Hi All,

I am currently studying TWC for about a year now, though I have a couple years experience in some modified wing chun as well. I have posted this question before, but was not satisfied with the "answers" I got. Perhaps this is my own fault, (i.e. I wasn't clear about what I was asking...) In my current school we are taught to step "back & off the line" when dealing with attacks. Whether it be through a shift, or a T-step, either way you step back far enough that if your hands fail you you should still be out of reach of the incoming punch. And as for "off the line" I mean that we immediately try to step to the flank of the opponent entering in on us. Now I am NOT suggesting that we step so far back that we are no longer in contact with the opponent, just far enough to keep them in the "contact" stage, and not let "them" for us into the exchange stage. I have seen this done by GM Cheung, so I know it is not something my current Sifu just made up. However, I know that some other schools of Wing Chun stress to step in immediately upon attack. (i.e., its all about timing & intercepting). So is this ultimately all about how comfortable you are with your own skills vs. your opponent? Do other TWC schools stress this "back & off the line" concept (possibly using different terminology)? I don't question the concept, as it certainly makes sense to me anyway. There are plenty of REALLY big guys who I would not step-in on immediately if they were coming at me. Perfect timing or not, some people would tear right through you if you just stepped in on them mid-punch. I would like to hear all of your thoughts on this. Initially, I thought perhaps this was something that was just taught to FNG's so they don't lose their teeth during the learning process, but now I think there is more validity to it. I think we are fooling ourselves if we believe we can just step in on any attack and "jam" or "intercept" it. Thanks in advance for any & all replies.