How many of us can remember that shout in the school playground of...FIGHT!!!..and everyone rushed over to see two kids pulling hair, rolling about, scratching, kicking and flailing until the teacher stormed in and dragged them off by the ear to the head teachers office and certain shouting and removal of playtime for a week....
In modern times, street level combat is often far removed from this scene..rarely is there one opponent, it is gang mentality..even if there is one initial protagonist who has taken a dislike for whatever reason to another human being..it is almost predictable that there will be some entourage accompanying them to the pushing and shoving pre amble that is the most common street fight scenario - although this pushing/shoving can rapidly escalate into several people dancing on a downed victims head and be all over in seconds
In Wing Chun Kung Fu we aim to attempt to bridge the gap (pun intended) to some degree between being clueless and flailing idiots to gaining some key trained reflexes to help enable us better deal with a potential violent encounter (however some still fail at this regardless of what self named Grandmaster they have had tea with)
I always try and emphasise to my students that reality is a harsh environment indeed and however many half hearted wild hooks you have managed to counter in the classroom does not necessarily mean you have the fortitude inside you or fully trained ability to put that to any use once adrenaline has kicked in and you've been launched into a brick wall/table/window etc..by mad Dave in the Mason Arms on a Saturday night (real names have not been used to protect the innocent) ;0)
I do feel however that Wing Chun, when trained correctly with the right direct mindset and intent, when concept is followed and the partner drills are opened up to produce more "OH SHIT"..moments within the training environment that this CAN provide you with a fighting chance at least to survive those type of scenarios better than some martial practices out there..not to name names or call out styles in particular because they all have a place as do even some of the less direct Wing Chun methods out there, as long as you don't fool yourself to believe that eyes closed soft energy drills will turn you into Rambo on the street
As far as effective fighting methods go, lets take a quick glimpse into some other close quarter fighting systems and how they approach combat with our Wing Chun training approach in mind.
A typical Muay Thai fighter or Western Boxer or MMA fighter will have a set opponent to face at some point if they choose to be competitive as their goal...they usually know who that is going to be, when the fight will take place, they know their opponent will be the same weight as they are, they know how many fights they have won and lost, they know they will only be fighting one person and that fight has a referee, it will be over a set time period with intermittent rest periods built in, they have a support team encouraging them and a medically trained professional watching out for them and at least 3 months to prepare physically, mentally and emotionally for the confrontation..
A typical Muay Thai training regime in Thailand whether they choose to fight or not:
Warm up: 3-6 mile jog at 6am
Light breakfast usually fruit and water, steamed rice/noodles
2 hour morning session: 20 mins jumping rope, 5 x 3 min rounds shadow boxing, 5 round Thai pads with trainer, 10-15 rounds on the heavy bag working punch combinations and kicking, 5-10 rounds sparring, abdominal conditioning - 200 sit ups minimum
Lunch and afternoon rest before repeating similar session in the evening for another two hours incorporating weight training, push ups and pull ups as well as clinchwork sparring
6 days a week in the build up to a fight..pretty tough and extreme..this training is common in Muay Thai camps in Thailand..even if visitors are any age, overweight and unfit...they soon wont be..
Boxing training and MMA training are of a similar ilk - quite a serious chasm between a typical Wing Chun class isn't it - and we have to potentially prepare for a fight against an unknown opponent, probably multiple in nature, we don't know when that might be, where that might be..a fight that has no referee, no rules, no support crew, no first aid, no gloves and protective gear no time limit and most likely on the concrete in the dark by yourself
But..before you go burning your Next Level Wing Chun Hoodie and booking a flight to Bangkok, there is SO much more to Wing Chun than just fighting...yes, we need to have a realistic mindset towards our training overall, but as i've said in many a class..we are training for situations that may never happen, personally ive needed use for martial arts 3 times in the last 20 years and never to the level we train in classes, just getting my hands up or being able to stand up in base (from BJJ) was more than enough in my experiences but that's not to say we shouldn't train hard with reality in mind and yes, a better level of fitness conditioning goes a long way should a real fight occur (Bruce Lee as a prime example implemented his fitness regime following a less than convincing fight where he gassed out due to lack of fitness, although winning, his Wing Chun wasn't enough..and that was with direct guidance from Ip Man and Wong Shun Leung as his primary coaches)
In military combat how much faith would you have in the armed forces or special forces if they sat about playing "Grand Theft Auto" and scarfing burgers and fizzy drinks with low fitness levels and enthusiasm but accept they'll be ok cos they've got decent weapons and only need to pull a trigger don't they???....
Wing Chun in general as a close quarter fighting system is more focused on technical training via forms. drills, footwork, chi sau, even impact work to a degree etc and less on training in the form of conditioning based fight related training, sparring, bag work, road work, skipping, bodyweight callisthenics and so on...(hitting the wallbag 2000 times a day even is nowhere near what amateur or pro fighters do in terms of striking training in the above mentioned arts)..and for those claiming Wing Chun is too efficient to need that level of training ask them how many no holds barred fights they've had this week..or ever
My reasoning in choosing the name "Next Level Wing Chun" wasn't as some people most likely think, that I am trying to reinvent the wheel and sell a product that no other school teaches, not at all..more that we are all as students of this martial practice striving for reaching the next level in our own personal development, both in Wing Chun Kuen and on an individual level, physically, mentally and emotionally as a person so we may help foster some of that fortitude of fighting spirit we may need should a confrontation arise..that is more valuable than a mere focus on fighting in my opinion.
If fighting is your lone driving force and the key attraction then you have two main choices..switch to another combat system or get to work
Until next time - train consistently and hard to improve, enjoy the process and stay away from the Mason Arms and Mad Dave.
