Gyokko Ryu and Wing Chun

[lost_in_translation]

The dojo that I train at requires that all students know the shoden or first level kata of the main sixschools (Bujinkan) for Shodan as well as the Tenchinjin.
At the moment I am focusing on Gyokko Ryu. I have seen on some other boards that people liken Gyokko Ryu to Wing Chun. I have no idea of Wing Chun, apart from you tube (I know, I know). Can anyone tell me the similarities?

 

[Chris Parker]

Hi Lost in Translation,

I've addressed this before (http://martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74812, http://martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74813), so I'm not going to repeat it here. You can go through the other threads for the answers, but in essence, no, they're not alike. A closer match is Koto Ryu and Krav Maga, but that is quite different in technique (the approach is similar there). These are very different systems.

 

[Dale Seago]

Can anyone tell me the similarities?

Both are apocryphally said to have - possibly - been developed by women. I can't think of any other similarities.

 

[lost_in_translation]

Gentlemen, thank you very much. That kinda goes along with what I thought. I remember reading something on kutaki where someone made the connection between the two and was think huh??
Am really enjoying the Gyokko Ryu stuff, man it really can disorientate as well as hurt! Funny because before training in my current dojo, the Gyokko Ryu I touched on before was always, "soft and fluffy" , but this stuff, well lets say fluffy has gone home!

 

[El_Nastro]

I don't have any experience with "Gyokko Ryu", but I've been doing WC for years, & based on what little info those videos provide I don't see any substantial level of similarity to WC.

WC is based around a few strategies:

1. It's punchy. Yeah, there's some pulls, throws, locks, etc., but those are mainly employed if the opportunity happens to present itself. WC would rather punch.

2. WC likes to stand square to the opponent and deliver attacks from the centerline to the opponent, and stresses occupation and control of the centerline. WC never wants to turn it's back on the opponent (even to deliver a throw, or some sort of grappling technique) - that would mean pointing your centerline at something other than the bad guy, which is a big no-no in WC.

3. WC likes to stick to the opponent until an opening presents itself. If the "bad guy" gets an arm in the way, WC doesn't want to step back or break contact - WC wants to either yank the arm out of the way & punch, or stick to the arm until the bad guy moves it himself & creates an opening for punches.

4. WC does chi sau to practice freestyle improvisation. Always. Chi sau is the vehicle for practice in WC, regardless of lineage.

There's more of course, but that's basically it in terms of what WC looks like. I didn't see any of that in GR.