Wing Chun - Pros and Cons

[cymry]

Here are a few:

 

Pros

 

Flexible

 

Very fast

 

Free of mysticism

 

Cons

 

No real sparring

 

Little or no groundfighting

 

No joint locks

[cymry]

Is it only the Wing Tsun schools that teach groundfighting/antigrappling?

[Stold]

No real sparring

 

Little or no groundfighting

 

...That pretty much sums it up for fighting efficiency, eh?

[Drunken Monkey]

just out of interest, how many wing chun classes have you seen/taken part in before you made these statements?

 

and which particular branch of wing chun are you talking about?

[cymry]

I have been attending classes for some time, and during my numerous discussions with the sifu, I've gathered what I've said previously. BTW, tyhe reason there's no real sparring in wing chun is because there's no real safe way to do it. None of the strikes work with mitts, and the kicks are aimed at vulnerable targets.

 

My sifu trained under Samuel Kwok.

[cymry]

...there's no real safe way to do it

 

For example, finger jabs to the throat and eyes.

[Drunken Monkey]

good good.

 

you have no idea how often i ask that question and the answer i get is 'i don't/haven't....'

 

anyway.

 

you CAN spar in wing chun.

 

just cos you go in fast doesn't mean you have to hit hard.

 

just cos you are going in hard doesn't mean you have to hit.

 

and when using the elbow, we don't hit with it, we get it in position and just give a push...

 

admittedly it isn't hyper realistic fighting but it gives a good indication of how to get it to work.

 

and there's a fingerless glove out there that allows the hand to flex fully.

 

i'll find the address of the shop that sells it and you can have a look.

 

we've been using them for ages.

 

hmmm, samual kwok.

 

from yip chun.

 

if you can, find a guy from yip ching (probably from ron heimberger).

 

they do chi sau very differently.

 

gives a different perspective on how things can be done.

[Stold]

I have taken part in many. Never did I learn how to use my skills in an alive situation. How hard is it to get some closed face plexiglass headgear, neck pads, some NHB gloves and start going to town on eachother?

[Drunken Monkey]

that's another thing that kinda annoys me.

 

when people talk about wing chun and sparring they mention finger jabs.

 

what about the most basic of all hits, the punch?

 

you DON'T NEED to biu gee to hit at every opportune moment.

 

and do you need to aim for eyes and throat?

 

it's not hard to get some head gear and replace these hits with punches.

 

just a thought...

[pvwingchun]

Cons

 

No real sparring

 

Little or no groundfighting

 

No joint locks

 

We have all of these. So do most other lineages, the problem is most people don't know enough about the system to put them to use. They aren't init long enough to learn the systemand explore it then go off and learn something else because what we do doesn't fit there idea of combat, which usually entails being able to compete in the ring. Only through careful exploration of the system and its principles can it be found.

 

Define real sparring. We spar, light contact to medium contact, primarily because we don't want to hurt each other. From there it is an easy adjustment "turn up" the power. WQhat is sometimes defined as medium contact is really much more between two of the more advanced students, but control is a must......

 

Groundfighting is there you just have to get on the ground and utilize what you know and apply the principles on the ground. I don't know how many times I have heard a new student who comes in with groundfighting experience (wrestlers, BJJ, etc.) say he can't be beat on the ground by a WC man, or that he can lock one of us up and we can't get out.... I can tell you how many of those guys ate there words, all of them.

 

We practice joint locks all the time. No they aren't standard fare in WC but all you have to do is have a collection of several effective ones and utilize them.

 

As for the pros I would agree, plus add, powerful, simple to learn the basics, good for almost all ages, effective, efficient, very good for self defense, etc., etc.,.............