Is Wing Chun Good in a Real Fight?
Is Wing Chun good in a real fight? That is an important question that should be asked when deciding to take lessons strictly for self defense and offense.
There is no particular martial art that will make you a good fighter. There are martial arts that will better prepare an individual if they ca harness the proper mindset. One particular training requirement one must take is a disciplined, and earnest look into the “What if Game”.
The “What if Game” causes a person to ask the tough questions to yourself; what would you do – IF – I were in such a situation. The only requirement, or rule for this game is being real with yourself and your abilities.
I have been in Law Enforcement for eight years, and for me Wing Chun has worked very well. I have played the “What if” Game” quite a bit, and decided long ago that –IF- I was put into a situation this is what I am prepared, and will do. Of course you must learn to respond fluidly, because real life never happens they way we imagined it would. But, this game should not be thought of as means of learning technique. If you did that you would loose the ideal of no preconceived attacks. What this game helps to instill is a mind set.
Every person who practices should (IMOP) play this game. It will let you know where your deficits are, and what lines you are not willing to cross. So, what are you willing to do if the threat was real enough? I know almost everyone who reads this will say, they will do what they have to do when and if the time should come. However, statistically speaking that is not the case. To hurt, maim or kill someone, even when your welfare is on the line is not an easy thing to do.
All the people I have heard answer that question without true contemplation have typically not been in the thick of the fight. A place as my previous Sergeant says “where angels fear to tread”. Does Wing Chun work in a fight, for me yes? The real question to ask is how will you physically and psychologically do in a fight?
Fact is that more than 80% of what you know will go out the window in a fight, if you have never trained via an adrenaline threshold simulation. As a matter of fact 8 out of 10 people in war time can not commit to shooting someone. This is a statistical fact, and it is true even when they know if they do not kill they may be killed. That puts us into an entirely different conversation (Check out Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman’s book “On Killing”).
I wish everyone good luck in deciding if Wing Chun is right for you. It is not right for everyone, just as everyone is not right for Wing Chun.
Sifu Brian
