Justifying Wing Chun
There are two things people often say are missing from Wing Chun :
1/ Head height kicks
2/ Grappling
Let me try to answer this as simple as I can.
1/ Firstly, kicking to the head is like trying to punch someone’s feet, why use your lowest weapon for your highest target?
2/ Secondly, grappling? That IS chi sau!
The whole point of Chi Sau is to learn body mechanics, where things bend and do not bend, these same principles work on the ground too, WE, just try not let it get to the ground, because if there are two attackers, and you are in a grapple, on the ground, you are screwed.
Some traditional styles such as karate and ju-jitsu etc are nearly two thousand years old, but they still work today, with a few alterations (even though they may be a little rigid looking).
Wing Chun is very new by comparison being only a couple of hundred years old, that is why it is traditional but also still works today.
Things do change, look at the difference in boxers from now to just fifty years ago!
When a person is concerned about defending themselves against a person with no training, who go ‘all crazy‘, they are not your problem? It is the ones WITH training you need to be concerned about, this is real life, not a movie.
Those with no training will indicate their intentions and likely over commit, THEY are easy.
When people talk of and look for, Traditional Ip Man, that is what we teach but we deliver it in a way that it makes sense today, keeping Wing Chun traditional AND modern.
Does Wing Chun have flaws?
Every style has its flaws;
Western boxing – no kicks
Thai boxing – open centre for eye strike etc
Kick boxing – front leg easy to kick
Karate – over committed techniques
and so on and so on…
Wing Chun may look like is has a flaw of being square on and chin up, but this is real fighting!
In the street you do not need to put up a guard and let them know you are trained, you make yourself look weak and vulnerable, therefore making them feel stronger (and therefore believing they do not need a guard), before you then kick through their knee out, strike the throat or attack the eyes etc.
Wing Chun was for survival, not play fighting like school children.
If a person says that Wing Chun is not natural then they either have NO IDEA about Wing Chun.
The entire system is designed to work with your body and to mold to the individual, it is nearly every other style that is not natural and needs to be learned, even from the simplest of moves such as a cross punch, the elbow needs to lift out to the side first before moving forward, whereas if the arm is relaxed, it remains down, with less tension and more speed (just as in Wing Chun).
Wing Chun is meant to be easy to learn and can be quite skilled in a short space of time.
If you question a style from what others say, this is not good.
You must train yourself and make up your own mind, and not by just watching a couple of videos, but train properly at least for a few months and then you will see the results.