Martial and or Art?

[rfbrown3]

I have recently been visiting some of the CMA schools in my are (Dallas). On another forum I was asked if I knew what I was looking for, and I had to admit that I was really unsure, but did want to find something that my aging out of shape body could handle and something I could practice the rest of my life as long as I am physically able. I have narrowed my choices down to Ysing-Yi Quan, Hung Gar, and Wing Chun.

Visiting a Wing Chun class the other night, one of the associate instructors and I disucssed how differently MAs are taught and practiced in various schools. I made the comment that I had the impression some of the schools I had visited were really into performance, mainly conentrating on agility and forms, but hardly practiced any kind of real life applications, at least not until more advanced levels. This instructor stated that he did not agree with that approach and that it was important to him to include sparring, two man forms, and even floor techniques in how they teach Wing Chun in their school.

I had to agree with this instructor, but I also feel that the opposite end of the spectrum is not what I am looking for either, that is, I do not want to practice whatever Martial Art I take up as simply learning to win a fight at all cost. What I am looking for therefore is a BALANCE, a Martial Art that is practiced with an empahsis on both the Martial aspects as well as an Art form which will procduce health benefits for both my body and mind as I grow older. I realize that my descriptions here are sort of an oversimplification and that there are many gray areas and that it is not always an either or situation.

However my question to everyone here is, how is Wing Chun practiced and taught in your schools? Do you fell Wing Chun is a MA that offers that kind of balance? Yeah, I know that it depends on how it is taught, but how does Wing Chun compare to other CMAs that you know of in this respect?

BTW I was really impressed with this school and their instructors:
www.combatwc.com
http://www.authentickungfudallas.com/wc.php

The bad thing (or I guess it is good thing actually) is that I have really been impressed by three different schools (Hung Gar, Ysing-Yi and now this Wing Chun school) in my area now and I just have to decide on which one I want to start with.

Thanks,

RFB