The Ip Man Movies Showed His Best Character Trait

Donnie Yen's Ip Man movies showed the most important character trait of the kung fu master. Though Ip Man has defeated all the villains of the Ip Man franchise's many fight scenes, a telling trait about him is that he never goes out of his way to brag about even his greatest victories. Ip Man's more intense battles with 10 black belts in Ip Man and conflict with Barton Geddes in Ip Man 4: The Finale see him unleash every ounce of his strength and skill against his opponents. Ip Man's harshest fights are those involving the oppression of China during the Japanese occupation, and later the intense racism San Francisco's Chinese community experiences in Ip Man 4, with Ip Man's highly skilled apprentice Bruce Lee lending him a hand in opposing it. Even as Ip Man triumphs over the worst villains of the Ip Man series in many martial arts fights, Ip Man himself never gloats, sneers, or brags about his victories, or really even celebrates them at all. Ip Man understands the true power of martial arts lies in one's growth as a person, as seen in the Ip Man franchise's references to Bruce Lee and his progression - and Ip Man cannot instill that philosophical outlook in his enemies by humiliating them. Ip Man 3's antagonist Cheung Tin-chi is a prime example of a former enemy of Ip Man's who learns from his mistakes and becomes better for it, even leading the spin-off Master Z: Ip Man Legacy.