Does Wing Chun Need Anything to Complete or Compliment It?

Does Wing Chun need anything to complete or compliment it? This is a very tricky but interesting question to address. Essentially, I feel that in and of itself, Wing Chun is quite complete and answers most questions posed in actual self defense situations in a very practical way. It’s a very efficient and sensible system. Although commonly viewed as a “stand up” fighting style, many Wing Chun techniques are very applicable on the ground. For instance, Biu Gee, attacking pressure points and cavity strikes aren’t permissable in the sporting arena, nor should they be, but are devastating when used in a self defense situation and they work quite well whether you are on your feet or on the ground. So do strong punches and elbows. When a practitioner trains hard and approaches their training sessions realistically and with intensity, Wing Chun becomes quick, powerful and economical in its use of energy and motion. Most importantly, in the hands of an experienced fighter it’s decisive.

There are two subjects that deserve special attention when training Wing Chun seriously and for practical application in fighting. First, working angles. Angles are a very big component in the wooden dummy form and should be worked into your game. Taking an angle should be as natural as putting up your guard. Suffice it to say that at a higher level of fighting, all of your openings are going to come from taking an angle on your opponent. Second, a lot of attention should be paid to movement. If a Wing Chun fighter stands still when fighting someone other than an agreeable Wing Chun partner they are an easy target. The same is true when a Wing Chun fighter enters and exits in a straight line. Any amateur boxer or kickboxer will track them down and punch around their guard as they are very easy to find. Any Wing Chun practitioner who is serious about applying their Wing Chun against other skilled fighters should practice movement to counter an opponent’s movement and to gain an advantage on them. They should also practice to enter and exit at different angles to avoid being predictable and easy to locate by a counterattacking opponent. Both angle and movement are topics that are very much part of the same discussion. Studying boxing is a great place to start examining these two ideas as boxing has 150 years of ring savvy to draw on. There is nothing wrong with the Wing Chun system. The important thing is how you train to apply it against skilled modern competition.

Another topic that needs to be addressed is fighting on the ground, how to deal with a skilled grappler. As the great Carlson Gracie Sr. once said, “No one system can answer every question.” Wing Chun actually answers more than most. However, the question of dealing with a skilled grappler was posed over 20 years ago in those early UFC fights. It wasn’t just posed to Wing Chun, it was posed to every “stand up” fighting system in existence. The answer is clear. If you want to complete your game by modern standards, learn some ground. As a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu my suggestion is to study Jiu-Jitsu. It’s a simple, accessible solution to the problem of adding skills on the ground to your game. There are numerous schools around the world and the standard of instruction is usually quite good. Jiu-Jitsu is a scientific approach to grappling and has answers for every position imaginable both top and bottom. By the time you’ve earned your blue belt you will be miles ahead of most people on the ground. You will also be in phenomenal shape which can have an awful lot to do with your success as a fighter.

In this age of information it’s almost impossible to study Wing Chun or any other martial art in a vacuum. A large portion of the martial arts community has studied more than one art. It would be difficult to find a seasoned Wing Chun practitioner who hasn’t smuggled in a few techniques from other arts to augment his or her game. In many ways, what one smuggles in is not a matter of something lacking in an art but what is lacking in an individuals game or what one wishes to accomplish as a martial artist. It really is an issue of why one studies Wing Chun and what one encounters in their martial arts practice. What are your martial needs and aspirations? I’m a firm believer that it’s important to be thoroughly grounded in an art and know what your doing. From that position of stability it is possible to branch out, explore other martial arts and expand your game with an open mind without getting sidetracked, confused or betraying your roots. However, if you are a committed Wing Chun fighter and want to test yourself against a skilled, modern opponent you will need to take the above comments into consideration.