spinner12

This is probably a bit late as the Op posted this back in Oct. Having trained in both Shotokan and Wing Chun it's possible I can tell you a little about the similarities/differences. Shotokan and Wing Chun favor linear movement, by moving straight into the opponent with aggressive attacks. Both styles favor learning a few techniques and spending a lot of time honing them as oppposed to having a lot of material to be burdened with. A former Shotokan instructor once told me the style was like an M1 rifle. Basic yet works. The same hold true for Wing Chun. It's not a flashy (or flowery) style. Yet Shotokan relies more on hard power. The stances in Shotokan are deeper and the idea is fewer yet harder punches. Same holds true with the mixture of hard and soft blocks in Shotokan. Wing Chun uses a very upright stance and while the punches can be hard, often stresses a flurry of them. Blocking is largely about trapping, parries and redirection in Wing Chun. If you like Shotokan for being linear and aggressive you may enjoy Wing Chun too.

Hello to everyone out there on KarateForums. My username here is spinner12 (guess you already knew that) and I'm pleased to join the forums. Have tried once before to participate in a web-based martial art site and was quite disappointed by the lack of respect for others displayed there and the closed minded views. Was impressed how much different that KarateForums seems. Would enjoy having conversations here about the different aspects of martial arts. My background is somewhat limited yet I hope to learn from the experience here. Many years ago I took classes in Korean ITF Tae Kwon Do for about 3 years. After that I was a student of Japanese Shotokan for almost 4 additional years. Since then I took Chinese Wing Chun and Xing-Yi for about 10 years. The remainder of my practice has been spent learning Okinawan Isshin-Ryu. Been there about 8 years now. In addition to formal classes I enjoy learning about other styles and modern self-defense. Although some of those experiences are limited (Aikido and Judo in college as electives) would enjoy talking about different martial art styles. Sorry for the long (and probably boring intro) just giving some background info.