I definitely understand. When folks talk about taekowndo, Tae Kwon Do, Taekwon-do, etc., it can lead to some heated debates. Welcome to the wonderful world of Wing Chun, too. Wing Chun vs. Ving Tsun vs. Wing Tsun vs. Wing Tchun, etc., can give us a headache.

I agree about the styles of training, too. A lot of folks might train TKD but it won’t be the “same” that others train. Again, this is very similar to WC (and probably all martial arts to some degree). They might be training the same “system,” but the “style” of what they are doing is open to interpretation from whoever they are learning from.

If I had to compare the various styles, the one thing I would recommend for everyone is to keep things focused for the end-result. The gym is where we learn, so we do not want to give each other a false sense of security by saying something will “always” work. Real fights are never a guarantee, so if we work drills to enhance a concept or movement, we should keep that in mind vs. thinking that it would be used in exactly the same way on the street.

By contrast, we also cannot be too lax in training as to not periodically “go for it” and see what happens. Only when pushing ourselves to the limit do we really see what will and will not work.

Additionally, Wing Chun was originally created to address the Shaolin systems. Since there are many other arts today that are somewhat more popularly trained by the masses (whether that is good or bad will be left for another comment), Wing Chun’s concepts “can” be applied to address these various methods. It is not the “application” that is of importance; rather, it is the “concept,” and that concept can be applied to a variety of situations.

I couldn’t agree with you more about training WC into old age. I know very little about Escrima outside of what we learned in WT training, but I would have to admit that from what I have seen and learned, both are trainable to the day we die. “Harder” styles that require youth and brute strength will eventually let us down if we need it when we are 70+, but Wing Chun? It will be there for us at all times.

Sifu

I want debate the founder status but to me he is the true founder.

The only thing I may disagree slightly on is this: The tk-d I train and that I think you trained are a little different from the taekwondo (no hyphen) you see in the Olympics which is WTF or Sport tkd. Now those guys are in incredible condition b/c they just kick and kick and kick and really the rules don’t allow for scoring with punches (they do punch in forms and self defense if they do self-defense /ho-sin-sul (korean terminology) but in the “traditional”/ITF style there is punching to the head in sparring.

What I will say if you are fighting a tkd guy – kick them low b/c neither branch does that in sparring unless it is a real progressive school ! Plus most people don’t wear a cup on the street . Sure we all do it in self-defense drills but those are little more pre-arranged. You probably see what I’m saying.

However, SIFU is spot on. If you punch an ITF tk-d guy in the face don’t be surprised if they don’t start punching back. Heck in ITF tournaments, not only do we punch to the head – head gear is actually optional.

In WTF/olympic head punching is not allowed.

Anyway, the strikes emphasized in W.C. give anyone the ability to win a style vs. style fight. Low kicks, straight punches and elbows are the strikes of the street. Muay thai has proven how well this works against other striking styles.

Plus , like I keep saying the W.C. style lends itself to long term training. A lot tkd guys can still kick high but have been kicking high since they were teens or before. Plus a lot of the higher ups are Korean and are really made for kicking. Not sure a 55 year old guy that just starts tk-d or tkd is going to get it’s full benefit.

But it is fast paced, structured and disciplined and that is one reason it is great for kids and many parents get involved with their kids. In short tk-d is fun and hence it’s popularity – I think.

But honestly, W.C. is one of the most practical things I’ve seen. Not overly complicated, concept based, hands on drills, solid forms with purpose (and only 6! we have 24 in tk-d. ughhh), two great weapons, bag and dummy training along with the forms give a great train of solo drills, simple and direct strikes that are very versatile and can be applied in high stress situations.

I really see myself doing WC and Escrima as an old old man, while still probably teaching tk-d to kids and families and probably HapKiDo to a small group of sick people that like to get thrown and cranked on – basically to maintain my knowledge of the art but I am getting tired of getting thrown and cranked. It’s more fun to give than receive. JMO.

More musings and rambling from me.

MH