Fighting his way to the top

Donnie Yen and former boxing champion Mike Tyson pose as if fighting at a promotional event for Ip Man 3 in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Although Yen has played many kung fu heroes in his long career, his performance in Ip Man 3 is widely regarded by critics as his most classical role on the big screen.

"Ip Man subverts the audiences' stereotyped impression of an action hero," says Yen.

"He is suave, self-restrained, and pretty respectful of his wife, which makes him a more acceptable hero for present-day audiences," he says.(China was still a pretty chauvinistic society back in Ip's day.)

Interestingly, Yen says he found the role of Ip Man "closely resembling" himself in real life.

For instance, Yen's wife is taller than him. And the director Wilson Yip selected model-actress Xiong Dailin, who is also taller than Yen, to play his wife in the movie.

"In some senses, the 'Ip Man' featured in the series is the real me," says the action star, referring to some personality traits, such as taking family as a higher priority than his career.

The real Ip Man (1893-1972), also known as Yip Man, was a Guangdong-born martial arts master who spent his later years teaching Wing Chun skills in Hong Kong.

Wing Chun is a concept-based martial arts system and an effective form of self-defense devised in southern China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Thanks to Ip's world-renowned student Bruce Lee, Wing Chun made a global impact, and has ardent fans in a number of countries including the United States, Finland, Germany, Turkey and Austria.

Yen, who began to learn martial arts at 4, says kung fu movies over the years have turned learning martial arts into a "lifestyle" and a kind of "fashion" for many foreigners.