About Wing Chun, in short

The fundamental exercise of Wing Chun is the tactile training of chi sao. It consists of an indefinite number of short partner drills, and its strong purpose is to develop cooperation. Basically, arranged sparring. Each drill contains and promotes wing chun principles. When they are well absorbed, then the real fun begins - the non-linear use of drills, which are then arranged like lego blocks. We could compare it to dancing. First, one side leads and the other follows, and at a more advanced level, the roles change dynamically. It provides dynamic aerobic training while socializing. The risk of injury is really low. The largest number of practitioners find that this level is optimal in relation to the cost - benefit. The extension of tactile training is training on a wooden dummy. It also consists of an indefinite number of short drills that develop movement and sense of distance and angling. It is still a very abstract way of exercising. There is no strength training here, which could bring with it the risk of injury - the dummy will not be harmed, and the practitioner may permanently injure the joints. Be gentle. Most instructors and masters stop on this level. This level is usually reached by investing in your own wooden dummy and many years of private instruction and correcting well-learned mistakes. Both in chi sao and on the wooden dummy, some drills are often forgotten or abandoned, so new ones are invented. Wing Chun is not a petrified art, but an art in living development, and this development can go in several directions. For quality sport combat use, additional sparring with gloves and protective equipment is necessary. Techniques will have to be adapted to the rules of sports fighting, which, as with other martial arts that have evolved into sports, means reducing the number of techniques and using less dangerous techniques. The risk of sports injuries increases here. In real combat every situation is unique, no rules, and the fighter must have acquire the ability to respond uniquely, based on principles, which is beyond the learned drills. Real combat is something that cannot be practiced, because of the great risks involved. The most important trait for real combat is not the number of techniques learned, which is not bad to know, nor the number of adopted principles, which is better, but the preservation of peace of mind in chaos. Peace of mind guarantees you will choose the best possible solution to a crisis situation. This can be practiced. Personally, my choice is use Wing Chun as a form of tactile communication training. Basically, mental training. I like to say that Wing Chun is to martial arts what jazz is to music. All jazz can be learned on one song, and so can Wing Chun on one drill. Well, that's the ideal, but the reality is a bit more complicated and along with knowledge and understanding, experience is needed.