Here is a post from Adam Chan (a martial arts colleague) about some of the assumptions he's found online about Wing Chun. Hope it hits home.
Wing Chun Assumption #1: In long range, Wing Chun is a counter fighting art. It waits to take the line and therefore will not work well against broken timing attacks.
While it is true Wing Chun does counter, it is also true, but mostly forgotten, that it has the idea of asking hands (ie Man Sau). Man Sau is NOT a rigid fixed technique, it is a timing idea ... to close with preventive measures; to take the initiative, to START the engagement. As the old sword saying goes in martial arts "waiting while one is attacking , attack when one is waiting". It is not necessary to wait around and let people lead you all over the place , that's not Wing Chun (although its a common assumption about the art). Once Man sau is developed, it can be used. There is no mindset of waiting around to be a "sitting duck" sorta speak. If he comes, take it, counter it. But if he waits, ask for hands. It's proactive, to get it done directly. Concepts are there, the techniques are there, but one would have to train it a lot to make it real, to make it work. The one sided "just waiting" is a common mistake - Wing Chun is NOT one sided, it is NOT just countering or NOT just attacking first. It has both even though the attacking side has been down played.
Wing Chun Assumption #2: Wing Chun is about trapping. This leads to the chasing of the hands and will be risky against direct hitting.
True but real Wing Chun does not chase hands so they can trap it. Through pressure and removing obstacles that comes up, that is given, the opponent sometimes traps himself. It is never chased, never contrived.. The objective is to hit. There is absolutely no reference point, fixed pattern trapping "sequences" in Wing Chun. Those (fixed pattern sequences) were later inventions by a top Wing Chun man because he refused to teach chi sau later in his career. Reference points are accidents that come "by themselves" during moments of disengagement.... it is not contrived..... everything is done by feeling , there is no fixed pattern.
Wing Chun Assumption #3: Wing Chun is about close range chain punching, fast but no real power - we need to add elbow knees etc etc .
Wing Chun chain punch have no power? True a lot of times but if trained right, it can have enough power to send a 80 lb bag flying (while the human head is only 8 lbs) so it is not the art but the man. It is possible to transfer TOTAL body weight if trained enough to be able to DO it. Elbows in Wing Chun are in Bil Tze (aka Bill Jee) form for a reason , it is an "emergency" to recover structure. They are USED WHEN YOU ARE LOSING from a Wing Chun point of view. They are not "finishing" tools.
Wing Chun Assumption #4: Wing Chun only punches straight
In the Chum Kil (aka Chum Kiu) form, the idea of curves are introduce and if you rotate from tan sau to bong sau with a fist , all the angles of punching is presented clearly.
I was wondering if i should right this short note, I am not a expert or teacher of Wing Chun but everything I do came somewhere from it so I felt I should say something. I could go on about more Wing Chun concepts that are neglected and not widely known in the martial arts public, but I think you get the point. It is not cool to assume too much about an art or people unless one takes a bit of time to know them. There is too much of that in our communities and it is not good for people's development, especially the young.
Adam Chan is the founder of Pragmatic Martial Arts. His martial arts approach is based on a variety of teachers and influences, of which Wing Chun plays a crucial part. For more info, go to
www.pragmaticmartialarts.com.
Posted by Adam Williss, Founder of The Dragon Institute
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Here is a post from Adam Chan (a martial arts colleague) about some of the assumptions he's found online about Wing Chun. Hope it hits home.
Wing Chun Assumption #1: In long range, Wing Chun is a counter fighting art. It waits to take the line and therefore will not work well against broken timing attacks.
While it is true Wing Chun does counter, it is also true, but mostly forgotten, that it has the idea of asking hands (ie Man Sau). Man Sau is NOT a rigid fixed technique, it is a timing idea ... to close with preventive measures; to take the initiative, to START the engagement. As the old sword saying goes in martial arts "waiting while one is attacking , attack when one is waiting". It is not necessary to wait around and let people lead you all over the place , that's not Wing Chun (although its a common assumption about the art). Once Man sau is developed, it can be used. There is no mindset of waiting around to be a "sitting duck" sorta speak. If he comes, take it, counter it. But if he waits, ask for hands. It's proactive, to get it done directly. Concepts are there, the techniques are there, but one would have to train it a lot to make it real, to make it work. The one sided "just waiting" is a common mistake - Wing Chun is NOT one sided, it is NOT just countering or NOT just attacking first. It has both even though the attacking side has been down played.
Wing Chun Assumption #2: Wing Chun is about trapping. This leads to the chasing of the hands and will be risky against direct hitting.
True but real Wing Chun does not chase hands so they can trap it. Through pressure and removing obstacles that comes up, that is given, the opponent sometimes traps himself. It is never chased, never contrived.. The objective is to hit. There is absolutely no reference point, fixed pattern trapping "sequences" in Wing Chun. Those (fixed pattern sequences) were later inventions by a top Wing Chun man because he refused to teach chi sau later in his career. Reference points are accidents that come "by themselves" during moments of disengagement.... it is not contrived..... everything is done by feeling , there is no fixed pattern.
Wing Chun Assumption #3: Wing Chun is about close range chain punching, fast but no real power - we need to add elbow knees etc etc .
Wing Chun chain punch have no power? True a lot of times but if trained right, it can have enough power to send a 80 lb bag flying (while the human head is only 8 lbs) so it is not the art but the man. It is possible to transfer TOTAL body weight if trained enough to be able to DO it. Elbows in Wing Chun are in Bil Tze (aka Bill Jee) form for a reason , it is an "emergency" to recover structure. They are USED WHEN YOU ARE LOSING from a Wing Chun point of view. They are not "finishing" tools.
Wing Chun Assumption #4: Wing Chun only punches straight
In the Chum Kil (aka Chum Kiu) form, the idea of curves are introduce and if you rotate from tan sau to bong sau with a fist , all the angles of punching is presented clearly.
I was wondering if i should right this short note, I am not a expert or teacher of Wing Chun but everything I do came somewhere from it so I felt I should say something. I could go on about more Wing Chun concepts that are neglected and not widely known in the martial arts public, but I think you get the point. It is not cool to assume too much about an art or people unless one takes a bit of time to know them. There is too much of that in our communities and it is not good for people's development, especially the young.
Adam Chan is the founder of Pragmatic Martial Arts. His martial arts approach is based on a variety of teachers and influences, of which Wing Chun plays a crucial part. For more info, go to www.pragmaticmartialarts.com.
Posted by Adam Williss, Founder of The Dragon Institute
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