Should I try wing chun?

[Raiden]

Hello! I have been training in san shou for three weeks and i really enjoy it so far. I have been getting my *** kicked for now, but I am beginning to get better and better. The kwon where I learn also teaches wing chun, I am thinking to try that style in addition to san shou or should i stick to it for now. What do you think? I am 17 years old, 1,83 m and 73 kg.
Also, how much time should it take me to get good at it? People say it takes around 6 months to be street ready (or 3 if you pull hard) and 1 year to be competition ready

 

[geezer]

I don't know about your kwoon, or how they teach. But WC normally takes a good deal longer that that to understand well. You can teach particular fighting aspects of WC, like "chain punching" or the JKD "straight-blast" and use it right out of the box to fight with, but that isn't WC! Out of context, it becomes more like a trick technique that might work well once in a while as a surprise tactic.

Probably the best advice is to look around, try different things out, then make a commitment to stick with one thing for a good while before trying to cross train. If you like your san shou training, maybe you should stick with that till your foundation is really solid.

 

[ShortBridge]

I have no idea what "competition ready" means in a Wing Chun context. I think that the best answer to the question your asking probably resides in the kwoon you're training in. You can get lots of other views on Wing Chun here and elsewhere on the internet, but I think what you're asking is should you augment your current training with your club's Wing Chun course? That's a question that I don't think anyone outside of your circle there has proper context for.

 

[ali55]

I train people in both wc and kickboxing and from experience wing chun is much harder to use and takes much longer to develop practically. Sanshou is much easier to get practical at. However more knowledge and experience is better so I say why not? Each style has something to offer so see what you can learn from it!
Best of luck!

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

You may confuse yourself if you try to train Sanshou and WC at the same time.

 

[drop bear]

If you are giving up san shou classes to do chun. Probably not. If they are extras. Then yes. Because it is better than sitting on the couch.

 

[Zero]

Hello! I have been training in san shou for three weeks and i really enjoy it so far. I have been getting my *** kicked for now, but I am beginning to get better and better. The kwon where I learn also teaches wing chun, I am thinking to try that style in addition to san shou or should i stick to it for now. What do you think? I am 17 years old, 1,83 m and 73 kg.
Also, how much time should it take me to get good at it? People say it takes around 6 months to be street ready (or 3 if you pull hard) and 1 year to be competition ready

As others have said, I don't know who is telling you 6 months to a year to be "street ready" or 3 months if you "pull"? hard. Or 12 months to be "competition ready. Those figures seem completely out of whack from my experience. I only did wc for two years so take my experience level for what it is but I did this after almost 8 years of judo and 5 of TKDand was also studying Okinawan goju ryu by then so had a pretty rounded MA base and was not new to MA as such. If you mean using the wc techniques in a street situation, then I think while wc is an awesome style, it takes a lot longer than what you are being told to be able to put into good practice. I certainly was only just becoming ready to apply the basics after two years, of training twice a week formally at night, often in my lunch break during the working day and a lot more in the weekends and in my own time and with another mate also in the same wc class. If you mean competition where you needed to retain the classic style of wc, then that may, as you say be even more time, a lot more.

My view is that wc is a great art but like many of the "traditional" forms, it takes a lot longer to be able to be in a position to apply in a real fight or in the street than compared to boxing, a lot of the other sport orientated styles, like judo or MT or from my experience karate such as goju ryu. Would be interesting to see what the wc and traditional Chinese martial arts guys' views are on this and if they agree at all. I am not knocking these styles, it just seems to me they require a lot more "foundation time" before they can be used out of the dojo at a level against other styles or aggressive, non-compliant assailants.

 

[PiedmontChun]

I don't know a lot about Sanshou as a style or system, but I would imagine Wing Chun would introduce new principles or concepts that would be at odds with your current training rather than complement it, and certainly so if the WC is taught in a traditional way. This could be confusing and not helpful at all.
Some people take elements from WC and think they are blending or "incorporating" Wing Chun into their overall game, but WC is a system focused on concept, not just a collection of techniques that can be borrowed.
I can understand being tempted to broaden your training, but would say its better focus on your current Sanshou training even more, rather than divide your attention. If you say you are getting your butt kicked by your senior students, clearly you have something to glean from them and your instructor, or just need more time invested for your training to produce the results you want.
Or... you can come to the WC side but be prepared to strat from scratch and learn a completely different path. Or like Geezer said above, check out the WC or even other systems to see what looks like the best fit, then go all in for it.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

There are 2 different ways to approach this:

1. forward search - Start from a style and let it to lead you to your goal.
2. backward search - Decide what goal that you want to reach, you then find the style (or styles) that can lead you there.

IMO, the backward is much faster.

 

[Zero]

I don't know a lot about Sanshou as a style or system, but I would imagine Wing Chun would introduce new principles or concepts that would be at odds with your current training rather than complement it, and certainly so if the WC is taught in a traditional way. This could be confusing and not helpful at all.
Some people take elements from WC and think they are blending or "incorporating" Wing Chun into their overall game, but WC is a system focused on concept, not just a collection of techniques that can be borrowed.
I can understand being tempted to broaden your training, but would say its better focus on your current Sanshou training even more, rather than divide your attention. If you say you are getting your butt kicked by your senior students, clearly you have something to glean from them and your instructor, or just need more time invested for your training to produce the results you want.
Or... you can come to the WC side but be prepared to strat from scratch and learn a completely different path. Or like Geezer said above, check out the WC or even other systems to see what looks like the best fit, then go all in for it.

Raiden, the point PiedmontChun makes is a very good one. You are, I think, quite new to sanshou in itself. It is probably best - if you enjoy/like/remain committed to this art, that you focus on this and learn the foundations at the very least before looking to cross train. When I went into WC for couple of years, I had quite a few years of judo and 5 years of TKD under my belt so was not exactly new to MA, also, while I had switched to karate and was also doing this, from my TKD, while different in style, I could easily enough transition to the goju ryu striking forms. And I never intended to make WC my total style, just that I was always interested in it and I thought it may have some good concepts and techniques I could take from it (which it does!).

The wc style and forms are very much "wc!!", having watched my friends who do shaolin, the styles, techs and stances - and much of the approach - do not fit at all with each other. I think it may be detrimental to both wc and sanshou training for you. I am not saying it shouldn't be done at your level, I would just warn against it...

 

[WaterGal]

I'm a fan of cross-training, but I agree with some others that you should wait a few months before you start a second style. Taking a little more time with your current style will give you a foundation in it, so you're not a total beginner in two things, and it'll also give you a sense of how much time martial arts training takes and how much you're really able to dedicate to it.

When you're just getting started, it's easy to get really excited and want to train every day and do all the things, but after a few months people often get busy with other things, or just get lazy/complacent, and find that it's hard to make it to more than one or two classes a week. If after, say, 6 months, you aren't having that problem and you're still fired up about doing Wing Chun, then go for it!

 

[Hanzou]

If you're interested in a style OF COURSE you should try it.

You may end up enjoying it more than your style of choice.

 

[RowdyAz]

In my experience wing chun needs devotion and while it is easy to replicate and parrot what you are being taught, true application and power will only be accomplished from endless hours and years of commitment. Structure is key and relaxation is essential. Now are you able to relax when you are being hammered on in San shou? Probably not I imagine, so I would suggest stay away from we if you haven't got the time to put in otherwise you will not even scrape the surface of the time tested art.

 

[drop bear]

In my experience wing chun needs devotion and while it is easy to replicate and parrot what you are being taught, true application and power will only be accomplished from endless hours and years of commitment. Structure is key and relaxation is essential. Now are you able to relax when you are being hammered on in San shou? Probably not I imagine, so I would suggest stay away from we if you haven't got the time to put in otherwise you will not even scrape the surface of the time tested art.

I will go the other way with this. If you have to be relaxed to do WC. Then you need to be hammered in san shou so you can get used to the concept. And be more relaxed.

 

[geezer]

I will go the other way with this. If you have to be relaxed to do WC. Then you need to be hammered in san shou so you can get used to the concept. And be more relaxed.

Probably true. I know I'm a lot more relaxed if I'm hammered....

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NjmgFQJRS7I/maxresdefault.jpg

But to be honest, I haven't done any heavy drinking since my college days.

 

[Zero]

Probably true. I know I'm a lot more relaxed if I'm hammered....

So, you too are a master of the Drunken Fist technique.

 

[Marnetmar]

No, it's a sissy art and the mere practice of it will make your testosterone levels drop.





...Just kidding. In all seriousness, Wing Chun is a great art, but it takes a LOT of dedication and experience to even begin to understand the principles and use them practically (without a bridge) because it's so intricate. I'm three years in and still have quite a bit of troubles, even though we train harder than quite a few other schools.

 

[Argus]

No, it's a sissy art and the mere practice of it will make your testosterone levels drop.





...Just kidding. In all seriousness, Wing Chun is a great art, but it takes a LOT of dedication and experience to even begin to understand the principles and use them practically (without a bridge) because it's so intricate. I'm three years in and still have quite a bit of troubles, even though we train harder than quite a few other schools.

I think it may be different for every person. For me, I caught on to Wing Chun pretty easily, comparatively speaking. It just seems like a natural fit for me; it matches my mindset -- the way I think, learn, and approach things -- very, very well. So, despite only training about 3 years now (and that's not so consistently, driving out 2-3 hours out one way to train), I feel that even if I'm not that experienced, I've been able to develop a solid base and can utilize my WC fairly naturally/intuitively. I'm probably better at understanding and applying it than I am at the more technical aspects of it, actually.

However, other arts, not so much: for example, I've been enjoying, but really struggling with Aikido. It seems to require a different way of thinking and learning which I'm just not very adept at. It's almost the opposite in that everything is a lot of very technical sequences, and not quite as principle driven (at least as taught at my level) or free flowing/experimentive as Wing Chun. But, I still enjoy it and learn a lot -- it's good to get out of your comfort zone and develop attributes you wouldn't otherwise. And who knows, if I keep it up, I might eventually become proficient at it.

Of course, your school and your instructor are a big factor as well. So, to the OP, I'd suggest giving anything a try if it piques your interest. Whether or not you find it to be "natural" for you, that can always come with time and practice. Having a good teacher and enjoying the art is key; if you don't enjoy it, you won't learn much. But if you do enjoy it, you can't help but learn a lot.