Is Wing Chun good for self defence? Wing Chun uses the basic principles of economy of motion and minimum movement. It was designed for smaller, weaker people against a bigger stronger opponent.
Our Wing Chun self defence classes in Leeds and Bradford run on Monday’s and Wednesday’s. See our classes page for more details.
It’s also designed as a self defence martial art – not a sport. So yes, Wing Chun makes for an excellent self defence system, and it can be learned quickly and with less chance of injury than some other styles.
Is Wing Chun Good For Self Defence – My Journey
I originally started my martial arts journey with Judo as a child. When I was 18 I began learning Karate and shortly afterwards found Wing Chun. It was exactly what I was looking for – a street oriented martial art which was super effective and efficient for self defence.
What some styles lack is close quarter “in-fighting”. Wing Chun delivers that in spades through its close range striking “game” called Chi Sau. In Chi Sau you get experience of close quarter striking, learning reactive skills which work in a real life scenario.
In most self defence scenarios it is far better to stay on your feet so you can escape if you need to. So a quick strike to vulnerable body part might be your best chance of escaping.
Wing Chun uses the simplest form of attacking to the centreline. It uses eye strikes, kicks to the knee or groin to incapacitate an attacker quickly and with the least effort and movement.
Is Wing Chun Good For Self Defence – Our Classes
Classes focus on five main elements – forms, drills, Chi Sau ,testing and street oriented attacks (freefflow). Drills let you train movements so they become automatic. Students attest to their ability to deflect and defend against an incoming attack very quickly. This is due to the hand contact training method in Wing Chun. It allows you to learn intuitively through touch.
Forms are hand patterns which are to be drilled away from the class and can be performed solo for personal training time. They help you develop greater understanding of the basics. The first form initially teaches you the basic hand movements. You’ll also learn how to connect to your body and generate greater force with less effort.
With Wing Chun techniques, you use your whole body – not just your hand/fist. Most attacks are done poorly and a swinging punch will only use 10% of the available force. It is slow and telegraphed so is easy to spot with only a small amount of training. Wing Chun uses straight line strikes which have the power of the body behind them. They are fast and harder to see coming! Wing Chun’s superpower is surprise!
Low Kicks
High kicks are hard to perform, destabilise you and show your intent through telegraphing. Low kicks feature in Wing Chun because they are devastating and hard to see coming. A low kick is also something anyone can perform, even with little training.
Wing Chun uses low kicks because they are efficient and can end a confrontation very quickly. A kick to the knee can be devastating, but might be essential in a self defence situation where your life is on the line.
Not A Sport
Some martial arts are more geared to sport than others. Wing Chun is definitely not a sport martial art and is designed for combat where you’re potentially in a life and death situation. Eye strikes are not allowed in sport, neither are knee kicks. But in self defence, these weapons might be needed if deemed necessary in a life threatening situation.
Sport oriented styles aren’t always suitable for self defence because dangerous techniques are taken out for safety. While we do employ these techniques in Wing Chun, they are carefully trained so as to avoid injury.
Avoiding Injury
Boxing is a great sport to learn how to fight. However, with sports like this, there’s more chance of injury – even brain injury due to the constant impact on your head and brain. If you’re no longer in your 20’s you’re probably looking for a self defence system you can continue training in for years.
Avoiding injury while training is pretty important if you want to train for any length of time. Injuries can stop your training especially if they are bad ones.
Wing Chun is not only a great self defence weapon, but you can also sustain continued training injury free. Our beginners course is designed to make sure everyone is safe before they start playing with potentially dangerous techniques such as eye strikes and kicks to the knee.
