had my first wing chun class today

[kiddbjj]

i had my first wing chun class today and i must say i was less than impressed. the school is very popular and run by a very reputable teacher, but it was just lame.
all the students looked very nerdy and not very fit.
there was no realism in the training at all. after the warm up the whole class split up to work in pairs doing drills. now i know what people mean by patty cake drills. they were all basically just training to trap in a static stance facing each other and then continuously pulling there punches short of the target. there is no way they could develop good habits at all or any kind of follow through when striking.
i was watching the higher ranked students and it was the same. just slappy patty cake crap for the rest of the class. no punching training for power on pads etc, no kicking, no sparring, no realistic/hard attacks. nothing.
i know i shouldnt judge the school on one lesson alone but i have done 5 years of kung fu myslef and couls tell by watching the assisstant instructor(real sifu was away) that he had nothing but a good ability in the drills. i.e. he had done them heaps and was quick but had no power or intent in the strikes.
the sad thing is that this school is supposedly concerned with practicality and effectiveness. the sifu even boxed for many years before he found wing chun.
i dunno i'm just mystified and very dissillusioned. i might try some other wc schools and hopefully they will be better.

i had always thought wc would be a long term skill to develop but i never envisioned this level of basic laziness and short sightedness in the training.
oh well... i might see what leung tings lineage has to offer

[Hardball]

Give it time; they usually "WEED OUT" students based on desire, discipline and other subjective items. Keep an "OPEN MIND" and you will learn.

[koto_ryu]

Like Hardball said, give it time. Those drills have lots of intangible benefits, such as if you have a touch on your opponent you can feel and react to what he is planning to do next much better than if you had no touch at all. Give it time and see how it goes.

[Memnoch1207]

Maybe you should have asked him if you could spar with him full contact at full speed.
We do these drills because wing tsun/chun is a tactile art.
Doing these things repetitively over time makes them reactions, something you don't thing about anymore, you just instinctively do it.

I've studied Wing Tsun for a while and I spar on the weekends with friends of mine who train in BJJ and Muay Thai. It's an effective art, just give it time.

Most people will start, then think "This is boring" and quit. Only those that stick it out and progress past the mundane movements truly realize how effective it can be.

[EmptyneSs]

take muay thai and boxing.

[krys]

i had always thought wc would be a long term skill to develop but i never envisioned this level of basic laziness and short sightedness in the training.

This is common in many wc gyms but not always the case. Pb wc attracts many bruce lee wannabees, pseudo intelectuals, or simply peoples who want to practice a ma without sweating. I had to chek out nine schools before finding a good one.

In my opinion if you want to learn wc you need to train with somebody who's at the top of the tree (HK trained) and/or who has serious real life experience. Too many peoples with little knowledge and no fighting experience teach it to make money and trick their students making them believe they can use what they learned in the street....

Beware also of school where they want you to sign long term contracts, I would also never train in a system where you have to pay for seminars in order to get graded if you want to learn new techniques.

WC is a good art if it is properly taught and you are dedicated, if you can't find time to train 5-6 times a week, don't have a proper instructor who is willing to take time to explain things to you, don't go for it, you will waste your time..... It took me 6 months of serious training and private instruction to start seing results....

[HtTKar]

I agree with krys. True that most places weed out the newcomers. But when you look at the higher ranking students they should all look strong and confident. Seeing a bunch of higher level students that look "nerdy" and "not very fit" is not exactly promising. I mean; is that your goal? No you should find a school that develops students of a higher caliber than that.
Also as Memnoch1207 said. Ask to Spar if permitted this soon. If they wipe the floor with you then you have something to learn from them.

[AlexJitsu]

"Nerdy"? Don't be so judgemental. I've seen the biggest dorks on earth that were muscle-brains.

[MrPARaNoiD]

I have just moved from boxing to kung Fu and i found that the training during the class was no where as hard as the training done at home. Practice what they have taught you in the air to get good technique. Then as you get better practice on a bag and start conditioning.

I train in choy lau foot buk sing kf and i've only been training for 2 week
Train Hard good luck

[Nemes1s]

every martial arts takes time and dedication to be effective with it, Wing chun is really a scentific way of fighting,

[Thai Bri]

Martial Arts myths abound with arts like Wing Chun. Everything has to take "time to become effective". Every little patta-cake drill has some not too obvious benefit that you'll only really appreciate when you've paid the instructor money for many years.

Fighting is not rocket science. These supposed depths, that WC "fighters" knowlingly nod their head and talk about, are all bull shit.

There are plenty stories of its deadly effectiveness..... but never ever any clips. All the demos are pitter patter bull shit, and all the fights show WC in a poor light. Crowned, of course, by that school boy, roll around the floor nonsense between Willaim Cheung and Emin Boztepe.

[AlexJitsu]

Bri, there are many WC people that could humbly defeat you, so I suggest you quiet down with YOUR endless bullshit and mind-boggling ego.

[Tom Yum]

Agreed with Bri. Fighting is not rocket science.

If you want to learn an MA that isn't completely about fighting, then wc is right up your alley. I think WC has some good general benefits.

Otherwise if you want to fight, you have to sparr against differend kinds of fighters with spontaneity and resistance.

[martialartist88]

Thai and Tom is right. Fighting isn't rocket science. However, putting our basic scientific knowledge into a style does enhance its performance. As far as Wing Chun goes, I think it is a brilliant style of martial arts. Yes, their training method may be boring, but the end results are fantastic. Our training requires concentration. If you compare it to boxing or kickboxing, the physical training they have to offer will of course benifit the fighter. Thats just comparing a good athlete with someone who is badly in shape. As any martial arts practicioner, it is required of them train physically. There is just no way a sick man can fight. And Thai Bri, why do judge a martial arts by watching clips? A clip may show how well it is comparing to another practicioner of any other martial arts, but it still doesnt prove anything. Clips in itself are rediculous and faulty. They should not be considered an evidence that proves whether a style is effective or not. In order to truly find out whether its effective or not, go challenge a range of wing chun practicioners, or any other martial arts practicioners that you have doubt with. Wing Chun is a great art. It can be effective.

-JON

[martialartist88]

Agreed with Bri. Fighting is not rocket science.

If you want to learn an MA that isn't completely about fighting, then wc is right up your alley. I think WC has some good general benefits.

Otherwise if you want to fight, you have to sparr against differend kinds of fighters with spontaneity and resistance.

Yes, I agree. It is essencial for any MAist to sparr against different kinds of fighters. Some argue that wing chun practicioners are only good against people of their own style, but if thats so, couldn't i say muay thais only effective against people of their own? Every practicioner must sparr with other fighters because there will never be anyone who fights the same. So it is up to the practicioner to gain experience in all fields of attacks. Everyone has to be more realistic when considering which martial arts is better. There will never be an answer. So do not put down any martial arts just because they have no clips to prove its efficiency or based on previous bad training experience. That style just might not be suitable for you. The style in itself does not suck, but whether it is suitable for him/her. I didnt know i woudl be typing so much to this.... my fingers just kept moving..... so i'll be quite now..

-JON