# What drew you to take up Wing chun?



## theway (Apr 16, 2013)

I know you views on Wing chun may have changed since you started it. Maybe you learned really what it was about

But what initially made you take it up?


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## Nabakatsu (Apr 16, 2013)

The movie the prodigal son!


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## StormShadow (Apr 17, 2013)

Wanting to better understand the thoughts behind jkd that bruce was trying to convey. After getting into it, I see the benefits, philosophy's and fell in love with it.  I'll take effective over flashy any day.


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## HammockRider (Apr 23, 2013)

Nabakatsu said:


> The movie the prodigal son!



That's a great movie. One of my favorites  But let's not forget Warriors Two.:bangahead:


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## mook jong man (Apr 23, 2013)

A very small women who later became one of my instructors threw punches at my face so fast I could not see them.
I joined up straight away.


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## StormShadow (Apr 23, 2013)

HammockRider said:


> That's a great movie. One of my favorites  But let's not forget Warriors Two.:bangahead:



Are these movies on netflix? I've seen the movie Wing Chun and it was kinda weird.  The best fight scene in the movie was at the end.


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## Nabakatsu (Apr 23, 2013)




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## Transk53 (Apr 24, 2013)

Originally the first time was due to being offered a flyerfor that particular Sifu and his school. At the time, I was doing someintensive sessions with Mr Daniels and Mrs Smirnoff. As such, I defeated myselfbefore I started. I also did not view Kung Fu as something that I would be interestedin. in my complete ignorance, and probable disrespect, It simply was not comprehensibleto me as to why you would use several movements when a decent upper cut wouldsuffice.
So now for my Kung Fu reboot. This time without the attachedignorance and because I actually want to take up this art and hopefully flourishalong with it in everyday life.


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## HammockRider (Apr 24, 2013)

StormShadow said:


> Are these movies on netflix? I've seen the movie Wing Chun and it was kinda weird.  The best fight scene in the movie was at the end.


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## mysurvive (Apr 25, 2013)

Haha, actually I decided Wing Chun because someone on here suggested that I try it. I gave some criteria of what I was looking for in the beginner's section, and someone messaged me with a contact and said to try wing chun. I went to the kwoon and Sifu explained to me and showed me how wing chun works and WHY it works... I threw him my money 2 days later.

I've only been going for a month, but I couldn't be more proud or happy with my fresh 'newbie learning tan sao against a right hook' bruises up my forearm.

I've also proudly lost 15 pounds in the month. I love it so much haha.


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## wtxs (Apr 25, 2013)

mysurvive said:


> Haha, actually I decided Wing Chun because someone on here suggested that I try it. I gave some criteria of what I was looking for in the beginner's section, and someone messaged me with a contact and said to try wing chun. I went to the kwoon and Sifu explained to me and showed me how wing chun works and WHY it works... I threw him my money 2 days later.
> 
> _*I've only been going for a month, but I couldn't be more proud or happy with my fresh 'newbie learning tan sao against a right hook' bruises up my forearm.*_
> 
> I've also proudly lost 15 pounds in the month. I love it so much haha.




There are lots of different opinion for/against the Tan Sao vs. a hook/hay maker.  Since it is part of your training, combine it with the Yu Ma ... thereby deflecting and spreading out the force on the forearm instead of taking blunt force on an small area.  Clashing of force is not the way.


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## mook jong man (Apr 26, 2013)

wtxs said:


> There are lots of different opinion for/against the Tan Sao vs. a hook/hay maker.  Since it is part of your training, combine it with the Yu Ma ... thereby deflecting and spreading out the force on the forearm instead of taking blunt force on an small area.  Clashing of force is not the way.



Yeah exactly , personally I don't like it.
But if you are going to do it , make sure you do it properly .
To avoid clashing , keep the Tan Sau relaxed and rotate the forearm on contact.
Pivot or step in with a pivot , and make sure your Tan Sau and body are orientated towards where the force is coming from to avoid the Tan Sau being collapsed from the side.

Lastly , as with everything in Wing Chun getting your counter strike out as fast as you can will greatly mitigate the amount of force that your Tan Sau will have to deal with.


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## Domino (May 3, 2013)

I hadn't trained previously but a friend who trained in Lau Gar wanted to try an Ip Man lineage school so we went down for a few months, he didn't carry on training and I'm still there to this day.


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## Domino (May 10, 2013)

mook jong man said:


> Yeah exactly , personally I don't like it.
> But if you are going to do it , make sure you do it properly .
> To avoid clashing , keep the Tan Sau relaxed and rotate the forearm on contact.
> Pivot or step in with a pivot , and make sure your Tan Sau and body are orientated towards where the force is coming from to avoid the Tan Sau being collapsed from the side.
> ...



In my opinion tan isn't strong enough structure for the application, the power can be too much.
I love high fuk sau with a slight turn to face the incoming energy, elbow is strong aswell as an answer of my own to the face or chest.


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## Manseau (May 27, 2013)

I got out of the service in 72 and returned to the Northwest. Bruce Lee  was a rising star but there was no Wing Chun in Portland, Or. I was  fortunate enough to meet a student of Jesse Glover and trained with him  for over a year. That initial training was what opened the door in this  art for me. I met Jesse at a Seminar in Portland and he always impressed  me as a reserved and gentle person. However, when you stuck with him,  you could never get in and usually ended up with a red chest for your  trouble. He passed away a short time ago but influenced a lot of people.  RIP Mr. Glover.  I've restarted my training over the last four years  and will likely continue for the rest of my life.    Regards,         David

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." Gerald Ford 1974  Looks like Gerald could see the future.


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## IYWC (May 29, 2013)

Love this question!

The basics of my story was I used to play football (soccer) at a semi-professional level looking to get into the pros but was cursed with a series of hamstring injuries so I took up yoga to stretch it out but wanted to do something more and came across my instructor randomly by us working in the same DIY store and he showed me some moves and I was like damn I gotta learn that S***! The also taught me a lot about body mechanics and fixed the issue I had with my hamstrings so I could continue my football career... BUT I fell in love with WC and that was it, stuck to it and now I'm and instructor myself!


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## qwksilver61 (Jun 21, 2013)

Having taken real Tae Kwon Do and bootleg Kung Fu...showing up for a so called sissy style invented by a woman.....and getting my *** handed to me by a lower level student and then the Instructor....I was convinced.after about ten classes and then a seminar conducted by Dr.Leung Ting. It is when I learned how to "borrow" and it stuck.I was amazed.also it is when I un-learned hard,and learned how to relax,generating tons of power


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## bogdan.sifu (Jun 23, 2013)

For me it was an accident.

I was looking to continue my karate training having moved to Greece for studies. I didn't think much of Chinese Martial Arts. 

One day I was checking out some MA videos on yuotube and I see this Wing Chun video. There was a school in town. 
I found the website. I read a few paragraphs on the page and I thought, I NEED to learn this.

I instantly showed up the next class and that's how it all started.


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## Drunken Ronin (Jun 26, 2013)

Because of it's advertised prowess and effectiveness then feeling it's effectiveness and thinking this is for me. Being blessed with great teachers and classmates is a significant reason too. There is a little part of me that wanted to be in Kung fu films from the 70's also...


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## Erick (Jul 3, 2013)

When I started training, I had no clue what Wing Chun was. Friend was talking to me at a party about how he trained in martial arts and asked me to stop by because I showed interest. Ever since then, I've been hooked.


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## Wingchunheaven (Jul 22, 2013)

The movie, Dragon the Bruce Lee Story when I was in high school. That was back in the early 90's. I have been studying wing chin in Hong Kong. I study the Leung Sheung lineage where I am at currently, but travel to Hong along to learn Yuen Kay San and Tang Yick Weng Chun. I have a group on FaceBook that show these two systems, plus whatever else related to Wing Chun. You can check out my group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/127959260747910/


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## Transk53 (Jul 22, 2013)

IYWC said:


> Love this question!
> 
> The basics of my story was I used to play football (soccer) at a semi-professional level looking to get into the pros but was cursed with a series of hamstring injuries so I took up yoga to stretch it out but wanted to do something more and came across my instructor randomly by us working in the same DIY store and he showed me some moves and I was like damn I gotta learn that S***! The also taught me a lot about body mechanics and fixed the issue I had with my hamstrings so I could continue my football career... BUT I fell in love with WC and that was it, stuck to it and now I'm and instructor myself!




That is probably the best act of karma I know. That is like the very best in #### happens


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## Three (Jul 29, 2013)

I never heard of wing chun prior to 1998. Though unknowingly doing siu lim tao before that.

I couldn't find a WC school during that time so eventually I steered toward judo, which I did for 6 years.

In 2009, I saw Donnie yen's IP Man and got back into it. I have yet to have enrolled in a WC schools as of now but will when I have money


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## wingchun100 (Feb 13, 2014)

I think the style is a better fit for the kind of person I am. I'm very quiet...keep to myself...not a show-off kind of person. Wing chun is subtle and not at all flashy. Perfect fit for me!


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## TinTin_57 (Jul 28, 2014)

Domino said:


> I hadn't trained previously but a friend who trained in Lau Gar wanted to try an Ip Man lineage school so we went down for a few months, he didn't carry on training and I'm still there to this day.



Actually, the true story of that guy is that he had trained in TKD for 7 years, Lau Gar privately for 4 years until his Sifu moved away. He then took up Wing Chun for 2 years until being on the road for work got in the way of training. He is now back after a 4 year break following a stabilisation of the work pattern.

Oh, that guy is me by the way ;-)


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## Vajramusti (Jul 28, 2014)

The inner logic and beauty of the system and the fortunate coonecting up with a great sifu- Augustine Fong
when I lived in Tucson. I am now up the road in the Phoenix metro but sray in touch wirh my sifu
and many of my "siblings".


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## TinTin_57 (Jul 28, 2014)

I should also add that after the 4 years I was made very welcome when I returned to training. A very friendly style and club.


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## futsaowingchun (Jul 28, 2014)

At the time,I was talking a Shaolin martial art and was very frustrated at not making any progress after 1 years of hard training. And my friend new a little wing chun and taught me I think Pak Da and I practiced it for a few days and used one day in class when we where sparring and my si hing could not counter my pak da after many tries. At that point, I knew wing chun was a very practical martial art and looked for a school the next day..Which led me to first a Jun Fan Gong Fu school as I could not find any wing chun where I lived but ,a year later I joined Sifu Moy Yat school in NYC and never looked back..since that time I have had 7 wing chun sifus over a 32 yrs. Now I'm looking for number 8 lol


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## KPM (Jul 29, 2014)

I was in high school and very interested in martial arts.  But I lived in a small town where there was no one teaching anything of the sort.   I was an avid reader of "Inside Kung Fu" magazine and had seen articles on Wing Chun.  To my uneducated eyes it looked like the most efficient and direct of the martial arts I saw described there, and of course it gave Bruce Lee his start!  I was a regular at our local public library and the librarian had some money to spend on non-fiction videos.  So I suggest Wong Shun Leung's video "Science of In-fighting."  It was fairly new at that point and she ordered a copy for the library on VHS.  I checked it out and watched it many times!  I also bought James Yimm Lee's book on Wing Chun.  Between those two things I taught myself the Siu Lim Tao form, though not very well I must admit.   Then I went off to college and was lucky enough to find a good Wing Chun teacher there.  It wasn't easy.  He wasn't teaching publically.  I heard rumors of one of the university professors teaching Wing Chun.  I kept asking and someone said they thought it was the head of the History department.  So I tracked that person down....nope, not her!   She suggested it might be the head of the Government department.  So I tracked him down and success!   It was our very own Vajramusti....Dr. Joy Chaudhuri!   He was my first instructor and an excellent teacher.  I also had the opportunity to work with Augustine Fong in person on multiple occassions.  Since then over the years I have done other martial arts, but always seem to come back to Wing Chun.  I have studied another branch of the Ho Kam Ming line with Sifu Randy Li in Kansas City.  I have studied William Cheung's "Traditional Wing Chun" with John Clayton in Baltimore.   And I have studied Pin Sun Wing Chun with Jim Roselando and now Sifu Henry Miu in Boston.   I have found that, though they are all excellent versions of Wing Chun, Pin Sun suits me the best and is what I have chosen to concentrate on.   Anyway.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!  ;-)


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## zuti car (Jul 29, 2014)

I actually wanted to learn Bai Mei or white crane , unfortunately these styles are still rare in Europe and no one practice it in m country so I stuck with wing chun . I have started with Leung Ting's WT and later switched to TWC , now I am doing some other stuff


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## Danny T (Jul 30, 2014)

Was in the USAF and was going through the pararescue development training. Had been boxing since the age of 11 and a couple of years of wrestling. Several of the candidates had training in the martial arts so we shared a lot of the training along with practicing the military combatives experimenting on what really worked under pressure and what could be incorporated in what we had learned. One of the guys had some wing chun experience and several of the things he was doing piqued my interest. What drew my attention the most was the directness, parry-attack, and limb control vs a lot of the block then striking actions we were doing. After stints in South America, Vietnam, and the Philippines upon returning to the U.S. I began my search for wing chun training. After several years of training with a couple of instructors in 1987 attended a seminar with Sifu Francis Fong in Arkansas. Was completely blown away with his ability, his ability to completely control his opponent and his approach to what really works and why vs. keep training and in a couple of years you will be able to do also. There were aspect that of course would take a long time to develop but he also had things that one could do that was workable in a very short period of training. Have been training under him every since.


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## Eric_H (Jul 30, 2014)

A pack of ninjas killed my family and I swore revenge. But the only way to win was to montage my way through Wing Chun first.


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## yak sao (Jul 30, 2014)

Eric_H said:


> A pack of ninjas killed my family and I swore revenge. But the only way to win was to montage my way through Wing Chun first.




Your story is eerily similar to my own except it wasn't a pack of ninjas or my entire family.....my sister was killed by the henchmen of this one handed rogue Shaolin monk, turned crime boss. I swore that one day I would get revenge..........wait a minute....that's the plot to Enter the Dragon, never mind.


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## yak sao (Jul 30, 2014)

And BTW, I believe the proper term is herd of ninjas.


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## Vajramusti (Aug 1, 2014)

yak sao said:


> And BTW, I believe the proper term is herd of ninjas.


---------------------------


Yeah- I have heard of dem ninjas.


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## antaeus (Aug 1, 2014)

Back in 1979 (I was stydying TKD in HS) I read an article in KF Illustrated or Karate Illus or one of those mags an article about the traditional martial art style that were considered street worthy.

They listed Greek Pankration, Kajukenbo, Escrima, Ninjutsu, and WIng Chun.  And they had a panel interview with practitioners of each.

This was in NH and pre-internet, so it sat in the back of my mind for 20 years, during which I studied boxing, karate, and escrima.

Then I found a school in Boston on the internet in 1999.  I drove an hour and a half each way to check it out.  it was intriguing but I didn't understand.

Then I moved to the Bay Area and immediately started at another school.  After a year and a half there, it wasn't working out, but I still was seeking.  I tried another school and stuck around there for about 4 years, with a gap for grad school.

But I never felt confident with the skills I was learning.  The principles made sense but I didn't feel dangerous.

Then I found my fourth (and last) school.  And I've been there for six years and am nearly finished with the system and it works very well and now I do feel kinda dangerous!


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## geezer (Aug 2, 2014)

antaeus said:


> Back in 1979 (I was stydying TKD in HS) I read an article in KF Illustrated or Karate Illus or one of those mags an article about the traditional martial art style that were considered street worthy.
> 
> They listed Greek Pankration, Kajukenbo, Escrima, Ninjutsu, and WIng Chun.  And they had a panel interview with practitioners of each.
> 
> ...



Hey, Antaeus, welcome to the forum. Tell us more about your WC, what was it about your last school that made you want to stay?


BTW, your name,_ Antaeus_ is deeply troubling. When I was a kid, my family went to Palazzo Vecchio in Forence where I encountered the following sculpture of Hercules fighting Antaeus. Gave me nightmares it did! I guess the relative effectiveness of groin attacks was an issue even back then. Since Hercules was the victor, I guess we know where the sculptor, d' Rossi weighed in on this debate.

http://wtfarthistory.com/post/4600177621/cop-a-feel-of-hercules-family-jewels


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## Vajramusti (Aug 2, 2014)

geezer said:


> Hey, Antaeus, welcome to the forum. Tell us more about your WC, what was it about your last school that made you want to stay?
> 
> 
> BTW, your name,_ Antaeus_ is deeply troubling. When I was a kid, my family went to Palazzo Vecchio in Forence where I encountered the following sculpture of Hercules fighting Antaeus. Gave me nightmares it did! I guess the relative effectiveness of groin attacks was an issue even back then. Since Hercules was the victor, I guess we know where the sculptor, d' Rossi weighed in on this debate.
> ...


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Hercules appears to have Antaeus sufficiently un balanced for the latter to have a base for any leverage or for having strength with his gab.
Years ago in India my milkman was also a wrestler and got into an argument with a Gurkha in front of my house.While the wrestler was going to grab him-the Gurkha reached in and got the wrestler's jewels. The wrestler started "singing" and lost the fight. The milkman Hercules lost that one.
No water buffalo milk for me that day!
Oh- the things these eyes have seen!!
Thanks for the pic of that sculpture.


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## KPM (Aug 2, 2014)

Vajramusti said:


> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Hercules appears to have Antaeus sufficiently un balanced for the latter to have a base for any leverage or for having strength with his gab.
> Years ago in India my milkman was also a wrestler and got into an argument with a Gurkha in front of my house.While the wrestler was going to grab him-the Gurkha reached in and got the wrestler's jewels. The wrestler started "singing" and lost the fight. The milkman Hercules lost that one.
> ...



Back when men weren't afraid to touch other naked men!  BTW....Hercules could have "one-upped" Antaeus if he'd wanted to!  Teeth would do more damage than a yank!


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## geezer (Aug 2, 2014)

KPM said:


> Back when men weren't afraid to touch other naked men!  BTW....Hercules could have "one-upped" Antaeus if he'd wanted to!  Teeth would do more damage than a yank!



_Teeth?_ Now that conjures up a _really _disturbing picture. Sorry, my fault for posting the image. Time to move on. Please!


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## Cephalopod (Aug 6, 2014)

geezer said:


> _Teeth?_ Now that conjures up a _really _disturbing picture. Sorry, my fault for posting the image. Time to move on. Please!



Sorry, but _you_ opened this can of worms.

Speaking of worms...like gummis much?








UGHH. Is that image even allowed on this site?


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## yak sao (Aug 6, 2014)

Cephalopod said:


> Sorry, but _you_ opened this can of worms.
> 
> Speaking of worms...like gummis much?
> 
> ...




Did you intend to post it on Marital Talk?.....Easy mistake


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## Cephalopod (Aug 6, 2014)

No, my immaturity was entirely intentional but I so did NOT need to go there.
Before I get myself banned for polluting this thread with such unsettling images I shall make amends by offering up my own reply to the OP:

......

I trained for nearly a decade in another Southern style, when a move across the continent left me looking for another MA to study. I stopped in for some trial lessons at various schools that had so little unrehearsed contact to make me realize that what I was really missing was the hand-to-hand contact training that I had done in my previous KF drills.

Now, having been around other martial artists I had seen WC being practiced, and I had always regarded this 'chisao' exercise as a quaint little dance that looked, frankly, a little wimpy. Nevertheless, it would seem to meet my hand-to-hand contact requirement so when a web search popped up a WC class I decided to check it out.

Here I am, feeling all tough-guy from my years of experience, showing up at some guy's dusty suburban garage. Where's the swanky studio with hardwood floors, the long weapon racks, the banners, the neat white tee-shirts? When the sifu invited me in, a Chinese gent nearly a foot shorter than me and a couple of decades my senior, I figured I could probably steamroll right through him. With a smile he gave me several opportunities to try.

All of us WC'ers know how it feels (I hope) when you first cross hands with someone who's got serious skill, so you all know how that went.
Suffice to say, the more aggressive energy I came on with, the harder I felt myself falling into a hole





Yeah. Kinda like that. But with spikes at the bottom.
As they say, try before you buy. I was sold.


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