Distance: Near or far

My previous teacher was a master of northern mantis and longfist. He often like talked about a friend of his that was a wing chun master and then they spared they would argue over where. My teacher had an advantage in open spaces, but the wing chun master had an advantage in tight spaces. Obviously it is important to have balance, but if you had to choose one, would you prefer range, or the ability to fight in a tight space?

Why would you limit yourself to just one method?
To do so makes you an incomplete fighter/martial artist.
A good/smart person trains in all ranges/methods to become well balanced and skilled to operate from all ranges

Personally, since I practice Wing Chun, I prefer tight spaces - not least because many fights I've seen take place in bars and alleys where space is limited. What Wing Chun does, it does very well.
Yet, I think Wing Chun has some key weaknesses versus other styles - particularly wrestling style arts since you're playing into that range. I've scrapped with some long bridge opponents in the open and found that it does leave you at a disadvantage, as it makes it harder to close down - each time you advance they can simply retreat a step to pop you back in the firing line.
Best thing you can do (short of taking up MMA or supplementing your style) is train against as many different fighters as possible.

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I think the long range thing doesn't exist unless both fighter are willing to maintain distance-- which in reality doesn't happen, who ever is getting pasted at distance will close or run. When you close with a distance fighter they tend to turn their backs.

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Faith itself, compelled by the Holy Spirit, possesses an inner dynamism that necessitates deeper understanding. ~Thomas Weinandy O.F.M.

It's quite hard to advance on a kicker in an open space though, why would they shorten their range? They just want to keep delivering kicks to your head/body.

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Cling to nothing, except your Lego...

going backwards in usually a bad idea

“	Originally Posted By: SunWuKung It's quite hard to advance on a kicker in an open space though, why would they shorten their range? They just want to keep delivering kicks to your head/body.	”

I know what you mean-- it's hard to make ground against someone who can kick well, but not if you just charge them. What are they going to do? Try and get one really good kick in? Isn't that the best they can hope for before you canon into them?

Little blokes thinking!

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Faith itself, compelled by the Holy Spirit, possesses an inner dynamism that necessitates deeper understanding. ~Thomas Weinandy O.F.M.

well said sir

that's easy for a gorilla like yourself to say, but in that instance, who's defending themselves? If you're counting on being large, what's that say about your technique?
Seen plenty of fights where that crack round the head was all that was needed to end the fight. Charging in is good if you've intercepted a kick - but I wouldn't advocate simply wearing one as a great example of Wing Chun...

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Cling to nothing, except your Lego...

Kicks? Only worried if it's to the knee, other than that... dealt with a flick of the wrist.

While we are a long style, we love to be inside. That's where the nitty gritty is.....

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It's all about the nitty gritty.......

To be fair, the sparring sessions we had weren't full contact - if you did get inside and closed down their techniques, you'd score a higher percentage of blows

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Cling to nothing, except your Lego...

Why did your master think northern mantis is only long-range? There's a tremendous amount of close-range techniques in the style.

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...

“	I think the long range thing doesn't exist unless both fighter are willing to maintain distance--	”

It does exist, however the distance is normally closed so quickly, it can be overlooked. If you have the space, keeping long range for even a second or 2 before closing, can help you assess the situation and your opponent much better.

Against a potential weapon situation, just going into your opponent straight away, without knowing what is going on ( ie: what hand is holding the weapon, is there a weapon ? ), is much more dangerous than keeping your distance for a sec, and waiting for an opportunity, and observing the situation ( for example he overextends a slash/stab, or falls into a rhythm of attack ). I know that sometimes, fate does not afford us the opportunity to "create" this extra time, but if you can, then why not ?

Of course, if you suspect a weapon and he is still needing to draw, then you need to close immediately to prevent weapon access.

If you do a bit of Clinch work while sparring, there is often back and forth exchange between the ranges. For example, if my partner pulls me into a Thai Clinch and I don't like the vibe, as I slip out to escape, I might push him away back into the longer range just far enough to go for a kick, then close back to short range again.

It's important to remember that fighting ranges are named for our convenience. There is often overlapping between them, which just shows that it is important to train with all ranges in mind. There is no "more important" range, because the nature of a fight is so unpredictable.

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Depends on who I'm fighting. If I know he's a grappler I would probably want to fight in a tight area such a a bathroom stall or something small like that where I could throw punches, maybe tie up one of his arms and throw some elbow strikes with my other arm. If its a good puncher I'm fighting then I'd want to fight in a big space where I could either take him to the ground or keep him away with kicks.

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Mark R.
Smile, your on candid camera.

Many long-range techniques are simply setups so you can close the distance. Many short-range techniques are setups so you can open the distance.

I'm sure everyone here will go "duhr" at that statement but I'm often surprised at people I've met in the real world who haven't grasped that concept. Even when every single form they do is spelling it out for them, in sequence after sequence. Maybe they're only looking at the big flashy moves (especially in longfist stuff). Or maybe point sparring does more damage to CMA theory than people realize.

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"Pain can be a great teacher of compassion and humility."~ Unkotare-san

"Whatever the case, it proves that countless disasters can be prevented by simply assuming everyone you're working with is a moron." ~ Adam Brown, 5 Tiny Mistakes...