Traditional Wing Chun versus Modern

[Goju_boi]

why?

[shogeri]

Crescent kicks are highly telegraphed, and do not hold as much power as a roundhouse, or heel-kick.

They still have impact, momentum, and some power, albeit, I believe that they are best utilized within a complex set of techniques rather than just a single one, as in striking to the head, or trying to dislodge a knife.

It is almost as they were designed to have a spinning effect, rather than just shooting them from the hip/waist.

Perhaps that is why they are not in the same category as snapping kicks.

In my youth I liked them high. In kata they look good that way. But as I got older, they got lower, and now I have progress to not using them much at all.

[Goju_boi]

"Crescent kicks are highly telegraphed"

that's why I'm not a big fan of them either.

[Kajukenbopr]

Crescent kicks are highly telegraphed, and do not hold as much power as a roundhouse, or heel-kick.

They still have impact, momentum, and some power, albeit, I believe that they are best utilized within a complex set of techniques rather than just a single one, as in striking to the head, or trying to dislodge a knife.

It is almost as they were designed to have a spinning effect, rather than just shooting them from the hip/waist.

Perhaps that is why they are not in the same category as snapping kicks.

In my youth I liked them high. In kata they look good that way. But as I got older, they got lower, and now I have progress to not using them much at all.

makes for an easy follow-up kick though...

I dont like them to hit the torso beautiful for forms and presentations

[Goju_boi]

I just do them to play around.Although I actually tried it in sparring once.As you guys may have guessed , it didn't work.From then I didn't try to pull them off.

[sarkeizen]

I think we're all going to be somewhat unable to answer very well since we don't really know what your friend means but....

The particular style that this dojo practices involves a lot of pok sao and like exercises, focusing on the centerline "drive", he talked about the "drum" techniques

Personally, I've not heard the term "drum technique" but even within WC terminology changes.

instead of attacking or driving the center he was taught to control it through swiping movements and open it to attack.

To me this is situational, for example you can use a fook sau or a jut sau to open the center but if the guy is built like a tree ( and IMHO you study MA to handle those people stronger than you - not weaker!) good luck. So if you can't move him ( or her ) it is you that should move!

Also, Sifu Tom Tomlinson noticed that his style incorporated a lot of "dancing around the opponent"

Again I would say this is situational but if you hold with the assertion that you are preparing to fight someone stronger than you then learning to move around your opponent isn't a bad idea even if the person you are currently practising against is weaker than you.

, or "unnecessary trapping movements".

Well I've certianly seen this idea in WC. I've seen people deal with a center-line punch with pak-sau, then fook sau, then punch when pak/punch would do (or even just a punch!).

he actually seems to think that my friend's style isn't as true to roots, because Sifu Tomlinson trained under the youngest son of Yip Man, who holds true to the direct rooted past of Wing Chun.

Traditionaism is a double-edged sword. It insures that you never fall backwards but also that you never move forward. If you read Rene Ritchie's book you'll see that there a least a dozen of branches of WC across China - they all have differences. How does any Sifu know his Sifu "got it right"?

As another poster wisely said: It's important to change but only if necessary.

[Kajukenbopr]

interesting points there

[ZepedaWingChun]

I was taking Wing Chun for a while, but kinda stopped because of the distance from where I live. I have a friend who's dad teaches him Wing Chun, but when he watched a class of mine, he said it was too "modern" and ineffective in a serious situation. What're the differences?

What he most likely meant was the sifus training methods were too modern and therefore not to his liking. There is no such thing as modern or traditional Wing Chun. Only the methods used by sifu or how he/she teaches, for the end result, are modern or traditional. The concepts, principles, and theories of Wing Chun will not change, but the execution of said and the way the methods are taught, are always open to interpretation. The only limiting factor in the art of Wing Chun is the practitioner.