Everyone knows that life is much more enjoyable when you are healthy. The need to be healthy is much more acute in a natural disaster or an event that requires clear thinking and quick action. There are three components to health: physical, mental and spiritual. Once the three components of health are understood, each individual needs to seek out the methods that best suit his or her needs. The trickiest of those three is physical, and practicing a martial art, particularly Wing Chun, is one of the most effective methods of exercise available. So do Wing Chun to stay healthy.

Conditioning vs. Being “in Shape” or “Fit”

The words we use to describe our task often have a great effect on our approach to the task. The terms often used to describe exercising often lead to misconceptions and ineffective goals. Consider, for instance, the ambiguous term, “get in shape.” Round is a shape. Pear is a shape. Any body is in some shape. A similar problem applies to the term, “get fit.” How successful can you be trying to “fit” some unnamed person’s arbitrary preconception of what the human body is supposed to look like?

With a more effective term like “conditioning” you can focus on performance. You can define a specific set of tasks that your body needs to accomplish and condition the body so that it is better able to perform those real-world tasks. Martial arts activity, specifically Wing Chun, provides you with those specific goals. Wing Chun uses natural body movement, so the goals are conceptually simple but varied enough for comprehensive conditioning including the bones, muscles and tendons, nerves, heart and lungs, skin, etc. So do Wing Chun to get conditioned.

Wing Chun and Flexibility

One aspect of flexibility is increased range of motion in a given joint. Wing Chun requires this type of flexibility in all joints with particular emphasis on the hips, shoulders, wrists and back. In addition, Wing Chun works another aspect of flexibility: moving with energy and pressure. Such a skill is useful in any physical activity, and there are several disciplines that teach something similar, but Wing Chun is unique in this respect because of its sticking-hands exercises. In this set of exercises, partners throw punch-like energy at one another and must redirect that energy in the most efficient manner. Therefore, the participants are obligated to flow with the force. This type of skill is not only useful for physical activities but any type of encounter where it is better to redirect the energy than to meet conflict head on. So learn Wing Chun for flexibility.

Wing Chun and Muscle Conditioning

Muscles can be conditioned to either exert strength or explosive force. Many disciplines train one or the other: weightlifting for strength, sprinting for explosive force, but Wing Chun requires both. Fighting requires hitting with explosive force and grabbing, holding and pulling with strength. So do Wing Chun to give your muscles both strength and explosive power.

Wing Chun and Bone Conditioning

Having strong, fast and accurate muscles isn’t enough if your bones won’t support the force you deliver. No matter how old you get, your bones never lose the capacity for growth. They stop growing longer, but they can always increase in girth. All it takes is for you to put on weight, whether fat or muscle, but big bones do you little good if you haven’t increased their density, and for that you need impact.

Impact on bones creates micro-fractures in the bone matrix. These microscopic fractures heal quickly, and as they do, the body increases the calcium density in the bones. In turn the bones are able to withstand more impact. High impact training like running, jumping and plyometrics, though good for the bones is hard on the joints. On the other hand, striking with either the hand or the foot creates the kind of impact that will build bones, but it doesn’t force all of the weight of your body onto that joint. In other words, impact training in Wing Chun is good for the bones. So do Wing Chun for healthy bones.

Wing Chun and Cardiovascular Conditioning

Another benefit to working muscles is the creation of more efficient nutrient and waste pathways from blood to muscles. The trouble is that you only get that efficiency in the muscles that you work. Most sports tend to focus on particular muscle groups, but for fighting, you need to use your legs, arms, chest, shoulder, back and abs. Very few athletic activities give you as well rounded cardio-conditioning as Wing Chun. So do Wing Chun for healthy heart and lungs.

Although some of my students and I have used Wing Chun for self-defense, most people who learn the art never have to use it for that purpose, but if you think that’s an argument against learning and practicing martial arts, think again. The fact that most people never have to seriously defend themselves can only be seen as a positive. You could say the same thing about most people never having to use fire, flood, or catastrophic illness insurance either, but some people do have to use it, and sane people buy insurance hoping they never have to use it, but just in case. The fact is, people do get assaulted every day, and tomorrow may be your day. In that case, it’s better to have the skills and not need them than to need the skills and not have them. How many other physical activities give you practical skills? So do Wing Chun for insurance.

Wing Chun is easy to learn because the system is organized in such a way that it is all built around some simple, yet scientific concepts. Rather than having endless sets of new material, in the first six weeks, a student is exposed to practically everything in the art, and from that point on, the focus is on improving those skills. Because of this approach, most people finish the entire system in less than five years. Furthermore, this small set of skills applies in any fighting situation, which makes Wing Chun a complete art. There is no need to mix arts, one for punching, one for kicking and one for grappling. Wing Chun does the whole job with one grand unified theory.

Wing Chun is easy to use because the movements are simple and sensible. Any healthy and whole person can do Wing Chun. Because the emphasis is on using the attacker’s force against him, you don’t have to be a world-class athlete to effectively defend yourself. The bigger he is and the harder he tries, the worse it is for him. And while it is important to condition your body, you don’t have to be in top shape to use the art. There are no leaping spin kicks or flying double-leg takedowns, just simple, straightforward punching and kicking. In addition, Wing Chun is not bogged down by a bunch of rules. It’s a no-nonsense approach to staying safe in a violent encounter. It’s not about ego, and it’s not about fighting fair. It’s about survival. So learn Wing Chun because it’s the best method of unarmed self-defense available.

Odds are, if your art is complex, you wont’ be able to use it in a real fight. I’ve already shown that Wing Chun is easy to learn and use, but Wing Chun is easy because the movements are small and simple. If there is any difficulty in Wing Chun it is in its subtlety. While you must be able to apply force, there are no flashy movements or shows of strength. Rather Wing Chun is about yielding and finding openings. So do Wing Chun because it’s easy.

Natural Movements

Wing Chun uses natural movements. In other words, you don’t have to lift your foot higher than your head or contort your body into any unnatural position to do Wing Chun. You stand like a human being normally stands, you move your arms in movements that you naturally undertake when you’re running or walking fast. There are some positions that some people find awkward at first, but that’s usually because they’ve exercised in an unnatural way and they’ve created obstructions to the natural movement. It doesn’t take long before they, too ask themselves, “Why don’t I do everything this way?” So do Wing Chun because it’s natural.

Equipment and Space

There is a lot of equipment out there to enhance your Wing Chun training. If you want to, you can buy a wall bag, heavy bag, focus mitts, kicking shield, wooden dummy, pole and swords, but all you really need is about a 4’ x 4’ area to practices stances and hand movements. Unlike other activities that require balls, racquets, clubs, bats, boards, nets, courts, fields, rinks, rings, courses and streets, all you need for Wing Chun is you. While it is better if you have a partner, once you learn it no one can take it from you. So do Wing Chun because it’s inexpensive and convenient.

Time to Train

The Wing Chun Hall offers plenty of time to train. Classes are held every weeknight from 6-9pm with additional daytime training. Though students begin their training with only 2 hours per week, that period lasts only six weeks, and thereafter students can train up to 11 hours per week. The amount of training is up to the student. On the other hand, once you have the basics and a partner, you can train anytime, anywhere. So do Wing Chun because it’s flexible.

For further information, visit the Wing Chun Hall at 3575 S. West Temple Ste. 16, South Salt Lake, Utah.
Or contact us at
(801) 487-7438
wingchunhall@hotmail.com