Originally Posted by
HardWork8
That is fair enough, but real kung fu training was never about fast results, even if during periods of turmoil in China's history one can assume that some short cuts were made in some schools (and presumably by genuine masters or sifus of kung fu and not Tai Kwon Do or etc.). For example emphasising the weapon's mastery over unarmed combat skills.
"Real Kung-Fu" was never meant for fast results, hey? Where do you think all this Kung-Fu came from? People wanting to fight to start and end conflict (Read: War). So just like the armies of today - who need to learn things fast for conflict - Kung-Fu is no different.
The difference is the WING CHUN training itself which encompasses forms and the internals among other things just like other major (and non-major) kung fu styles. Once you pick and choose the aspects of a given style then you are moving away from that style.
The only thing Wing Chun training 'does' is reprogram the body's movements to augment your survival rate in combat. It teaches simple concepts like attacking the attack as a form of defense. In its most basic inception - it is a quick and dirty way of hitting your opponent. There is a reason it is sometimes referred to as Gangster Fist: it's not flashy and gets the job (kicking a$$) done quickly.
If you make any short cuts then that means you are cutting out aspects that were in the original design of a given style, meaning that you are not teaching
THAT style anymore but b@stardized version.
Again, the *only* thing these styles were designed for is war and fighting. When you get into all the added appendages of styles, it's more about selling something the public thinks what martial arts is all about from watching popular culture, etc. It's also about 'filling a curriculum' and keeping their rice bowl filled (and to themselves).
And in my opinion describing a b@stardized form of fighting as Wing Chun is not a very honest way of teaching.
And teaching someone some 'internal' BS (I am a Registered Acupuncturist who believes in Qi/Shen) while they came to lean to fight is wasting someone's time.
Here's a good read on the whole subject with a nice 'dig' on how this whole Shaolin Temple link that everyone claims perhaps could have sprung from popular culture:
http://www.clubbchimera.com/?p=358
Here's the first quote in the article:
“Prior to the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese martial arts had one goal, pure and simple: winning confrontations through intimidation, the use of weapons, or the use of one’s fists…Chinese martial arts were considered to be a physical skill, a manual skill; they were not linked to any esoteric philosophy, nor were they viewed as a from of character development, religious practice, or spiritual development”.
- “Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey”, Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo
“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.” – Friedrich Engels