Opinions on This Wing Chun?

[cerebus]

Hello. I'm primarily a Hsing-I practitioner these days, but I used to do Wing Chun many years ago and I found an old vintage clip on Youtube that I really like.

In my opinion, this guy's Wing Chun is quite good, crisp, yet smooth. However, not being a Wing Chun guy these days, I was wondering what the opinions would be of more experienced WC peeps.

The practitioner is Jerry Gardner. I looked him up on the internet and apparently he's a student of Duncan Leung. Anyway, I like this guy's Kung Fu. What are your opinions about it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqItqjolIyw

[Hendrik]

With your Hsing I knowledge what in the clip is done proper?

[HumbleWCGuy]

I have no opinion of the man now as I do not know him. This clip is very old so I can only give you an opinion of the performance in the clip, but not his current performance or teaching ability.

He uses a lot of karate when he spars. He also seems a little bit stiff as he poses in his last move for a few seconds after he delivers it. I am sure that he is over that now. It was a long time ago. Karate people often have residual stiffness when they switch to kung fu.

[cerebus]

With your Hsing I knowledge what in the clip is done proper?

Well, I don't know much about Wing Chun, so I don't know what is or is not considered "proper". I just thought he looked smooth and like he knew his stuff.

What was in the clip is too different from the Hsing-I that I practice for me to apply Hsing-I concepts of "proper" or "improper" to it. It would be like trying to apply basketball rules to a baseball game. Hence my asking for the opinions of those who know more about Wing Chun than I... ;)

[cerebus]

He uses a lot of karate when he spars. He also seems a little bit stiff as he poses in his last move for a few seconds after he delivers it. I am sure that he is over that now. It was a long time ago. Karate people often have residual stiffness when they switch to kung fu.

Interesting. I live in Oakland, CA and have had only one "encounter" here with a Wing Chun guy. The guy I crossed hands with was the tensest, most wound-up individual I've ever sparred with. The guy in this video looks extremely relaxed in comparison. But as with all arts, there will be a WIDE degree of variation from one practitioner to another...

[Lee Chiang Po]

My opinion don't seem to be worth much, but I think he is pretty good. His skills looked smooth and he owned the karate guy. And the karate guy was pretty good himself. It is easy to criticize on the forums, but to do so one should have perfect form himself in order to recognize poor form when they see it. And then comes the big question. If you had to fight him, could you whip him?

[-木叶-]

Very good Wing Chun fighter, he applied the redirection of force very well. Very nice
chum kiu also. Thanks for the clip. :)

In addition, his blocks and strikes are done nicely too.

[HumbleWCGuy]

My opinion don't seem to be worth much, but I think he is pretty good. His skills looked smooth and he owned the karate guy. And the karate guy was pretty good himself. It is easy to criticize on the forums, but to do so one should have perfect form himself in order to recognize poor form when they see it. And then comes the big question. If you had to fight him, could you whip him?

I think that using the who can whip whom as an ultimate criteria for whose martial art is the best is a slippery slope. Being a great fighter, requires great athletic ability over great knowledge. Look at some of the great boxing trainers of the past and present. How many of them are great fighters? Only a small percentage of great trainers had much more than a lackluster amateur fight career.

[couch]

I can see his Karate backround and I can also see how WC has changed the way he uses his Karate. Very cool clip...and the narrator's voice is a plus! LOL

[Phil Redmond]

Hello. I'm primarily a Hsing-I practitioner these days, but I used to do Wing Chun many years ago and I found an old vintage clip on Youtube that I really like.

In my opinion, this guy's Wing Chun is quite good, crisp, yet smooth. However, not being a Wing Chun guy these days, I was wondering what the opinions would be of more experienced WC peeps.

The practitioner is Jerry Gardner. I looked him up on the internet and apparently he's a student of Duncan Leung. Anyway, I like this guy's Kung Fu. What are your opinions about it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqItqjolIyw
Jerry Gardner was my Sihing at Sifu Chung Kwok Chow's kwoon in NYC. He is a fantastic WC practitioner. I was always amazed at how he maintained his muscular physique since he was a vegetarian Buddhist.

[cerebus]

Jerry Gardner was my Sihing at Sifu Chung Kwok Chow's kwoon in NYC. He is a fantastic WC practitioner. I was always amazed at how he maintained his muscular physique since he was a vegetarian Buddhist.

That guy was a vegetarian? :eek: Dayum! If he was able to be built like that as a vegetarian, he probably could have been a pro bodybuilding champ with the addition of meat.

So, the opinions are mixed. Some think he's good, some... not so much. I guess that's par for the course with any martial art. I thought he looked decent myself.

[couch]

That guy was a vegetarian? :eek: Dayum! If he was able to be built like that as a vegetarian, he probably could have been a pro bodybuilding champ with the addition of meat.

So, the opinions are mixed. Some think he's good, some... not so much. I guess that's par for the course with any martial art. I thought he looked decent myself.

Here's a fellow acupuncture colleague of mine who is vegetarian. He's a personal fitness trainer, too. http://www3.telus.net/public/tsnerbas/images/tom_bike.jpg

[Yoshiyahu]

Hello. I'm primarily a Hsing-I practitioner these days, but I used to do Wing Chun many years ago and I found an old vintage clip on Youtube that I really like.

In my opinion, this guy's Wing Chun is quite good, crisp, yet smooth. However, not being a Wing Chun guy these days, I was wondering what the opinions would be of more experienced WC peeps.

The practitioner is Jerry Gardner. I looked him up on the internet and apparently he's a student of Duncan Leung. Anyway, I like this guy's Kung Fu. What are your opinions about it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqItqjolIyw

What got you interested In Hsing-I(Xing Yi Quan). How long have you been doing it? Do you see any similaries to Wing Chun?

[cerebus]

What got you interested In Hsing-I(Xing Yi Quan). How long have you been doing it? Do you see any similaries to Wing Chun?

Hello. I first became interested in Hsing-I when I read about it and saw photos of the late master Hung I-Hsing and his son demonstrating it in the book "The Fighting Arts" based on the "Way of the Warrior" British TV series. I actually never thought that I would eventually train in that same lineage some day, but that's exactly what happened.

I began training in Hsing-I in 2002. I also practice Liang Zhen Pu Bagua and Cheng Man Ching Tai Chi, but I'm definitely more of a Hsing-I guy.

Initially it seemed like there were alot of similarities between Hsing-I and Wing Chun, but those similarities were mainly in appearance and strategy. For instance both arts guard the centerline, prefer generally straight-line attacks and low kicks, and prefer to take the opponent's space when possible.

The big difference is in the "internal" aspects. This doesn't just mean the "chi" development aspects, though those are a part of it. Mainly the method of body movement and power development using certain bodily coordinations and alignments, which are trained in much more detail than other arts I've experienced. It would take too long to go into in any great detail here, but generally speaking that's what I see as being the main similarities and differences.

[grasshopper 2.0]

any judgments are based solely on that clip alone:

the chum kiu looks really posey - like what you'd see in a kung fu movie for the camera and/or has a very karate-esque choppyness ("HA! HA! HA!" after each bong so wu sao, for example).

Sparring - again really posey. don't know if it's for the camera and because of a reflection of the way fighting was done back then? it looks like an exchange of blows, looking to block, again very karate-esque - very little flow. but you can see some wing chun ideas in how he advances into the opponent.

would be nice to see him put weight into the hits, make it alive, rather than a "point-sparring" kind of deal. i think much of wck is victim to a type of "rabbit" punching their opponents down without any weight into the punch...

But if it works for him - i think that's all that matters. He's also a strong guy - is he making it work because of muscular strength or structural? (of course, can't answer based on a clip).

[HumbleWCGuy]

Interesting. I live in Oakland, CA and have had only one "encounter" here with a Wing Chun guy. The guy I crossed hands with was the tensest, most wound-up individual I've ever sparred with. The guy in this video looks extremely relaxed in comparison. But as with all arts, there will be a WIDE degree of variation from one practitioner to another...

Trap training lends itself to posing if not done under the watchful eye of a competent instructor. But as you say, individual differences do play a part.