Is Wing Chun the best martial art for women?

[arnisador]

While true enough, I think it holds even greater for WC then any other. I would pity the person who tried using WC who was bad at it. WC puts you in awkward positions and when done improperly can really get you beat badly and quickly.

To a certain degree dmax has a point, trying to use the positions, strikes etc without good training you probably are doomed, however using the theories you are actually ahead of the game.

Great points here. Wing Chun has simple theories about things like controlling the centerline, but sometimes uses complicated trapping methods to implement those ideas. This is different from a style like boxing or Karate that depends more on a straight-forward strike than a more complicated series of moves intended to tie the other person up. It's a two-edged sword: Good basic theories that make great sense to apply, but if the techniques fail you could end up in an awkward position.

Compare arts like the FMA or Japanese Jujutsu that strongly emphasize getting off-line and to the side of an opponent. Different theory, different strategy, different degree of complexity of the actual moves, and different risks if the approach fails.

I'm getting some Wing Chun now, in little bits, in a class that covers elements of JKD, Jun Fan Gung Fu, and Wing Chun in a combined setting. I'm not very knowledgeable yet, but i do begin to see how Wing Chun trapping is rather more sophisticated than JKD trapping, for example. That's good and bad--for example, time spent "seeking" a way to slip in a snake's strike to the throat (Wing Chun) could be spent blasting through to get to a clinch-and-headbutt/elbow/knee situation (JKD); yet, if the throat strike works, it's simpler and has less risk.

 

[bcbernam777]

Great points here. Wing Chun has simple theories about things like controlling the centerline, but sometimes uses complicated trapping methods to implement those ideas. This is different from a style like boxing or Karate that depends more on a straight-forward strike than a more complicated series of moves intended to tie the other person up. It's a two-edged sword: Good basic theories that make great sense to apply, but if the techniques fail you could end up in an awkward position.

Compare arts like the FMA or Japanese Jujutsu that strongly emphasize getting off-line and to the side of an opponent. Different theory, different strategy, different degree of complexity of the actual moves, and different risks if the approach fails.

I'm getting some Wing Chun now, in little bits, in a class that covers elements of JKD, Jun Fan Gung Fu, and Wing Chun in a combined setting. I'm not very knowledgeable yet, but i do begin to see how Wing Chun trapping is rather more sophisticated than JKD trapping, for example. That's good and bad--for example, time spent "seeking" a way to slip in a snake's strike to the throat (Wing Chun) could be spent blasting through to get to a clinch-and-headbutt/elbow/knee situation (JKD); yet, if the throat strike works, it's simpler and has less risk.

One mistake a lot of WC players make is to concentrate on chasing hands, the only purpose for trapping is to remove obstructions from your oponant vital points for offensive purposes

 

[brothershaw]

Great points here. Wing Chun has simple theories about things like controlling the centerline, but sometimes uses complicated trapping methods to implement those ideas. This is different from a style like boxing or Karate that depends more on a straight-forward strike than a more complicated series of moves intended to tie the other person up. It's a two-edged sword: Good basic theories that make great sense to apply, but if the techniques fail you could end up in an awkward position.

Compare arts like the FMA or Japanese Jujutsu that strongly emphasize getting off-line and to the side of an opponent. Different theory, different strategy, different degree of complexity of the actual moves, and different risks if the approach fails.

I'm getting some Wing Chun now, in little bits, in a class that covers elements of JKD, Jun Fan Gung Fu, and Wing Chun in a combined setting. I'm not very knowledgeable yet, but i do begin to see how Wing Chun trapping is rather more sophisticated than JKD trapping, for example. That's good and bad--for example, time spent "seeking" a way to slip in a snake's strike to the throat (Wing Chun) could be spent blasting through to get to a clinch-and-headbutt/elbow/knee situation (JKD); yet, if the throat strike works, it's simpler and has less risk.

I believe alot of people miss the point of "trapping" in wing chun. Unless you are doing chi sau nobody really cares about trappinng ( to speak broadly).
In application you would be/ should be more direct, trapping is only incidental compared to striking, and taking and creating openings. I think the jkd camp overemphasized a more " flashy or cool" aspect but without all the background training behind it so from an outside perspective wing chun "trapping" might look harder and riskier to pull off, where as in the cases you might use your chi sau skills it would actually be easier but used at a more instinctive/ reactive time than you would think.
like a boxer knowing to counterpunch at the right time, not at just any and every exchange.
At a high level feeling the opening for the snake strike is no harder than blasting right through.