Originally Posted by
Lee Chiang Po
You can form an intire fighting system around tan sao. I simple concept, but it is seldom ever applied in the same manner, so yes, application can be very different from one to the next. Take jiujitsu for an example. There are probably about 60 techniques all together. I have about 70 because I have developed some of my own. However, there are about 10 to 12 variations of these techniques, which will equate to more than 700. A huge range of techniques. But, in a single fight one might not use more than one or two and it is over. WC is like that. There is so many different ways to apply tan sao and follow up that you can indeed form an entire fighting system around it. The basics will remain the same though. If you alter them, your application will be all wrong.
Now, even though you adhere to the principals of tan sao, you can do your follow up applications wrong and get whacked. It will all depend on your situation. Nothing will work for you if you don't try it. Like standing off and trading licks with someone. It is silly. Just say I was confronted by someone that was mad at me and wanted to fight me. I don't think about doing anything like fighting with him. I simply make a loud noise to startle him and rush him. I can take him off his balance and form my own bridge. While he is off balance I can spin him and take him to his knees and attack his head viciously. I can then jump back and kick him brutally. Is that Wing Chun? You bet it is. It is the way I learned to fight and it has kept me breathing in more than one situation. All this talk about resisting opponents, forget about it. Once I make contact and take a mans balance any resistance is futile.