Is MMA truly effective for street combat? I'm trying to decide to take MMA classes or Wing Chun.?

Question

I am a bit incredulous. I know MMA practitioners are strong. But the fact of the matter is that they train for the ring. I am also a bit weary of rolling around with someone on the ground in a self defense situation. I have defended myself in the street many times before, and if I were ever to go to the floor my attacker's homies would just stomp me out (i've never, NEVER been attacked by only one person!!!). I want to take up martial arts again, and whatever I choose I'm going to stick with it. Thats why I'm asking this question.

Answer 1

If you live in a situation where you have to defend yourself in the streets many times my answer to you is to stay off the streets and do something better with your time.  You are not in a war zone, what exactly are you doing with yourself? Gang banging?  

Get to an MMA gym and go talk to some people there about street fighting - many MMA practitioners have plenty of experience in street fighting.  The way your talking now you'll end up disappointed because you'll end up in a McDojo who will just end up taking your money without teaching you any practical skills.  You might want to look into Krav Maga, I've never studied it but from what I know about it you might get what your looking for.

Do not study a martial art because you want to fight better on the street.  That is so pathetic, disgusting and childish.  Its people like that that make living in the city so horrible, you'll just end up in jail, have fun with that as a goal.    

Answer 2

most kung fu styles will teach take down defense, attacking stances, sticky leg techniques, all designed to keep you up and put them down. since kung fu isn't developed for sport, the tactics are useful for multi attackers as well as one on one.

i always found hung gar and bagua most fascinating due to its effectiveness and deceptiveness

but i also like tai chi, wing chun, mantis, and other sweet styles.

but when you are learning to fight, i don't recommend limiting yourself to one style, or two styles. inform yourself on all styles, you want to know how everyone fights and how to defend against it using the best techniques you know. learn mma classes as least for a while to get a feel of how they do ground work/striking/clinch/take downs etc. also try tae kwon do, boxing, karate, fencing, kick boxing, etc.  it will help you understand martial arts better in general while your learning kung fu from an authentic teacher, everything he will tell you will mean more with your bigger picture understanding.

the important thing is to find a school that is teaching traditional forms, drills, and fighting applications. and one that is teaching wuji and stance staining.

hope that helps

Answer 3

You could do MMA and specialize in stand up fighting.  

Answer 4

MMA stands for mixed martial arts, different people mix different martial arts trying to find what works best for their body type and way of thinking.  

In the ring the object is to get past the other person's guard and hit them until them submit or get knocked-out, would that strategy really be so ineffective in any other fight?

There's no rule that says you have to be a ground fighter, if the so-called MMA classes you're looking at insist you spend your time learning wrestling/grappling/BJJ and you don't want to then find something else.

Keep in mind that Wing Chun may have you learning a lot of katas and stances that aren't directly applicable to street fights either though.

In any case you should know the best art to use when confronted by a group of thugs is that of walking away.  And running and calling the cops as necessary.  

Maybe you should think about what you can do to avoid being in shady areas alone where you'll be attacked again?  Getting a car or scooter so you don't have to go through bad neighborhoods or moving to a better one?

Answer 5

mma has full contact so it is mad good for self defence but like ur right it is a sport there ARE NO TECHNIQUES FOR A GANG FIGHT wing chun is the style bruce the dragon lee learned so it is a good style but it has some flaws because alot of it ids determined by u and ur opponenet being of similar hieights it is a good style but improvment is usualy slow but in mma improvement is fast if i was u id look for a jeet kun do class or jun fan gong fu or krav maga hmmm and kempo may be good too but if that is incnvenient i hope the info helps

Answer 6

well it depends on you, yes mma will help in street fighting and so will wing chun, but you have to remember mma always basically comes down to normal punches and kicks so it looks like a street fight and wing chun focuses on trapping someone, i think mma would be easier to learn and use but wing chun im sure is also great, it was bruce lee's main style before jeet kune do and he won fights. so just do whatever fits you more.

Answer 7

Here's the bottom line; if you don't spar and train with resistance, you'll never be able to put your techniques to use. Despite my opinions about Wing Chuns actual technique (whether my impression is good or bad), the fact of the matter is that a lot of WC schools dont train in the aforementioned manner. Check out both schools, check to see if/how often they spar, and then choose which you train at based on your impression of the school -- not the name of the style.

Answer 8

Hii my friend very smart Question Well Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground.

Modern mixed martial arts competition emerged in popular culture in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Initially based on finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors of various arts were pitted against one another with minimal rules or concern for safety.[1] In the following decade, MMA promoters adopted many additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport.[2] Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with pay per view reach rivaling boxing and professional wrestling.[3]

Also Wing Chun, occasionally romanized as Ving Tsun or "Wing Tsun" (literally "spring chant" and alternatively as "forever spring", or substituted with the character for "eternal springtime"[1]) is a Chinese martial art that specializes in aggressive close-range combat.

The characters (永春) "forever spring" are also associated with some other southern Chinese martial arts, including Jee Shim Weng Chun (Yong Chun) and White Crane Weng Chun

So its your Disition what you choose but i just gave you info Take

care  

Answer 9

If you have a love of Wing Chun and have access to it then take it. Only thing I would suggest is to take MMA for a little while after that. I only say that because you can do so me "live" sparring. To me "Live" sparring gives you a better feel for fighting. I don't know how hard you spar in Wing Chun,  but all of the deadly things in the art you won't be able to train "live" anyway. Can't eye gouge your training partners and things like that. Oh, about not wanting to go too the ground. You do know that you would learn how to AVOID being taken down also right? So that one person could take you down and you'll still get stomped if you don't have a defense. Only difference is that you won't know the quickest ways to get back up if you go to the ground. You can also learn takedowns, muay thai, boxing, and kickboxing techniques. If you are a puncher, why not add some variety to your fighting game. They teach you rules of the ring. In ANY art you can't train without them sparring unless someone is basically dressed like a crash dummy. Just because you learned with the rules you DON'T have to follow them on the street. Below the belt no hits to the back of the head, not biting etc. So don't worry about the rules. What make Judo and BJJ so good was the "live" training. You'll be used to fighting a resisting opponent. In the end do what you like the most out of them. Also, most places offer a free class or even a free week so try them both out. Only you can make that choice in the end. Good luck and watch what you are doing if you are getting attacked on a regular basis.