An interesting question I hear from students around the world – as well as many on the Internet – concerns Wing Chun’s “completeness”. These questions center around the common myth that while Wing Chun’s fist fighting is superb, it lacks footwork, kicks, ground fighting, grappling, and real-world weapons training.
From these conversations, I can see why many would think that. For some of them, their only exposure to the art has been in books or videos that did not relate that information. For others who have trained personally, it was obvious that the practitioners they worked with either did not teach it (whether intentionally or unintentionally) or did not know it. Both are common so it is difficult to say with certainty which is which.
But to answer the question of “is Wing Chun a complete martial art”, the answer is a resounding yes. In that, however, we also have to remember that Wing Chun’s tactics replaces what others would use counter actions for.
Let’s start with footwork and kicks.
Wing Chun’s line of thought for everything is that the more direct something is, the more efficient it will be. And because it is more efficient, it will be faster and easier to work. With that, we do not have to learn a lot of movements to deal with variations; instead, a handful of concepts will accomplish the same thing.
For example, turning not only moves you out of the line of attack, but it can also add power to your counters (whether attacks or defenses). Because of this, it will take the opponent off the line and open a hole in his/her defense.
In other words, a simple turn can create a lot of opportunities.
Wing Chun has some remarkably easy footwork, but like all things, it takes time to really learn it. Because it is so simple, many will overlook that simplicity and consider it non-functional or usable. In reality, it is because of that simplicity that makes it so effective.
Kicking-wise, there are three primary kicks, and from these we generate other angles when needed. However, the kicks will rarely (if ever) go above the knee, and we generally keep them targeted to the shin. This makes them difficult to see (which in turn makes them difficult to defend), as well as being faster to work (which increases their odds of getting to the target).
Where ground fighting and grappling is concerned, this view is considered important by many of today’s martial practitioners because of the popular UFC-type ring fighting. While it is a good skill to have, many consider it essential. Wing Chun incorporates various grappling concepts but places more focus on anti-grappling. After all, when facing real fights with 2, 3 or more combatants, grappling is not the first option you want to assume.
When thinking about ground fighting, this is also the last place you want to be since you lose your mobility. Fist-fighting range is where we want to stay, so we will do everything we can to not go to the ground.
In that light, Wing Chun’s premise works the tactics of “anti” ground fighting and anti-grappling (which is what you are now seeing in UFC-type sports, where it is being used to great effectiveness). Many forget that Wing Chun was originally created to counter the Shaolin methods of the time, arts that were quite skilled at ground fighting and grappling. To compete against this, it would mean either having a full ground fighting curriculum, or replacing that curriculum with tactics that prevent it in the first place.
Wing Chun’s founders chose the latter, and personally, I feel that this was a good decision.
Anyone who has extensive ground fighting and grappling experience will tell you that the older you get, the more difficult it becomes to enact those particular skills. It is not impossible, of course, since we see many accomplished practitioners in their advanced years soundly trouncing a variety of younger competitors. But eventually, we will all reach the age where we simply cannot perform in the same way we did in our youth.
And if an art requires a specific level of flexibility, strength, etc., then what happens when we get older and simply cannot do it?
Instead, Wing Chun’s tactics will work anti-ground fighting and grappling, aiming at preventing the attack from being successful by driving in with a flurry of punches, elbows and knees. We take the view of staying offensive in order to be defensive and keep the attacker’s attack from happening. While some will see this as folly, it is quite effective when trained properly.
Finally, we have weapons. Wing Chun has only has two weapons: a long pole and a pair of knives. With these two weapons we cover short, medium and long-range tactics. At the end of Chum-Kiu, however, we introduce basic weapons defense in order to provide a foundation for how to respond against and with weapons. It is not the formal curriculum, mind you, but general training so that a student can pick up any object in order to use it effectively.
Some will prefer weapons training right from the start, but remember that in today’s world, you cannot carry a weapon in many places. You CAN, however, take your Wing Chun with you everywhere you go. Therefore, you will always have a complete, effective, and efficient method of self-defense available 24/7.
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