Customer Reviews

Wing Chun - Self Defense

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This DVD might work for someone who has never trained any martial arts.

I had high expectations on this DVD and was dissapointed on Master Wongs performance (or Particular Wong as we came to know him, since every 3rd work is "particular"... which is not a point however).

He does manage to explain the basics of Wing Chun but fails to execute them in action. The main problem is that all his moves are so carefully planned that its like a dance. A Bad dance. Since Master Wong antisipates the incoming attacks he pays 100% attencion on his techniques making him self open to ANY other attack. Which is kind of scary look at. Even though he explains the same things over and over again this DVD is hard to follow. And this is not due the language barrier (I speak 7 languages).

I try not to only complain about the DVD. I pay respect to any one who has devoted them selfs to martialarts. It does have few nice techniques and ideas. But I would not recommend this to advanced practiseners.

I have trained activly for few decades. Several years in China and in Japan.

This only resembles Wing Chun at the rudimentary blocking level. Sifu Wong does not explain nor show the Wing Chun philosophy in simultaneous blocking and punching. Also he uses an uncharacteristic style of many kicks.

Wing Chun was originally founded by a woman, thus the hard blocks demonstrated are not the Wing Chun I've been taught. However, there is some value in the video for basic self defense. Is it a good DVD on Wing Chun... No, not even close. Does it show why Wing Chun is typically faster and has gained popularity... again the answer is No.

Here is the deal folks. The Wing Chun that you see plastered across the internet is basically a joke. Very few people know the finer points of combat-effective Wing Chun and very few are willing to demonstrate it in a DVD. This is a look at real Wing Chun.

There is no money in teaching legitimate fighting so mostly what is taught are heavy doses of Chi Sao, forms, and basic self defense. Essentially, all that most people know are Wing Chun movements and not Wing Chun. Get a good look at the real thing and enjoy.

I wanted to like this DVD. I'm a fan of Wing Chun and I appreciate Master Wong's enthusiasm in his presentation. I hold a black belt in Goju Ryu and I have an interest in Wing Chun because of some similarities I'm aware of across the two styles.

However, as other reviewers have pointed out, there really is nothing in this DVD even vaguely resembling Wing Chun. There are some basic strikes, blocks, and kicks shown, some of which are not characteristic of Wing Chun (such as the side kicks and roundhouse kicks).

But my primary problem with the DVD is that some of what's shown is really not even good basic self defense and, if the advice were followed, could lead the practitioner into serious problems.

For example, there is the advice that when approached by a person who you think might attack you, you should first push this person away with a straight arm and then respond when the person comes back into you. This advice is counter to what I think almost any self defense expert would recommend. It puts you in the position of having made the first aggressive contact in the situation and with a move that has no defensive efficacy. Almost any self defense expert will tell you, I think, that your first move should serve to de-escalate the situation, not escalate it. Or, if you are going to make a pre-emptive strike, make it a good one (because you might not get a second chance)!

Also, the advice to move straight back from an attacker to get distance is a generally bad approach. Generally you would want to move off the line of attack so you don't get run over by an advancing attacker (unlike the demo attackers on the DVD, a real attacker rushing in is not likely to stop in his tracks when you take a step back).

Further, the move in response to a cross-arm grab of taking the elbow of the grabbed arm and turning it in to strike your attacker in the solar plexus has the doubly bad effect of moving your blind side into the attacker's power arm, while having your only arm that could protect you from that power arm still pinned.

And I could go on (he consistently holds his arms out too far, almost straight out at shoulder level, offering no protection for vital areas of the body, there's no evidence of the forward pressure that is characteristic of Wing Chun, the demo attackers stop their attacks well away from Master Wong allowing him to execute techniques that there would be no time or space to execute in a real situation, and so on...ok, I'll stop now).

The bottom line is that it's not Wing Chun and it's not good self defense. I did want to like it. Master Wong seems very personable and the production values are not bad. But I just saw too many problems with the content. There are many better options out there for either Wing Chun or self defense, or both.

I have over a hundred and twenty books on martial arts. I have around forty to fifty dvds and tapes on the subjects of Wing Chun, Tai Chi, BJJ, Baguazhang, Xing-I, and much more. Amongst the Wing Chun dvds that I have are the series hosted by Benny Meng. Which I consider to be an excellent work. Yet there were some blanks that needed to be filled in.

In Mr. Michael Wong's dvd, some of these blanks were filled in. I purchased the fighting arts and self defense dvds, since the price was so good. Once I viewed them, I went and purchased the whole Wing Chun series.

One thing that is important in Martial Arts is that it be "ALIVE". You learn the form, system, kata, movements or whatever you would like to call it and then you practice on someone. In Mr. Wong's dvds, he emphasizes this. He states that you must train with an opponent that is not just doing what you wish him to do. That is why in time past they invented push hands and sticky hands. They had no way to safely test their skills with one another. So they had to devise a way to work with an opponent in a safe fashion but still get the feel of an uncooperative adversary. This is why Judo, Aikido and BJJ does what they do. Almost all their moves are made so that they can be performed on a partner without killing the other person. Hence they get the feel of an opponent that is fighting them.

When it comes to striking though, we have not been able to test our skills safely up until the past fifty or so years. With the advent of plastics and other essential materials, the striking arts can now practice with almost the same amount of intensity as a grappling art.

(Sorry to go off on a tangent, but on with what I thought of about Mr. Wong's Dvds. )

I believe that he sticks mainly within the parameters of Wing Chun. I don't believe that he chases hands (at least not too much), as one of the other writers said, yet I would say that one should investigate the art through several sources. In Benny Meng's DVDs (Who is the curator of the Wing Chun museum, by the way) he lists a side kick as part of the Wing Chun arsenal, so I do not see why anyone would think that a side kick is inappropriate for Wing Chun. Another issue that was brought up is simultaneous blocks and punches. This is not par for the course in any Wing Chun system that I have seen. With the exception of Bui Ji. True simultaneous striking and hitting must be preformed with one arm. If you are saying that Mr. Wong doesn't use Tan Sau while punching, or if you are saying that he doesn't perform Bui Ji in the right way. I must say that you are mistaken. If you wish an art with simultaneous blocking and striking, you would be much better off with Xing-I or Hsing Yi if you prefer.

We have the internet, dvds, cds and other learning devises. The old masters of the past martial arts did not have these options. They had a teacher and maybe a book or two. The teacher said this and they did it. What option did they have???

So I would purchase Mr. Wong's dvds if you are interested in Wing Chun. But I would also purchase from other recognized teachers ( such as the above mentioned, plus William Cheung, Garrett Gee and Randy Williams, etc.) on the art then compare and find the truth of the matter. Then see what works for you.

On last thought (sorry for blathering on). A greyhound cannot be a good sled dog and a Siberian Husky will never be the fastest dog a the track. So go out and find what martial art is right for you and pursue it.

The video is well explained. Have very good lessons that anybody can follow. It is also explained in slow motion. Anybody can learn from this video !!!!

There is a part in this DVD series where the "master" says something to the effect that maybe you want to hit this guy because you dont like the way he's looking at you". This goes against the philosophy for ANY martial arts and certainly for Wing Chun. Some of the techniques are also not Wing Chun.

I thought the DVD was ok, but short. moves that where deminstarted where advanced. I was looking for a DVD with less skill needed. thank you. Kathy

Bit fast and hard to follow at first, but master wong gives it to you in fast and slow motion...and you can pick and choose the various levels of training (close in.....amber zone..green zone..etc).

I am glad it is in my martial arts library

This DVD does show some good techniques for basic self defense,including being attacked armed and unarmed. People that give this DVD a low rating are most likely disappointed because it is for SELF DEFENSE, not a guide to"whooping a**."

The reason I gave this a 4 rather than a 5 is the lack of detailed explaination. Most of this can be understood visually, but you are more than likely going to need to watch each lesson many times to fully learn the techniques.

I would definatly recommend practicing these moves with a friend, so if you need to use this in real life, you will be familiar and comfortable with it.