It is easy to attack someone by surprise, and if you are committed to brutality you will be able to take him down directly. However, if someone becomes aware of your intentions and takes a defensive stance you might be in for a hard fight. Making that bridge can be hard, and if you are not quick you can end up knocked out or worse. The low kicks don’t require a great deal of advance notice to fire off at an opponent. You can fake an upper assault and then come under with a devistating kick, When the defense drops down you come back in over that and try to punch or even trap an arm. If I can get hold of someone I can usually jerk and push them very hard and fast enough to spin them around or at least take them off balance. If you can violate their center they can not effectively defend against your punches or kicks. The thing here is that in any event you have to be like a mad dog and overwhelm him.
I saw a post about hips. I have found that there are safe ways to do about any kick. I spent some time in TKD so I learned some very safe and standard practices for high kicks. However, with the advent of youtube, I am seeing a lot of variations of kicks that are showing up that aren’t safe for people with average hip flexibility.
I served in Viet Nam with a ROC Captain that was a 4th black belt in TKD. He could do all sorts of high kicks that I simply did not have the hip action to do. What I find amazing is that the kicks I learned as a teen, I can still do quite well at 66. I will be able to do them for whatever years I have left unless I am crippled in some way. High kicks and kicks that require special conditioning will leave you one day. They will stop working for you or will just get too hard to do.
[QUOTE=Lee Chiang Po;1116020]I served in Viet Nam with a ROC Captain that was a 4th black belt in TKD. He could do all sorts of high kicks that I simply did not have the hip action to do. [/QUOTE]
I don’t want to presume to know your body or situation, but I think that TKD does a pretty good job of getting you to where you can do those kicks. Even McDojo’s seem to do a good job of teaching the training and technique necessary to do the kicks. Had you gone through the training perhaps you could do those kicks?
[QUOTE=Lee Chiang Po;1116020]
What I find amazing is that the kicks I learned as a teen, I can still do quite well at 66. I will be able to do them for whatever years I have left unless I am crippled in some way. High kicks and kicks that require special conditioning will leave you one day. They will stop working for you or will just get too hard to do.[/QUOTE]
Very true. No matter what you do… I think that it all will come back to those core WC kicks.
To those who are interested - twelve years ago I came across a lineage of Ip Man that did emphasized kicking much more than the average Ip Man lineage. I have written an eBook based on the little that I learned and what I understood of the style from my limited perspective.
The eBook will be released on 9 Aug 2011 and is available from http://zenmindsword.webs.com/. Do take a look if you are interested. If not, kindly ignore this post.
I have also written random posts on it on my blog at http://singaporetaijiquan.wordpress.com/. Click on the category of TIMQ and Wing Chun to see posts on Wing Chun that I wrote.
Thanks for reading. Back to work.
[QUOTE=zenmindsword;1116031]To those who are interested - twelve years ago I came across a lineage of Ip Man that did emphasized kicking much more than the average Ip Man lineage. I have written an eBook based on the little that I learned and what I understood of the style from my limited perspective.
The eBook will be released on 9 Aug 2011 and is available from http://zenmindsword.webs.com/. Do take a look if you are interested. If not, kindly ignore this post.
I have also written random posts on it on my blog at http://singaporetaijiquan.wordpress.com/. Click on the category of TIMQ and Wing Chun to see posts on Wing Chun that I wrote.
Thanks for reading. Back to work.[/QUOTE]
Looks interesting.
I look forawrd to the read
[QUOTE=YouKnowWho;1115875]It may be interest to find out why the WC “chain punches” principle has not applied to the leg yet. In the Longfist system, there is a “chain kicks” that you keep stepping (not kicking) 45 degree downward on your opponent’s knee just like the WC chain punches that constantly hitting on your opponent’s face. If you can kick your opponent’s knee without looking down, when your opponent looks down at your low kick, it will give you an excellent chance to punch on his face.[/QUOTE]
We practice lots of kicks in our WC system. Ip Man himself was a great kicker. But strategy and tactics in using wing chun kicks has their own logic.
joy chaudhuri
[QUOTE=HumbleWCGuy;1115535]I am curious about what some might say.[/QUOTE]
Well the difference for me is that all our footwork, and therefore kicking , revolves around Gee Kim Yeung Ma.
The nature of this stance, and the associated stepping/turning, means that a lot of the kicks you see in other MA’s just wont fit with this stance.
For example, a MT leg kick involves a step on the non-kicking leg, to open the hips, and commiting to a full turn of the body off that supporting leg
You cant do this and maintain a WC stance.
THe WC kicks tie in with the stance, generally low, straight and the heel as the strike.
[QUOTE=GlennR;1116046]Well the difference for me is that all our footwork, and therefore kicking , revolves around Gee Kim Yeung Ma.
The nature of this stance, and the associated stepping/turning, means that a lot of the kicks you see in other MA’s just wont fit with this stance.
For example, a MT leg kick involves a step on the non-kicking leg, to open the hips, and commiting to a full turn of the body off that supporting leg
You cant do this and maintain a WC stance.
THe WC kicks tie in with the stance, generally low, straight and the heel as the strike.[/QUOTE]
Hi Glenn-my perspective and experience is apparently different-but it is wing chun.
I have worked out with some MT folks at one time or another. I don’t do MT. Without going on and on…
YGKYM is the fundamental stance- it’s also our fundamental DEVELOPMENTAL stance to align key elements of our structure. When that is well learned- chum kiu gives plenty of mobility, turns and weight shifting for doing what one wants to do…without using MT , TKD or other alternative alignments. Kicking low is part of good fighting tactics. In development you can kick in a variety of ways using wc principles and open up joints etc. But, I understand folks have different views
joy chaudhuri
[QUOTE=Vajramusti;1116061]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Glenn-my perspective and experience is apparently different-but it is wing chun.
I have worked out with some MT folks at one time or another. I don’t do MT. Without going on and on…
YGKYM is the fundamental stance- it’s also our fundamental DEVELOPMENTAL stance to align key elements of our structure. When that is well learned- chum kiu gives plenty of mobility, turns and weight shifting for doing what one wants to do…without using MT , TKD or other alternative alignments. Kicking low is part of good fighting tactics. In development you can kick in a variety of ways using wc principles and open up joints etc. But, I understand folks have different views
joy chaudhuri[/QUOTE]
Sure, i take your point Joy, and i wasnt suggesting that i fight from YGKYM.
But, as ive highlighted in your post, YGKYM gives you the guidlines of a certain structure you should maintain whist fighting and from my expewrience that doesnt lend itself to to the proper execution of some kicks from other systems.
Having said that, fighting is fighting and id be the 1st to kick outside the system if it would give me the win 
[QUOTE=HumbleWCGuy;1115535]I am curious about what some might say.[/QUOTE]
The key difference is people ask these sort of questions about it. Other than that, nothing.
[QUOTE=Tom Kagan;1116352]The key difference is people ask these sort of questions about it. Other than that, nothing.[/QUOTE]
I agree, all martial arts systems at their pinnacle are virtually the same. Be as efficient as possible while defending and/or attacking. That’s it. Everything is subjective.
[QUOTE=nasmedicine;1117587]Be as efficient as possible.[/QUOTE]
In the longfist system, there are all kind of kicks. The day that I saw that
- TKD’s side kick training is better than the longfist side kick training, I switch my longfist side kick to the TKD side kick.
- MT’s roundhouse kick training is better than the longfist roundhouse kick training, I switch my longfist roundhouse kick to the MT roundhouse kick.
I’ll never allow my style to put any restriction on my personal skill development.
[QUOTE=HumbleWCGuy;1116023]I don’t want to presume to know your body or situation, but I think that TKD does a pretty good job of getting you to where you can do those kicks. Even McDojo’s seem to do a good job of teaching the training and technique necessary to do the kicks. Had you gone through the training perhaps you could do those kicks?
Very true. No matter what you do… I think that it all will come back to those core WC kicks.[/QUOTE]
I was talking with a degree TKD college professor some years back and he mentioned the same thing about slowing down on the high kicks even though he was still instructing his students in their use. His father had been a pro boxer. I’m 59 now and I gave up practicing leaping rolls off of cement at the age of 47, some things you have to retire for health purposes as you age.
[QUOTE=Lee Chiang Po;1115544] the kicks are far more controlled and deliberate. With a front heel kick and a side kick that does not exceed the waist is basic.
The high kicks I have seen are best done for TV or the movies because when you kick like that you give away your stability, lose some of the real power, and place yourself in grave danger of being trapped or taken down.
With WC or Jiujitsu you only kick when you can not miss, and in most cases you are able to put full power behind the kick, and usually at a target that is susceptable to pain or injury, and in most cases can be easily recovered while maintaining your guard.
These kicks are scientifically and common sense based. [/QUOTE]
I agree…
The Wing Chun “Tiger Tail Kick” has six kicking methods hidden in one technique.
The “Throat Locker Kick” is a high kick that can be applied during Chi Sau, although it does take a lot of practice to pull off.
Wing Chun has some really awesome kicks.
It has been a long time since I practiced WC…I’m going to sound like a clumsy newbie by asking this, but what was the difference between a chung gerk and a jing gerk again? The application, at least for me, was just that of a front kick, for both of them…
[QUOTE=imperialtaichi;1117793]The Wing Chun “Tiger Tail Kick” has six kicking methods hidden in one technique.[/QUOTE]
I remeber a “fu gerk” that was basically a side kick thrown in a side stance, I think. Is that what you’re referring to?