I was thinking about my favorite scene from "The Untouchables" the other day.  Being from the Chicago area I’ve always liked this scene but what makes this stick out in my head is the mentality that the seasoned cop Malone imparts to the determined but hesitant and somewhat naive Eliot Ness as to the way things work and what must be done in order to achieve his goal.  Much the same way when discussing martial arts training for any semblance of self defense or personal protection, the reality of any encounter must be honestly addressed, and this must be reflected in the way techniques, concepts and principles are not modified per se, but rather adapted to fit any situation.

Every aspect of the Wing Chun system is designed, both structurally and in application, for ONE reason…and that is, in the words of all-around badass Cobra Kai Sensei John Kreese from the original (and real) Karate Kid film to take someone OUT OF COMMISSION.  Techniques are just tools, the mind is the true weapon-learn to use it as such. Your Wing Chun training had best address this simple reality.

The long and the short of it is this: all arts were created for one purpose-COMBAT.  As human beings, it’s what we do, and as UFC President Dana White said, “fighting is in our DNA; we get it, and we like it.” Funny thing is, as we have grown more “civilized” in society (this one is up for debate) the need to utilize skills such as this for direct combat has, in a day to day immediate sense, gone away, which leads to generation after generation deviating further from the source of all arts: personal preservation. The goods are still there, hiding in plain sight within any art you train in now or have worked in the past. All arts share a common thread-the finite range of the human body. The essence of self-defense  is within each and every martial arts system out there.  It is up to each of us to find it.  Revisit these experiences, look for the lessons that time taught you and inject it into your training now-you will be better for it.

Wing Chun teaches us that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  The flip side of that saying is that any attack that follows this “straight line” principle also carries with it a lot of stopping power. In this clip I happened to be on the receiving end of a quick and efficient kick to the jewels which put me down when I was pumped up and ready to go not 2 seconds before.  That’s how potent centerline shots are- all the important stuff (eyes, throat and balls) are located there!

Wing Chun is an art and a science based solely on practicality, function and efficiency, so it stands to reason that any respective fitness regimen be structured the same way, right?  Many other styles of martial art benefit greatly from hardcore lifting and strength training, be it for mass or raw strength or muscular endurance. Wing Chun on the other hand is a very specific skill set and while I am not saying that the Wing Chun practitioner will not benefit from a regimen of weight training (had to say it again just in case I am misinterpreted since this tends to be a “hot button” topic for many), what I am saying is that whatever program a Wing Chun guy/gal embarks on has to be congruent with the application of the art, and to that end bulk just ain’t where it’s at.

Sifu Gary Lam, former Hong Kong full contact champion, thai boxer and all around Wing Chun badass calls the SNT set the “foundational fortress” since all techniques, principles and concepts that form the Wing Chun arsenal flow from this set. That is right on point.  It is so profound yet so simple that most folks who learn the set never give it more than a cursory glance.  Big mistake.

When someone begins their study of Wing Chun, after the initial explanations of concept and theory, stance and structure, they jump right into the practice of the first form, Siu Nim Tao.  Literally translated it means “small idea” and is the gateway for anyone who wishes to gain proficiency in Wing Chun. I always tell my students when they say they are too busy to practice at home or they have to travel or whatever else: If nothing else, practice the first form every single day with full attention and intention because when it comes right down to it, I’d rather fight someone who practices all the fancier, flashy stuff but neglects SNT any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Make no mistake about it, WING CHUN WORKS IN A REAL FIGHT.  However, it oftentimes works not because of the stylist but in spite of him or her.   Wing Chun’s structural design and emphasis on effectiveness and practicality in a self-defense situation by adhering to centerline dominance and forward pressure is often enough to collapse and overwhelm an attacker whose own structure is not as tight or forceful. The missing ingredient to training is honing the KILLER INSTINCT. It’s sharpening the scalpel of intention in your mind to apply what Bruce Lee called “controlled cruelty” in a surgical and precise yet extremely barbaric manner.  That may put a lot of folks off-which is totally understandable-but if you feel this way, let me ask you this: why does this topic make you a bit uncomfortable?

In self defense training and more specifically for us as Wing Chun folks, someone may experience an event which leads them to feel the need for safety-it could be a break-in, a mugging, a robbery or an assault.  Many times, they will take a class, maybe read a book, or go to a gym teaching some martial art for awhile.  Eventually once they FEEL safer, the need for safety decreases and they stop training. NOTE: I am in NO WAY trivializing anyone’s misfortune; in fact, if I had Aladdin’s lamp I’d wish for the ability to suspend time, fly around like the anti-Santa Claus and bash the balls in of each and every mugger, thug, abuser, rapist, terrorist and all around shitbag. Now this doesn’t happen all the time but many times this is the case; I have taught folks who have trained diligently when the fear of a recent event was fresh in their mind and embedded in their psyche; however, as their confidence grew coupled with the elapsing of time, their edge seemed to dull, their motivation seemed to wane.  Now does this mean that they were never serious in the first place?  Hell no!  What it means is that they, while having true motivation, never tapped the source of that motivation deep enough to make it a HABIT.

If shit goes down on the street, in an apartment hallway, on a subway car, anywhere-it only boils down to YOU and what you can do to save YOURself and those around you.  I don’t care if a cop station is on the next block, if you need to meet an attacker head-on and retreating isn’t an option then the cops might as well be on the moon. It’s easy to be motivated when you are in class or when you have people who come to you for lessons; to maintain that level of motivation for maintaining your consistency in training and constantly striving to improve your skills and, in so many words, keep sharpening your Wing Chun machete means that you have to be in touch with the reasons both why the art of Wing Chun was created and why you began training in the first place.