Please, I said VT, not wing chun.
---Ah! So all this time when you have written "VT" you were referring specifically to "WSLVT"??? My apologies! Because that was not at all clear! WSL is not the only Wing Chun person who used the "Ving Tsun" spelling. I just assumed that "VT" was your preferred way to refer to "WC." My recommendation is that in the future you use the 3 extra key strokes to write "WSLVT" to avoid any future confusion.
I would be very happy for you to provide specific information on how your wing chun differs in comparison (no simple conceptual base?). Don't feel that I am judging you, we are talking about different systems it seems.
---No, Pin Sun does not have one over-riding single guiding concept. It does make use of that same concept, it just doesn't make it a central focus. Like I have said, I think it tends to be a bit more "open-ended" and multi-dimensional. Tactics can shift according to the situation. There is a Kum Na component, and obviously Kum Na would not adhere very closely to that Kuen Kuit or even LSDD. But of course, Pin Sun is still very much identifiable as Wing Chun.
Ok, so Mainland wing chun is more like a mixed striking grappling system and it is up to the individual how to use the various concepts and techniques which it contains, as and when?
---Not like MMA where things tend to be a random mix. But yes, I guess you could say it is more "application based" and "technique based" than WSLVT. But there are guiding concepts and keywords. Just not one over-riding central concept that dictates how everything is done. And probably most people wouldn't say it is a "grappling" system to the same extent as something like Jiu Jitsu or Hapkido. The Kum Na portion is a minor part only.
It is a central concept in that it determines how a HG practitioner views fighting, what their main strategic goals are likely to be, and how they will try to reach those goals.
---Ok. That's fair enough. More of a guiding tactic. I'd say that the "guiding tactic" of Pin Sun would be to get in close and neutralize the opponent....primarily by striking, but as noted before a joint-lock or something similar is also used. And by close I mean typically closer than arm's length....close enough to use elbow strikes. This is why angling and using the "swallow" concept is important. At that close range you have to be able to move that way to stay close. So it is kind of like standing grappling with strikes. "Swallow" helps keep the opponent that close.
SPM, Bak Mei and Lung Ying are all the same system, "Hakka kuen" if you like. There is no difference other than time and some fake origin legends. Crane is a bit different to these others but has some very similar approaches and training methodologies. It is obviously related, although I do not know the history of it.
---Got it. It would be interesting to figure how White Crane is related to the Hakka Kuen, since the come from such different sources. Hard to know who trained and traded with ideas with who back then!
And most alternative spellings (Wing Tsun,Ving Tsun, Weng Chun, etc.) refer to very specific groups and not the system in general. So for lack of another term, they are stuck using "_ing _un". We are not.
