thinking of giving up wing chun..........

been thinking this for a while

i would like to focus on my grappling and weapons

although i have learnt alot from WC

i think i am more suited to grappling

WC just doesnt seem effective for me

dont get me wrong

i train with very competent fighters for whom WC works well

but i dont know if its suiting me

i know 5 years is a long time to take to realise this

i love playing chi sau/jurk

and have lots of friends that i will miss

but at the moment i dont think its working for me

has anybody else done a similar style change

or more correctly i guess a radical change of emphasis in their training

?

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"...any theory that satisfies the facts demands assumptions which are completely absurd."

Aleister Crowley

Yep, I have, I took up MMA and trained that explicitly for a few months and took a break from my CMA.
It was after I realized how foolish I was and how much my TMA had offered and given me that I took it back up and wont drop it again. I've learned a lot from it that MMA and other styles don't have, to the point I have an edge on a lot of the MMA people I train with and fight against.
Each is suited to a different range and technique base, but when combined together, they both become that much better as do I

I packed in WC to focus on tai chi basics after 4 years of dedicated WC training.

Some of it was the school, some of it the style, some of it the effects of the training on my body. I felt there was other stuff I needed to learn that would have more benefit.

I thought about it for a while, I tried training even harder, I looked at other schools in the same style, and then made the decision to move on.

It's amazing how much the WC seems to hard wire itself into your reflexes after only a few years training.

Five years is a good time to switch. It's designed to be a system you can get a good overview of in about 4 years training. If it's for you you can spend a lifetime in it after that.

Stop for a while, go play chi sau and see your mates when the mood takes you. See how you enjoy the new training.

IMO what counts is to enjoy what you do rather than worrying too much about how "effective" you are. How "effective" do you need to be?

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Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you
High mountains are a feeling
I don't need to sell my soul, he's already in me

I gave up Judo for Ju-jitsu, Ju-jutsu for Karate and Karate for Wing Chun. We had a major emphasis on MMA training and competition about two years ago in our association, so I got back into grappling then.

I think it's all on the journey and all leads to somewhere!

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

Wingy, I can definitely sympathize with where you are at. Ive moved from one style to another on several occasions. Sometimes it was a voluntary decision, other times it wasnt, ie I was relocating.

What I think youll find, if you are considering going to FMA, is that wing chun and Kali/Escrima have many many similar variables. Youll find pak sau and lop sau and bong sau, etc etc all over the place, and hubud (especially when you start doing variations) will feel similar to chi sau.

My advice is this: If you have that gut feeling that you want to set wing chun aside for now, stop wing chun lessons and hit your other art hard. BUT! Dont quit your wing chun training entirely. The fact of the matter is that you have 5 years of training in wing chun, and that training is a part of your being, no matter how much you do or dont want that. You can train in another art all you want, but when the you-know-what hits the fan, your body is going to react as an accumulation of yoru training, which is for the most part, wing chun. So if you take up a new art, dont fight the wing chun trainin--Do EVERYTHING in your power to make it compliment what you end up doing in the future. If you ahve to take steps back, make them the smallest steps you can. Make your art(s) work for you.

On grappling: Grappling can be great fun and its a whole different world, but what is it exactly that you get out of it? its rhetorical, you dont have to answer...Where do you want to go with it? After 1-2 years of grappling on and off in the past, I came to a conclusion that while its fun and important for being prepared for all possibilities, it wasnt actually very fulfilling for me as a martial artist. Just, keep your mind open and dont choose any given route because its the newest thing or because "fights might go to the ground" or "the grappler wins 90% o the time". Do what you want to do in your heart, and what you feel is right for you as a martial artist--If that is grappling then pursue it vehemently. If it happens to be yoga or FMA or wing chun or Tae Bo, then pursue it vehemently. And if that feeling differs in 2 years time, then modify it and be truthful to yourself and follow that objective that you feel best defines you...

Sorry for typing so much lol!

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PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

gave up Karate for Shaolinquan, gave up Shaolinquan for Taijiquan, gave up Taijiquan for Shaolinquan, gave up Shaolinquan for Jeet Kune Do.

I think as your goals change, you might find yourself wanting to try something else. I would say you have been in the system long enough to know if you need a change. I say do what you think is best for your development as a Martial Artist and a person. It's not like you can never jam with Wing Chun people again. Maybe one day you will go back to it, maybe not. You must rely on your experiences in MA to guide you to your own personal truth. Even this truth may change with time.

Good luck man !

What makes you think your more suited to the grappling over the WC ?
I agree with John, you should have a pretty good handle on you WC to go elsewhere. But if I was you I would make sure you touch up on your WC from time to time just to keep it "in" you, so to speak. Atleast you can be happy that you haven't wasted those 5 years

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"Life is finite, while knowledge is infinite."
- Zhuang Zi (date unknown).

I think we've all been there from time to time. The grass can be greener on the other side and other times it's not. I'd say give it shot, you might like MMA. Just make sure you don't burn you bridges with your other school. It's always nice to have that option to go back even if you don't.

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I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

thx for the replies everyone

hero : "What makes you think your more suited to the grappling over the WC ?"

my chi sau has become more and more this way inclined

i am not the worlds greatest striker anyway

and since i have had a bit more exposure to BJJ

and especially escrima

i have found that i actually prefer to fight in a more controling manner

than just finding an opportunity to knack the person ( i ust dont have that mentality i guess)

it just appears to come more naturally to me

i think that the further i got into WC

the more i have realised that that is the way i would like things to go

but have become increasingly frustrated by the WC training methodolgy

ie no emphasis on takedowns and no real sparring..........i could go on.........

so that alot of things remain too abstract

does that make sense?

plum : "...be truthful to yourself and follow that objective that you feel best defines you..."

wise words thx

J100 : "IMO what counts is to enjoy what you do rather than worrying too much about how "effective" you are. How "effective" do you need to be?"

again wise words thx

nkys : "Just make sure you don't burn you bridges with your other school. It's always nice to have that option to go back even if you don't"

my sentiments exactly

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"...any theory that satisfies the facts demands assumptions which are completely absurd."

Aleister Crowley

Whatever you WANT to do, do it. You don't "owe" someone to play his games to "stick to tradition", just respect. If you feel that you like to do something else, don't hesitate. As mentioned, you can always go back, or combine things.

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"Fawning, but proud!" - (at least sometimes, in rare cases)
"Killing them all didn't make it any better..." - "Are you a freak or something ???" - Max Payne
"Theft is a crime, even in Iraq." - Me.

“	IMO what counts is to enjoy what you do rather than worrying too much about how "effective" you are. How "effective" do you need to be?	”

I agree with you, but in a general way. For me personally though, it was the fact that I knew I wasn't as effective as I could be, and that was taking away from my enjoyment and led to me stopping Shaolinquan training, so for me, effectiveness and enjoyment can't be seperated. I know this is not the case for a lot of people and I don't really have any problem with that.

happy training !

Do what you love, the rest will follow naturally.

-hz

ok had my last lesson for the foreseeable (thats a strange word to spell) future last night

parted on good terms

said i could pop in now and then to keep my chi sau ticking over

which was a result



kinda sad as there are plenty of people i like there

hopefully keep in touch with some of them

__________________
"...any theory that satisfies the facts demands assumptions which are completely absurd."

Aleister Crowley

Good luck with the new journey mate!

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

__________________
"...any theory that satisfies the facts demands assumptions which are completely absurd."

Aleister Crowley