Aspects of Wing Chun

1) Martial power:

In internal Wing Chun. This aspect is developed with the patient and correct practice of Siu Lim Tao, Chum Kiu and Biu Gee. Found in the forms are also the awareness and mastery of the center line principle as well as most of the principal Wing Chun motions. Those who reject the internal cultivation provided by the forms usually build up external type physical power and rely on the geometrical force of the motions while giving as little time as possible on the forms. No one could say that it is not combat effective when practiced this way but the Qi-Gong benefits that are included in the forms are lost.

2) Tactical and intuitive:

It goes with the practice of Chi Sao, the wooden dummy and the weapons. The first aspect, the martial power should be integrated in these things and control is very important for the safety of the training partners. The more external type of Wing Chun will usually tend toward the sport fighting approaches of training and sparring and things from other systems will often be integrated.

3) Applications:

Wing Chun is a system, not a style. Therefore there are no real “looks” in the Wing Chun applications. There are no theatrical combat poses. It is futile to try to look “Gungfu” in a self-defence situation. Our awareness should be solely on our opponent. For the sport fighting ones, it should be the same but we still can see some posing in contact Gungfu tournaments. So far, the MMA context tends to hide the rare Wing Chun motions a lot more and there is the usual mix with ground fighting. Also, the sport fighting arena will normally attract only the more athletic and competitive types of people, those who normally have no time for the long learning curve that is necessary for the mastery of the Qi-Gong elements of the System. Those who seek instruction in Wing Chun should be aware of these things and ask the proper questions if they want to get into the kind of Wing Chun they aspire to learn.