How effective is Wing Chun?

I am very interested in the style because I have seen the fast handmovements used, but how effective would wing chun be against someone who has had other martial arts training. I know it’s a stupid question because a smart martial arts practitioner would never have to prove himself and end up in a fight anyways.

I’m just curious though: How well would Wing Chun work against a street thug? I live in the city and my area constantly has people getting beat up and robbed. Would wing chun training be the best choice for street self defense?

And I know this has probably been discussed here before, but: How would a Wing Chun practitioner go about fighting against a BBJ guy. It seems they would just have to take you off your feet and you’d be finished. These big strong BJJ guys, how would you go about them? I’m not a huge guy with big muscles, thats why I find Wing Chun so interesting…But does it really work?

Thanks. I’m not trying to start any arguements or say that WC is inferioir, I’m just curious. Could someone explain it to me?

And I’m not trying to learn some fancy move that I can just perfectly apply when someone decides to rob me. (like some jackie chan movie scene) It’s impossible. I just want to know that I’m not completely helpless if something did happen though.

edit: and no, im not trolling. I’m seriously try to decide what style I should study.

Rui_Jing I can only respond to some of your questions . . . I am thinking wc is not for everyone just like nothing is for everyone . . . your martial art should play to your natural strengths . . . but it takes time and experience to find those natural strengths . . . just like how do you know what sports you are good at? If you want to know how wc can be used go find good wc group that fights . . . they will show you and you will see for yourself . . . seeing with own eyes is always best evidence. You may look at recent thread about Alan Orr group winning NHB fights . . . this sounds like group that fights with wc . . . and there are others . . . but must search for them. If worried about defense for street it is much easier to carry weapon.

Thanks,

Ghost

its okay

wing chun is okay, but its no match against Tae Bo..

wing chun is nothing against shaolin do

Actually BJJ is a lot like WC in that if you’re good at it you can beat people who are bigger and stronger than you…Both are fairly easy to find in any big city…why not try both…many people on this forum such as Rene R, Andrew N, Andrew S, Terence N, Lawrence and myself practice both. Wing chun for stand up, BJJ for the ground.:cool:

Good post Nick. I agree. You should give both of these arts a try. This way you will know which suits you better, in addition to which you prefer. Like Nick said, you may prefer to combine the two. In my opinion, both are effective. A lot depends on the practitioner. :cool:

I will also echo this after posting my findings this passed weekend. Even if you don’t want to join a BJJ school, at least get someone who is very good at it to attack you to see their side of things. After all, stimulus that you’ve never seen or felt before can definately take you off guard.

From my understanding, BJJ is complementary to any system of fighting.

For street defense, read “Strong on Defense”, it will be much more useful to you than learning a martial art (though do both).

As for BJJ guys, do people get regularly taken off their feet and armbarred in the streets where you live? No? Why obsess about something that’s unlikely to ever happen other than in a sporting contest.

Both BJJ and WC are fascinating martial arts. Their effectiveness depends on the teaching and training methods and training environment.

If you’re concerned about staying alive, you are far more likely, a factor of about 1000, to die of lifestyle related heart disease than from a violent assault. Find something to keep you fit. And read “Strong on Defense”.

REally, i like the way you guys think :stuck_out_tongue:

Nick, Kenton, and Andrew are correct.

Wing Chun Master Samuel Kwok teamed up with BJJ Master Carlson Gracie for a seminar tour which also showed that Wing Chun and BJJ are very compatible and complimentary arts:

http://www.wcarchive.com/store/items/samuel-kwok-wing-chun-seminar-videos.htm

-Lawrence

I get doubts as to whether or not Wing Chun is truly effective.. i dunno, im still new to it..

Muay Thai seems to be more accepted in the MMA community and has a fiersome rep.

I guess i can do the conditioning at home.. but what about sparring?? My school is traditional one.. no sparring at all. Sifu says its not needed. He is student of Ip man.

“My school is traditional one.. no sparring at all. Sifu says its not needed. He is student of Ip man.”

***AS SOMEONE who’s been doing wing chun for the last 30 years, (and teaching for the last 21 years)…let me say this to you, zooki:

GET OUT OF THAT SCHOOL AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

You’ll be wasting your time and your money; and if there are no other wing chun schools in your area that train realistically - then go join the Muay Thai school you mentioned.

My two cents.

I agree 100% with Victor’s advice above…

-Lawrence

This is a huge red flag… :frowning:

That may be true, but it won’t do anything to help you learn fighting skills…

-Lawrence

So you’re saying that choosing a school is based on whether they spar or not? You know nothing else and yet you are advising him to leave. I would call that a red flag.


zooki I get doubts as to whether or not Wing Chun is truly effective.. i dunno, im still new to it..

Muay Thai seems to be more accepted in the MMA community and has a fiersome rep.

I guess i can do the conditioning at home.. but what about sparring?? My school is traditional one.. no sparring at all. Sifu says its not needed. He is student of Ip man.


I like to ask you a question?do you think your sifu can fight? if he can’t Fight then why are you there?If he can then maybe you should listen to him.I’m sure he knows alittle more then you do…

A MUCH better question, IMO. :slight_smile:

Bill,

This topic started with a gentleman expressing an interest in learning fighting skills, -not following (what Ray described well on another thread) an “artist” program.

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39499

Why shouldn’t someone be suspicious of a school (that is supposedly teaching you a skill) discouraging you from ever testing your performance in that skill?

-Lawrence

Understood, but I stand by my comments never the less.

Suspicious? That may mean that you should look deeper as any good student would do. There are more questions to ask before you bolt for the door. Something brought him there in the first place. If things have changed that much then so be it. I’m just saying that there’s more to it than one factor.