Uncle Mike

I trained in Wing Chun for a short time and stopped mostly because of financial reasons. It's not acompetition art, it's strictly for self defense. I think if it is taught well it can be effective. But you need a good teacher who knows how to make it practical. It depends alot on knowledge of body mechanics. Conditioning is not usually emphasized and if you have to "muscle" a move then you're not doing it right. I've heard it jokingly reffered to as "lazy man's kung-fu". Like I said, it's a legit art but you need a good teacher. It became so popularized because it was Bruce Lee's first art that a lot of teachers opened schools without really knowing how to apply it. Hopefully this won't be your experience. I hope you enjoy it.

Hey Andy, I have no experience with karate and very limited with kung-fu. However, I'm looking to maybe start karate and in researching it I've read that Isshin-ryu is a combo of hard and soft, it's mostly close range in-fighting and it uses economical, non-flashy movements. It sounds very no-nonsense. If you don't mind answering a question in your own post, why do you like Isshin-ryu? I ask because your answer might help me make my decision. Thanks.

What kind of Kung Fu? Southern styles tend to emphasize the hands more.

Hello Everyone, I've been studying Wing Chun for a while and I really like it. I have a good school and a good teacher and as far as self defense goes, I think I am covered pretty well. But something about Wing Chun just isn't scratching an itch I have. It's great for self defense, but what I feel I'm getting out of it begins and ends right there. I've been reading about karate lately and it seems it puts emphasis on personal development, meeting personal challenges, and yes competition. ( In my case I'd just like to test myself and my knowledge. I'm not looking to compete professionally. I think that boat sailed years ago ) I'm becoming more interested in these aspects of the martial arts and am thinking of taking a karate class. Is there any style that might work well with my wing chun training? I've read that Goju has a form of sensitivity training similar to chi sau, and Ive also read that Shorin-ryu emphasizes structure, evasion, higher stances and a near vertical fist. Are these things common to all karate, or just specific styles? Are they maybe school or teacher specific? I supposse the best thing to do would be to just go on down to the schools and check them out. But I'd be interested in anyone's opinions just the same. Thanks.