[QUOTE=Redrooster;830577]Lets try it this way…
Il use a western boxer as an example as I believe they are the most difficult to defeat for many styles. The footwork and highly effective handwork pose potential problems for most styles. Ill lay out strategy for these fictional battles of styles.
Style vs style is always fun to speculate, and you may not agree with my ideas laid out here ,but remember this is about what would a Wing Chun man do ultimately…
Against a boxer, in a street situation:
A Judoka would - work inside his punch, take him by his shirt throw him to the ground and follow him down to chioke himout or break an arm.
This fight would be decided on who scores first with thier strength , a knockout or a throw
A Tae Kwon Do fighter would- seek to fight at an outside distance, in his power range and slightly out of the boxers most effective range, looking to score a victory via kicks or kick/fist combos…
This fight would go to the boxer if he has any skill at jamming a kick or sweeping
Likely the same for a Praying Mantis kung fu man.
Ba Gua fighter would- circle and attempt to exploit any opening with a palm strike.
While ba Gua intrigues me I believe a western boxers footwork is superior even to Ba Guas and his arsenal of punches is superior as well
Muay Thai man- Strong leg kicks to neutralize forward momentum, clinch and elbows/knees to finish.
Muay Thai along with the Judoka in my opinion have the best chance of defeating the boxer. the thai fighter has the advantage outside and in the clinch, the boxer has superior hands and footwork- flip a coin
Now I know some of you will disagree with what Ive said but I believe this to be correct at least in a general sense.
Ive always believed that a boxer has the edge on the WC man, with superior footwork and an outside game, jabs and straight rights , as well as a decent inside game with hooks and uppercuts.
However the more I read about WC tactics the more I like it and the more I want to learn. I admit my knowledge of it is less than Japanese and Korean arts. How would WC deal with hooks and uppercuts inside as well as the footwork and head movement of a boxer?
In an attempt to answer my own question I will look to a recent boxing match you may have seen. Ricky Hatton vs. F. mayweather Jr. Hatton pressed the attack, his style is to press and jam the more tradition mayweather. Now in this fight Hatton lost, but in a street encounter he would have overwhelmed maywether, at least in my opinion. Would this be the best WC tactic, to jam the boxer?
So you tell me how a Wing Chun man beats a western boxer in a street fight?
I look forward to your replies!
RR[/QUOTE]
Firstly, someone trained in Wing Chun is still fighting in their own way, it is just that they are adding what the system has taught them to their natural instinct. IMO WC is a training system, something that is added on to what you already have. Now, what abilities or attributes does WC give you? In a nutshell, it gives you powerful/efficient/non telegraphic strikes (fists, palms, forearms, elbows, etc..), with defence built into the attack , backed up by flexible and stable/mobile footwork, all done in close range situations (within 12" from your opponent). The key thing is to get to the optimum distance to utilize your tools most effectively, but this does not mean one is useless in the longer ranges when trained in Wing Chun. People talk allot and say that the opponent will not just stand in front of you and let you hit them, this of course is partially true, but for the opponent to hit you, they need to be still in the very moment that they hit. The best boxers can do this and get out very quickly, this is why some think they are moving and hitting simultaneously. Watch any video of any good boxer and you will see what I am talking about(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LciIie3a_bQ , notice when Mayweather is getting his combo’s off, he is basically in a stationary position, just resetting as his opponents react to the blows. He is fighting in the boxing range and using his superior speed to land blows the other guys can’t see coming). Boxers use footwork to set up their attack and defence, not while they are actually hitting. As a WC man, we can play the attack game or counter attacker game, the key is to be aggressive, maintain the distance and put the other guy on their heels and retreating (it’s hard for a boxer to hit while backing up). If you let them get their combination off, you will get hit and KO’d. One thing that is important to remember, is that in the ring, you need a large repertoire of attacking weapons (jabs, hooks, uppercuts, crosses, overhands, etc..) due to the fact that there are rules/regulations/scoring systems that bring forth an exchange of blows during the bout. WC in essence is much simpler than boxing, as our main weapon is a straight punch. On the street the luxury of having prior knowledge of your opponents strength’s/weaknesses, and tweaking your training to your opponent is non existent, all you have are the tools (arms, legs, head), and the training you have put them thru, plus the mental attitude to do what is needed in a street fight to survive.
Anything can happen in a fight, and anyone can get caught with a good shot, and lights out. IMO WC offers a good counter system to Boxing. I also believe at certain levels there are similarities to the two arts, it is just we use our body’s in a different way to generate power, and move. Boxers are way more mobile and active in their footwork, but they do so at a longer range than WC, and IMO the closer you are in to the guy, the less footwork you will be using. In the end, you also have to consider timing, distancing, your ability to read your opponents moves and react accordingly based on your training and what you have trained in, WC works on strictly our reaction using our bodies (ie. elbows in vs. elbows out, facing square vs. side on, etc etc…), you still have to learn how to relate to a moving target trying to hit you, while avoiding the hits and landing your own. I could teach you everything in WC you would ever use in a few days time, it is up to you to train it, absorb what it is trying to teach you, all the while understanding what it is all about and then by training properly, learn how to apply it in a real situation against the above situations.
Just my 2 cents:)
James
The concepts you associate with WC, upon inspection, IMO are not unique to Wing Chun and this humbles me because I can’t think of an answer.
What defines Wing Chun? I don’t think it’s strategies, I don’t think it’s theories. I wonder how our Ancestors defined it? Heck, I wonder how you define it.