Wing Chun: I'm thinking of starting... but I'm just curious, is it much of a workout?

Question

If it's just using the hands, arms.....?

I guess I don't know THAT much about it.

I'd like to get fit, and do martial arts...but there is nowhere near me at all that does any.... except this club, that does wing chun! (which i hadn't heard of before)

Is it a good way to keep fit, as well as for self defence?

Answer 1

Is it much of a workout?

That depends on who you work out with!

Most schools will give you a decent workout, though nothing as grueling as a boxing gym.

Boxing got me into far better shape than wing chun, because it relies heavily on conditioning.  Boxing is much better than weight lifting or ab crunches if you want to have muscle definition and endurance and lose weight.

The thing about wing chun, like many other arts, you should be using relaxed technique and leverage.  If you are exerting to much brute force, you will get a great, sweaty workout, but your kung fu will be very bad!

If it's just using the hands, arms.....?

Actually, it's using the legs to generate power, and that hands should be loose and relaxed, even when striking full force,  so that power can easily move from the legs and hips through the hands into an opponent.

In boxing, this is true for punching at the moment of impact.  For wing chun, when you practice with (and are in continuous contact with) a partner, this should be true AT ALL TIMES.  

There are kicks in wing chun, but they're mostly low kicks, to the knee (depending again who you work out with).

You will practice kicks that are simple and easy for anybody to use in wing chun, but you will not drill any high kicks, spinning kicks, or leaping kicks, thus, it's a milder workout than tae kwan do.  But wing chun easier to get into if you're out of shape, or if your older.  

I'd like to get fit, and do martial arts...but there is nowhere near me at all that does any.... except this club, that does wing chun!

You're lucky.  

Wing chun is not the only good martial art out there, bur it's a very good place to start!  Some Kung Fu schools have dozens of "forms", which are basically choreographed sets of movements, meant to help introduce and train the basics.  Wing chun only has a few forms to memorize, it consists mostly of exercises practicing movement and flow with a partner.

You will sweat in wing chun class, and you will learn very good kung fu.   Remember, if you use force to overcome your partner in practice, you'll never learn good technique.  

Don't try to "win" in practice, just practice moving.

Read "the Inner Game of Tennis", and apply the principles to your kung fu practice, if you want to succeed.

Take a vipassana meditation course, and read "the Power of Now" by Eckharte Tolle.  Apply the principles to your kung fu practice (or any other practice).

http://www.dhamma.org/

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Sp...

http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-...

Answer 2

I would do it, but be patient,, the thing is most people start out real excited and then burn out after a few months. Here's what works for me. I train anywhere from 30 min to 60 a day. 6 days a wk. I don't kill myself, steady work on perfecting kata and self-defense movements. Work on basics also. I hate to say it, but most places work you too hard to begin with, I believe in the progressive approach. This way you do not get burned out and you can train the rest of your life with out injuring your self, good luck, easy does it:)

Answer 3

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 4

as already said its not a big work out depending on your Sifu,s perspective on conditioning. try it out and see if you like it

Answer 5

it is all depending on you and the instructor.