hey guys!

[shaun]

hey guys, i've just joined the board and i want to start learning a martial art, ans was wondering what you guys thought would be good for self defense on the streats. i've been reading quite a little and i do realise that its the person, not the art that makes a difference. but i want to choose one which will help me be able to fight if there is a need.

i've been reading alot here about wing chun. it seems pretty good. i was also wondering how come it seems that there are so few people into jeet kun do.

so guys..could you please help me out here, i'd like to know your views on jeet kun do vs wing chun vs brazilian juijitsu...

thanks in advance

[shaun]

come one guys someone help me please...

[Martial Joe]

I am into Wing Chun and Wrestling.

I like them both alot.They both work and thats why I like them.

On the Bjj Jeet Kune Do and Wing Chun thing...
Im not going to say anything about one vs another.
Just go try them all out and learn whatever one you like the most.

[Merryprankster]

Shaun, some things to look for:

1. Does the school spar? This should be a commonplace thing that happens after a certain level of ability is reached. Sparring should consist of knocking each other about and has absolutely nothing to do with "point fighting," "only light contact," "our techniques are too deadly to practice full speed." It should be frequent and regular, and use appropriate safety gear.

2. Are the people there using what they are learning in class? Or does it look like a big sloppy mess, even from the advanced students? Even a layman can distinguish between a decent boxer/fighter and a bad one, even if they don't see 100% of what's going on.

3. Does the school spar?

4. Is use of appropriate protective equipment encouraged/demanded for sparring?

5. Does the school spar?

6. Are the students all reasonably intelligent? (You'd be surprised what a difference this makes.)

7. Does the school spar?

8. Do they advertise one strike kill stuff? If so, run away.

9. Does the school spar?

[Laknath]

Hey dude, I’m new to the board as well, in here I’m just expressing my point of view. You should choose what is best for you.

First of all I must tell you, never engage in a combat until you’re thoroughly confident with a martial art. If not you’ll definitely get frustrated with the art you learned, your teachers and also with your self.

I do not know much about that Brazilian art. As you may know, Wing Chun was founded by a monk called Neg-mui (may not the correct spellings) centuries ago. Since then Wing Chun has been modified and developed further by great martial artists. Unlike other martial arts, Wing Chun is very beautiful to watch and can bring down your opponent with less effort than s/he used to attack you.

Any one knows that Jeet Kun Do is found by the famous super star, Bruce Lee, not much far away. Jeet Kun Do dose not have a proper ending level as Bruce Lee couldn’t finished developing it before his sudden death.

As a trainee of a martial art goes deep in the subject, he develops his own fighting suit for a better performance in a combat. This suit would be a collection of techniques that he is so good at. As far as I know, Jeet Kun Do is already a suit; for Bruce Lee. If you’re on an average height and an aggressive personality, Jeet Kun Do will be fine for you when dealing with a dam desperado. But with a martial artist, it’ll be better to use Wing Chun.

If you could compare a “neutral on guard” (primary defense stance) of Jeet Kun Do and Wing Chun, you can see in Jeet Kun Do stance, there are areas that your opponent can take advantage of. If you’re interested only in fighting, I think Sanda will also a better option. Sanda is a very successful modern fighting art which is similar to Jeet Kun Do than Wing Chun.
I have studied Jeet Kun Do, Wing Chun and little of Sanda, for me the most likely art is Wing Chun.

Wish you a bright future.

[Boffo]

Originally posted by Merryprankster
Shaun, some things to look for:

Great stuff Merry Prankster. Here are my additions:

1. Do they spar?

2. Do they have punching bags and other heavy striking targets? Striking just at empty air doesn't prepare you well for when you actually get into a fight. Nothing is worse than hitting someone with a punch and breaking your fingers and knuckles because you've never hit anything before.

3. Do they spar?

4. Do they teach a range of techniques? Do they teach both striking and groundfighting? Both are useful skills to have.

5. Do they spar?

6. Do they tell you that it will take some time to be competant? If they say that they can make you a kick-butt stomping machine in six months, then run away.

7. Do they spar?

8. Do they tell you how theirs is the only effective self-defense style in the city/state/country/world? Then run away. If they don't respect the rest of the martial arts world, thats because they have never played or crosstrained with someone else, leaving gaps in their knowledge that can easily be abused.

Keep in mind that many martial artists believe their style is the best. That is why they do their style. Nothing wrong with them claiming that theirs is the best, but if they make this claim then ask how many other styles they have practiced. If they say none, then these people are uninformed idiots who should be left. If they list several, then you can feel somewhat confident that they actually have at least tried other ideas before making their decision on their preferences.

9. Do they spar?

10. When they spar, do they play it safe? Do they make sure that tempers are kept even and that the sparring folks don't go ballistic on each other. Are tapouts honored? Injuries will happen periodically, but uncontrolled sparring never a good thing.

[Ryan]

Wing Chun is a great art to learn...but not good long-range at all. If you want high-flying kicking and what-not, Northern Kung Fu is the way to go. Just about any style can be affective if the student is good enough.

Also, if your school doesn't spar, make sure they have a valid reason why. Our school hasn't sparred in quite sometime because of too many injuries. From what I hear, a real fight broke out during the spar because they lost their cool. That's when Sifu put his foot down and decided to stop sparring completely for a few months. We will slowly start again, and have been told to purchase some equipment.

[Wilson]

Wing Chun is a great art to learn...but not good long-range at all.

Hmmmm......don't know about that. You might be thinking from a sport point of view of squaring off and fighting from there.

Anyway, another good point to look at is the instructor. If you really want to learn something effective, ask a little about the instructor's background. I've trained under 3 instructors. One was a bouncer at a punk club in NYC and world ranked in full contact Kali and he was under Dan Inosanto. The second was a police officer in center city Philly and been in martial arts all his life as well as training champion Muay Thai fighters. The 3rd was in enough fights as a youngster to now have pins in his head.

They all actually had more credentials than this short list. What all this means is that they've "walked the walk" so to speak. They just didn't open a shop up at the local strip mall.

[Merryprankster]

Boffo, great points! I forgot how important pads and bags are--you really can't get your reps in without them, and you MUST have a heavy bag or wall bag to really learn how to get power in your shots, optimum distancing, etc.

[Wilson]

I agree100% with MerryPrankster. Too much kicking and punching in the air these days. While it has its place, you need to develop the power but hitting.....and hitting hard.

[shaun]

hey guys, thanks for all the help you've been giving me..

i was wondering, can you guys explain more on the short range thing? i read under the wing chun forum that its the best for short range. what does it mean and is that a disadvantage? i mean, does lack of long range create a disadvantage to the fighter?

[shaun]

hey guys, thanks for all the help you've been giving me..

i was wondering, can you guys explain more on the short range thing? i read under the wing chun forum that its the best for short range. what does it mean and is that a disadvantage? i mean, does lack of long range create a disadvantage to the fighter?

[Former castleva]

Hi,shaun.
All I can add to the pack is that you might want to search the net,different forums,books and collect all information you can.
I think it could also be beneficial for you to honestly ask yourself "What do I want from an art?"
Your own final idea is what depends,listening to others is good of course.

[Martial Joe]

This is the way I feel about the close/long range deal with Wing Chun.


Its not bad for deffence for long range but I know its at its best when your in close.Thats what the style was designed for.

For me I work more on my offence then anything.
I am a guy who likes to get right up against the person.
Probably because I am a wrestler. Agressive aswell.

It seems the agressive guys like to fight close range and the guys who like to take their time fight long range.

Thats another good point because if you are a person who likes one or the other you should probably practice one or the other for the most part.

It seems like a good idea to be familiar with both though.
You never know what the hell kinda sittuation you may end up in.

[shaun]

hey man,
do you think that there is a disadvantage for focusing mainly on short range?oh, btw Former castleva, what i want is actually to learn how to fight on the street, and not really being particular about fancy moves and stuff. i just wanna know how to take care of myself and "take care of others" others..hehe