The Wing Chun way, and ultimately why you should try it.

The Wing Chun Way

What is the Wing Chun way? When I first started Wing Chun, my Sifu, would joke, as he often does, that once he started Wing Chun it changed his life. He saw the world, all his actions in a different way, and started taking a minimalist approach to everything he did, attempting to complete every task in the most optimized manner.

The Wing Chun way or mindset can be applied to many aspects of your life, and I believe it to be very effective. When our minds are loaded with unbearable amounts of stress, we revert to our instincts and habits. My Sifu told us that police officers are required to retrieve their empty shell casings having finished firing their rounds in the shooting range, however, this becomes routine (muscle memory) for some individuals. He mentioned an incident where, an officer involved in a shootout, was placed under such an extreme amount of stress that he instinctively went out of cover to retrieve his casings having emptied his magazine, leading to him suffering fatal gunshot wounds. Remember that we practice how we perform, so the spinning axe kick you’ve been practicing, thinking you’ll be able to use to defend yourself might not work when an armed assailant is charging you, or if you’re cornered by 3 attackers. Don’t get me wrong, I always say to each their own, and I think there’s great value in any form of training. However, we must understand what is practical and when pulling a trick out of our bags has practical application.

“Minimalism”

I have always loved minimalistic things and figuring out the most economical approach to complete a task. So when I found Wing Chun, a martial art encompassed around the idea that less is more, I fell in love. Wing Chun applies a few simple movements, which are slightly modified basic human movements, and applies them in different gates(High, Low, Right, Left). The idea is, if you have too many different techniques for different situations, your mind will become cluttered and you will not be able to react as quickly as someone who has only a few moves but applies them efficiently in various situations. This is completely necessary for a system which is based on being the non-aggressor and capitalizing on the enemies movements, and a fraction of a second can make all the difference in the success or failure in a counter attack.

“Hit the closest target with the nearest tool”

Wing Chun is a completely non-aggressive art which utilizes no fakes or counters and enters only on counter attacks meaning we only have one shot at capitalizing on our opponents' action. There is no time for elaborate movements within counter striking, and utilizing the closest path between your striking tool and its target will be a major contributing factor to victory. Often times in life we are presented with decisions and being overthinking or affected by factors which shouldn’t even be contributions in the first place. The no-nonsense, and straight to the point philosophy of Wing Chun allows focussing on goals without the consideration of minor details or insignificant irritants.

Wing Chun is much more than the out of date self-defense system that so many people here have been herded into believing. I hope that within the Martial Arts community, the practice of developing an individuals own personalized perspective through trial and error emerges once again. Erecting mental barriers before giving something the trial it deserves simply because you read or heard something would have prevented you from so many great things in your life, and keeping an open mind is a key component to any sort of personal evolution.