Wing chun good for SD?

[ChocolateDoggy]

hi, in your opinion, do you think wing chun is very good for self defense? If so give your reasons why

Also can it be learned quickly like Muay Thai(I know it takes a long time to do the techniques well, but muay thai is pretty easy to learn compared to an art like aikido)?

Thank you, please reply back!!

[Lindley57]

CD,

Just about all martial arts can in some form be useful for self defense. Wing Chun was designed for combat. It's intent is to be effective and efficient in the least amount of time by being simple and direct. Most other martial arts take a considerably longer amount of time to gain some significant ability to apply their techniques in a real combat situation. The mastery of Wing Chun chain punching (which is common to be one of the first things learned) combined with forward aggressive movement is a simple (in content) yet effective self defense movement one could learn to use in a matter of months.

In addition to time, Wing Chun is also an art that applies scientific principles. Use the least amount of energy while delivering the most amount of power. Wing Chun is no doubt a combat martial art which often times cannot be used for sport or subduing someone. The concepts of Wing Chun may be applied to other styles as well. Many schools of other styles offer Wing Chun as advanced training. There are also those who use Wing Chun to enter an opponents boundary and then techniques from some other grappling art to subdue them (most often if they are in a security related field).

One should not to be a slave to any martial arts style. The martial art serves you as a foundation, not a means to an end. In the end, the usefulness of the style is directly related to the effort and ability of its practitioner, not the style itself. One must make the distinction between YOUR Kung Fu and the style you train.

The best answer to your question is to visit as many schools as you can until your reach one that you are comfortable with and seems to satisfy your goals.

Good luck in your Kung Fu.....

[TjD]

i think if you train hard - ie actually put some time into it outside of class, and have a good teacher, you can become proficient enough in wing chun in 3-4 years to handle most any untrained attacker

it might take longer as a smaller person, simply because more >skill< is needed to deal with a larger opponent imho

right from the beginning for self defense wing chun gives you a few good simple techniques to save your butt, like as were already mentioned, chain punches can work great; and vs an untrained opponent, if your butt is really on the line, biu jee to the eyes could save you. siu lim tau teaches simple body mechanics for breaking free of grabs and holds as well

i think wing chun is definately a great art to learn if you want to defend yourself, its simple and direct. its about getting the job done as quickly as possible; these are all things you want if you need to defend yourself

and 3-4 years to become a very proficient fighter with a lot of knowledge about body mechanics is rather quick i think

[Atleastimnotyou]

I think wing chun is perfect for self defense. Just as long as you realize it is designed to hurt your opponent not subdue them like stated earlier. IMO it cant be learned quickly, but then again, it depends on what your idea of quickly is.

[Mr. Bao]

Is wing chun a good self defense? Yes. But so is many other different styles of martial arts. A fighting arts or styles wouldn't exist if it didn't work for its students. So pretty much it is up to the students to know if it works well or not. I am confident that wing chun works well but why should you believe me. Go see it for yourself.

Why wing chun is a good form of self defense. I won't try to convince you. It rather pointless to communicate the effective of any fighting art through this medium. But I would rather tell you that don't bother with wing chun. Most likely you will not be serious enough to research it anyways. Perhaps I am wrong?

After you have researched wing chun, tell me what you think and tell me if my advice was good or bad.


Bao



Bao

[old jong]

A good punch on the nose is good self-defense!...Wing Chun is a very good art to learn to throw them! ;)

[yuanfen]

Is wing chun a good art for sd? Depends- on your teacher and you. Unsure about either? Try something else where those two variables are in good shape..

[{i^(]

"It rather pointless to communicate the effective of any fighting art through this medium. "

well, maybe not for long. Go here:
http://www.etherealtech.com/
and take a gander at what's coming down the pike.

CD- I can understand your concerns. You don't want to waste time and effort, right? No worries- try it out, then try it out with somebody who knows nothing (but be careful). On the surface, some of what you'll learn may not be totally useful, in an immediate sense, but a good deal of it will become so.

And thats what makes it an art. Give it a go. Then you, too, can argue about nomenclature with the best of us.

[wingchunalex]

wing chun is good for selfdefense. I've often thought about maybe one day teaching a wing chun based self defense class. just simple stuff like poking the eyes, striking the groin, how to get out of holds and stuff like that. one could isolate moves from wing chun to make a very efficient, simple, effective mini self defense system. like only teach someone 2 or 3 blocks (pak sau and bil sau), how to defend agaist holds and stuff like that, and like bil jees to the yes, chop to the throat, and the palm strike. and have the person only train those simple things for like a month and i think they could defend themself pretty well. this is all kinda based on the fact that like if someone was about to be raped or some violent thing like that they would just like poke them in the eyes and then run away. in terms of being good at wing chun in a small time i think one can learn to be effective much faster than some other styles (depending on the training). with good training and drills and basic moves one can get a good offence and especially a good defence quickly with wing chun. for instance using the centerline as something to focus on for defence makes you much more effective than just. chasing punches. and with 3 blocks (pak sau, tan sau, and gaun sau) you can get a pretty good defence. so its not like you need to practice a billion things to be effective. you can also be effective quickly with just a few simple attacks, pak da, lop da, double punches. so i think you can be effective quickly with wing chun just like you can with mui tai because they both are based around basic, fairly simple, effective moves. nothing too complicated in the begining.

[cha kuen]

Muay Thai would be street effective a lot faster than wing chun would be.

[red5angel]

CD - I would have to say its one of the best for self defense! ITs why I study it! It may take you some time to develop to a point where you ownt have to worry any longer but with diligent work and practice you can use it extremely effectively. Its efficiency and directness are what attracted me to it, why waste time when you are trying to defend yourself? If its life or death, I just want to put the other guy down and worry about the details later.
In any art, including muy thai, it takes time to develope, but wingchun continues to develope while some arts may reach an apex and begin to suffer with age, or other factors.

[Mithrandir]

How well you can defend yourself depends upon whom your opponent is.

So against Joe Schmoe I might look like " The Man" and against say (fill in the blank with your favorite WC elder) I look like I don't know the first thing about fighting. One's ability for self defense is relative to the skill of one's opponent.

What is key is finding the way of movement that works best for you. We are all different and the last time I checked there was more than one route to the top of the mountain.

The road of absolution leads to the death of artistic exploration.

[Atleastimnotyou]

there are many ways to the top of wing chun mountain, and there all full of mudslides except for one

[Mithrandir]

I wasn't referring to the "WC Mountain". His question was is WC good for SD. My point is it might be what he is looking for or it might not be. He should carefully look into different styles and schools (WC lineages as well).

In your opinion was WSL effective in his ability to defend himself?

I have found that those that tend to think they have a monopoly on the truth in fact are cultivating the flower of ignorance.

[Atleastimnotyou]

sorry i thought you were reffering to wc mountain.

Who is WSL?

[Mithrandir]

Atleastimnotyou,

No problem about the mountain reference.

WSL= Wong Shun Leung

[Atleastimnotyou]

Originally posted by Mithrandir

In your opinion was WSL effective in his ability to defend himself?

[/B]

I don't know anything about Wong Shun Leung

[Mithrandir]

Wong Shun Leung was the gentleman that was famous for the Hong Kong roof-top matches and largely given credit for the WC education of the late Bruce Lee. He was considered one of the top students of Yip Man (and to bring it home to you) was on very good terms with Leung Sheung. I'm sure there are some students within the WSL lineage that could give you many more details on the life of the late Wong Shun Leung.


Research, Research, Research

[Atleastimnotyou]

Thanks, that actually does refresh my memory somewhat. I suppose he could defend himself. But why do i care. (no disrespect, i just have no interest in him)

[Mithrandir]

Originally posted by Atleastimnotyou
there are many ways to the top of wing chun mountain, and there all full of mudslides except for one

Atleastimnotyou,

This statement is why I included him in the discussion. Now do you see the faulty reasoning behind absolute statements? WSL had the respect of his peers as well as his Sifu, Yip Man. Your statement would suggest that any path other than your's will surely encounter obstacles that will prevent one from truly attaining the summit of the WC mountain.