Mak Po Shing

Un-rushed Gold Living In San Francisco 
 

- Victor Chung

SIFU MAK PO is a relatively unknown disciple of the late Grandmaster Ip Man. He started learning and practising Wing Chun in 1953. He played numerous roles in helping his Sifu propagate and teach Wing Chun in Hong Kong. Many of the most well-known and notable Wing Chun masters today openly admit they were once his student or have sought instruction from him as a Sibak (Gung Fu Uncle).

Mak Po Shing has been quietly living in San Francisco since 1978, when he, his wife and children immigrated from Hong Kong. He is now retired and enjoys sharing his Gung Fu with those that know him simply as Mak Po. He insists that, when people contact him over the phone and ask for Mak Po, those callers must be calling him for Gung Fu-related conversations. Otherwise, they would just ask for Mak Po Shing or Po Shing. Mak Po is the only name “those-in-the-know” in Wing Chun know to call him. So, when his wife answers the phone and hears Mak Po, she knows it must be somebody from his Gung Fu days with Grandmaster Ip Man.

How did you meet Grandmaster Ip Man?

I met Ip Man Sifu through my associate, colleague, friend, and eventual Sihing, Wong Chun Man in 1953.

Was there any formal way to becoming his disciple? How were Grandmaster Ip Man’s disciples different from his huge following?