Wing Chun let me down in a fight

[TaiJiQuan]

I did Win Chun for about 2 years and I think it's got a lot to offer on many levels.

I can't say how effective it is in a fight though, as I've not been in one since I trained and I'm not very good.

[Red Rum]

That's cool. I think people are obsessed about the art, when realistically it comes down to the individual

A weakling, no matter what martial art he trains will still not fare well against a street thug who has had fights before

A hard guy who trains a little bit of martial arts will stand a much better chance

This is apparent in MMA, where guys who fight in the cage are usually just naturally hard guys

If you look at their actual martial arts knowledge, only a handful are black belts in arts. They usually train specific drills very well and increase their fitness to incredible levels

[Laura]

I've studied WC for close to six years in total and four years in JKD. I wouldn't rely on any one style to get me out of a jam as much as basic common sense. Knowing when to fight and when to walk away is just as important. As for the style letting you down, it doesn't sound like you were very good at it to begin with - not an insult, just a fact. No one can be really great at something they've only just started to learn. That said, even with the knowledge and skill I've achieved, I wouldn't willingly put myself in a bad situation - one of the reason I always carry a gun.

[Tant01]

Didn't the Chinese invent "gun" powder...

[Laura]

Hi Mike,

I'm a Beretta girl: I've got the standard 92FS, the Italian Inox 92 and three compact type Ms, however for carrying, I'm a Ruger girl. My gun of choice is the SP DAO which I take with me everywhere I'm legally permitted. My father and I have a nice time going up to the range in Lawrence, which I try to get up there as often as possible, weather permitting. I like using the SP because though some people feel it's a tad heavy, I think it's the most comfortable all season gun. If I could carry my 686 4", I probably would try to because I'm "dead on balls accurate" with that baby and it's bar none, my favorite gun to use when shooting at the club. BTW, I too have a Sig - 228, which I may take along in the winter when I get a better belt for it.

I should add that my martial arts instruction never geared me towards guns, which I think is good because they're two different things. But it's common sense that the best weapon you have is your brain. You've always got to think about the situations you find yourself in. In my case, I need to avoid parking my car in an isolated area, in a dark lot, next to a van and coming home late. I need to watch who's around me at all time, who's coming up behind me, cross the street when there's a group of guys hanging about, etc. I try to use common sense when waiting for a train and while heading back to the final station. It's not panoria, but just being aware of your surroundings, which is what any good teacher should talk about. In my case, bringing along a good buddy to even the playing field always helps....

P.S. About the ammo, usually I prefer Winchester Silver Tips hollow points - a girl in New England can never be too careful...but mainly whatever is a quality product that's affordable. Ammo has risen so much in price, it's about as bad as gas these days...

[Bjjexpertise@be]

Can I practice bone breaking and cutting, then bake a cake later on?

PS - no unintended reference to Sweeney Todd.

We all deserve to die. Even YOU Mr. Tom Yum even I. Because all the whole human race, Mr. Tom Yum, there are 2 kinds of men and only 2. There's one staying put in his proper place and the one with his foot in the other one's face no we aaaaall deseeeerve to die.

[Tom Yum]

Hi Mike,

I'm a Beretta girl: I've got the standard 92FS, the Italian Inox 92 and three compact type Ms, however for carrying, I'm a Ruger girl. My gun of choice is the SP DAO which I take with me everywhere I'm legally permitted. My father and I have a nice time going up to the range in Lawrence, which I try to get up there as often as possible, weather permitting. I like using the SP because though some people feel it's a tad heavy, I think it's the most comfortable all season gun. If I could carry my 686 4", I probably would try to because I'm "dead on balls accurate" with that baby and it's bar none, my favorite gun to use when shooting at the club. BTW, I too have a Sig - 228, which I may take along in the winter when I get a better belt for it.

I should add that my martial arts instruction never geared me towards guns, which I think is good because they're two different things. But it's common sense that the best weapon you have is your brain. You've always got to think about the situations you find yourself in. In my case, I need to avoid parking my car in an isolated area, in a dark lot, next to a van and coming home late. I need to watch who's around me at all time, who's coming up behind me, cross the street when there's a group of guys hanging about, etc. I try to use common sense when waiting for a train and while heading back to the final station. It's not panoria, but just being aware of your surroundings, which is what any good teacher should talk about. In my case, bringing along a good buddy to even the playing field always helps....

P.S. About the ammo, usually I prefer Winchester Silver Tips hollow points - a girl in New England can never be too careful...but mainly whatever is a quality product that's affordable. Ammo has risen so much in price, it's about as bad as gas these days...

Why am I suddenly attracted to you...or rather your post.

Very nice.

[Tant01]

I would love to have a .40 or even .45 They're big and loud and have WAY more "stopping power" than a 9. Probably the most bang for the buck you could say.

Anyone ever consider reloading? If you shoot a lot it can save you a load of cash.

[Laura]

I'm not into reloading, and with horrible math skills, I wouldn't want to give it a go. Factory only for me thanks.

I've had wanted to get a 45 in the past, but two guys at the range showed up with the very guns I wanted to buy, one with a Sig 220 and the other had the (then) new Ruger 45. Both were sweet looking guns, but loud isn't the word. I'm still undecided about the 40, but then I don't really have a need for anything beyond the 9mm. My current collection consist of 16 guns, down from almost 20, so..... God willing, the economy will pick up again when this country gets back on track. Until then, I plan to save where I can and put any extra cash aside for my martial art classes - however, I will be in the market for a Glock 19, 26 and a S&W model 10 when everything picks up!

[jonbey]

One thing that never ceases to shock me is the fact that for some cultures guns are totally normal. Reading the last few posts to this thread it just too far out for little old me from the UK!

As for the original thread, it is probably worth mentioning (if not already...) that the chap that beat the wing chun student was described as drunk. Now, this can sometimes work in a fighters favour, i.e. no fear, no pain, no concern etc. So with a little bit of street awareness thrown in, a drunken yob against a nervous and probably scared fighter is often going to have an advantage.

One thing to remember about any style of martial art, is that you are also learning to control your fear etc. so that you do not fall to pieces in a fight, and lose before the first big punch is thrown.

As usual, I do not really speak from experience. Still not been in a fight, and still no idea what a standard 92FS or a Ruger 45.

[Serrada]

I did four years of American Kenpo Karate and four years of Shotokan Karate and I got my ass kick by a WC guy with a little over one year in the system, so I joined his school. The difference you ask? Along with the traditional forms and drills the WC school does full contact sparing with real 16oz boxing gloves and grappling while incorporating WC concepts and principals.

[jubaji]

So the next time you get your ass kicked you'll be switching schools again?

[Serrada]

No. Actually my training at the time was all circumstantial. Left Kenpo b/c I moved and left Shotokan b/c my teacher went to jail and stopped WC b/c my teacher moved.... No disrespect to any of the styles mentioned they all gave me attributes. The key is practicing all element (including real resistance grappling and kick boxing) of fighting in a controlled environment.

[Red Rum]

Styles don't really come into it. Through Kamon I have learnt conditioning, how to hit hard, good hand speed, core strength and the concept of sticking.

It doesn't make it the ultimate - there are still lots of areas I want to work on to make me an all round martial artist. Therefore I train in other arts to get a different feel. Yet if I go to another wing chun school, they wouldn't work on conditioning etc. You can't please everyone. Some people want to train martial arts as arts and some want to do it as a fighting form. Personally I feel that schools of martial arts that don't train fighting /self defence etc shouldn't be classed as martial arts. But that's another debate

Wing chun is a good style. Chunners should never be so arrogant to say that it is the best or is better than other styles. I saw a programme where wing chun was listed as the fifth most dangerous weapon in the world (!!!). All that is nonsense. Wing chun is just a nice all round martial art that trains your core very heavily. It does have flaws, like EVERY martial art, but as progressive martial artists we work on that

[peppi]

I am sorry but wing chun is developed for small chinese people who fought 1000s of years ago and not for the 21st century. So please be aware of why u are studing for a particular system. My instructor made me spend hours standing in one position just to do chain punching this was useless to me in a real fight as the stances was not stable.

People are fighting - not systems. All martial arts are good within the range of combat they are designed to function. Ok but I teach differently. Wing Chun works for me and my students. And we have had real fights.