marshallbd said:
A while back in another thread I asked for some advise on different styles of CMA to look into, (Bad knee and ankle) and had some interesting suggestions. One of them was Wing Chun. Wing Chun seems to have some people who feel very passionate about it in one way or the other. I recieved a private email telling me it is not a very impressive art and others who swear it is "THE" art. I do not know either way. Could anyone with constructive information on it please give me detailed answers as to why they have the opinion of Wing Chun that they do. Please explain what you see as the pro's and cons of this art. Thanks in advance for your replies. :asian: Please keep your replies specific to this art...
I am a Wing Chun stylist.
Here is my take on "traditional" Wing Chun:
PROS-
"Theory of Conservation of Motion" (gives movement more speed, no excess movement for opponent to measure, or read, and gives him less time to react.) It follows physics' principle "Shortest distance between two points is a straight line."
"Theory of Conservation of Energy" (nothing is wasted, each movment requires the least amount of power to achive desired effect. Your opponent loses too much energy he can no longer fight, or he gets lazy or sloppy then allows for an opening for defeat.
"Center Line Theory" (Based on the fact that most of our body's vital points are located along a vertical center that runs down the middle of our body. This also alots to a strategic advantage to control the centerline as well as the angle of attack is to control the fight and thus, the outcome.
"Simultaneous Attack and Defense" (each movement, single or two handed, may serve as your attacking hand or defensive hand, depending on the timing and situation within each encounter.
"Emphasis on "Sticking" to your opponent" (While other arts do train this to some degree, Wing Chun puts it above all else for the abilty to "read" your opponent and determine the outcome of the encounter.
"Body Postures/Mechanics = Power" (If compared to the Songs, Treatise, and Poems, of various "internal" arts the "shape" of the art follows most, if not all, of the rules concerning the development of power, and the conversion of Qi to Jin.
Anyone who has trained in the art can attest to the almost effortless amount of power developed within the various WC tech. with very little Li (muscular power) needed to produce such power.
"Use of 'Combat' related weapons" ( Nothing sporting about an art that promotes the use of eye gouging, elbows, and kicks to crush the knee. And once again, yes, I know other arts use these techs I have not seen an art that devoted ENTIRE forms to train them. If so I stand corrected, but then, this is just ONE example of the effectivness of this art.
"Exstensive use of two-man sets in training" (IMO Nothing other than actual combat can train sensitivity, speed, endurance, reaction, and timing, hand and armbridge conditioning as well as full bore, all out two-man sets with numerous variatons to allow for adjustment and the repetitve then, subconcious learning to take place.
"Use of the Wooden Dummy" ( By far the best training aid (aside from a real partner) to date. It is so effective, MANY other styles use it to hone thier own tech. and skills. Makes your posture more compact, conditions your weapons, and allows for "responsive" shadowboxing so that you get a resistance that trains the mind/body connection more completely than simply punching air. Did I mention that it's a partner that never complains, or gets tired?
"Simplicity of the ENTIRE system" (Kind of speaks for itself. 3 forms (or Katas if you are Japanese oriented

, 108 (or 116) wooden dummy forms (movements), two types of footwork (short-range and long-range, and thats about it. Very nice. Takes about 6 months to get familiar with it so it may be useful to you, yet it still takes a lifetime to master.
If I think of any more pros Ill edit this at a later date.
CONS-
Lack of training of "circular" energy. This hinders multiple-combatant proficiency. Not that Wing Chun doesent use circular energy. The circles are very small and oblong, however, and are normally applied within a straitline energy. Many Ba Gua practitioners give most WC guys hell if they are not able to adapt to the energy.
The art is not flashy or visual (see- pros, conv. movement, conv. energy) so it turns some people off in that respect.
Lack of 'Long range" fighting applications. Remedied by footwork and forward energy.
Lack of joint manipulation. Most schools now supplement Chin Na for this specific reason. If your school does not, I recommend specific Chin Na training, or it's Japanese counterpart, Akijujitsu. Wing Chun is a style that harmonizes perfectly with these styles based on it's close fighting range, traps, and sensitvity training.
Lack of ground fighting. IMO the art's most apparent flaw. Primarily the reason why im also training in BJJ now to complete my combat effectivness.
Also, If i come up with more cons I will ammend this section as well.
All in all, I believe Wing Chun to be an effective and amazing system. However, I also believe that there is no ONE perfect art. I would recommend choosing an art that suits your personality, fitness level, age, and goals for training, for various arts speak to different people some more than others.
Good Luck to you all in your training.