Someone did a decent job of casting (especially among the older supporting actors), and invested heavily in period costumes and sets. They also made sure the Ip Man legend was served by some exciting, mostly well-choreographed, fight sequences. But it's all downhill from there.
The series dragged on for 10 episodes, bloating a story that would have served a tight six. The swirl of plots, manipulations and double-crosses - overt and covert - was far more complicated and protracted than necessary. Too much dialog. Waaay too many times that bad guys roar those long, loud evil laughs that lazy action scripts invariably rely on to drive home the degree of a villain's derangement. Then there's a tedious romantic thread that meanders so aimlessly it makes fools out of what should be protagonists. And some of the fights were diluted by choppy edits obscuring what may have been excellent stunt work.
This covers Ip Man's early adult life, apart from a long childhood flashback establishing character and destiny. He comes to Canton as a naive rube, whose first trip to the Big City is for a major martial arts tourney. OK so far. But he stays way too trusting and clueless for far too long to honor the man as well as so many films have done.
Worst of all, the season ends with many key plot points unresolved. They must have assumed renewal was in the bag. Since a decade has already passed without one, closure doesn't seem to be in the cards. Or the mahjongg tiles. Stick with the movies about Ip Man for better return on your viewing-time investment.
