Is Wing Chun the best martial art for women?

[Eric Daniel]

Hey everyone,
I am not sure if this would be a good idea or not, but do you think we can say that Wing Chun is a great if not the best Martial Art to have women in? After all this Martial Art was founded by a woman. There may be a lot of argument on this subject but my in my opinion I would rather have my sister and other Women family members learn Wing Chun rather than something like BJJ. I am not trying to put down BJJ or any other Martial Art so I hope this thread doesn't affend anyone. What are your thoughts on the subject?

 

[arnisador]

I don't think people really believe the story that it was founded by a woman. But it is a good art for a shorter person, I understand.

Like any art, it depends on the instructor and on what you perceive as the threat. Fot self-defense against sexual assault, there's much to be said for BJJ. For standing up and againts multiple opponents and/or weapons, otehr arts may be better.

 

[shesulsa]

I think women in particular need a rather diverse array of tools. Ground game is important for women, I think, since if they are attacked for obvious possibilities they are likely to find themselves down in some way. Though I do agree that locks and such are also very good for everyone to learn.

A woman can't be powerful unless she accesses that power so a power-less art would not suffice.

 

[Lisa]

My thoughts are that it depends on the woman and what she is looking for in her MA training. Just because it was supposedly founded by a woman doesn't mean it is best for her. In a defence situation woulnd't you want to train to defend yourself in every way possible?

I am curious however, is the founding member supposed being a woman the only reason you think it is better for women, or are there other reasons, please share.

 

[mantis]

looking at different videos from different martial arts
i'd say wing chun is definitely up there, Krav Maga is pretty good too, as well as hapkido. the downside i see to hapkido is that sometimes you have to fight on the ground, I dont think ladies like that..
Oh i forgot... Chin'na is great for any self defense too

 

[Lisa]

looking at different videos from different martial arts
i'd say wing chun is definitely up there, Krav Maga is pretty good too, as well as hapkido. the downside i see to hapkido is that sometimes you have to fight on the ground, I dont think ladies like that..
Oh i forgot... Chin'na is great for any self defense too

so NOT true!

but you have a point mantis, it does take some getting used to grappling with guys. I feel, IMHO, it is all in the way it is presented to you that keeps women grappling.

 

[mantis]

so NOT true!

but you have a point mantis, it does take some getting used to grappling with guys. I feel, IMHO, it is all in the way it is presented to you that keeps women grappling.

how's that not true?
self-defense usually is needed when you are fully dressed. I wouldnt like to go on the ground if im going to a party, or when i get robbed coming out of work or something.. u know what i mean?
oh, but you are right.. the question is "best martial art for women".. but in my head i stupidly turned it into "best self-defense for women"...
hold on... let me go kick myself in the butt, brb

 

[Tgace]

Sometimes you wont be choosing if the fight goes to ground or not.

 

[Flying Crane]

Sometimes you wont be choosing if the fight goes to ground or not.

yup. i personally wouldn't choose to take the fight to the ground in a self defense situation, but it is good to be able to deal with it if you get taken there.

 

[Lisa]

how's that not true?
self-defense usually is needed when you are fully dressed. I wouldnt like to go on the ground if im going to a party, or when i get robbed coming out of work or something.. u know what i mean?
oh, but you are right.. the question is "best martial art for women".. but in my head i stupidly turned it into "best self-defense for women"...
hold on... let me go kick myself in the butt, brb

can I help?

:btg: oops, thats not the butt is it? my bad

 

[Andrew Green]

Hey everyone,
I am not sure if this would be a good idea or not, but do you think we can say that Wing Chun is a great if not the best Martial Art to have women in? After all this Martial Art was founded by a woman. There may be a lot of argument on this subject but my in my opinion I would rather have my sister and other Women family members learn Wing Chun rather than something like BJJ. I am not trying to put down BJJ or any other Martial Art so I hope this thread doesn't affend anyone. What are your thoughts on the subject?

Legends aren't always true, and best is not something that can be pinned down.

If you're looking for self defence I'd vote for Judo/boxing/submission/mma over Wing Chun. But as we all should know by now effectiveness is reduced greatly if the person doesn't like it and stop training.

 

[pete]

first off, i disagree that any art is a better choice than wing chun for self-defense, man or woman. all arts have there strengths and relative weaknesses when comparing to others, and its up to the individual to find what is right for themselves.

that said, would anybody name any particular art that would be a poor choice for women?

pete

 

[bcbernam777]

I think Wing Chun is the besst martial art for women for the following reasons:

1) It relies on power generated from ground power generated through the correct body structure as opposed to power via the muscular strucure.

2) Its redirection and soft hands means it can be utilised by a weaker opponant to great effect

3) its effectiveeness in infighting make it perfect also for a smaller fighter.

4) because of its smoothness it requires the practicioner to learn how to loosen and relax their muscular system, men, in particular larger men have a tougher time with this.

 

[pete]

same 4 points would apply to arts that i train: kenpo, tai chi, and now bagua.

to take the converse, what arts would you say do not work based on these principles, or (1) generate power regardless of correct body structure, (2) ignore redirection principles and rely solely on force meeting force head-on, (3) is only effective from either close range or long range, but not both, (4) advocates constant muscular tension, choppy erratic motion, and stiffness in the joints...

pete

 

[7starmantis]

I dont think the adverse to his points are neccessarily what you posted, but in my opinion, if we are talking about generating power from the opponents "energy" or power, then an art that would be a poor choice (in my opinion) would be one that requires lots of muscle strength to generate power. Coming from a pure muscle generating punch, I dont know that the majority (or even the minority) of women could best a mans punch, but yielding and using a mans own forward movement to increase the effectiveness of their punch, a women can most assuredly "beat" a man.

Just my 3 cents,
7sm

 

[Andrew Green]

Well, I'd just take a guess here, but a male assaulting a female, I'd imagine grabbing occurs more then hitting, and very often things end up with the female on her back.

Aggression needs to be there first and foremost, to keep fighting with everything you got een when you are loosing. This comes from full contact sports and hard sparring. Things like Judo, BJJ, Boxing, MMA, etc. Not from pok sau drills and chi sau...

All the stuff you are claiming about these systems is basically quoting there advertising materials for the past 50 years or so. Do you have anything to support it other then "They say so". Any references to matches where practitioners of these arts have fought other styles and done exceedingly well against them? Anything beyond "It looks good on paper"?

 

[pete]

...very often things end up with the female on her back. ... All the stuff you are claiming about these systems is basically quoting there advertising materials for the past 50 years or so.

and whose 'advertising materials' are you pushing? no offense, its just that everyone's got their own opinions.

personally, i feel that all martial arts that i've been exposed to would be well suited to women, provided they receive good instruction from qualified teachers in that art and are serious about their training. hey, wouldn't that also apply to us guys?

the reason i listed those opposites of 'bcbernam777's points was to agree that wing chun would be a good choice, but that there would be many other equally good choices. i cant think of any art that doesn't in some way follow those four points, or where the four 'opposites' would apply. can you?

pete

 

[Andrew Green]

That's got nothing to do with advertising, that's a simple fact.

Take a worst case scenario, like a rape attempt. Where is the bad guy gonna be trying to put the female?

Not all arts are created equal, in fact some are very disconnected from what works outside there own environment, and some of those have very convincing theories on why they will.... even if they don't.

 

[arnisador]

This discussion is meaningless without a common assumption of likely threats. Most people see "for women" and read into it "for sexual assault prevention" which is a reasonable assumption. Grappling makes a lot of sense there. What if it was a girl who went to a violent high school where she was concerned about getting in fights with other girls? Then stand-up arts become more relevant.

Is the question about what's best for women because of the particular threats they face, or because of their anatomy/physiology? I'd give different answers to each of these questions.

 

[shesulsa]

This discussion is meaningless without a common assumption of likely threats. Most people see "for women" and read into it "for sexual assault prevention" which is a reasonable assumption. Grappling makes a lot of sense there. What if it was a girl who went to a violent high school where she was concerned about getting in fights with other girls? Then stand-up arts become more relevant.

Is the question about what's best for women because of the particular threats they face, or because of their anatomy/physiology? I'd give different answers to each of these questions.

Which brings us back to my original summation - a good battery of tools is important for all women. Not all rape victims are raped on their back - though it is certainly one position on the ground and ground game is important, certainly. It is NOT the only threat to women, however.