We’re often asked about whether or not Wing Chun Kung Fu offers practical street fighting techniques. The short answer is a resounding: Yes! I’m not saying this because I have seen Ip Man movies, or The Grandmaster. Rather, our Lakeland Wing Chun training system is practical for street fights because it trains you right from the start to be well versed against various scenarios and attacks you might encounter in a street fight. Most martial artists have respect, so when street fights occur, they are usually involving untrained fighters. Wing Chun provides extremely practical street fighting techniques and dangerous encounters can be avoided or stopped quickly using the skills and training taught in our classes.
Wing Chun trains practical straightforward street fighting techniques for self defense. It trains you to attack and react from day one. It’s not just forms, not just flexible techniques—just straight practical street fighting defense and offense. Wing Chun is extremely practical for street fights and dangerous encounters because it combines attacking and blocking while using power and skills to stop an attacker in any way possible. Some people call it dirty fighting…we call it practical fighting that doesn’t pull punches or attempt to “systematize” your defense into something that will fail you when attacked in the real world. The goal of Wing Chun Kung Fu is to help you survive an encounter and stop your assailant.
Hits to the neck, chest, throat and joints are common, and power comes from the ground, hip and structural momentum generated when you strike muscle and bone. Wing Chun hones these techniques and skills over time until they are second nature—but you begin learning them right away!
You will always train the skills your instructor instills in you. If you only train in “theory” and “movements” of any martial art then that is all you will gain. We believe you must train for the reaction and practical application of ACTION.
Since there are no rules on the streets, our training puts the odds in your favor. Wing Chun Kung Fu trains you to fight without rules—and fight effectively in a street encounter. Training and fighting in a ring with head gear on and boxing gloves can “de-claw” many practitioners by limiting their use of the environment and techniques. For example, Cage Fighting is very close to what happens in the street, but there are still rules. You can’t, for example, pull at the fingers of the arm choking you out…it’s not allowed. You can’t elbow or punch someone in the back of the spine or head. You often see spinning high kicks where a person shows their back…it’s because you’re not allowed to hit there. How about gouging eyes, twisting the nuts of the groin, or just going for small bones to break? None of these are allowed in most fighting systems. On the street you can do these things, and in Wing Chun Kung Fu we’ll make sure we don’t take anything off the table when it comes to disabling an attacker and ending an altercation quickly.
While no single martial art is the silver bullet of self defense, for 35o years Wing Chun has been regarded as a practical street fighting no-nonsense martial art. Even the popular modern day Krav Maga borrows techniques from Wing Chun. Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do took and incorporated huge parts of Wing Chun in his fighting. Anyone from straight centerline fighters to technical strikers love us and our style.
Every fight is different, but if you’re looking for practical street fighting self defense techniques, then you need to check out Sifu Och’s Lakeland Wing Chun Kung Fu.
If you’re asking whether Wing Chun Kung Fu provides practical street fighting techniques, my answer is an unashamed Yes. Our students and instructors compete in full contact and continuous sparring events, frequently bringing home gold and silver in their bouts. Our Wing Chun Kung Fu is not only practical—it’s the only system you should consider if your goal is to defend yourself in a street fight.
