Does Wing Chun "teach" a philosophy

[Little_Shoto]

or is it purely a fighting art?

 

[desertwingchun]

I think you can apply the "philosophies" of wing chun to everyday living. For instance when a situation arises deal with it in the most efficient manner. Or when having a discussion with someone and you want to make your point, keep continuous foward energy in making that point. Don't know if that answers your question but, for me applying WC principles and concepts in day to day life things seem to go a little smoother.
-David

 

[arnisador]

A philosophy of fighting, do you mean, or one of living?

 

[brothershaw]

Wing chun philosophy of living? What comes to my mind is be simple, and direct, dont waste your energy. Stay focused on your goal.

 

[Phil Elmore]

"Don't fight force with force" is probably a pretty good philosophy for life. To expand on that, one of the guiding philosophies of Wing Chun is,

Lui lao hui soong. Lut sao jik chung.

That translates roughly to,

Receive what comes, accompany what leaves. Charge straight when free.

 

[Cthulhu]

Originally posted by Sharp Phil
"Don't fight force with force" is probably a pretty good philosophy for life. To expand on that, one of the guiding philosophies of Wing Chun is,

Lui lao hui soong. Lut sao jik chung.

That translates roughly to,

Receive what comes, accompany what leaves. Charge straight when free.

I've seen slightly more agressive translations of the above, but with the same meaning. To me, the above principle demonstrates the aggressiveness of the Wing Chun systems. If you watch a skilled WC practitioner, you will notice that once an entry/engagement has been made, the WC fighter will not intentionally disengage. When the opponent charges, the WC stands his/her ground. When the opponent tries to retreat, the WC fighter follows to maintain contact. If the opponent manages to break contact, the WC fighter rushes in. A very aggressive mindset, quite different from what most generally see in karate, TKD, and other such systems.

Cthulhu

 

[brothershaw]

Considering wing chun is a close combat art, it makes sense that it would want to control the distance, and maintain contact. Once the oppenent moves to medium to long range many variables occur, plus other styles are more suited for those ranges. A long range art isn't concerned with maintaining the kind if contact wing chun is, even when close there isn't the same sticking / adhering to the body, and limbs you may see in wing chun.

 

[ed-swckf]

I would start by looking at doctrine of the mean by confucious.

 

[dmax999]

How about:

Fight smarter, not harder.

 

[Flying Crane]

how about: keep it simple, stupid.

Not that Wing Chun is simple, but compared to some of the other arts it seems paired down. Few forms, nothing flowery or fancy, etc. It could even be described as "ugly", or at least funny looking. This is, however, its strength. Simple, effective, and useful.

 

[Hung Fa Moose]

How about Balance. Wing Chin employs many stances that are very well balanced, from the horse to the front stance, the weight is almost always kept in a 50/50 distrubution, keeping the practitioner well balanced. Take this into life and lead a well balanced life, not going too extreme about anything. This in turn also helps to minimize attachments. if you get attached to certain things in combat, such as you plan on doing one thing in a fight, you may miss other opportunities. Keeping yourself balanced helps to minimize this and you can better go with the flow of things instead of becoming attached to one mindset or another which can cause pain and suffering. These two together also go with another of Wing Chun's philosophies, that of knowing yourself. Physically, you must know your boundaries to operate with any kind of efficiency. Mentally and Spiritually, you must know yourself so that you can have a meaningful life, not a wasted one.

 

[yipman_sifu]

How about:

Fight smarter, not harder.

NO, this is absloutely wrong my friend. Wing chun is not fighting smart, because Wing Chun has no brain. Wing Chun beauty comes from its simplicity and effectiveness. There are some other arts masters are very proud saying: hey, look we have more than 10000 stances and moves in our style.

Hearing such a phrase is like you said:''fighting smart'', but why I need all of these silly stances when I can punch straight and effective and it's game over.

Tell you something, I am really proud to train in little moves that produces maximum results than to train fancy moves, because in a real fight, you will not be smart to use a certain block against an attack, there is no time, you must let your reflexes guides you and that's comes by Wing Chun simple moves.

 

[ed-swckf]

NO, this is absloutely wrong my friend. Wing chun is not fighting smart, because Wing Chun has no brain. Wing Chun beauty comes from its simplicity and effectiveness. There are some other arts masters are very proud saying: hey, look we have more than 10000 stances and moves in our style.

Hearing such a phrase is like you said:''fighting smart'', but why I need all of these silly stances when I can punch straight and effective and it's game over.

Tell you something, I am really proud to train in little moves that produces maximum results than to train fancy moves, because in a real fight, you will not be smart to use a certain block against an attack, there is no time, you must let your reflexes guides you and that's comes by Wing Chun simple moves.

The simplicity is where the intelegence lies, the clever training that trains you to react instinctivly to movement, the smart design of the simple system with its contact sensitivity work. the forsight to see that a system made up of a less forms and less shapes, using only enough to complete the job in hand, the shapes the system is based upon, the way the movement works in relation to yourself and your oponent. The wing chun training does indeed get you to remove the brain from the way you react and fight and that in itself is a really smart way to fight. I'm pretty sure thats what dmax999 was alluding to.

 

[yipman_sifu]

The simplicity is where the intelegence lies, the clever training that trains you to react instinctivly to movement, the smart design of the simple system with its contact sensitivity work. the forsight to see that a system made up of a less forms and less shapes, using only enough to complete the job in hand, the shapes the system is based upon, the way the movement works in relation to yourself and your oponent. The wing chun training does indeed get you to remove the brain from the way you react and fight and that in itself is a really smart way to fight. I'm pretty sure thats what dmax999 was alluding to.

This is absloutely True. If that what he meant by fighting smart, it means he said it 100% correcet.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Hearing such a phrase is like you said:''fighting smart'', but why I need all of these silly stances when I can punch straight and effective and it's game over.

Tell you something, I am really proud to train in little moves that produces maximum results than to train fancy moves, because in a real fight, you will not be smart to use a certain block against an attack, there is no time, you must let your reflexes guides you and that's comes by Wing Chun simple moves.

You nailed it. :asian:

I don't practice Wing Chun, although, as I have posted elsewhere, I studied a modern hybrid system for four years some years ago, but I believe and practice what you are saying. Most confrontations are over in seconds and not the round after round of competitions.