Is Wing Chun any good as a self-defence martial art?
This is a question not uniquely asked about Wing Chun but about almost all martial arts that I have come across, Kick Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kung Fu, Karate, the list goes on, and it always seems that the person asking this type question has either never trained in a martial art or has a very narrow view as to what learning any martial art is about, let me explain.
It is all about attitude.
When taking up any martial art, at first you may not, in your own mind, have a very clear reason for why you selected that particular art, the reasons can be as simple as a member of your family or a close friend has invited you along to a class, you just watched the latest block buster movie at the cinema and you now have dreams of being the next Jet Li or Jackie Chan, and to be honest the reasons for starting training at the beginning are not overly important, what is important is your attitude to the art.
If your intention to learning any Martial Skill is so that you can, or think you can take on the world or fight 10 people at once, then you may be in for a few surprises, along with some very painful lessons.
I am not saying that you would not be able to take on multiple opponents but what you see in the movies, is made to look that way for a reason. If you can imagine for a moment, a fight scene where the hero is cornered by 3 potential attackers, the usual jump spinning, back flipping moves are replaced by scrappy, direct and very brutal moves, the audience of the movie would be up in arms about “rubbish” fight scenes and the fact the fight was over in less than 30 seconds, but in reality this is what you would want to happen, any confrontation over as quickly as possible, if you cannot talk your way out of the situation or better still run away.
When starting any Martial Art, it is always important to work at the basics and not let the desire to “learn bigger and better techniques” cloud the importance of having a solid foundation and making a good platform to build more advanced techniques upon.
In the case of Wing Chun, the basic stance, basic punches and the ability to move your body mass from one side to another using the basic Wing Chun turning or stepping is a good place to start.
I see students that a very eager to progress and want to learn all the time, which is good, but when asked to demonstrate a few basic techniques or go over a very simple form, you can sometimes see the frustration building by asking them to perform such a simple task, but when you pick up on points that the student can improve upon, even in the very basic techniques, this will show the instructor the real attitude and motivation of the student and the willingness to learn and be corrected.
Being able, as a student or as an instructor, to be open minded to learning, to have positive feedback given and be humble enough to except that you do not have all the answers will put you on the right path to becoming a better martial artist and help you develop as person.It is all about attitude.
Sifu Alan:Wing Chun Halesowen’s Instructor, Sifu Alan has been involved in martial arts since 1992. Sifu Alan holds a Level 2 Coaches Certificate through the BCCMA, and has a passion and dedication for the passing on of the martial art of Wing Chun. Sifu Alan offers a unique approach to learning, utilising aspects of both physical and psychological aspects of training to help the student fully understand the reasons behind their training. Sifu Alan does not want the “copy as I do” approach, he wants his students to know, feel and understand what they can do within the Wing Chun System.
Sifu Alan is CRB checked and registered to work with children and young adults.
MIDLANDS WING CHUN KUEN – Director: Grandmaster Ip Chun, Chief Instructor: Si-Fu S. Rawcliffe All Midlands Wing Chun Kuen Instructors are Registered Members of: British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (BCCMA), Sports Coach UK ~ The National Coaching Foundation and Ving Tsun Athletic Association in Hong Kong.