Wing Chun and mma.

[Martial D]

So for the past few months I've been focusing on Wing Chun, to the exclusion of all else. But rather than classical Wing Chun, what I am trying to do is shuck the jive so to speak and see exactly how sharp I can make this tool based on what I know and my sparring/fighting experience.

Anyway, tonight I went and talked to the owner/head instructor of a new mma gym that just opened in my area, and he agreed to help me do just that. I will start training there tomorrow evening.

Totally stoked to do this.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Be sure to keep us updated on your experience.

 

[KPM]

So for the past few months I've been focusing on Wing Chun, to the exclusion of all else. But rather than classical Wing Chun, what I am trying to do is shuck the jive so to speak and see exactly how sharp I can make this tool based on what I know and my sparring/fighting experience.

Anyway, tonight I went and talked to the owner/head instructor of a new mma gym that just opened in my area, and he agreed to help me do just that. I will start training there tomorrow evening.

Totally stoked to do this.

Sounds good! Make some video of the result if you can! I'm guessing what you come up with when you "shuck the jive" will be a form of "Wing Chun Boxing."

 

[Martial D]

Sounds good! Make some video of the result if you can! I'm guessing what you come up with when you "shuck the jive" will be a form of "Wing Chun Boxing."

Maybe submission wing chun kickboxing?

I'll keep this updated

 

[DanT]

I did the same thing a while back at a local MMA gym. I just sparred everyday for months.

 

[DaveB]

Great plan... The core skills of fighting are totally independent of fighting style so any regular combat practice with good variety should "sharpen" the sword!

Good luck and I look forward to hearing about your progress.

 

[DaveB]

I did the same thing a while back at a local MMA gym. I just sparred everyday for months.

How did you find it Dan?

Any observations about the challenges, differences, strengths or weaknesses of your style in that arena??

 

[Martial D]

I did the same thing a while back at a local MMA gym. I just sparred everyday for months.

What Dave said.

 

[DanT]

How did you find it Dan?

Any observations about the challenges, differences, strengths or weaknesses of your style in that arena??

It was engaging. It was challenging at times, especially against some of the semi-pro fighters transitioning to pro. They were surprised that I (a nearly pure CMA person) could hold my own in the cage. They were all talented, hard working, and very kind people. I only encountered 3-4 meatheads, and even they were pretty nice.

The experience encouraged me to really let go much of the traditional footwork and adopt a more freestyle approach. I gave them a lot of unorthodox techniques that they had trouble dealing with (Shaolin kicks and striking combinations). I was impressed with how literal you can apply some of the Shaolin combinations I know, funky stances and all.

The experience helped me adjust my Wing Chun slightly further than my Sifu adjusted it. I'm lucky to have a Sifu who already made many adjustments to make the system effective for the modern fighter, such as changing strategies, modifying almost all the techniques, adjusting the stances, adding footwork, etc.

Although Shaolin has a decent grappling system in it, Jiu Jitsu is like chess while Shaolin grappling is more like checkers: it's all BJJ white belt stuff. I learned stuff on the ground that I continue to practice.

 

[Martial D]

Well, off I go. I feel like I might be recovering well into tomorrow.

 

[Martial D]

That was really amazing. Just did kickboxing drills for an hour followed by a half hour of grappling (guard drills tonight). Didn't really do much crossover work with Wing Chun, although I found myself using it a fair bit from my guard to some effect, which was kind of surprising.

 

[drop bear]

That was really amazing. Just did kickboxing drills for an hour followed by a half hour of grappling (guard drills tonight). Didn't really do much crossover work with Wing Chun, although I found myself using it a fair bit from my guard to some effect, which was kind of surprising.

The concepts will be pretty similar.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Just did kickboxing drills for an hour followed by a half hour of grappling (guard drills tonight).

Do you train throwing skill too? Something is missing between striking and ground skill.

striking -> throwing -> ground skill

 

[Martial D]

Do you train throwing skill too? Something is missing between striking and ground skill.

striking -> throwing -> ground skill

Didn't work on any throws last night no. There were a couple beginners in the class, my wife included(I dragged her along for her first ever martial arts class), and there was only 5 of us in total. Most of the class was fundamentals.

 

[DaveB]

That was really amazing. Just did kickboxing drills for an hour followed by a half hour of grappling (guard drills tonight). Didn't really do much crossover work with Wing Chun, although I found myself using it a fair bit from my guard to some effect, which was kind of surprising.

I've always found chi-sao skills extremely effective in grappling.

Where I've fallen down with no grappling training is not knowing how to win (apply chokes etc) or how to move on the ground (grappling equivalent of footwork).

 

[Martial D]

Well I have to say this is going splendidly.

Firstly, I'm sore pretty much all the time. The intensity of this training is certainly a few notches above what I'm used to. Our instructor is an ex pro and he doesn't mess around with regards to pushing it. We did this frontkick drill last night that went on for about 3 decades(at least it seemed that way) that involved squats burpees and around 500 kicks.

Walking sucks today.

But the stuff I'm learning is awesome. Just the transitioning between striking and grappling, ground striking techniques..it's all very conducive to my WC! Its amazing how doing one thing can help you understand another.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Well I have to say this is going splendidly.

Firstly, I'm sore pretty much all the time. The intensity of this training is certainly a few notches above what I'm used to. Our instructor is an ex pro and he doesn't mess around with regards to pushing it. We did this frontkick drill last night that went on for about 3 decades(at least it seemed that way) that involved squats burpees and around 500 kicks.

Walking sucks today.

But the stuff I'm learning is awesome. Just the transitioning between striking and grappling, ground striking techniques..it's all very conducive to my WC! Its amazing how doing one thing can help you understand another.

Excellent. As you go along, keep us updated on what aspects of your WC work for you in MMA sparring and what new insights you gain on your WC application from your new experiences.

 

[Martial D]

Excellent. As you go along, keep us updated on what aspects of your WC work for you in MMA sparring and what new insights you gain on your WC application from your new experiences.

Well, so far I've been surprised at how much it helps for ground striking. Not so much the straight punch but for controlling the middle and snaking shots between limbs. In the standup I find myself naturally reverting to WC after a slip or a parry in a way that has been catching people off guard, like, getting the outside gate.

For the most part I have been trying to just soak in as much kickboxing technique as I can while trying to leave my WC at the door, and I later work it into my daily WC routine. It's weird how after only a week I'm seeing things, with regards to WC, that I have never seen or understood before.

I am more convinced than ever that there was a WC at some point that was a lot more dangerous than what we know as WC today. There are just too many hidden gold nuggets for that to not be the case.

 

[TMA17]

Awesome! Are you training in Muay Thai and BJJ?

 

[Martial D]

Awesome! Are you training in Muay Thai and BJJ?

Dutch style Mui Thai and submission wrestling. Basically yes, just tuned more to mma.