Ultimatewingchun’s comment about Wing Chun being superior to kickboxing prompted me to sit down and compare and contrast Wing Chun with kickboxing, boxing, and Muay Thai. Here’s my analysis:
[u]Power Development: [/u]
Power development is an extremely important component of unarmed fighting. Body rotation plays a pivotal role in the development of power and can be illustrated by observing activities that require maximum power (i.e. golf drives; baseball homerun hits; baseball and football throws; discuss, javelin, and shotput throws; tennis strokes).
Since Centerline theory dictates that Wing Chun fighters keep the center of their bodies facing their opponents, they are unable to realize the maximum power development allowed by full body rotation.
Boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai, on the other hand, have no such constraints and make full use of body rotation in delivering their strikes. So much power is developed by these types of rotational mechanics that several of these fighters are routinely killed in the ring and in training each year.
[u]Exposure of Vulnerable Targets: [/u]
The goal of most striking arts is to hit the most vulnerable areas of the body in order to incapacitate the opponent. Keeping these areas as unexposed as possible is an important consideration in combat.
Due to the Centerline theory, traditional Wing Chun practitioners stand in a square stance with the center of their bodies facing their opponents. This type of stance opens up the face, neck, abdomen, and groin to forward, direct blows from the opponent. Even those who have modified the traditional Wing Chun stance into a staggered stance still keep the upper body facing forward, continuing to expose the face, neck, and abdominal areas to the opponent. Since several vulnerable targets of the body’s center are facing the opponent, the Wing Chun fighter must be concerned with committing many of his resources towards protecting these targets.
In contrast to this, Boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai use a staggered stance, which turns the body slightly and moves the vulnerable targets of the center of the body away from the opponent, making them harder to hit. Additionally, these fighters also tuck the head slightly and raise the lead shoulder to further protect the face and neck area.
[u]Mobility: [/u]
A fighter who moves fast without losing his equilibrium or ability to generate power will have a significant advantage. Mobility is necessary for delivering offensive blows, as well as for complementing defensive techniques.
The square stance of traditional Wing Chun forces the practitioner to either step forward or backward before being able to move the body forward or backward. This is because the center of mass (the majority of the body’s weight) must first be situated forward of the support area (the foot). In biomechanical terms, this is known as a false step.
During the time it takes to perform the false step, the fighter is off balance and has no base from which to develop power. The transition during the false step creates an extremely vulnerable position for the Wing Chun fighter. Studies have shown that the false step also lengthens the time it takes to move forward or backward by 50 to 100%.
The boxer/kickboxer/Muay Thai practitioner stands in a staggered stance, so no false step is required. These fighters already have one foot behind the center of mass, thus allowing for immediate, non-delayed forward movement and power delivery.
[u]Fighting Range: [/u]
A fighter who can dictate the range of the fight to his specifications will generally have an advantage over the fighter who is limited to only one range.
Wing Chun, by virtue of being restricted by Centerline theory, is compelled to fight in close range only. Because the center must continually face the opponent, the range of the Wing Chun practitioner’s weapons are relatively short. Being constricted to fighting in this range severely limits the ability of the Wing Chun fighter to work in a variety of situations and ranges.
Boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai do not have these restrictions and have weapons available for all ranges. Boxing uses the jab for long range fighting, the cross and outside hook for medium range, and the inside hook and uppercuts for inside range. In addition to these same weapons, kickboxing/Muay Thai use side, roundhouse, or front kicks for even longer range fighting and knees and elbows for the shortest ranges. This gives these systems the flexibility needed to fight at a variety of different ranges.
[u]Modifications for Sportive Environments: [/u]
Full-contact combative contests such as the K-1 kickboxing events and the Pride and UFC mixed martial arts competitions attract many of the world’s top combat athletes. These events allow participants to test themselves and their training against the best, as well as to make future modifications to their training depending on their successes or failures.
Wing Chun practitioners, by and large, have been relatively unsuccessful in modifying their system to be able to compete under the rules and with the equipment required in these types of contests.
Boxing and Muay Thai have been able to successfully modify their arts to fit the constraints of sporting venues. While kickboxing was developed largely as a ring sport, boxing and Muay Thai were originally designed to be used with no safety equipment, such as gloves, and very few, if any, rules. Over the years, both boxing and Muay Thai have adjusted well to a variety of rule and equipment changes. Muay Thai has successfully adjusted a variety of its techniques, such as the behind the neck grip in the plumb position, to allow for the interference of protective gloves on gripping ability. A variety of boxers, kickboxers, and Muay Thai fighters have also crosstrained in grappling and groundfighting and have been regularly successful at competing in MMA events.
[u]Training Methods: [/u]
A basic tenant of effective human performance training is known as specificity of training. This means that the closer one trains to the desired activity, the better the performance results will be.
A majority of Wing Chun training methods are relatively non-specific to the actual event being trained towards (fighting). One component of Wing Chun training is comprised of performing preset forms. Unfortunately, real fighting does not usually allow for the performance of predetermined movements, one after another in a specific sequence.
Another tool used extensively in Wing Chun is the Mook Jong dummy. This is a stationary target that cannot be hit with full power, other than by those very few practitioners with extensively conditioned fists. This is very different than fighting with a live, fully-resisting opponent who is moving freely and must be hit with maximum power.
The other major component of Wing Chun training is Chi Sao. This type of training starts with two opponents touching their arms together and moving them in a type of circular motion, somewhat akin to the motion of turning a steering wheel. This is also a very poor and distant approximation of what occurs when fighting with a real opponent.
By contrast, the training methods of boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai systems are much more specific to what occurs in real fights. These systems make regular use of moving targets such as heavy bags, focus mitts, and kicking pads. These types of training devices also allow for full power hits, helping to develop the fighters’ ability to hit hard and giving them realistic feedback, both in terms of hitting power, as well as timing and distance. Boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai also make regular use of full contact sparring with strikes to a variety of targets, which approximates even closer the dynamics of a real fight.
[u]Absorbing Punishment: [/u]
The ability to absorb blows can mean the difference between winning and losing a fight between two evenly matched opponents. It can also play a pivotal role when taking unexpected strikes in real-life situations, such as a surprise sucker punch or a blow from an opponent’s compatriot. A fighter who is used to receiving powerful hits will be more likely to withstand them than one who is relatively inexperienced in taking this kind of punishment.
Wing Chun’s chief mode of sparring is Chi Sao. In this type of training, participants are usually limited to striking the opponent’s chest area. Relatively few Wing Chun practitioners are regularly hit with hard strikes to the face, head, or abdominal area during training. Because of this, they do not have the opportunity to develop the tolerance for hits to these areas.
In contrast to this, boxing/kickboxing/Muay Thai fighters are regularly subjected to powerful hits to the head, face, and abdominal areas in both sparring and competitions. These fighters develop a remarkable ability to absorb these blows and continue fighting.
[u]The Flawed Centerline Theory: [/u]
My conclusion is that the Centerline theory of Wing Chun, while intellectually appealing, is an unsound theory that causes the system to have a variety of defects. This flawed theory, when combined with the inefficient training methods commonly found in Wing Chun, inhibits the ability of its practitioners to develop fighting skills comparable to the levels of those who practice combative sport-type systems such as boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai.
