Wing Chun: Evolving or Devolving?

[antaeus]

I think Wing Chun is a science, as Wong Shun Leung suggested in the title of his video, The Science of In-Fighting.

Therefore, its evolving.

I think we have a very misty-eyed and magical ideas about the past and what our ancestors were like and really we cannot know for sure.

As always, 95% of what is going on out there is not that good; 99% of everything is not that good.

There is a reason it took somewhere between a 93 and a 100 to get an A. Few things (or people) are exceptional.

You have to find the exceptional people who are still asking questions and experimenting and pushing the envelope.

 

[Vajramusti]

I think Wing Chun is a science, as Wong Shun Leung suggested in the title of his video, The Science of In-Fighting.

Therefore, its evolving.

I think we have a very misty-eyed and magical ideas about the past and what our ancestors were like and really we cannot know for sure.

As always, 95% of what is going on out there is not that good; 99% of everything is not that good.

There is a reason it took somewhere between a 93 and a 100 to get an A. Few things (or people) are exceptional.

You have to find the exceptional people who are still asking questions and experimenting and pushing the envelope.

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WC evolving/devolving? A few are evolving- most are devolving. IMO

 

[mook jong man]

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WC evolving/devolving? A few are evolving- most are devolving. IMO

I think you could be right there , Joy.

 

[KPM]

I think Wing Chun evolved or was designed to work against the fighting styles that it would encounter back in the day. But those fighting styles have changed with time. If someone is training Wing Chun and only working it against other classmates also doing Wing Chun....emphasizing Chi Sao'ing with fellow Wing Chunners....then they are most likely stagnant and even devolving. The ones that step back and mix it up with Boxers, Kickboxers, and Muay Thai guys to figure out how to make their Wing Chun work against the common fighting styles of today are going to be the ones that are evolving.

 

[Vajramusti]

I think Wing Chun evolved or was designed to work against the fighting styles that it would encounter back in the day. But those fighting styles have changed with time. If someone is training Wing Chun and only working it against other classmates also doing Wing Chun....emphasizing Chi Sao'ing with fellow Wing Chunners....then they are most likely stagnant and even devolving. The ones that step back and mix it up with Boxers, Kickboxers, and Muay Thai guys to figure out how to make their Wing Chun work against the common fighting styles of today are going to be the ones that are evolving.

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Each to his own.Of course people should try out their skills against other folks and varieties of martial art.
But IMO the real problem is learning wing chun well.

 

[Argus]

I actually think that there is an overall attitude of "change is good" and that "we're making progress" in Wing Chun circles. At least, in Western ones.

I'm not convinced though, to be honest. I do believe that there is a real danger in reinterpreting the art, and losing sight of the principles and concepts that govern it. You need only to look at modern Karate for an example of how this can happen; forms become purely an exercise, judged in competition based on aesthetics rather than the function, concept, or habits they're meant to instill.

People are always more apt to reinterpret and misinterpret. They want the martial art to be what they want it to be, rather than what it was designed to be. They also want to have the answers, and don't want to say "I don't know," and I think this leads to a lot of reinterpretation and misinterpretation as well.

I make it a point to reference videos of Yip Man, Wong Shun Leung, Chu Shong Tin, and other first generation students doing their forms, listen to lectures and advice that they gave, and read what little they've left behind in interviews and stories from their students. It's not much, but I think it has nonetheless provided invaluable insight and context for my training.

 

[pilotherm14]

Wing Chun is always evolving in some form. As a person starts his journey to becoming a sifu he takes the teachings and beings to elevate them in himself. I like to think my wing chun will evolve through out my lifetime and hope many will continue were I leave off. I hope to help the evolve of Wing Chun by doing and continuing to apply Wing Chun in everyday situations. Maybe people will continue the work.

 

[wtxs]

Wing Chun is always evolving in some form. As a person starts his journey to becoming a sifu he takes the teachings and beings to elevate them in himself. I like to think my wing chun will evolve through out my lifetime and hope many will continue were I leave off. I hope to help the evolve of Wing Chun by doing and continuing to apply Wing Chun in everyday situations. Maybe people will continue the work.

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Looking at the above video raise some question and concern. SLT is the building block of WC, it provides the basic concepts to help lay down an solid foundation for the progression which all our skills depends on.

I'm making the assumption which all lineage train the elbow structure pretty much the same way ... the forearm is about 35/45 deg to the upper arm projecting forward, elbow slightly turned in. The Tan and Fuk in the video (can I also assume that's you in the video?) are done with the whole arm extended almost straight out and way up high, leaving your gates wide open .. can you elaborate on that?

 

[futsaowingchun]

I actually think that there is an overall attitude of "change is good" and that "we're making progress" in Wing Chun circles. At least, in Western ones.

I'm not convinced though, to be honest. I do believe that there is a real danger in reinterpreting the art, and losing sight of the principles and concepts that govern it. You need only to look at modern Karate for an example of how this can happen; forms become purely an exercise, judged in competition based on aesthetics rather than the function, concept, or habits they're meant to instill.




Martial arts are always changing it will never stop,so in that sense it's always evolving.

People are always more apt to reinterpret and misinterpret. They want the martial art to be what they want it to be, rather than what it was designed to be. They also want to have the answers, and don't want to say "I don't know," and I think this leads to a lot of reinterpretation and misinterpretation as well.

I make it a point to reference videos of Yip Man, Wong Shun Leung, Chu Shong Tin, and other first generation students doing their forms, listen to lectures and advice that they gave, and read what little they've left behind in interviews and stories from their students. It's not much, but I think it has nonetheless provided invaluable insight and context for my training.

Martial arts are always changing,so in that sense it's always evolving.