NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

After so many hours this summer with long Korean dramas, it was probably time to return to a regular Chinese kung fu flick. My video queen reserved me a copy of "The Legend is Born," the prequel to Donnie Yen's homages to Ip Man and Wing Chun, the martial art form he developed and passed on to Bruce Lee. I watched it last night. (What, only an hour and a half??? Seemed like there should be at least 25 episodes in this ongoing Ip Man saga. There have been rumours of a fourth, where Bruce Lee comes under the tutelage of Ip Man, but Donnie Yen is denying it.)

The prequel features Dennis To as Ip Man, a wu shu champion and virgin actor, who resembles Donnie Yen so much that I thought it was him on the DVD cover. But not. So new there is not even a Wikipedia entry about him. He was good, very gentlemanly, cultured and a little naive, well cast as the young Ip Man. In the film, which also features Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao (but no Jacky Chan), To actually has a couple of fight scenes with the real Ip Chun, Ip Man's oldest son, now 86, not really an actor, but a serious scene stealer. (So agile: here is proof that martial arts may keep you young. I can't imagine my father, who died at 86, doing any of this physical stuff at that age.) Ip Chun was in fact Dennis To's actual sifu for eight years. These scenes made me want to travel to early 20th century Hong Kong in a kind of dreamy nostalgia. Was this a previous life of mine?

One of the interesting things about Wing Chun is that it was developed by a woman, at least according to Ip Man; in the film, the kung fu academy Ip Man is attending includes a lot of hot shot girls, leading to the plot's tragic love triangle. Don't know how much is factual, but it was a good plot and an interesting introduction to this martial art and the culture of kung fu studies. Dennis seems to be channeling Bruce Lee in his attitude toward his work:

"I hope to spread Chinese Kung Fu around the world (through his films). In a way, I do feel like I'm representing the Chinese, just like Bruce Lee did," he said. "Someone who isn't Chinese can practice Kung Fu and even be good at it, but they can never be as authentic.** Kung Fu is one of the most precious things in Chinese culture."

As for me, I am too old and busy with a job to do much more than some qigong practice and meditation (and watch a lot of kung fu film); maybe when I retire I can concentrate on some tai chi chuan, and I would love to learn some basic tai chi sword, even bagua. But I will always be a beginner and inauthentic. (And sometimes I see Westerners practicing these arts and they look a little silly, like hippos doing ballet; it gives one pause.) My interest in these martial arts came from my deepening interest in Chinese culture in general. So if as To says, kung fu is a precious element in the culture, it at least deserves some consideration and study, like brush painting, tea and the Tao Te ching. To is certainly a new kid on the scene and has lots of time to develop; I'll always be an old kid.

**I used to work with a guy, one of the hundred names, who was a Wing Chun student. He was compact and wiry, a little shy and modest. But I always sensed a strange strong power radiating from him. Like it would be best to have him on my side in a fight.