi-biographical martial arts film, and a sequel to the 2008 film Ip Man. Ip Man 2 is the second film, following its predecessor, to be based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of Wing Chun martial arts.

Directed by Wilson Yip,the movie continues after the events of Ip Man 1 and centers on Ip's movements in Hong Kong, which was then under British colonial rule. He attempts to propagate his martial arts discipline of Wing Chun, but faces rivalry from other practitioners, including the local master of Hung Ga martial arts. I am not going to give any spoilers so I will not discuss the movie synopsis but you can read about the plot HERE

At the end of the movie, Ip Man had to defend the integrity and dignity of the Chinese who were insulted by the antagonist, The Twister in a most humiliating way. It is obvious who wins the boxing competition. When interviewed after that, Ip Man said that although each of us may differ in status, life is not always about winning and that he fought The Twister not to prove that Chinese martial arts is better than western-style boxing but to make a point that it is important to defend our integrity and to learn to respect one another.

I thought that is an amazing lesson which political leaders and all of us have to learn. There are a number of parallels between the forces in Ip Man and the forces at work in Malaysia.

In Ip Man 2, there is the corrupt police officer (Kent Cheng) who is in cahoots with the British police officer to subjugate the Chinese and to suck money from them via illegal boxing competitions. They stop at nothing to get what they want, even to the extent of betraying their own kind! Worse still, some like Sammo Hung are ready to compromise their values and beliefs for money which they do not get in the end. Does this not sound familiar? Fortunately, they come to the realization of the moral implications of their actions before it is too late.

At the same time, Ip Man is ONE of the many martial arts masters who runs his own school in Hong Kong. Although he is a fledgling, his martial arts skills and prowess are much better than that of the senior martial arts masters. While the rest of the masters have compromised their dignity and integrity at the beginning of the movie, Ip Man remains idealistic and refuses to allow the expats and others to bully him. He stands firm in taking the high moral path and puts the cause of defending the dignity of Chinese above the calling to be with his wife when she delivers their second child.

If you have watched the movie, you would have seen how the other disciples reacted emotionally to tha taunting remarks and provocation of their enemies - almost the same way as some may respond to political situations in our country. The lesson is plain and simple - reacting emotionally would be a foolhardy act that offsets a chain of unfortunate events. Ip Man sets the example by reasoning first and then only fight it out if all other contingencies do not work. He remains calm and does not flinch even in the face of failure or losing.

I think what touched me in this movie is the way Ip Man and Hung Sifu handled the challenges faced - they accentuated values, morals and integrity and even when he was almost vanquished, what propelled him forward was the compulsion to defend the dignity of the Chinese after they suffered gross humiliation at the hands of The Twiser. Even when faltering in his moves, Ip Man renewed his perspective and went on to achieve victory. Perhaps that is what PR needs to do. Despite the HS by-election result, they have to soldier on and not let this temporary setback hinder them from gaining more ground in the Sibu by-election.

I believe this is what we can learn from Ip Man 2. Maintaining integrity and honor is of more importance than winning and in the process, we can learn to respect one another and see each other beyond class, status, color or creed.

Although it is not as action-packed as Ip Man 1, this one has its fair share of exciting moments and well choreographed sequences. I learnt wing chun and some mixed martial art forms (MMA) last year but dropped out because it was no laughing matter to be on the receiving end of punches on my chest from my Sifu. I did not enjoy being pummelled and to have hardly any opportunity to pummel others :-). I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed the fighting sequences of the movie. My friends laughed at me because while watching the fighting sequences, I also dodged and moved left and right as though I was avoiding the blows for Ip Man :-). I have blogged about 8 posts on martial arts topics including on went tsun so do check it out HERE. One of my cousins has actually sparred with Ip Chun's (Ip Man's son) disciples in Hong Kong.

If you are a Donnie Yen fan, please note:

With a recent flood of Ip Man films on the market, Donnie Yen, who gives himself 120 marks for his performance in Ip Man 2 compared 90 marks for the first, has made up his mind, "After Ip Man 2, I would never ever touch any films related to Ip Man. This will be my final film on the subject. Whenever something becomes a success, everyone would jump on the bandwagon, this is very frightening. Did you know how many Ip Man films are in production? Under such condition, we would not progress, it'd only lead to over-saturation of the subject matter." Guangzhou Daily CLICK HERE for more.

Do catch the movie if you have time. In the mean time, let's pray that somehow, our leaders will accentuate upholding and restoring integrity rather than protecting their turf! May they lead with dignity on a moral high ground! You can CLICK HERE for the official trailer of Ip Man 2.

Take care and do leave a comment if you wish to share your thoughts or views. Thanks! Have a great week ahead!