Anyone here ever used thier Wing Chun in actual real-life combat?
What happened?
may the force be with you
Hello Todd,
Another provocative post!? Nah… very reasonable question!
I’ve used it and its saved my neck as a police officer more than 25 years ago. I’ll have to qualify the rest of this post as ONLY MY SUBJECTIVE, IMPERFECT AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, otherwise some may think that I’m suggesting its universally true, I am not.
I found that it worked best at a safe ‘kick off’ range and against relatively unsophisticated attacks. By safe range I mean non-contact - one sufficiently separated spatially to give me an instant to react without being smothered or taken down. Also, it was good against straight-ish lines but weaker against round line attacks.
I’ve heard over and over again on this forum (some)people say how easy it is to stop not only hooks but just about all round-line hits. Well, that’s their experience which makes it every bit as good as mine.
The trouble is that sometimes people only run the scenario in their heads or in a geometry compliant training school and then over generalise that to the vagaries of real life -which has the inconvenient habit of not understanding ‘style’ geometry and of providing very awkward environmental, social or even intra-personal variables.
Some round lines when viewed ‘from the outside in’ look laughlingly easy to stop. However, that isn’t the same thing as being on the receiving end as their intended target. Many wild swings have already completed the greater span of their arc before they are even seen, and, much of their remaining arc is heavy and punishing follow thru.
Of course non of that applies to a ‘virtual kung-fu’ run as an imaginative programme in a ‘rehearsal fanatsy’, or even in a compliant school house scenario either.
Being on your feet for hours on end in cumbersome uniform clothing, in the pouring rain, at night, sufferring from flu and being well p***** off all change things considerably. If you haven’t had to fight like that and much worse, then you haven’t had to struggle at all, and so things will seem to work much easier.
But, back to the point, simple Pak-Sau, Tan-Dar, Biu-Sau and the ocassional Bong, spiced up with a few more aggressive counter and pre-emptive strikes were ‘practical’ enough within the limitations I mention above.
I was young and idealistic when I started Wing-Chun in 1973, and I’m really glad that I had it in the first years of my police work whilst I gained in experience.
Best Regards,
Steve.
Lee-Yin-Sing Pai,
I’ll bet on experience over keyboard kung-fu anyday. Of course that’s my subjective, imperfect and personal opinion. 
By the by, did you ever have to tangle in one of those little box like rooms on the street? (a sort of holding cell used for police work, I’m not from the isle, so I don’t know what they’re called or if they were still in use in your early days 
) Wondering about close quarter combat and you and your fellow officers responses.
“We forge our bodies in
the fire of our will.” Han
from ‘Enter the Dragon’
I also have had the opportunity to use my Wing Chun skills on many occasions, with great results!
Hello remo,
Do you mean the ‘Dr Who’ style police boxes?
sadly, they were long gone from my particular force. There is talk of bringing them back - brought up to date.
The typical police response in close quarters was: 'grab ‘em and hang on till he gets tired’ the “'em” being the bad guys testicles. Actually worked sometimes…
Steve.
Last time I fought the street it hit me in the head with an exit ramp! 
Actually, my kung fu has served me well on the street even in some non-fight situations.
I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.
–Khalil Gibran
I have fought…I never had the results I wanted…but that was my fault not wing chuns(lack of experience)…
IXIJoe KaveyIXI
I am Sharky’s main man…
Martial Joe
Sounds like a saying I was once given “Wing Chun won’t fail you, but you can fail Wing Chun.”
Agreed. People get too greedy when they fight.
Great responses everybody! Cheers, Steve!
Roy, what occassions? What happened exactly?
may the force be with you
Every hear the expresion “Dont bite off more then you can chew”?
…Well I think that was and probably will be my problem later on…I just need to know what I am ready for and what I am not ready for…
IXIJoe KaveyIXI
I am Sharky’s main man…
Todd, one of the experiences was as a waiter in a restaurant, a few drunk people during a party started a fight with a cab driver,as some of the people I knew were friends I had to break it up.
No Strikes involved!
Roy,
Did you use any Wing Chun in that situation (no strikes)?
Any other situations where you did have to strike? What happened then?
may the force be with you
Todd
Remember this, the best defense is not being there. However as sometimes we cannot avoid all situations, try to only use as much force as necessary.If a punch is not required then don’t use one.
Many times a simple move will suffice and the opponent knowing you know something will stop.
During my situation that I mentioned I used Gan Sao, Kao Sao, Biu Sao and Jut Gerk.( the no strike situation)
I have used punches and elbows, when situations were already quite escalated when I got there.
Roy,
Fair enough. Thank you. What happened in any of these more escalated situations? Did your Wing Chun serve you well there?
may the force be with you
Todd
One inch power has served me well. It always ends there. SOme situations required a simple squeeze on a pressure point, and use of elbow strikes as well.More details only if you e-mail me.
roy_d_anthony@hotmail.com