wing chun vs silat

[4 the art]

what is the simularities and differences between the two..? which is the better most realistic system...?

[Nick Forrer]

For a start you arent going to get anyone saying Silat is better on a wing chun forum

However, both arts are good provided you get a good instructor - since both arts have their fair share of frauds and fakers

Silat in general is rarer/harder to find then wing chun

Go to as many different classes in each art as you can and see which one you prefer in view of cost, atmosphere, quality of instruction etc.

RE: wing chun

I will say this only once - stay clear of anything to do with the Sofos brothers, Sid in particular- the man is an utter charlatan - he has a video where his students are running at him, he touches them and they magically go flying away. Also you ask about where their wing chun comes from/what their lineage is: AFAIK its from Simon lau (see Master Wong thread).

In London I would say check out Desmond Spencer (swiss cottage), Michael Louison (Greenwich) or the Basement (Guy Coffee)

Also maybe Gary Mackensie, Kevin Chan, Victor Kan and Joseph Lee

Also go to a WT school if you can find one (Leung Ting style wing chun)

See which one you prefer......

Re: Silat

East west studios is meant to have good Silat....I think the guy there is Steve Benitez......

Or you could go to a JKD school where they will teach you techniques from both

Bob Breens academy in Hoxton Square is a good place for that........

[Anarchangel]

Ok, I've read a load of forums, and it seems this is what the culmination is: There are problems with so many schools. I've heard bad things about Simon Lau and Victor Kan, the two top schools on my list.

It would therefore appear that the best London Wing Chun schools are Joseph Lee, Joseph Man, Austin Goh & Kevin Chan.

Few things:

1. Where does Joseph Lee teach?

2. Austin Goh is EXTREMELY expensive, is the teaching from his school worth it?

3. I can't decide between Shaolin at the Shaolin Temple UK, and whichever Wing Chun school of these I choose. Can someone help out.

I'd appreciate anyone who's actually trained at theses WC schools, real opinions.

Thanks,

Mark.

[Nick Forrer]

It would therefore appear that the best London Wing Chun schools are Joseph Lee, Joseph Man, Austin Goh & Kevin Chan.


No. Read the part above: 'In London I would say check out Desmond Spencer (swiss cottage), Michael Louison (Greenwich) or the Basement (Guy Coffee)';




1. Where does Joseph Lee teach?

Fulham


2. Austin Goh is EXTREMELY expensive, is the teaching from his school worth it?

Cant help you there. A class should not be over £10. My classes are £6.


3. I can't decide between Shaolin at the Shaolin Temple UK, and whichever Wing Chun school of these I choose. Can someone help out.


Shaolin Temple is lots of conditioning - for street self defence go with wing chun.

[Anarchangel]

Thanks Nick.

I think I want to train in WC mostly because of my fascination in Chi Sau. I am really excited to get to grips with it.

Austin Goh is £80 per month. That's gonna be more than £10 per lesson. I think these schools (Shaolin included) do not understand the conept of paying per month. It only works out profitable if you train twice every day!

How can I get in touch with Joseph Lee? I have searched, Googled etc, but can't find anything but his listing in the Yip Man lineage tables.


Mark.

[Nick Forrer]

Mark,

I just made a phone call and found out Joseph is not teaching anymore students at the moment so you will have to try somewhere else.....

Reading between the lines you seem to be hung up on getting a chinese teacher...IME there are non chinese teachers who are just as good if not better...

Again I urge you to try one of the teachers I suggested

[Ernie]

I have personal experience with Michael louison , and he is a very talented man , both of my first VT teachers came from the Basement and they were both very good
Nick is giving solid advice , there is quality out there just need to step in the door ;)

[Anarchangel]

Thanks guys.

Shame about Joseph Man. No, not hung up on a Chinese teacher, but I am a bit worrie dabout lineage. Stupid maybe I know, but hey. I just don't have the time/money to keep trying out classes/teachers til I find the right one. That's why I'm here. I was all set to go to Simon Lau's but real opinions have obviously changed that.

I relaise there are lots of good teachers out there, so I'm trying to scout the 2nd/3rd/4th gen instructors in the UK and find real opinions, which I have. This has been invaluable.

Few things:

1. "The Basement" sounds great, but is a little far out. I need to be on-call in London, so Harlow is kinda difficult to get to. The "Warehouse" looks a bit more accessible.

2. Michael Louison's website is pretty good, except for the fact that he deson't mention where his classes are.

3. www.junmo.co.uk is Joseph Man's school. What d'ya reckon?

Mark.

[Nick Forrer]

1. "The Basement" sounds great, but is a little far out. I need to be on-call in London, so Harlow is kinda difficult to get to. The "Warehouse" looks a bit more accessible.

2. Michael Louison's website is pretty good, except for the fact that he deson't mention where his classes are.

I know the class is in Greenwich, London:

Training:
Wed, Thu 8pm-10pm
Private tuition and workshops also available.
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8697 1935
Mobile: +44 (0)79 7991 2577
email: info@wingchunart.co.uk



3. www.junmo.co.uk is Joseph Man's school. What d'ya reckon?


Go with 1 or 2. The lineage is Wong Shun Leung. You can find more about WSL here:

http://www.wingchunkuen.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5

[Nick Forrer]

Of particualr note is this passage from David Petersons article:


Of all Yip Man's students, Sifu Wong Shun Leung probably spent the longest time under his tutelage because it was Sifu Wong who in fact did most of the teaching in Yip Man's school, whereas most of the other senior students opened their own schools and went about doing things their own way. Wong was therefore always close to his teacher, could confer with his teacher and, most importantly, could train with and observe his teacher thereby picking up many of the subtleties which his peers never did. Sifu Wong was also the one student of Yip Man who always put everything he had learnt to the test, so he soon developed what can only be described as an intimate knowledge of the Wing Chun system. Becoming known throughout Hong Kong as 'Gong Sau Wong', or the "King of Talking with the Hands", Sifu Wong took the Wing Chun system to a whole new level and was never defeated in dozens of real life encounters with practitioners of a myriad of martial styles.'

You can learn even more about WSL here: http://www.citywingchun.com.au/

[Anarchangel]

Thanks Nick, this is all great.

I'm definitey getting there, learning more every day. Wong Shun Leung seems to be a great WC Sifu. As with others though, has there been any negative comments of his instructors on this board?

I'll definitely check out the Warehouse, and also maybe Austin Goh, as the website you gave me linked to another which stated that Goh was one of the few London Sifus that do Sil Lim Tao the way Yip Man orginally did.


Mark.

[zooki]

Difference is Silat has a lot of weapons, and ritual dance. :) and a lot of religious philosophical teaching intertwined. A lot of Islamic phrases, which is ok for me because im Muslim.

But, its something for everyone and many people do it regardless of faith. Just as we do Wing Chun but are not Budhist.

I did some Silat about 1 year, but unfortunately my instructor went back to MAlaysia, he was a student in my university. :( Ther are some schools in London though, im not sure .

I would love to do it, mainly because of the knife training!

As for JKD schools, many of them seem to be run by unqualified people, so be careful. Bob Breen is well known. Also, there is Guro Krishna Godhania he teaches Eskrima in the West Midlands as is one of the best in Europe in that.

Any martial art is good for selfdefence. Silat and Wing Chun are both great.

Personally I think Wing Chun is better for street fighting. Because you learn to defend youself in a much shorter time.

[Sihing73]

Difference is Silat has a lot of weapons, and ritual dance. :) and a lot of religious philosophical teaching intertwined. A lot of Islamic phrases, which is ok for me because im Muslim.

I would love to do it, mainly because of the knife training!

Any martial art is good for selfdefence. Silat and Wing Chun are both great.

Personally I think Wing Chun is better for street fighting. Because you learn to defend youself in a much shorter time.

Hello,

I would tend to agree with all except the last part. Silat/Serak can be translated as method of or training for combat. Silat is an extremely effective method of combat and is learned in a short time, just as Wing Chun can be. I have seen Silat practicianers with about six months of training who would eat up most people they run into.

I think that Silat requires more physical discipline as a combat art than Wing Chun does. Many of the Juros are practiced and trained sitting down first in order to isolate the movements and achieve greater focus. Also, many Silat arts practice or have elements of Harima in them. Which basically means they train to fight low to or even from the ground. Also most Silat will have an overall approach to combat, meaning that while they may prefer one range they train in aspects of all ranges of combat, to include groundfighting.

Both Wing Chun and Silat are excellent combat arts, depending on how they are trained. Some basic differences are that Wing Chun attacks the centerline while Silat will attack and focus on destroying the opponents weapons or means of attack. However, both arts are based on concepts which allow the practicianer to make the art their own. The shape of the individual technique is less important than understanding the energy involved behind the "concept" of the technique.

Wing Chun trains the hands and progresses to weapons while arts like Silat train weapons and progress to empty hands. But in both cases, the weapons are nothing unless they are truly ingrained and act as extensions of the body. I have found Wing Chun and FMA and IMA to blend very well as the concepts of each can be used to supplement the others.