A Look At Wing Chun

Up until the turn of the twentieth century, the martial art known as Wing Chun was very obscure not known much about.  Back then, Wing Chun was just getting started, not practiced by a lot of martial artists.  Over the years, it became a very dominant force in China, becoming one of the most prominent martial arts in existence.  Even today, hundreds of martial artists study Wing Chun and everything it provides them with.



The first thing that students are taught when studying Wing Chun is that they should always use force to counter force.  By using force against force, weaker and smaller fighters can easily and quickly take out bigger and stronger opponents.  Whenever they get in a confrontation, Wing Chun stylists will use their brains - and use an opponents strength and force against him.

Throughout training, a lot of emphasis is put into that very concept.  Students will learn all about force and strength, and how they can properly counter it.  What many don’t realize, is the fact that countering force requires very little strength from the stylist.  Even the weakest Wing Chun stylist can take down an opponent 3 - 4 times his size if he uses the proper technique and his opponents force against him.

Wing Chun teaches other techniques as well, such as punching, kicking, and a few grappling holds.  It doesn’t teach much grappling though, as most of the techniques use force against force through throwing and striking.  The strikes that are taught with this martial art are very fast, and aimed at vital areas on the body of the opponent.

A majority of the most vital areas on the human body are found along the center line, the very area that Wing Chun teaches stylists to protect as well as attack with their techniques.  This line is the most vital in battle, which is why martial artists should always aim their attacks for any area that exists along this line.  Most of the vital points found in the center line can be the end of the encounter if the stylist is able to land one powerful blow.

As Wing Chun emphasizes time and time again, the shortest straw between the stylist and the opponent is the center line, which is where a majority of movement takes place. Due to the linear fashion of Wing Chun, students will spend a lot of their training learning how to direct attacks as well as opposing force towards the center line.

Wing Chun is an exceptional martial art, teaching students how to use force against force in any type of encounter.  There aren’t that many grappling holds or weapons used with Wing Chun, although the techniques and moves that are taught are tried, proven, and above all - very effective for self defense.

                                                                                                            - Mohammed Zahran -