Martial Arts: Aikido

Aikido is a non-aggressive form of self defence and self development.. The basic principles of Aikido are very similar to Wing Chun Kung Fu, the aim is “ to avoid fighting force with force”. One of the biggest differences is that Aikido uses every few strikes using throws, locks and restraints for self defence, where as Wing Chun Kung Fu is very strike orientated (a quicker & generally more effective method of self defence)

Steven Seagal popularised Aikido during his many films and was the first westerner to open an Aikido school in Japan.

Martial Arts: Boxing

Boxing is in principle a sport, more than a martial art due mainly to the heavy regularisation and the lack of spiritual / philosophical content, yet still a very effective method of self defence.

 When it comes to punching power there are few martial arts that can match boxing. It’s great advantage is based on the use of hands as the primary tool – Wing Chun Kung Fu also specialises in how to maximise your striking ability using your fists with the added bonus of also using chops, palms, elbows, shoulders, hips (as well as the lower limbs)

Due to the rigors of boxing they tape their hands to protect and stabilise the bones in the hand. Without this the boxers would break their hands due to the power and techniques they use. One of the benefits of using open and strikes such as palm strikes is the safety to your hand plus legally it gives the impression that you were not the aggressor which unfortunately looks the case when you lift you fists up in a boxing guard.

One of the most famous of all boxers the late Jack Dempsey was renowned for his punching power and prowess. He wrote a book – Championship Boxing. Within it he said the best way to punch to generate power and correct alignment is with an upright (vertical) fist, exactly as we punch in Wing Chun Kung Fu, although very rarely used by other martial arts.

Martial Arts: Capoeira

Capoeira is a very gymnastic art, involving acrobatics and loads of energy. The use of drums and methods of training make it look almost dance like. Although at first glance there is no similarity with Wing Chun Kung Fu, the way the opponents respond to the ebb and flow of each other is the same idea as Wing Chun Kung Fu. Wing Chun Kung Fu takes a more direct route and keeps both feet on the ground to maximise mobility and striking power. The roots of Capoeira indicate why such a strong influence of using the feet, often cart wheeling on your hands - it was first practiced by African slaves who were taken to work in Brazil and as a slave’s their hands were often manacled so needed to use their feet to defend themselves.

Martial Arts: Choy Li Fut Kung Fu

Choy Li Fut is a classic Chinese martial art including the use of the five animals - Tiger, Dragon, Crane, Leopard, Snake. It combines elements of several Chinese martial arts including Southern and Northern styles.

Choy Li Fut was developed in 1836 by Chan Heung and named his amalgamation of Kung-Fu styles after his two teachers, Choy Fok and Li Yau-San. Fut means Buddha in Cantonese, and was added to the name of his new style as an acknowledgement of the Shaolin roots.

Choy Li Fut is an effective self-defence system and contains a wide variety of techniques. It is renowned for its longer range almost swinging punching. There are similarities with Wing Chun Kung Fu in the use of every possible limb to strike and the effectiveness as methods of self defence. The theories and principles are very different though and the strategy used for Wing Chun is usually to rapidly close your opponent down. It is very hard to find an authentic Choy Li Fut school outside of China although it remains a very popular there.

Martial Arts: Karate

Karate is an Okinowan martial art, now covering many different styles. Each version exhibiting the developers individual flair and direction. Goju Ryu is the style that has most similarities to Wing Chun Kung Fu. It employs softer more circular movements and is regarded by many as closer to the Chinese origins. The movie Karate Kid really launched Karate into the public eye with Mr Miyagi embodying everything good that w look for from martial arts. Wing Chun Kung Fu follows the same route encouraging character and self development as well as health, fitness, focus, balance and effective self defense.

Martial Arts: Hapkido

Hapkido is a Korean martial art, and combines techniques from Karate, Aikido and Judo as well as other Korean arts. Its wrist locks and throws are perhaps its trade mark, often sending the opponent high into the air. Technically it is very different from Wing Chun Kung Fu although the ideas of yielding to a greater force and using your opponents force against them are the same. Hapkido is a popular method of self defense due to its versatility, and is trained in such a way as to deal with most situations very much like Wing Chun Kung Fu. One of Bruce Lee’s opponents in “Game of Death” was Grandmaster Ji Han Jae of Hapkido.

Martial Arts: Jeet Kune

Jeet Kune Do was developed by Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee began his martial arts career studying Wing Chun Kung Fu under Grand Master Yip Man in Hong Kong.

Bruce Lee loved to individualise martial arts so he took what he considered the best and most practical aspects of Wing Chun Kung Fu and combined these with elements of western boxing; trapping and grappling; plus influences from a variety of other martial arts. This developed into a fighting style that he named Jeet Kune Do, the “Way of the Intercepting Fist”. It is clear to see the similarities between Jeet Kune Do and Wing Chun Kung Fu as Bruce Lee drew so heavily from it. His book Tao of Jeet Kune Do and Dan Inosanto’s book on Bruce Lee both show how much Wing Chun Kung Fu influenced Bruce.

Bruce lee undoubtedly brought the Chinese martial arts to the attention of the western world. He created an interest in all martial arts including Japanese, Okinawan, Filipino, Korean and Chinese.