Yeah, I hear that often. Even from guys who should know better. You probably do as well, particularly if you practice footwork for Wing Chun. Wing Chun, or Chinese Dancing is a soft style with a strong philosophical bent to it. Originally, the name came from the ideograms for Ever Spring, and its well-suited. I was bored of walking with bruises and pulled muscles, and needed to change to a gentleer style while I was recovering. I like Kung Fu styles, so studying Wing Chun was so simple. Only without as much falling, or as many punches to the sternum as most King Fu styles. Though the joint locks did remind me I was doing a real martial art. (Some advice anyone who says Hey, let me show you a joint lock! is a maniac. Just say no. Trust me.) In some ways, Wing Chun is like the early forms exercises you do for Kung Fu, but carried to their logical extreme, instead of being used as the fundamentals of a hard style.
What attracted me to Wing Chun, aside from the sprained wrist on my primary punching hand, was the fluid footwork that its practitioners possessed. Well, I'll be honest. It was the fluid footwork that I saw in Jet Lis movies, while waiting for my wrist cast to come off. But still, just from watching the movies, I could see immediate uses for Wing Chun footwork in my repertoire of techniques when my wrist healed. Wing Chun footwork focuses on balance more so than with a strong kicking style, which can leave you dangerously open doing a circle kick.
In particular, the footwork requires that you be in a low stance, but not one thats so low that your mobility gets hampered. Everybody who practices martial arts has heard about many different stances. but unless youre working in front of a mirror, youll do the sloppiest stance you can get away with without your sparring partner kicking you a new one. What's interesting about Wing Chun is that the form drills (San Sik is what theyre called) REALLY emphasize fluid motions. if you are doing it correctly you will sweat. The muscles in your quads and hamstrings are going to burn fortunately, the end result is worth it. The forms become second nature, like theyre learned by your knees and hips, and you will just do them after the pain has faded away.
Naturally, everyone will be talking about your new dance steps, but Wing Chun footwork will pay for itself nicely. Since applying it, Ive been much more aware of how my bended knees increase my reach with elbow strikes and punches, and its been a lot more difficult to throw me to the mat in Jiu Jitsu. The parts Ive had to compensate for from the footwork, Ive learned have been in mobility. Its possible to plant too hard which makes it tempting to break your stance to give pursuit. Particularly when youre flowing from a down block and trying to transition into a kick - it's at that point, the Wing Chun footwork has to kind of skip a beat while you move back to a harder Kung Fu kick.
Anyway, Im glad I took the time to learn this form. Its provided me a good base to work forward from, and a few more tricks to use in sparring matches. Particularly fun is when someone makes fun of the dance steps and then exclaims Howd you do that, Yoshi?.
