Fighting or art or both

Hey guys. Check this out. My current sifu, I have had for a few months. I have trained for about 2 and a half years before. So this guy basically started me over. No big deal. Doing the basics...but then he makes a comment that he's not going to teach us to fight, he's only teaching us the art. If we are there to fight then we are at the wrong place. If my original take on the art is correct then Wing Chun is about finding the quickest way to end the fight usually by smashing the other guy. Sure it's an art but it is fighting in it's meanest form. Can you or should you separate the two? And should I stay with this guy?

i once heard" ving tsun is not a martial art, as art is in the eye of the beholder but fighting can be decided with who ever wins."
cant remember who said it but it sounds good

bud if he's teaching u to swim best you make sure he's been in the water & can show you how to do it properly.

i remember reading somewhere that the late great Wong shun leung called wing chun "the science of fighting, no more, no less" or something like that. i could be wrong so please don't jump me for it.

abe

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Its all fun and games til someone loses an eye. Then its just fun.

ateng
here here!

wong said my thing to i just couldnt remember the exact words.
it was also" its not a martial art it is a martial science"
see ya

Hmm...so the general opinion is that it is for fighting and should be taught as such?

el clap
PLEASE although i have already given my opinion{let me make this clear) u should be the one deciding whether or not it is for fighting or(shall we say just 4 keeping fit) not your teacher.he /she should be able to show you all the technics & applications & let you decide what u wish to do with them also learning the forms without these makes it just empty movements as u will have no idea where u are supposed to direct your force/energy.

Wing Chun is martial science IMHO. And this is what Wong Shun Leung had to say....

"Self-defense is only an illusion, a dark cloak beneath which lurks a razor-sharp dagger waiting to be plunged into the first unwary victim. Whoever declares that any weapon manufactured today, whether it be a nuclear missle or a .38 special, is created for self-defense should look a little more closely at his own image in the mirror. Either he is a liar or is deceiving himself. Wing Chun kung fu is a very sophisticated weapon--nothing else. It is a science of combat, the intent of which is the total incapacitation of an opponent. It is straightforward, efficient and deadly. If you're looking to learn self-defense, don't study Wing Chun. It would be better for you to master the art of invisibility"

buhma
are you from wong's branch of the tree?
if so do you mind me asking who your sifu might be?

Yes I'm from the WSL side [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Linneage is as follows:

Yip Man
Wong Shun Leung
Jim Lau
Jerry McKinnley
me.