Wing Chun is intended to be a quick impact martial art and this could be drummed into your wing chun training from the beginning. However it is important to notice why it is that you are taking the martial art. Is it to become a better fighter? To be a contest fighter, or to be able to defend yourself in a genuine life situation or is it just plain fitness? All very good reasons however they all require a different mind-set and approach in its purpose.
While you are practicing on the wing chun dummy you are faced with a static contestant. This is in sheer contract if you are faced with somebody practiced in taekwondo training "their kick can knock you into the week after next. The actual question is are you able to go the distance?
In fact a street fight will usually last one one or two moments..if not seconds it can occur quite spontaneous and if you're on the wrong end of it -you can become undone quickly,you wont know what happened.
On the other hand if you're coaching for competitions its a different discipline altogether where your number one ally is fitness and staying power. Give it some thought just the practice of holding your arms n the air for any specific time period is tough work and it just pain injures if you are not conditioned for it. Try it out for five minutes and you can see what I am saying.
That's the reason why in the first wing chun form -Sil Lim Tao the important point is on holding your guard up. I can remember the drills of holding this form for soo long -soothing like half an hour (a kind of Chinese torture trick from my SIfu) although it was a lesson well learnt. This conditioning taught me to keep my hands up under nerve-wrangling situations and this is the number skill/ability you can learn in any preparation for competition fighting (or any clash for that matter).
In the tournament environment many wing chun ideas aren't relevant. I.e Larp sao, bill jee, as you are gloved up this is not awfully and there are particular rules to stick to. As well there are surprise impact moves and trapping systems, which can sometimes be hard to execute.
This is where you must be adaptive as a martial artist. You want to adapt to your environment-but where should your focus be?
In truth you want both methods to become a complete martial artist. Tournament fighting will give you exposure to alternative styles where you can experience the dynamic of fighting a professional opponent and a gain huge learning process. You'll find out about yourself and face a very real fear in a controlled environment- so if the real deal occurs (which we are hoping never will & always try avoiding) you can face with a clear mind and confidence in your ability under the ultimate pressure.
While you are practicing on the wing chun dummy you are faced with a static contestant. This is in sheer contract if you are faced with somebody practiced in taekwondo training "their kick can knock you into the week after next. The actual question is are you able to go the distance?
In fact a street fight will usually last one one or two moments..if not seconds it can occur quite spontaneous and if you're on the wrong end of it -you can become undone quickly,you wont know what happened.
On the other hand if you're coaching for competitions its a different discipline altogether where your number one ally is fitness and staying power. Give it some thought just the practice of holding your arms n the air for any specific time period is tough work and it just pain injures if you are not conditioned for it. Try it out for five minutes and you can see what I am saying.
That's the reason why in the first wing chun form -Sil Lim Tao the important point is on holding your guard up. I can remember the drills of holding this form for soo long -soothing like half an hour (a kind of Chinese torture trick from my SIfu) although it was a lesson well learnt. This conditioning taught me to keep my hands up under nerve-wrangling situations and this is the number skill/ability you can learn in any preparation for competition fighting (or any clash for that matter).
In the tournament environment many wing chun ideas aren't relevant. I.e Larp sao, bill jee, as you are gloved up this is not awfully and there are particular rules to stick to. As well there are surprise impact moves and trapping systems, which can sometimes be hard to execute.
This is where you must be adaptive as a martial artist. You want to adapt to your environment-but where should your focus be?
In truth you want both methods to become a complete martial artist. Tournament fighting will give you exposure to alternative styles where you can experience the dynamic of fighting a professional opponent and a gain huge learning process. You'll find out about yourself and face a very real fear in a controlled environment- so if the real deal occurs (which we are hoping never will & always try avoiding) you can face with a clear mind and confidence in your ability under the ultimate pressure.
About the Author:
George kane first started Wing chun training in the early 90's and straight away saw this type of fighting as the ultimate fighting systems for newbies and seasoned martial artists. You can read more about his wing chun kung fuexploits at his popular blog