Quick Hits: What You Should Know About 'Ip Man 3' and Star Donnie Yen

Martial arts icon Donnie Yen is back for a third and final stint as legendary Wing Chun master Ip Man, who must defend his city from takeover by a crooked band of gangsters led by Mike Tyson (Frank) in Ip Man 3. Yes, Yen fights Tyson in this threequel, but there is so much more to the franchise and the man. Who is this Ip Man, anyway, and why are these movies so popular? Learn more below....

1. Ip Man was actually a real person. Also known as Yip Man (pron. YEEP-mun), he was a Chinese martial artist and master teacher of Wing Chun style. He had several students who went on to become martial arts masters of their own, most notably Bruce Lee. Martial arts was not his immediate calling, though. Ip Man grew up in a wealthy family and worked as a policeman. He died in Hong Kong in 1972.

2. Because using Bruce Lee's likeness in movies is legally complicated, filmmakers turned to the next best thing: movies about Lee's teacher. The Ip Man series thus far (not counting the 2013 Ip Man: Final Fight, which didn't star Yen) has brought in $37.2 million worldwide. That might not sound like much when movies like Star Wars and Jurassic World are bringing in $1 billion, but for a niche, foreign action franchise, that's pretty strong considering that total doesn't include video and streaming sales. In fact, Ip Man 3 knocked Star Wars out of the number one slot and set a single-day record when it opened in Singapore over Christmas.

3. There are really only a handful of contemporary martial arts movie legends kicking butt on the big screen. Since Jackie Chan has essentially retired and Jet Li seems to be winding down, it appears to be up to 52-year-old Donnie Yen to continue to carry the torch until another martial arts superstar (Ong Bak's Tony Jaa, The Raid's Iko Uwais, etc.) emerges. Yen currently works at a pace that sees him starring in about three films a year, although 2016 will see him star in seven movies, including Ip Man 3 and the Crouching Tiger sequel. His movies to date have grossed $224 million worldwide.

4. While Yen is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, he was actually born in Boston, Massachusetts. Yen is fluent in English as well and can also speak casual Korean and understands Shanghainese as his wife's family is Shanghainese.

5. Yen was sent to Beijing, China to continue his martial arts training and to avoid committing crimes with a local street gang in Chinatown. Since he had a background in martial arts, he had a reputation of being a street brawler. One legendary story that is still talked about in Hong Kong to this day involved Yen and his then girlfriend who were harassed by a gang in the late 1990s. As they left the club, the gang proceeded to attack Yen who fought back in self-defense. After beating up the assailants, Yen was arrested by police only to be released the next day.

6. He is well-trained in various martial arts styles including wushu, tae kwon do, kickboxing and boxing. "I have always been a rebel, in my whole entire life, since I was just a martial artist. I always have questions in the back of my mind. Why does it have to be this way? Can it be that way? I always try to question and challenge that system and I guess that kind of attitude I brought into the film industry when I was just an actor," Yen said in an interview.

7. The Force will be with Yen in 2016 as he joins the Star Wars universe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While his character has yet to be announced, there is no question that starring in the year-end blockbuster will only help to further push Yen into the spotlight. Rogue One opens December 16, 2016.

8. While Yen is set to star in Star Wars, he's had a history of turning down big Hollywood movies. Some of those titles include Rush Hour 2 (as Ricky Tan), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Expendables 2 and The Man with the Iron Fists. He was vehement about not returning to the Ip Man franchise after the first sequel, and yet here we are.

9. Actress Michelle Yeoh has said she considers Yen to be the fastest martial artist she has ever worked with.

10. Gamers might know that Yen directed the intro sequence to Onimusha 3: Demon Siege. In fact, Yen has directed six films in his career, though the most recent one was back in 2004 with Black Rose Academy.

11. When legendary Chinese director Yimou Zhang was looking for a new actor to cast as Sky in the 2002 film Hero, Jet Li recommended Yen for the part. The film went on to make more than $177 million worldwide and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar and Golden Globe.

12. This could've sounded like a gag, but yes, Mike Tyson does also star in Ip Man 3. Yen studied Tyson's past matches to prepare physically and mentally for the fight scenes with him. Tyson's punches were more than 1,500 foot pounds of force in the ring. Good night, Zach Galifanakis.

13. Yen's wife publicly expressed concern that he might get hurt by Tyson but instead, it was Yen who reportedly fractured Tyson's index finger while filming one of the fight scenes.

14. Yuen Woo-Ping is the action choreographer in this movie and if that name looks vaguely familiar, it's because he has been the man coordinating action blockbusters like The Matrix, Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger and The Grandmaster. Woo-Ping has also worked with Yen previously in Once Upon a Time in China II and Iron Monkey, one of Quentin Tarantino's all-time favorite martial arts movies.