Is it possible for people to learn Wing Chun by watching videos, reading books and asking questions online? If so, this would be a great way to save time and money. Any ideas?
IMHO It is possible to learn this way and althougn the price of a few books and videos may be less than what you would spend on going to classes you cerainly can’t save time this way. I think it would take you a lot longer if its even possible to gain a high level of understanding and ability in wing chun without a good teacher.
Ok, what about… if you had a PARTNER?
Think about that, baby.
Understandably some folks dont have much of a choice. Think of living near Burbank South Dakota(Hey I knows dat place).
The key is whether a person is persistent enough and dedicated enough to meet from time to time for intense teaching and correction hands on bya good teacher… if they cant be in daily or weekly classes..
I think it is possible but you will have to spend some money on going to some seminars or private instruction atleast once a year! You need the iput of someone who has been there and done that and can help you with the little mistakes you may not be able to correct through a tape.
red5angel
Did you…?
Why would someone choose a book over a teacher? They must not have a very strong relationship with their teacher. Wing Chun is a sensitivity based art and therefore one must have the guidance of a teacher…Wing Chun is empty without sensitivity.
Regards,
Chris
learning from videos and books!
This isn’t to knock anything anyone has said here. It seems that the few who have commented on this topic seem to think one could learn this way. Though my question to all of you is, how good would this individual become? The next question I have is, with all the trolling and flaming about who has real Wing Chun and lineage, would he/she be accepted as a good teacher once he began teaching the art? I personally am not so torn, nor do I judge Wing Chun people by thier lineage or there lack of, though many do. What is everyone’s feelings about this?
I will say that if someone wants to learn an art which isn’t taught in there neck of the woods books and videos would probably be the next best thing. Though, I must add sometimes learning an art is hard enough when you have a qualified teacher standing in front of you, leading the way step by step. What I mean by this is, try remembering back when you first began training and you were shown something and thought he had it down. Then in the following class found that you weren’t doing it right. I feel that people who train by books and videos are actually going to miss some of those finer points which are not easily seen. Does this make sense? Though I also believe that they will get the main idea and concepts of the art, I say this from experience with a student I once had. When I first met him he had told me that he had studied Wing Chun for about 3 or 4 years. He later came to train with me and I found out through speaking with him where his training came from. I was kinda shocked since his Wing Chun was descent though missing some of the “finer” points or some of the less obvious ideas.
Again this is just my opinion, and am not knocking anyone, for I am just a student and always will be.
Re: Learning Wing Chun by Correspondance
Originally posted by Alpha Dog
Is it possible for people to learn Wing Chun by watching videos, reading books and asking questions online? If so, this would be a great way to save time and money. Any ideas?
Hell yeah! (I hope)
The thing is, you really need a variety of videos that cover the same thing. See, there’s a big conspiracy by Wing Chun sifus who put out videos that works like this: Each person who puts out a video will give only some specifics of a technique or movement. So, in order to learn everything you must buy many different videos on the same thing. It’s part of a movement to get the consumers to spend more money and therefore boost the economy.
The best advice I could give you though would be to find a partner who is also interested in WC. That way you will have someone to practice things like chi sao with. Otherwise you’ll be doing SLT all day alone in your dorm room 
IronFist
impossible
its impossible to learn by book or video… only once you know the art can you use this as a reference
Hi Ironfist,
Where are you located?
Regards,
Chris
Ironfist mate, i’m sorry, you just can’t do it.
If old monks can learn from drawings, I can learn from videos, notes, and you guys 
What about the guy who invented Wing Chun? He learned from nothing.
IronFist
No iron fist. Wing chun founders stood on the shoulders of other giants in the evolution of TCMA.
ironfist
u sure u can trust people you meet online?
i got a car for sale if you’re interested!!
Originally posted by IronFist
[B]If old monks can learn from drawings, I can learn from videos, notes, and you guys
What about the guy who invented Wing Chun? He learned from nothing.
IronFist [/B]
Yeah sure, the same way that some Masters had Dreams about animals fighting and whammy they had a new style.
Ironfist:
Please find a teacher.
It really doesnt have to be Wing Chun.
And ‘the guy who invented wing chun’ was a comittee of Kung Fu experts. Probably. :rolleyes:
It really doesnt have to be Wing Chun.
Oi. Please see my analogy before about guitar playing styles
There are lots of shotokan and tkd teachers here at my uni… hmm… :mad:
Duh.
IronFist
Re: ironfist
Originally posted by Alpha Dog
u sure u can trust people you meet online?
Nope. But I have a pretty good idea of who I can trust for advice here.
But common sense also comes into play. If someone tells me eating my own **** will make me better at wing chun, I would pass on that advice.
IronFist
“Learn from the masters. He who teaches himself has a fool for a teacher.”
I don’t think you can learn wing chun from books or videos. Sure, you can follow the drills and the forms. But what about chi sao? You need a good teacher to make you understand chi sao.