With two arts very different, the comparisons between them are night and day. Wing Chun will vie to remain in fist range while driving straight in to keep things harder to see. Meanwhile, a taekwondo practitioner (and yes, it’s one word) will strive to utilize their most powerful of weapons: their kicks.
I trained in the H.K.Kim style of taekwondo (TKD for short) for approximately nine years, eventually earning 2nd dan while serving in the Army. For most TKD styles, black belt levels one through five are technical, i.e. the skill of a practitioner, while levels six through nine are based on what a person “has” done for the art.
In general, TKD is a kicking art, so they use their kicks as much as possible. Not only is it the strongest weapon of the body, but the legs are also the longest. Because of this, kicks are seen as being generally safer. The downside to this is that kicks require a great deal of energy to be used effectively, and they are also somewhat telegraphed.
It is detrimental, however, to assume that just because an art favors a particular weapon that they are “lacking” in other areas. On the contrary, TKD also has some extremely powerful punches, elbows and knee strikes. In addition, the movements can quickly traverse to other actions when intercepted, making a proficient TKD practitioner a formidable opponent.
A Wing Chun fighter’s strategy for dealing with TKD opponents would be to first consider the range he/she is working in. A TKD fighter prefers to remain in kicking distance; therefore, a Wing Chun fighter would want to completely eliminate that range by closing the gap and getting in to fist range. Not only does this remove the room that a TKD fighter would use for their kicks, but it also gets you into your own preferred range, namely fist-fighting range.
Second, consider the premise of how many – if not most – martial arts execute their applications. Usually they are of a “one-two” type of action, whereas in Wing Chun our actions are simultaneous. Rather than defend then punch, we defend WHILE counter-attacking.
That in itself is an overwhelming point that many opponent’s have difficulty in handling. But the reason behind that is only as good as the Wing Chun fighter employing it.
For example, if you are attacked and you utilize simultaneous attack and defense for only a brief moment, you allow the opponent to regain their defenses. The moment you stop, you give the opponent time to recover.
Instead, once you go on the attack? You stay on the attack. There is no such thing as “letting up” in Wing Chun, because everything we do relies on the continuous counter-attacks that we engage in. And where TKD is concerned, this is vitally important so that we do not give ground and allow the opponent to regain the distancing needed for their kicks.
As mentioned, we should also not assume that a TKD practitioner will only utilize kicks, because assuming that will see you on your back when a fast, powerful back-fist comes crashing into your face. Kicks are only one weapon they utilize, and their fists, palms, knife hands, elbows and knees are quite powerful, too.
Therefore, when you engage any opponent (not just TKD) and you go on the offensive, you stay on the offensive in order to keep the pressure on. Keep close and tight in order to stay within your preferred fist-fighting range, and really hammer in with every punch, palm and/or elbow.
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