Stay back.
Let him go.
Never darken my door again.
Get lost.
Master!
The whole clan
heard you were coming
and raced in from all over.
And Jiang?
He's keeping them company.
Miss Gong,
they're awaiting your decision.
They didn't come all this way
to hear my decision.
Did Father have any last words?
Don't seek vengeance.
Miss,
your father forbade revenge.
I agree Ma San deserves to die.
It's a massive crime
to betray one's teacher.
Nothing is worse.
On the other hand,
it was your father
who united Xingyi and Bagua.
Ma San worked hard at Xingyi.
And your father taught you
the 64 Hands himself.
The two of you are his legacy.
If you stand together,
the legacy remains whole.
Besides,
if you take action,
whatever the outcome,
people will laugh.
They'll say what's this Gong school
where the disciple kills the master,
and the daughter kills her brother-in-arms?
A pack of wild animals?
Besides, as for Ma San,
even your father couldn't finish him off.
You think you can?
Miss Gong,
we're old men.
We made the long trip here
with your best interests in mind.
Take our advice.
Just get married.
Your father's last words
were Don't seek vengeance.
If you kill Ma San
won't that go against his wishes?
My father said that
out of love for me.
He wants me to have a peaceful life.
But if I don't avenge his death,
I'll never be at peace.
I understand what you're saying.
With respect,
he treated you
all like brothers.
After he died,
you should've dealt with Ma San.
Instead you come here
as his messenger.
After all my father did for you!
I know
Ma San works for the Japanese.
He's got power.
But I'll stand up for my family.
Is he coming, or not?
What does it matter?
He comes, you go,
and that's the end of it, right?
It's better to let it go, Miss Gong.
Some things are out of our hands.
It's the Will of Heaven.
Maybe I am the Will of Heaven.
Oh ye gods and spirits
guide this soul to Paradise!
Halt!
We mustn't stop!
Don't block the road.
Keep to the side.
Move!
Ma San ordered us
to escort the body.
Miss Gong,
Ma San's men
are blocking the road.
The have banners of mourning.
Troublemakers!
Miss Gong,
time is of the essence.
Jiang!
Tell Ma San he's a dead man.
Let's go!
Oh ye gods and spirits
...guide this soul to Paradise!
They're here.
Stop her.
Keep her back.
Let me at her.
Stop her.
Stay back. We're here for Ma San.
Since you're my senior,
I won't force my way in.
But know this.
You can't hide from me forever.
I will take back my family's legacy.
Come out!
Better to advance than to stop.
The Old Master taught me this.
It became my philosophy of life.
It's a shame
he couldn't follow his own advice.
His precious teachings are mine now.
You want them -
send a member of the family.
You'll be marrying out.
You don't count.
Don't ask after me.
No news means I'm gone.
Find someone else.
Miss,
to give up such an ideal marriage -
is it really worth it?
Think it over.
If you take those vows,
you'll never be able to marry,
teach, or have children.
There's no turning back.
Father,
can you read what's in my heart?
If you agree with me,
show me a flame before Buddha.
Better to advance than to stop.
He mocks us for having no successor.
I can only advance.
I can't stop.
(1950. Hong Kong. Tai Nan Street)
Ever taught before, Master Ip?
To teach for a living
is a new experience.
So why now?
I'm starting a new life.
You've got your things.
You're confident.
Saves running back and forth.
In Hong Kong no one knows Wing Chun.
Any special moves?
Not really.
Three basic hands - Spade, Pin, Sheath.
How many forms?
The Concept,
The Bridge,
and Darting Fingers.
Weapons?
Double Knives
and the Six-and-a-half Point Pole.
Anything else?
That's it.
Bone-setting,
internal energy -
I don't do any of that.
Drifters,
lion dancers -
I don't teach those types.
Why not?
Kungfu isn't a sideshow.
So I won't teach drifters.
Lion dancers jump at firecrackers.
They're always brawling
and showing off,
all for a bit of cash.
It's crude.
I'll ask you straight -
ever been in a real fight?
It's wall-to-wall kungfu schools here.
They start fights over nothing.
Master Ip,
have you got what it takes?
Try me and find out.
Fight! Fight!
I've had a few years of training.
Show me your stuff, Master Ip.
Have you had lunch?
Barbecued pork and rice.
I suggest you wait a bit.
It'd be a shame to waste it.
Waste it?
Brother Hung,
are you okay?
Where's the tea?
Tea?
To give to your new master!
We've put a bed here for you.
I hope it'll do for now.
Sorry it's a bit shabby.
Is there a hammer?
Master Ip,
The boys and I want some lessons.
Eighty cents a head.
Cheap enough.
But call yourself a master,
you'd better deliver the goods.
No snake oil.
How good's your kungfu, anyway?
Lock the gate.
Hey!
Little fucker.
Shut the door and it's on for real.
You've got two hands and two feet.
How you gonna beat us all?
You're mistaken.
I have two hands but
Wing Chun has eight kicks.
Never mind your boys.
There's more than enough for you.
More than enough for me?
That one's free.
First kick.
Fourth kick.
One more left.
Do you remember our oath?
What oath?
I vow with all my heart
to be loyal
and obedient
to the Party.
I fear neither hardship
nor sacrifice.
Should I forsake these vows,
I accept the harshest punishment.
Fuck.
The war is over.
This is Hong Kong.
But we stand by our code -
Join us alive.
Leave us dead.
I'm leaving now.
Can you stop me?
Try us and see.
(In exile in Hong Kong, The Razor)
(ran the White Rose Barber Shop.)
(1950. Chinese New Year's Eve. Hong Kong)
You don't look like you need a doctor.
I'd like to see the 64 Hands again.
If you don't mind me saying -
You lost. I won.
Have a seat.
If you'd said that at the door,
I wouldn't have made it so easy
for you to get your dumplings.
Thank you.
You know,
I'd hoped to visit the Northeast in 1937.
There was a challenge waiting for me.
I had a warm coat made.
But the war stopped me from going.
I didn't keep the coat,
but I still have one of its buttons.
Call it a memento.
The 64 Hands is too important a legacy.
Why let it disappear?
In centuries of martial arts history,
so many things
have vanished.
Why should the Gong Family arts survive?
Mr Ip,
no art is higher than Heaven
no gift more solid than Earth.
Nothing lasts forever and that's fine.
Keep this button.
As for what may and may not be seen,
let's not talk about it now.
Mr Ip, ten years ago on New Year's eve
do you know where I was?
Mr Ip,
may I have a word?
The Gong arts belong to the Gong family.
The 64 Hands aren't there just for show.
The Gong Family lives.
I know how much talent is there.
I'm keen to learn.
I'll be waiting.
People - they change with the times.
Wear shoes that suit the crossing,
and underpants that fit your ass.
In Hong Kong,
I can only afford these cigarettes.
Back home,
I smoked real Manchurian tobacco.
Now that was smoking.
Be mild, good, respectful, thrifty, deferential.
Deferential is the key.
Let's say I'm smoking.
A stranger sits down.
I defer to him: Have a smoke.
Even if he doesn't smoke, he must accept
or he'll make me lose face.
Mr Ip,
have a smoke.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
You've got the gift.
Twenty years ago,
we could have sparred.
What a shame.
Some work in the light,
others in shadow.
The face of a school must be spotless.
Blood must flow only in the shadows.
If not, if it stains the face,
then the school itself may perish.
The face offers the cigarettes.
The dirty work is done in the shadows.
Mr Ip, you're too late.
Forget the 64 hands -
you'll never see even one.
(1940. Chinese New Year's Eve. The Northeast.)
Is it hard to kill a man?
Miss Gong,
it's not like in the old days.
Murder is punishable by death.
Is Ma San worth it?
we make our own path in life.
Should we go home,
or keep waiting?
It's New Year's Eve.
He'll be here soon.
We have to wait.
All right.
We'll wait.
This is between Miss Gong and Ma San.
Everyone else stay out of it.
There you are,
still playing with your monkey.
Deal with him!
Get him!
You're worse than a debt collector,
trying to ruin my New Year's Eve.
The dumplings are in the pot,
but you won't be eating them.
I let you off before
to avoid destroying the Gong clan.
You should know when to give up.
Those needing salvation burn joss.
Those who are hungry, eat.
What I must do,
I will do and nothing can stop me.
The Gong Family legacy
must return to me tonight.
Fine.
It's a part of me.
You want it -
come and get it.
Master!
Keep away.
Ma San,
speak!
That day,
the Old Master
spoke to me
about his supreme move -
Old Monkey Hangs up his Badge.
He said the key to the move
was turning back.
At the time,
I didn't get it.
I thought
he couldn't keep up with the times.
The Gong Family legacy
I return to you.
Let's be clear.
You didn't return it.
I took it back myself.
Miss Gong!
(1952. Hong Kong. White Rose Barber Shop)
Sorry.
I miss my mom.
You got my notice about the memorial?
Yes.
Open a business, follow the rules.
It's the same everywhere.
Do you know how much weight
a summons from me carries?
It's measured in gold.
Brother, I've got the money.
And I've got my life.
Whichever is worth more,
take it.
I like those eyes of yours.
They remind me of my mom's.
Want both? Or just one?
Not so fast.
How about,
you do the honors?
Forget it.
You're a real man.
It's the anniversary of my mom's death.
I'll leave you those two lamps of yours.
As the rivers flow, we'll meet again.
I'll take my leave.
Want the money -
there're rules for that too.
What use are rules?
Keep it simple.
I stab you three times then you stab me.
How common.
Then raise the tone.
See that chair over there?
If I can't plant your ass there,
keep the cash.
You're kidding, aren't you?
Brother,
here's your prayer money.
Next time you'll be joining your mom.
Off you go.
To tell the truth,
Take me as a disciple!
Teach you?
It'd be a waste of my time.
That's speaking honestly too.
Just a few pointers?
(That same year, The Razor began teaching.)
(Baji kungfu came to Hong Kong.)
In 1952, Gong Er stopped seeing patients.
Some say her old injury drove her to opium.
Others that she was obsessed with kungfu.
I last saw her at a teahouse.
Do you know this opera?
I think I heard it before in Foshan.
Something about a dream.
A Dream of Love.
Love is just that, a dream.
It's said
no instrument is as lovely as a voice.
Words always sound better sung.
Has Miss Gong studied opera?
Just the basics.
Back then if I'd put my mind to it,
I'd be an opera star.
All those tales, happy and sad...
If I tired of Yang Family Women Generals,
I'd sing Waking from a Dream.
Think of it -
me on stage, you in the audience,
meeting that way.
Wouldn't that be something?
But what if it was sold out?
You flatter me.
If you came, I'd save you a seat.
You've performed well in the opera of life.
You have both timing and skill.
Unfortunately,
you never saw beyond your role.
I'd no idea you watched me like an opera.
This opera of mine,
applauded or not,
will play on to the end.
I asked you
here to bring things to a close
and say what needs to be said.
Are you going somewhere?
We have a saying in the North -
a tiger never quits the mountain.
We've both been living on foreign soil.
I'm so very tired.
I want to go home.
But I wanted to return this to you first.
As for the 64 Hands,
I've already forgotten them.
I was lucky to meet you in my prime.
Sadly, my time is running out.
To say there are no regrets in life,
is just to fool yourself.
How boring it would be without regrets.
Mr Ip, to tell you the truth,
I cared about you.
I don't mind telling you that.
It's not a crime to love.
But that's all it can ever be.
I never said that to anyone before.
Seeing you tonight,
I don't know why, it just came out.
Let's say we suspend this game
of chess between us.
Take care.
In life, as in chess,
a move once made stays on the board.
What we have
is simply fate.
Your father once said,
never give up the faith.
Keep the light burning.
I hope that one day
I'll see the 64 Hands once more.
My father said mastery had three stages -
being,
knowing,
doing.
I know myself.
I've seen the world.
Sadly, I can't pass on what I know.
This is a road
I won't see to the end.
I hope you will.
Is this street of schools
all the Martial World has come to be?
A great age offers a choice:
stay or move on.
I choose to remain in my era,
the times when I was happiest.
(In 1953, Gong Er died in Hong Kong.)
(She kept her vows)
(to the end.)
Tomorrow I take Miss Gong's coffin home.
She left this for you.
In imperial times I was an executioner.
The Republic left me out of a job.
Had Master Gong not taken me in,
I'd have landed in the gutter like a dog.
He never looked down on me.
He made me his daughter's guardian.
My fierceness would protect her.
He nicknamed me Lucky Star,
so fortune would shine on her always.
For a woman,
taking vows is a kind of death.
To avenge her father,
she vowed never to marry or teach,
to remain single her whole life.
She kept that vow.
These are the ashes
from when she cut and burnt her hair.
She said she knew you a long time,
But you didn't really know her,
nor she you.
Seeing these ashes,
you'll understand her better.
Mr Ip,
the Gong Family is through.
Miss Gong belongs to you now.
Like her father,
Gong Er never lost a fight.
She only ever lost to herself.
(1953. Ip Man gets his Hong Kong ID)
after the border to China is shut.
The day I left Foshan,
I wanted to say something
but couldn't speak the words.
(My heart will carry me back to you.)
When I left her that time,
I thought I'd be able to return.
But it was the last time I saw her.
After that I only had the path ahead.
There was no turning back,
and no road home.
(In 1960, Zhang Yongcheng died of illness.)
(Ip Man never returned to Foshan.)
Okay, begin.
Left fist
out,
palm open,
turn the wrist,
pull back,
right fist,
out,
open,
twist the wrist,
pull back.
Mr Ip,
all encounters in this world
are a kind of reunion.
They say I popularized Wing Chun.
I hope they're right.
I never did it for fame.
The martial arts belong to all.
We're all on the same quest.
It all comes down to those two words -
Horizontal. Vertical.
(Ip Man was a huge inspiration to others.) (Because of him,)
(the torch of Wing Chun) (has been carried around the world.)